SPAIN FOR AN AMERICAN GIRL/ ESPAÑA PARA UNA CHICA AMERICANA

 

                                                                                (Imagen creada con Idiogram.IA) 

A continuación podéis leer las impresiones que Mari, nuestra asistente de inglés, se ha llevado de nuestro país y de los españoles tras 2 años viviendo entre nosotros. 

Impressions of Spain by Mari Herron

I was fortunate enough to join the EOI Maria Moliner community this year as an Auxiliar de Conversacion – an English Language Assistant. This is my second year in this role and my second year in Spain. Honestly, I often question if I accomplished enough – repeating words in my native tongue for pronunciation, wracking my brain for synonyms I could never find, and making the U.S. look as bad as possible in presentations. Not on purpose, of course.

You never realize how intuitive your own language is for you until you try to explain it to someone else. It´s very weird. Very meta.

But this blogpost isn´t about language. It´s about what Spain has given me and what I see as the absolute beauty that is the Spanish way.

I remember when I first arrived to Spain, someone scolded me for walking with a cup of coffee on my way to work in the morning. I was very confused by this as this is quite normal back home – a morning cup of Joe on the way to the office. But I was quickly educated that breakfast should be taken slowly and calmly. Con tranquilidad.

At the time, I didn´t appreciate the life lesson but I get it now.

When I would come to work in Almansa and I was quick to apologize or failed to understand something, someone would always say to me tranquila or no te preocupes.

These were the first Spanish words I learned. And I think these words perfectly encapsulate Spanish culture.

I couldn´t believe there existed a time between classes where colleagues gathered for a quick hello, to make twenty Spanish jokes I couldn´t understand, or for a caffeine boost via coffee or coke (Pablo lol).

And apparently you need like 3 cups of coffee a day to be certified Spanish - I never quite got there.

Back home there are no breaks. Maybe a 30 minute lunch or a "working lunch" (eating at your computer). Camraderie at work is not common. And inviting coworkers to visit or stay at your place the first time you meet could very likely mean they might want to murder you.

But anyway, the point is that what Spanish people understand that Americans don´t is that life isn´t meant to be taken seriously. And the moments in between matter.

When you visit a park in Spain, there´s kids everywhere and strangers keep an eye out for your kid simply because they´re kind. And they care.

Normal people get to go home from work at 2pm to eat lunch with their families (...what??).

Local municipalities have their own holidays...separate from the national holidays? I mean, I basically didn´t work my first two months here.

And even though it kills me sometimes, people spend 3-4 hours tomarring un cafe.

To fully prove how much Spanish people enjoy their lives, you should know that every 40 year old in Albacete is a musician or in a rock band. Which is crazy because you basically die after 30 in the U.S.

Also, no one´s trying to push you in front of Renfe trains. Which is fantastic.

And the best part – no guns.

No country is perfect. And a lot of what I mention here sounds very normal and unextraordinary to people who might have grown up with this as their normal.

I get that.

But for people like me who are wired so differently and who come from an environment where time is money and personal time is a commodity you trade for hours given to the American machine, these small, new experiences are the greatest gift.

Since coming to Almansa and living in Spain, I´ve been able to exist as a more present, calm person. I can count on my hand how many anxiety attacks I´ve had before someone told me to tranquila. And that's great.

Spain has blessed me with a new ability to really slow down. To invest in and nurture what matters – the people around me and the things I love spending time doing.

You always hear people say to live in the moment. Because the days are long and the years are short.

But Spanish people actually do that. They got life right.