Gaby, a Rotary Youth Exchange student, is the daughter of our Twin Valley Rotary President, Adrienne Masak-Rozier.
The 4th of Octubre will mark my first full month in Spain. I had a hard time understanding everyone at first due to the seemingly rapid speech and the lispy accent. However I am adjusting to the Spanish like I am adjusting to the new culture.
My host family is great and I couldn’t have asked for better. My smallest host sister, Lola, makes a game of my lack of understanding and will often act out what someone has said to me even if it has already been established that I understand. I love spending time with her as her constant chatter is great for my Spanish. Plus, I have tons of fun hanging out with her! The other day, at their grandparents’ house for the weekly Sunday lunch, we played dress-up with one of the chests filled with random costume pieces! I had a great time and could only laugh when my older host sister had, “better things to do.”
I usually hang out with my oldest host sister, Elena, during the afternoon. She and her friends usually take me shopping, and for now, I don’t say much, as my Spanish isn’t good enough to translate their words into English, then my response back into Spanish fast enough. Her friends try to keep me included and will ask me questions every so often (It’s easier to understand and speak with one-on-one conversations). I have to remind them every so often not to try to speak English to me–just speak slower with simpler words. Many Spaniards try to speak in English to me upon first introductions, but I let them know. It’s only when I don’t understand at all that I let them speak to me in English. Most can speak English very well, as a result of having language classes start in elementary school.
School is hard at the moment. It’s better for me when the teachers use the chalkboard during their lectures. I’m still adjusting to Gallego (half of my classes are taught and tested in it). Gallego is basically Portuguese with a Spanish twist. I tested in it in history and for the only question I thought I could maybe understand, I drew a picture of a partially destroyed Berlin Wall. As for homework in Gallego, I thank my lucky stars that Google translate works so well, but it still manages to take a lot of time to finish.
Google Translate and an English-Spanish dictionary are my best friends these days, but I’m growing more and more independent from them each day. It helps that I use the free periods (Teacher doesn’t show (strike, sick, etc.)) to practice Spanish. My classmates try to help to–I copy my neighbor’s notes when they were given verbally and I couldn’t keep up. It usually only takes one person to start asking questions about the US before they all start to join in, and this has helped me make a few friends. Although, I’ve never had to work so hard to make friends!
In conclusion, I’ve had a great time here so far meeting new people and interacting with my host sisters. So far so good, and its hard to believe that a month has passed already!