Student Bloggers
More Slowly Please, Scotland to Spain
Date
January 20, 2018
Más despacio por favor, Escocia a España
Before I go into the dirty details of how linguistically unprepared I feel to live in Spain, I thought I’d discuss my unconventional travel plans for study abroad. I decided to visit my friends in Edinburgh, Scotland before attending orientation in Madrid, so I’ve already packed in my first trip! I camped in a Scottish bothy on a working farm in Oban, toured Edinburgh, and nearly froze to death in the beautiful yet bone-chilling highlands. As much as it pains me to leave (or stay? I really am freezing), I can’t wait to begin my Spanish odyssey.
—Now onto España—
I’m finally doing it! I’ve studied Spanish for six years, practiced for countless hours, and annoyed many a native speaker with questions and practice conversations. I’ve basically been setting myself up to study abroad in a Spanish-Speaking country for a long time now, so I shouldn’t be so nervous, right? Wrong. Moving to Granada right now, for me, feels like one of the biggest informal tests of my life. I’ve spoken to my host mother already—an absolute gem—but that has only made me more worried about whether or not I’ll be up to the task of speaking only Spanish for five months. Will I be good enough? When will I finally be able to understand native speakers? How many times will I begrudgingly ask “más despacio por favor”? How many awkward, slow, broken conversations will it take for me to finally feel comfortable speaking to strangers in Spanish? This isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to studying abroad, but this is my first time feeling so anxious (with excitement in equal measure, mind you). Studying abroad in London, although it was my first ever semester of college, wasn't nearly as intimidating because I knew English and I knew that I could confidently—at least somewhat confidently—feel like a local. All nerves aside, I absolutely cannot wait to meet my host mother, begin my internship, and build a little life for myself Granada. Off to cramming for the placement test!