APIstudyabroad

The fact that in Granada you can say ¿Qué? and if you make the “ e” long (that is draw it out so you say it like Queeee) it means in just one word:

“Hello. How are you? What’s up?”

- I love the Andalusian accent. They swallow all the ends of their words and don’t pronounce their s’s at all. For example” hasta luego” would be pronounced something like “ha lego.” I was hanging out with some Spanish girls and they told me that Spaniards in the north look down on Andalusians because of this.  Nevertheless, I love the Andalusian accent! 

- In conversation to call someone’s attention to a fact you will say “Hombre.” That is, if you’re having a discussion with someone and you want to draw someone’s attention to the fact that you think they’re wrong or draw their attention to a small detail you’d say “Hombre” and then whatever you wanted to say. You say this to males and females alike. In the beginning it was a bit surprising for me to hear this all the time in everyday conversations but now I really like it!

- People here in Spain (or at least in Granada) are a lot more nicer to homeless people/beggars than I’ve observed in the U.S. I live right near a bridge and every day there are always the same beggars on the bridge. A lot of people will stop and sometimes talk with them and give them money. Further, there is a bank right near my house that at night homeless people go and are allowed to sleep in the part right where the ATM is. So, the bank door is locked but the room with the ATM always has the outside door unlocked. So they can go in at night and sleep without being bothered. There are definitely not as many homeless people as say in Barcelona and Madrid but there is a sizable population. 

- Dogs here are very obedient. Most people don’t have their dogs on leashes and the majority of them will follow their owners around with no problem. It’s very adorable because most dogs will wait for their owner right outside the door of a grocery store, for example, and will start wagging their tail as soon as their owner approaches the door. 

Siobhan Neela-Stock is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Granada, Spain.

You are not a sponge. Sorry to break it to you but you aren’t. What do I mean by this? This is the point I want to get across: if you are going to study abroad and one of your main goals is to become fluent or competent in the target language then just thinking that because you are living in the culture 24/7 automatically means that you will become fluent is a big mistake. This is of course not saying that you won’t learn A LOT about the language by living in the culture. However, you will have to do some of the leg work too. 

One of the first ways is by living with a host family. This will make it that much easier to work up to your goal of becoming more competent in the language. I live with a host family and I challenge myself every meal to either start a conversation or contribute to a conversation. In the beginning it was hard but now that I have been living with them for about five months it isn’t as much of a challenge. It can be really fun too. In the beginning I thought of questions I wanted to ask them during meals. Those helped me spark conversation and I learned a lot about my host family just by asking random questions. As I became more comfortable with them the conversation usually just flowed.

Another suggestion is to attend intercambios. An intercambio is a conversation between two people with different first languages. For example, I would speak with a native Spanish speaker for half an hour in Spanish and then half an hour in English. Of course, it is not usually this structured and I find it best to go with the flow. That being said, I really love intercambios! I’ve met the majority of my Spanish friends and acquaintances through them. In the beginning I found intercambios to be a bit awkward but the more practice I got the less awkward they became and the more I found myself actually enjoying the conversations. I think the best advice I can give for a successful intercambio is to not put pressure on it. Think about it as just good practice for your language skills and if it turns into a friendship then that is great. If not, then try another intercambio. I’ve had a few not so successful intercambios but as I mentioned before the more practice I got the more fun and successful they were. API hosts intercambios but there are also ways to seek out intercambios yourself. I have used a local Intercambio Group on Facebook to meet native Spanish speakers. I have also signed up at the center where I take classes to set up intercambios. There are multitudes of ways to find people to practice the language you want to become fluent/competent in. All you have to do is ask! 

Those are the two ways that have worked for me the best to become more skilled in Spanish. Another small suggestion is just to be observant! Sometimes as I walk around Granada I just listen to people’s conversations and see if I can understand what they are saying. This strategy really worked out for me in the beginning and now I find myself doing it more as a habit – not to say I’m an eavesdropper, it just is really good practice for my ear! I also really suggest keeping up on what is going on in your host country. The most fun way I find to do this is reading newspapers and listening to the news on TV. Not only will it keep you informed but it is also a good conversation starter. I’m really into politics and I’ve found in my host city that a lot of people share that same passion of talking about world events and local events. Even if you’re not into politics or don’t necessarily always keep up on world events it is a good way to show local people that you are truly interested or want to learn about what is going on in your city.

So, I hope that before you study abroad you consider this advice and realize that becoming fluent is not as easy as just living in the culture. You have to actively participate too! 

Siobhan Neela-Stock is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Granada, Spain.

The word “siesta” is probably one of the most used words in Spanish by non-Spanish speakers. But how many of us actually know the real significance of this word? Before coming to Spain I believed that a siesta was a really long nap. I didn’t have a clue about the real meaning of the word or what the point of a siesta was.

