New friends...new memories...new beginnings

Every week UIMP (my university) has a program that invites Spaniards to go to Santander for 1 week to take an intensive English course. When they say intensive, they really mean it. The Spaniards have class 9-2:15pm then lunch 2:30-4 and then class 4-6 and then 6:30-9pm they have an activity and 9-10 dinner. Now this immersion program offers anyone who speaks English fluently (or almost) the opportunity to be a language partner to these students and we get paid! We can choose to eat with the Spaniards for 1 meal=10 euros or eat both meals=20 euros and we can do the activity if we want. All we have to do is speak English with the students. It sounds perfect, right? I´ve been doing this 2 times every week, but I don´t like it very much because I´m not practicing Spanish, which is why I´m here. Almost every week, the spaniards I meet don´t want to talk to Emily and me in English because they´re tired from their classes and they don´t want to speak a language they hardly know (most are beginners or intermediate level). So it isn´t really that fun for these reasons.

Thankfully, last week (nov. 17-20) was completely different! Emily and I decided to do it for 3 meals and on a Monday (which is the hardest day because the Spaniards are just getting into the routine) we were so lucky because the table we sat at had 3 girls and 1 guy who really wanted to talk and get to know us (which was the first). I don´t want to sound lame or anything, but it was so nice to feel like I was helping them and they actually wanted to know me and vice-a-versa of course. Because the first day went so well, Emily and I added two more meals and Karaoke night (on Thursday). I won´t bore you with too many details (if you want me to tell you more about my new amigos, let me know), but I had such a fun time with them and we talked so much and I got to know them so well! So, here´s some info about my new Spanish friends (YAY!!!). Natalia: 24, she´s from Leon (the city where I had the terrible experience with the masked group of guys) and has lived there all her life, she´s finishing up her thesis and while she does that she is working at a day care. She offered Emily and I to go visit her and she would give us a personal tour of her city.

Veronica: 22, she´s from Cordoba (where Mario is) and went to school there, she works but I´ve forgotten what she does. She told me that when I go to Granada and visit Cordoba, we can do things together and that she will show me around. Lucía: 23, she and Natalia were the two girls who I´ve been in contact with the most since they were in Santander. We all talk on messenger together in Spanglish, which is a blast! They write well and the three girls are high intermediate in English. Lucía is from Avila (close to Valladolid) and that is where she works, but she goes to Granada on the weekends for school. She told me that when we´re both in Granada, we´ll do things together...yay for new friends! These girls were amazing and definitely made me feel like one of their friends. I can´t wait to see them again (we email/messenger/send comments on facebook to each other all the time :D ).

Now the 4th person I was able to get to know really well (there were 3 girls and one guy that Emily and I sat with during every meal) was Guillermo, 25. Guillermo is from the Canary Islands, specifically from la Gran Canaria. His Spanish accent is different than all the rest because he doesn´t pronounce the s and z with the th sound. He has a more latin american accent. He went to school in Madrid, but is getting his masters back at home in physical therapy. He wants to help people who have suffered accidents and can not walk or move their bodies, and he wants to help them be able to walk and move around again. His English was amazing; he is in superior. After he left Santander, we talked and decided to write emails to each other to help each other with the language we´re learning. So we write half in English and half in Spanish...finally I get to use my Spanish! He also is in a band so it made Karaoke more fun.

Karaoke: So from 6:30-9 in the cafe next to our class building, we had a karaoke night. Anyone could sing and some people were dancing while most were talking. I spent most of the night with Lucía and Guillermo. The Karaoke songs were all in English and not very good songs (except for some Beatles and Oasis). Guillermo sang two songs by Oasis ? and Yesterday by the Beatles. It was fun and he had a pretty good voice. Lucía didn´t sing and neither did I...I´m sure you already guessed that...hehe. Anyway, I had a great time with these 4!

I have a few pictures and Natalia has more, but I´m still waiting for her to send them to me.

Lucía and I.....awwww how adorable! (if you see something on her nose its a nose ring)

Guillermo and I outside the café.

Natalia (from Leon), Emily, me and Josefin. Josefin is in my grammar class and she is wonderful. She´s from Sweden and she speaks Swedish, English perfectly, and Spanish almost perfectly. She´s trilingual...and I´m so jealous. :)

Hope you enjoyed! Besitos!