We have been living in Spain for over a month, now. The time has gone by really quickly. There is still so much I need to see and do right here in Santander/Cantabria, let alone other, farther-flung places. I already feel like I am running out of time.
My Spanish isn’t really much better than it was when we arrived. I have gotten a tiny but better at anticipating what someone might be say, and therefore can make better guesses as to what they are saying, but I am nowhere near being able to understand much in real time. When it comes to speaking, I am not doing so well there, either. I get tongue tied very quickly and am afraid to say too much as I probably won’t be able to understand any sort of follow up. I really don’t like having to resort to “No hablo español” so quickly, but I also simply don’t have enough background or experience with Spanish to converse in any way. I find myself slipping into trying to speak French sometimes, which, of course, isn’t helpful for anyone, really. I am trying to get better. I am trying to not just barge into places and expect someone to speak English; most “conversations” still end with either everyone a little confused or a Spaniard speaking English.1
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Quite often people under about 35 seem to speak English fairly well. With folks older than that, it’s a gamble. I am trying to not rely on that. I promise. ↩︎