 To familiarize one on the origin of siesta let’s go back a few thousand years when it began. The word “siesta” originates from the Latin “Hora Sexto” which translates to “sixth hour.” That is, six hours from dawn which is noon. Surprisingly, the practice of the siesta was not begun by Spaniards. It can be traced all the way back to Islamic Law. I can thank Granada doubly for the practice of siesta as Granada has both a Spanish influence and Arabic influence.

 Although it might seem that a siesta is only for lazy people there is a real reason for it. It was (and still is) used to recharge the body in the middle of the day. The recommended time for a siesta is 20 minutes as it allows the body to recharge without making one too groggy. A practical reason for the siesta is that it is taken during the middle and usually the hottest part of the day (during the summer). Before coming to Granada I was under the impression that Spaniards used the whole two hours to just sleep. Boy was I wrong! In many parts of Spain la gente take about 2 hours off in the middle of the day to eat, sleep and relax with family members. In smaller cities in Spain (such as Granada) many of the small shops owned by usually one or two dueños close up during the afternoon and open again after siesta is finished. I remember how surprised I was the first time I saw all of the shops on my street closed during the afternoon.

With my host family here in Granada we start to eat lunch at about 3:15 p.m. which lasts about half an hour (or longer if we really are talking a lot, which happens more often than not!). Then each of us can spend the rest of the time however we would like. My host sister and host brother usually sleep for a little after lunch and then go outside and exercise. My host mom normally takes the time to relax. I was the unlucky one last semester as I had afternoon classes most of the week so I couldn’t really indulge in siesta. Luckily this semester I have a bit more flexibility with my classes!

So there you go a little introduction to the word siesta. Next time you use the word you’ll really know what you are talking about.

Siobhan Neela-Stock is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Granada, Spain.

In the U.S. we take our politics very seriously. Often, there is great debate up until the day before the ballots for a presidential election is cast. This is not the case in Spain. The day before a presidential election in Spain is called El Día de Reflexión  (Day of Reflection). During this time it is illegal for political candidates and their parties to campaign. Instead, the day is meant for deep reflection by the citizens to truly think about which candidate one is going to vote for. The unspoken rule is that politics are not mentioned on this day, only thought about.

I was lucky enough to be in Spain last semester in the time leading up to the elections, the actual elections and to still currently be in Spain for the aftermath of the elections. This election held a lot of hope for many Spaniards. For the past eight years the political party has been PSOE (the Socialist Party of Spain). Many people have felt cheated by PSOE. My host brother told me various times before the elections that “the PSOE stole from the people.” He compared Spanish politics with U.S. politics by saying in Spain the political party steals from the people and in the U.S. political parties make promises they can’t keep. It was interesting to have this perspective from someone who had lived through the changes Spain had gone through. The hope was that Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular (Popular Party) would be elected as Prime Minister. The news reported that many Spaniards were putting all of their faith in him to turn around the economic crisis in Spain. However, I had talked with many young Spaniards in the weeks before the election and asked them how they felt about the elections. The consensus I found was that not many felt that the change of a political party was going to do much to solve the economic crisis.

The day of the elections last year was also special because it coincided with my host mother’s birthday (November 10). My host mom invited most of her family over (she has about 7 or so sisters and brothers and their children also attended). It was loco to say the least! We all watched the election results together amidst birthday cake and present opening. No one was surprised in the least when Rajoy won.

Siobhan Neela-Stock is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Granada, Spain.

1.  One of Inma’s (my host mother) amazing salads.  The toppings vary from nuts, to tuna, to ham.  She’s super creative.

2.  A very typical presentation here in Spain, tapas, that Inma made one night.  Tapas are the small dishes that make up a meal.  On this night Inma prepared for us spanish tortillas with spinach, and eggs with salsa. yum!

3.  Gofres, a popular dessert in Spain.  They are waffles covered with chocolate & sugar. Just one is not enough :’) .

4.  Churros.  These are another popular thing to eat in Spain.  This one was dipped in chocolate sprinkles, but they are typically plain with a cup of hot chocolate on the side to dip into.

5.  Ice cream from Rayas, supposedly the best ice cream stand in all of spain.

6.  Cafe con leche

7.  Chocolate caliente con nata (hot chocolate with cream)

8.  Bueno bars, candy bars covered with Nutella (!!!).  I am going to bring these home as souvenirs because they are so good!

9.  Aguacate y pan.  Spaniards generally eat continental breakfasts and save their appetites for a much larger lunch.  This is one of my typical breakfasts.

10.  Another creative breakfast made from the only ingredients in my refrigerator.  Toast with cornflakes.

Allanah Wright is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Seville, Spain.