Day trip - Zarautz

A seaside town in the Basque country, west of San Sebastian. Known for its surf and weird art sculptures on the shore.

Ponderings on multi-lingualism

So, I'm in Norway visiting friends and have sent my Spanish books back to Australia.

So close to fluency in Spanish and yet so far...

I spent 4 weeks in language schools and yet I still feel like a child in everyday situations.

Maybe it's a confidence thing but I don't see how I can improve markedly on 3 month tourist stays. Could I cope working in my career even if the office language is English?

So some ideas on my return:

1. Buy lots of Spanish language DVDs (Mexican, Argentinian, Spanish etc) - improve listening skills.
2. Read/listen to the Don Quixote book I bought.
3. Enrol for an ESL teaching course. Perhaps before making the plunge into software in Spain I could work for one of the language schools I studied at and teach English. English teachers in demand and I could learn Spanish subliminally while earning money. Plus, I could conceivably expand my travelling options to other nations - as my brother Charlie experienced in Kiribati. Supposedly the best course to do is CELTA. This is taught at RMIT and La Trobe.

Suggestions?

A few more photos from San Sebastian

Goody two shoes

Appeasing a vain materialistic impulse, I visited a Spanish shoe shop on my last morning in Spain.

I bought some high cut ones which have proved handy for rainy Norway. Unfortunately, norsk folk have the custom of taking their shoes off upon entry to a house, so at times I'm undoing them several times a day.

There is even an an online store. My model was 36226-001

Madrid

After leaving San Sebastián, I spent 2 weeks in Madrid. Again, 2 weeks in a language school.

The school was good with a fun group of people from a variety of countries: USA, England, Finland, Germany, Belgium and Italy. The second week was a little less diverse with a number of Italian girls joining the group.

I hope I've learnt enough Spanish to be of value next time I visit Spain or related countries.

Language schools were a good place to meet people for social activities such as movies, chocolate con churros, tapas etc.

There's a good bookshop near the language school where I bought 4 books to prepare me for studying when i return home. they were heavy, so i sent stuff home!

My experience in Madrid was marred by the accommodation. free wifi but bad company.

The first week was spent with a woman who seemed nice, told me about her daughter the same age and was generally helpful.

After a week I got a call from the language school to move due to the fact I'd been given a "girl's apartment" at the last minute and they had a new person coming. So, packed and moved at 10pm on a Friday. not sure if the woman had complained but I had had enough anyway...

New apartment, similar little old lady. This time no washing machine or kitchen.

Oh, the nagging, in both places! Rules to follow, invasion of privacy, wanting to know where I was going to at 10:30 at night. Didn't deadbolt the front door properly, made too much noise opening the door.

The expectation of being nagged at... If there's a next time I'll think twice about cheap lodgings...