Will Google Hurry Up and Make an Audio Translator?

It's been a little over a week here in Madrid and my Spanish comprehension has dropped to absolute zero.  Well, maybe it hasn't dropped so much, but it's definitely not the effortless path to fluency I envisioned.  I used to think of myself as a Spanish whiz kid -- I got good grades without effort and really understood the grammar.  I could hold a fairly decent conversation.  Coming to Spain, I thought, was just the next step in a natural progression, one I'd take to with the same ease and nonchalance as learning how to read and write the language.  But no.  Not even close.  Why the sudden fall from bilingual grace?  I'd be doing those of you reading my blog a huge disservice not to be absolutely up front about it: school can prepare you with the basics, but unless you're consistently conversing in Spanish with native Spanish speakers, you will never be good at conversing in Spanish.  That's just how it is.  Forget the fact that you can conjugate into the pluperfect in your sleep.  Forget that you can do irregulars like nobody's business.  It hasn't helped me.  So make friends with someone from a Spanish-speaking country immediately and don't let them speak English to you. 

That being said, now that work has started I now have tons of opportunities to practice speaking.  Despite the fact that the other interns and I are the only ones in the office from the United States (there are people from Mexico, Venezuela, Tunisia, England, everywhere), everyone speaks English extremely well; yet, as this is Spain and we are here to learn the language, everyone has continued speaking to me in Spanish, which I appreciate.  Contrary to my dramatics in the first paragraph, I am actually beginning to see small improvements and hope that by the end of the summer I might be able to listen fluently.  

I think what's affected me the most so far is the very different dietary schedule they have in Madrid: most have a very, very tiny breakfast (read: a cup of coffee) and don't eat lunch until around 2 or 3 o' clock in the afternoon.  Lunch isn't quite as huge as everyone in the States have been led to believe, usually it's been just a sandwich, and there are no siestas in Madrid.  Allegedly, they still happen in so magical place towards the south of Spain but, here in Madrid, it's all business.  Most people don't eat dinner here until 11 o' clock at night or so, evidenced by the fact that the restaurants don't even really open until 9:30 or so.  At home, I pretty much graze all day, hanging around the kitchen just in case something catches my fancy.  Eating so sparsely has been one of the more challenging parts of being here.  Also, the lack of peanut butter in Spain.  Or maybe I just haven't found any yet.

Don't let the distant gaps in their eating schedule fool you, though: when Spaniards eat, the food they eat is good.  It is worth the wait.  Let me give, as an example, the paella, a classic Spanish meal.  I learned what a delicacy the paella is on Intrax's weekend excursion to Valencia, the national hub of paella expertise.  The concept is simple enough: rice, cooked with some meat or seafood and some vegetables.  It's sheer simplicity leaves you unprepared for how outrageously exquisite it actually is.  It may be one of the most delicious foods I have ever tasted.  Another example of delicious cuisine here would be the ice cream flavor of turron.  In English, I believe the word is "nugette".  I'm tempted to believe it's some kind of nut, but it was incredibly good.  Though I haven't heard of it in the US, I'm hoping it's just a case of selective-awareness and, now that I know it exists, I'll see it everywhere once I'm back home.

On a side note, one of things I found most surprising is the amount of differing words between Spanish-speaking cultures themselves, like the word tortilla.  In Mexico and most of South America (I'd presume, I may be wrong), the word tortilla refers to a wrap that you put around food.  Here, tortilla refers to an omlette which, in Spain, is classically filled with potatos.  Tortilla con patata.  Go figure.  It was still really good.  

Strangely enough, Spain's most coveted possession is right in America.  In fact, it's likely in your kitchen.  In fact, you or someone you know has had it within the last 24 hours.  It's coffee.  I'm pretty sure it's one of those drinks that are just so intertwined with the culture that it'd be impossible to talk about Spain without mentioning.  Coffee in the morning, coffee interspersed throughout the day, coffee after during, everyone here drinks gallons and gallons of coffee.  I still don't, but any time someone asks you, "Quiere tomar cafe?", say yes.  Not only will you be experiencing the Spanish culture firsthand, but you'll have an opportunity to practice speaking Spanish if you find your comprehension reaching absolute zero (liked how I brought that full circle, huh?)