Postby philomath » Sat Aug 27, 2022 11:33 pm
I made it to Spain! I left Boston at midnight and didn’t get any sleep during the flight, so I arrived in Barcelona feeling exhausted. Inside the airport, everyone addressed me in English, which I expected since I was carrying a US passport and following all of the “US/non-EU” signs. However after leaving the airport, I was determined to speak Spanish! My first chance was at the bus stop, where I had to ask if there was another way to buy a ticket, since the machine was broken. Luckily there was!
I decided to stick to English with my Airbnb host, since it’s uncomfortable enough sharing an apartment with a stranger—I didn’t want to stress myself out even more. However shortly after arriving at the Airbnb, I realized that I’d forgotten to bring outlet converters. I walked to a big electronics store and worked up the courage to ask in Spanish if they sold converters, which they did! Afterward, I walked around and took some photos of the streets. It was pretty hot and there were tons of people walking around La Rambla. I wandered down a side street and found a little vegan restaurant, where I got a cappuccino and an açaí bowl. While I ate, I listened to other customers order their food and noticed that they were all using tú with the guy taking orders. I had been sticking with usted out of caution, but maybe that was too formal. I think for now I’ll continue to use usted just in case and wait for people to use tú with me.
Next I went to Llibreria Altair, which is a travel bookstore. I was hoping they might have some books related to language-learning, but I didn’t find any. They did have a really great selection of travel books though, plus a wall where people could leave messages looking for travel companions.
The rest of the day was uneventful: I took a nap and spent the evening in my Airbnb. Tomorrow I have more activities planned!
I’m happy that I’ve been speaking Spanish here. It’s not really surprising, since I’m able to have relatively complex conversations with my iTalki teachers, but I was worried my nerves would get the best of me, like during my trip to Montreal. I need to keep having French lessons, so I can feel more confident the next time I go to a French-speaking country!
But actually, I did have a conversation in French during this trip. In the Boston airport, a woman approached me and asked if I spoke French. I said “Oui, un peu” and she asked if I knew which gate the Air France flight was departing from. I was just as confused as she was, so I said “Je ne sais pas, désolée” and she walked away. So it wasn’t a very long conversation, but I was excited since I hadn’t been expecting to speak French at all!
So far, my interactions this trip (not counting conversations with my Airbnb host or any exchanges too short to remember):
- English: 2X (airport, ordering lunch)
- Spanish: 2X (buying bus ticket, finding outlet converters and paying for them)
- French: 1X (being unhelpful in finding Air France)
Last edited by
philomath on Sun Aug 28, 2022 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
11 x