Spanish Immersion
Last night, I got exposed to A LOT of Spanish culture, conversation, body language etc. My cousin, Heather and I went out with some of her friends for a drink last night. Then we went to the beach for another friend's birthday party.
We went down by the sea to an old fishermen's bar to meet with a couple of Heather's close friends. The bar faces a small port that was full of boats. The ocean just went on and on until it met the sky at the horizon. Just outside is a very popular walking/biking trail, so people-watching was quite entertaining. In the summer, all kinds of people are on the island for vacation, not just Spaniards. I tried Tinto de Verano, a traditional drink from the island consisting of wine and a fizzy, sprite-like soda. It's very good but the way.
Even though I couldn't understand most of the conversations, I could sort of follow along with context clues and pick up a word here and there. We had drinks and ate peanuts on the front porch of the bar, and I had fun despite the language barrier.
I noticed that the Spanish have much much smaller space bubble than Americans do. In fact, I don't think personal space is a thing here at all. Everyone hugs you and stands near you like you've been friends for years! The customary greeting is a hug along with a kiss on each cheek, and I did a lot of that last night. I met many people all of whom were exceptionally nice!
The girls we drank with at the bar were sweet and tried to speak English to me here and there. The man who owns the bar was very nice as well. He spoke pretty good english, so when my Spanish vocabulary ran out, we were still able to communicate.
After we left there, Heather and I headed down the coast a bit to the birthday party. They told us they'd have food for us, so at about 9:30pm, we met on the beach and had some dinner! Lucy, the birthday girl was there with her family and some other friends. I met her sisters, her mom, her friends and was greeted with a lot of love. They had a table set up with food, and I got to try several new things! I was brave and tried pickled anchovies, pâté finger sandwiches, and pasta salad with tuna. It was all delicious and I may or may not have eaten about 3 pâté sandwiches. They were fantastic!
We sat around on the beach and ate and drank and talked about life. Everyone was happy that I was in Spain and welcomed me with, literally, open arms. Abuela, Lucy's mother, loved me. She held my hand and told me I needed to find a Spanish man to marry and stay here!
The beach was full of other families enjoying the beautiful night. There were people singing, dancing, swimming. The water was beautiful lit only by the light of the half moon. I sat and watched the waves lap up onto the beach. You could look across the water and see more of the island's coast that was lit up with the lights from the city.
Mallorca has become such a huge tourist destination now that I could watch airplanes fly into the airport one right behind the other. I'd never seen anything like it. They were landing a minute apart. Literally.
Meeting all the wonderful people I did last night was a very warm welcome onto the island. I can't wait until I can actually talk to people!
We went down by the sea to an old fishermen's bar to meet with a couple of Heather's close friends. The bar faces a small port that was full of boats. The ocean just went on and on until it met the sky at the horizon. Just outside is a very popular walking/biking trail, so people-watching was quite entertaining. In the summer, all kinds of people are on the island for vacation, not just Spaniards. I tried Tinto de Verano, a traditional drink from the island consisting of wine and a fizzy, sprite-like soda. It's very good but the way.
Even though I couldn't understand most of the conversations, I could sort of follow along with context clues and pick up a word here and there. We had drinks and ate peanuts on the front porch of the bar, and I had fun despite the language barrier.
I noticed that the Spanish have much much smaller space bubble than Americans do. In fact, I don't think personal space is a thing here at all. Everyone hugs you and stands near you like you've been friends for years! The customary greeting is a hug along with a kiss on each cheek, and I did a lot of that last night. I met many people all of whom were exceptionally nice!
The girls we drank with at the bar were sweet and tried to speak English to me here and there. The man who owns the bar was very nice as well. He spoke pretty good english, so when my Spanish vocabulary ran out, we were still able to communicate.
After we left there, Heather and I headed down the coast a bit to the birthday party. They told us they'd have food for us, so at about 9:30pm, we met on the beach and had some dinner! Lucy, the birthday girl was there with her family and some other friends. I met her sisters, her mom, her friends and was greeted with a lot of love. They had a table set up with food, and I got to try several new things! I was brave and tried pickled anchovies, pâté finger sandwiches, and pasta salad with tuna. It was all delicious and I may or may not have eaten about 3 pâté sandwiches. They were fantastic!
We sat around on the beach and ate and drank and talked about life. Everyone was happy that I was in Spain and welcomed me with, literally, open arms. Abuela, Lucy's mother, loved me. She held my hand and told me I needed to find a Spanish man to marry and stay here!
The beach was full of other families enjoying the beautiful night. There were people singing, dancing, swimming. The water was beautiful lit only by the light of the half moon. I sat and watched the waves lap up onto the beach. You could look across the water and see more of the island's coast that was lit up with the lights from the city.
Mallorca has become such a huge tourist destination now that I could watch airplanes fly into the airport one right behind the other. I'd never seen anything like it. They were landing a minute apart. Literally.
Meeting all the wonderful people I did last night was a very warm welcome onto the island. I can't wait until I can actually talk to people!
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