I am currently in my second week of a 3 week long intensive spanish language course. I go to a class 5 days a week for 4 hours straight with one 15 minute break. It is intense (haha) but so worth it. I feel like I have learned so much in just 9 days of class. But I guess that is the point. The last two days of class have been even more intense than the rest. Mostly because my professor started teaching us how to do and say things like a local person would. Strange sounding, I know. I have been here for about 5 months and somehow i hadn't learned a lot of this stuff.
A language is not just words, it is a culture. To understand the language you almost HAVE to understand the culture. Learning a language is one thing but learning how to use it correctly is an entirely different thing. One of the hardest adjustments for me in learning/applying Spanish is that the biggest difference is the manner in which Spanish people are polite. Let me explain.
As Americans who speak English we put a lot of emphasis on saying things like 'please, and thank you very much, and sir, and ma'am. We use big words and try to dance around being as direct as possible when asking for stuff from somebody we don't know. Not the spanish. They are very direct people. So when you go to a restaurant/bar/grocery store you don't really say 'please' or 'may i please have' you actually mostly use the command form of the words, meaning you are direct and to the point. The 'niceness' comes in the intonation of your voice, not the words you use. I have been learning about this concept since 8th grade but it wasn't until i was faced with putting it into practice here that I realized just how different that is. I still feel so weird saying things like 'me pone un cafe' or 'me traes la cuenta.' (simply translated into 'bring me a/the_________.) you can say please but not many people do. It is so weird.
It has been such a great experience to studying in Spain. To learn the culture, to understand a way of life very different from my own. And to be able to travel to places I have only dreamed about is pretty awesome. Honestly never thought i might one day get to lay on a beach in Portugal, swim in the Mediterranean Sea, stand under the Eifel Tower, eat raw oysters out of ocean off the coast of France, take the sound of music tour, go on a winery tour through the Tuscany region in Italy and so much more. I'm sure some of you are probably fuming with jealousy right now. But I don't apologize :) I am so excited and thankful for this opportunity and the things I have learned so far and the things i have yet to learn/experience.
And to think I still have 5 months left to enjoy of my experience. I feel like the luckest girl in the world right now.
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