Intercambio

Meet Sofia,


my one-to-one intercambio partner. Basically we each have something that the other wants, so we meet to share our unique talents. Specifically I have the very interesting and exotic ability to speak English, and she Spanish. I was a little surprised that the school would set me up on what are essentially dates with a high school girl, but that might have stemmed from the fact that my name is uncommon, and often mistaken for a woman's. You know, like Drew Barrymore.

She is probably at a much higher level than I am, but we each have our own styles which makes it a little easier for us to speak in Spanish. I'm a babbler. I may not know what I'm talking about, and I am unequivically demonstrating my lack of understanding of Spanish grammar, but I'm talking! Because she has some sense of shame about her improper language usage she comes off as a bit more timid.

We divide our time together into two chunks and chat over a coffee or ice cream cup. (I've finally found a manageable drink, café con leche. Because the espresso is so strong, the diminishing effect of the milk rounds it off to more or less the same strength as American filtered coffee. (On my search for a drink larger than a thimble, tea struck me as a viable alternative. The pot I was served could have fit inside the cup. I should have taken a picture because I'm not ordering that again.)) I learn just as much when we are practicing English. It makes me think about the relationship between the two languages and the difficulty translating some ideas. If I make no regard for her Spanish level I speak in a way that is very hard to understand. If I think in a sort of Spanish/English mix, I can follow the way she translates my speech. Basically, I'm learning to speak a Spanish-structured English. This will be an essential skill for working with English language learners.

Pablo and I watched a movie together last night. I've pretty much been avoiding Spanish media because it is usually a bit over my head, both too fast and too colloquial. We had agreed to watch Transformers, but once I realized it was a pirated copy I knew that meant no subtitles. I insisted that we change the movie because I just wouldn't understand what was going on. We picked Billy Elliot instead, and I was sufficiently able to follow along. Having Pablo to confirm my understanding of the plot was most helpful. Frustratingly, every movie I've watched in Spanish deliberately creates discrepancies between the the audio and subtitles. It seems reasonable to give the voice actors and the typist the same script, but I swear one of them is meticulously using a thesaurus.

I was speaking with Javier last night about Health Care in Spain. He had no idea that health care was not provided by the government in the US. Even as a foreigner he can get coverage here for free. My attempt to explain why some people would prefer less government and more personal responsibility was a failure. To him, it was no different than education. He asked "If I were poor, could my kids not go to school?" I have yet to talk with a Spaniard who doesn't feel the same way (not that I often offer the subject). The differences in socially polite conversation are striking. For the most part, in Nebraska you can expect people to respond favorably to skepticism of government and you might keep your liberal leanings to yourself, whereas here the opposite is true, such a position seems selfish and antisocial, literally inexplicable (at least with my level of Spanish).