Six Months
What started as taking every day one day at a time soon, fast forwarded to six months later. I have just hit six months in my teaching English program, with only two months left. These months have been filled with continuing to taste Spanish cuisine, being confused by the history of Spain, starting to actually understand what is being said to me and falling into routine. It has been a complete rollercoaster ride, filled with highs and lows. Days where my hands are up in the air and days where I am gripping the bar as my stomach drops.
Slowing down in my village and finding my routine.
With my time here in Spain I have found my routine, trying to make the town of La Solana feel more like my home, even with how foreign it feels. I continue to practice with the fútbol team and on the weekends, when I am not traveling, I am able to play in games. The first game I got cleared to play, I was so excited to step on the field that I forgot to put shin guards on, but luckily the referees didn’t notice. On most Sundays, I go to the men’s fútbol games, which are much more crowded and a whole town event. There I meet up with students, filling the time gossiping about the players and coming up with different nicknames for each one.
I have enjoyed getting more involved in my school, creating different projects or presenting on how I celebrate holidays in the United States. One of my bilingual classes created a podcast about cultural differences, using the school radio to record and edit. For Carnival, a five day holiday celebrated with parades, song parodies and costumes, the teachers took on the theme of Chicago Prohibition Era, dressing up as flappers, gangsters and other American costumes such as cowboys and basketball players. It warmed my heart to be so included and I loved seeing all of the costumes of the students and teachers.
I continue to go to the town’s gym called the “garden center,” where the owner occasionally greets me with a “buenas” and I embarrass myself by showing up to the gym on the days that it is closed. The regulars that go at the same time as me always say hello and we catch up by exchanging a few words.
Spanish and Wine
The language and Spanish cuisine continue to be difficult for me. When I speak Spanish I am completely overwhelmed with a lack of confidence and frustration. I started telling myself to take it day by day in order to make it through the days when I feel like everyone around me is speaking gibberish. But within these six months I have been rewarded with days when I do understand what people are saying to me and I can even hold up my end of the conversation.
Just like the language I am still learning about Spanish cuisine, asking for recommendations or what students like to eat. I have gotten lucky enough that students will bring me typical sweets that their grandmothers made for me to try. But if I were to tell you the truth, my favorite Spanish dishes are wine, bread and coffee, the things that I think Spain does really well. Because after being here for six months, there are many days when I am tapa’d out, I have reached my tapa limit.
Two months feels like I still have a long time here, but I know that it will go by fast. I am taking every opportunity to enjoy where I am right now, continue to step into the unknown and try to learn as much as I can with the time that I have left.