Feeling at home away from home…
January 21, 2014
The truth is that I really feel at home here in Catalonia, so the expression cultural challenge may be a bit strong. Although this might seem silly, after having lived a few months in Barcelona, I am convinced that the smallest details are the ones that make you feel at home or not, and in …
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 …
My next goal is to improve to the point where I’m no longer asked “Ingles?” every time I walk into a shop
January 4, 2014
I’ve been living in Melilla (a Spanish protectorate on the northern coast of Morocco) for over three months now. I have yet to find a shop that sells cheddar cheese and still struggle to mask my oh so English accent when conversing in Spanish, but other than that I feel very much at home here. …
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 …
I’ve started to speak Spanish with an accent
December 31, 2013
When I started my year abroad in Seville, I had only been learning Spanish for two years. Naturally, I was worried about how my limited vocabulary and basic grammar was going fair whilst setting up a new life completely in Spanish. Having previously been told that simply by living in a country and being surrounded …
Living with a Spanish family…the best decision I’ve made
Post written by Faith Locken. I now arrive at the five month mark of my six month stay here in Seville and it is safe to say that, with regards to language acquisition, I have most certainly excelled. Before embarking on my year abroad one of the promises I made to myself was that I …
Appreciating the difference in language across Spain
Post written by Abigail Brown. Being one of the main aims of the Year Abroad language acquisition has certainly been a main concern during this first semester. One of the first things I wondered, as I mentioned in the previous blog, was whether I actually knew any Spanish at all when I spoke to people …
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