español

One huge advantage I have in Year 2 in Spain is my Spanish speaking abilities. Last year, I arrived expecting to be mediocre in comparison with my American peers, but I was surprised to find I had a higher level than most starting out. Living with international students (where we spoke spanish 95% of the time) and having a lot of free hours at school to speak with fellow teachers improved my Spanish a lot. I had the knowledge all along, but by the end of the year I was able to apply that knowledge and get by without too much struggle.

My bed in my apartment was broken on arrival last year and after a few months of reminding, I finally decided not to pay my rent until they fixed it. Obviously, everyone at the rental agency deflected responsibility from one person to the next until I got fed up and had a good half hour argument about how they are breaking their own contract and I have the right not to pay. I left that day with both a discount on rent and an awesome feeling that I had just entered a new level of ability, having successfully argued my point in another language with a native speaker, frustration and all. This was my first noticeable "platform" in my journey.

By spring I was hanging out with my current roommates, Pablo and Lucia, all the time and really began to perfect a more normal type of Spanish... one you speak with friends where you can cut corners, drop certain words/letters, and make jokes etc. Making a joke, or just being funny it turns out is really hard in a foreign language! It's easy to be laughed at by saying things wrong or what have you, but it's a whole new ballgame trying to crack a joke or make some quip where people laugh with you.

By the end of the year, my Spanish had gotten quite good; good enough to safely put "Spanish" on my resume without feeling like I was stretching the truth. However, everyone would ask me if I was fluent yet and I preferred to stay away from the "F" word because I feel like that brings on a lot of expectations.

Fast forward to this year, and after almost 4 months of living with Pablo and Lucia, I feel like I'm finally ready to declare fluency. My level was pretty high to begin with, but what I have really improved on is sheer fluidity. I can understand just about anyone, at any speed, and just about any accent (but let's be real... there are some pueblos around Andalucia that could make their own dictionary.)

It's made living here so much more tolerable because I am finally able to relate myself as though I were at home. I could always get my point across, but finally I can express deeper feelings and thoughts, feign a sense of humor, and above all: I finally feel like I am able to be myself!! Once I take a step back and notice, it feels amazing. That's one reason why I needed American friends last year- to have someone to talk to where I can relax and say what had been bottled up from days of incarceration. This year however, I don't have that same yearning which I can attribute to my improvements.

This same feeling is reflected at school. Last year there were times when I felt like that one exchange student from France you might have had in high school, who people may have thought was cool/interesting but was more of a spectacle... never truly a peer. This year I actually feel like a real teacher: I can raise my voice when needed, break up fights, and I even get asked to substitute classes frequently. I am able to do the things that I wasn't able to as an "outsider" last year. I have meaningful conversations with other teachers that go beyond the typical and strictly surface chats such as the differences between our countries or languages (basically, the default topic to fall back on when you don't know what to talk about.) I feel like I'm accepted as one of them and most importantly, I feel respected. And I'll let you know, it feels really good.