Nerd: Empollón

Confession: I am a nerd. My desire to improve in Spanish and meet Spaniards has led me to organizing intercambios almost everyday. Through the University of Salamanca website, I have had the opportunity to meet so many people who want to learn English and help me improve my Spanish.

Here is how a typical intercambio works:  I receive an email, usually in Spanish, but sometimes English, from somebody who found my name on the USAL website.  If they don't sound too creepy, I reply (I've received a couple emails from people who just seem weird, so I don't reply). But I generally respond because hey, if it's horrible, I could just walk up and leave!  Over the course of a few emails, we set up a time to meet later in the week and agree on a meeting place.  The standard is to meet in the Plaza Mayor, under the clock.  I always tell people to look for me in my dark blue jacket with big gold buttons.

Usually, I have no idea who to expect, unless they have told me a little bit about who they are/what they look like. So standing under the clock, waiting, is a bit nerve-wracking.  As I wait, I look around, kind of making eye contact with people waiting around, wondering who will come up to me and greet me.  When we meet, it's two kisses on the cheek, a general "como estas," and then we head off to a cafe to drink coffees or get wine and tapas.  Ideally, we will converse half the time only in English, the other half only in Spanish, so that we can each hear the other language being spoken.

And then the nerdiness can get a bit out of control.  After we sit, I'll pull out of my purse my beloved green and blue Spanish-English dictionary, along with my the small notebook I carry around to write down new words and phrases.  So if there was any doubt in my intercambio's partner mind about my intentions, it becomes pretty clear that I mean business! But if we end up being friends, that's cool too.

Some intercambio's are GREAT: I met a guy who took me on a bike ride all over Salamanca and showed me a bunch of new parks; a couple who are moving to Ohio in May (and therefore want to learn English) showed me a funky place to get tapa's by the plaza; yesterday a guy showed me a cafe where I can buy bagels (!!!!!) in Salamanca (an unknown food here!). But then there's the person who never corrects my Spanish, the guy who asks for my phone number (I hate giving it out to strangers), or the person who doesn't understand that I want to hear them speak Spanish (they'll only speak in English) and insists that I only speak in Spanish (they'll never learn English).  Oh well; ya win some, ya lose some.

After each intercambio, I write a little summary about what we did, where we went, and what the person was like. Because when I have 6 different language exchanges a week, it's hard to remember who each person was!  

I have realized that afterwards, when I speak in English, or write in English, I am much more aware of my word choice.  For example: when conversing with Jose Antionio, in Spanish, about my opinions on America's involvement in Iraq, my vocabulary was limited, and I had to pause to consider how to construct my argument and structure my sentence so that my point was logical.  It was so frustrating, because he insisted that I only spean in Spanish!  In English, I could have articulated my thoughts so much more smoothly, but instead, I probably sounded like a second grader...but I guess that's the point! That's how I'll learn.

In conclusion: I have so much more appreciation for the beauty of the English language and the variety of words I can use!