Los Años Españoles
In the summer of 1985 I had the opportunity to work on a summer school in the city of Avila in central Spain. It was an amazing summer! I worked hard. I partied harder. And I fell in love with a country that a few months later became a life in Spain – an 11 year extraordinary adventure.
I lived in three different areas: a year in Avila in central Spain, six years in Jaén in the south of Spain, and four years in Alicante on the Mediterranean coast. I also got to visit many parts of what is a vast and diverse country.
I left Spain in 1996. I came back to the UK with amazing memories. I had qualified as a teacher of English with Trinity College, London. I could speak Spanish fluently. Additionally, not only could I speak the language, I could read literature, and, remarkably, I could follow what was being said on the radio. When I first moved to Spain I shared a flat with two students. One of the them would listen to football on the radio. So fast do they talk that I could only understand what was being said if someone scored a goal! To go from that to being able to follow everything word for word was an achievement.
Above all else I returned with a passion for language and for personal development. I had risen to the challenge of learning a new language and mastering he intricacies of English. Understanding and speaking two languages gave me insights into the strengths and limitations of both. Without realising it, I had learned to trust my unconscious mind when learning and communicating.
I also frequently remind myself of the importance of kindness. It was through the kindness of those around me, those who gave me time and space when I struggled with the language, those who brought me into their families and friendship groups, those who guided me as I navigated the social differences and the language, that made those eleven years so amazingly special.