The biggest cultural challenge – time!
February 4, 2014
Post written by Hannah Sheehan. Since living in Spain for five months a number of cultural challenges and issues have come to my attention. Spain and England are too very different countries and possess two very different cultures. To date it has been difficult at times to adjust to the Spanish way of life and …
Enjoying adapting to Spanish culture
February 3, 2014
When people ask me about the cultural differences between the UK and Spain I find it hard to pin point a lot of things but the timing of a normal working day is certainly one of the most noticeable differences! I found myself getting a bit lost in terms of when was suitable to eat …
You can’t expect to become totally Spanish I suppose!
Despite just having finished my first five months in Spain and having loved every minute of it, there have undeniably been a few cultural challenges that I’ve had to overcome and get used to. The first of these is the concept of mañana. The Spanish are probably the most relaxed nation of people I’ve ever …
The Spanish…they’re noisy but refreshingly relaxed
February 2, 2014
Just over 2 hours away from the UK lies Spain; familiar, sunny and an obvious tourist destination for many Brits. I always thought I knew Spain and its culture quite well after various holidays here as well as studying it throughout school and university. However it has only been since living here for a prolonged …
Napping in Spain…that’s a challenge
February 1, 2014
Post written by Madeleine Pitkin. I’ve been in Spain for more than four months now and so I presume I’m as settled in as I ever will be. However, there are some cultural differences which continue to challenge me every day! One first big cultural challenge is the siesta, or afternoon nap time. Between the …
Spanish culture is making me more relaxed
January 20, 2014
Luckily I have not experienced an enormous amount of times when I have felt frustrated with the culture and ready to pack my bags to head home. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here and I feel I have adapted well to the cultural changes, most probably because I love the relaxed way of Spanish …
Necessity has broadened my vocabulary
January 8, 2014
Of the many aspects of learning a second language, pertaining to correct grammatical constructions whilst having a quick-fire (normal!) conversation is the one that proves the most difficult. Until spending an extended period in Spain, commonplace questions would leave me faltering, panicking to the point of absurd! Now I can proudly say that this is …
There are two different ways to define the word ‘fluent’ – unfortunately I haven’t achieved either of them
January 6, 2014
Spending four months in Spain you would think you’d be able to become fluent in the Spanish language. Unfortunately, my expectations did not turn out to be anywhere near true. To sum up my “language acquisition”, I would say that whilst I have improved, there is still so much more I need to learn and …
Talking like a local
January 5, 2014
I have an advanced level of Spanish and what I now find very interesting about language is all of the words and gestures which you don’t find in dictionaries and textbooks. These are things that you can only truly pick up and dominate after living abroad for an amount of time. During my time in …
If I can survive the Southern accent, I will be able to understand every Spanish accent in the world
January 2, 2014
Post written by Georgia Brookes. After finding out I was going to the Universidad de Cádiz but before arriving, when telling family and friends where I would be spending the winter months of my year abroad, I kept hearing about the infamous Andalucian accent and wondering how bad it really was. Well it turns out …
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