Life in Spain

I’m often asked what it’s like to live in Spain.

Well, it’s certainly been a cultural - and language - adjustment, no doubt about it.

Culturally, the people are steeped in what has often been a violent history. It’s currently a very Catholic environment here in Mallorca (the largest of the Balearic Islands). It makes for very interesting holidays (fiestas), and it seems that there’s a celebration every month in the name of one Saint or another. It’s hard to keep track, there are so many. My husband tells me that Mallorca workers enjoy 21 paid fiesta holidays per year + their basic 2-wk holiday. Nice, eh?

The language adjustment is ongoing. There is a large English-speaking population living on the Island, so there is little opportunity to learn and practice Spanish (unless one makes a concentrated effort with private lessons).

Like immigrant populations anywhere, we seem to gravitate towards one another, and stick together… which is not at all conducive to living a full and productive life in a society that speaks a different language.

It’s especially trying when you encounter problems with your telephone/internet connection, because the company that holds the monopoly on the telecommunications infrastructure here in Spain, Telefonica, is typically uncooperative to English-speaking customers.

I’m actually not too bad at communicating in Spanish, until it comes time to talk to someone on the phone. That’s a whole new challenge, because Spanish people tend to speak very fast (although I've had Spanish/English-speaking people tell me that I speak fast in English). I guess it was all those years on radio, when I had to fit a news story into a 30 or 60-second blip.

So, the latest language challenge for me, while living here in Mallorca, was to set an appointment for a technician to come attend to our phone and internet connection problems. I’m not sure if I got the time right, so I'll just hang around all day to see if someone shows up. Heh, heh, heh.

Til next time,
Tanya
www.ActiveEmotion.com