Spain is an amazing country. Even though this is not my first visit to
Spain (nor the second one), I still feel fascinated by the parched rocky
landscape lashed by wind. I found myself
living in a country where seniors walk in parks listening to the radio playing
in their pocket and where people eat bread (or rather, as they call it: “baguette”)
with every meal (even if the meal contains pasta, rice, or potatoes). Though
living in the second coldest city in Spain (by the way, I´m wondering which one
is the first) is sometimes harsh, but I am very happy that I can be here.
My Erasmus experience started many months before by filling in the
application form. During the entire administrative process I was really looking
forward to spending half a year living and studying in a
foreign country. However, when the date of departure was just several days
away, I started to experience fear too. What will it be like? Who will my
flatmates be? What will the courses be like? And many other questions
preoccupied my mind. However, when the plane landed in Spain I started to enjoy
my stay.
I realized (despite my expectations) that many of the stereotypes and
myths about the Spanish people are true. Before going to Spain you should learn
at least three basic Spanish words: “mañana” (tomorrow), “fiesta” (party), and
“siesta”. The one that says that the Spanish do everything “mañana” (tomorrow)
means that when you apply, for example, for a library card in the municipal
library and they tell you that you can collect it “mañana”, you should
understand that the card will not be there sooner than in a few weeks.
Otherwise you will keep going to the library every day and asking for the card
and they will keep telling you that it will be there tomorrow.
Another very popular – even among people who don’t speak Spanish – word
is “fiesta”. The stereotype that many Spanish think that life is an endless
fiesta is also true. Moreover, during the most productive hours (generally 2pm
– 5pm) in Prague you can buy anything, go to bank, post office,... but here it
is “siesta” (understand that almost everything is closed). To my Spanish
friends it seems totally natural – they say that the people working in the
shops, banks, offices also want to have their lunch. To me however, it seems
that 3 hours for a lunch is a pretty long time.
Spain is also a country where almost nobody speaks English well enough to be able to communicate in it – I don´t mind that; I am here to improve my Spanish, but when ordering anything with an English name in restaurants (e.g. muffin, chicken wrap) one has to resist the tendency to pronounce the name “correctly” (in English). If you want to be understood and get what you ordered you have to pronounce it in the Spanish way, which often makes English words sound so strange that no British or American person (with no previous knowledge of Spanish) would ever understand them.
As far as the language is concerned, for me studying in Spain does not
mean only a simple fact that the lectures and seminars are in Spanish, but also
a change of working languages. Translating from Spanish to English and vice
versa helps me to find new connections between the two languages and to
perceive better the similarities as well as the differences.
Erasmus is really an international experience. There are many foreigners
at the university (the majority of them are French, Italians, or Belgians) and
I find myself practising even languages that I don´t speak. Now, after more
than two months that I have spent here, I would recommend Erasmus (or any other
possibility to study for some time abroad) to anyone. I think it can enrich you
and you can benefit from the experience a lot!
