After class today I spent my afternoon talking with my advisors. I've come to realize that I am very frustrated with how I have spent the last two weeks here and I'm on a mission to improve and accomplish my goals.
As I've said time and time before, I do not speak in Spanish nearly enough. It's frustrating because that is the whole point of me being here. In my classes I speak in Spanish and with my family I speak in Spanish, but whenever I am with my friends we always talk in English. For me this is very frustrating - I am willing to speak in Spanish to them, however no one else wants to. According to my advisors, all we need is 4 or 5 people to commit to speaking Spanish all the time and we will be good, however that is like pulling teeth.
In an effort to improve my Spanish and become more involved, I requested another intercambio. Her name is Beatris and I think I will be meeting her on Wednesday. I'm not sure what we will be doing, but it'll be nice to meet someone that actually lives here. I'm really hoping it goes well because I would like to spend more time with Spaniards than with USACers...sorry guys. No offense but I need to speak Spanish!!
I've also requested to be placed in a volunteer opportunity. I'm not sure where it will be yet - I really wanted to do something medical related, however my Spanish isn't good enough for that yet - I'm hoping in the spring...But for now, maybe a school or something else. Who knows - I just need to be forced to speak more.
Finally (and let me say in advance - this is very important to me and it is a part of my life that I will not compromise on), I'm basically trying to live in 2 different worlds. My current life here in Madrid, and my life that I have in the US. Every day I talk to my family and my boyfriend because it is important for me to stay connected with them and keep strong relationships. This is what I have to do for me - I can throw English out the window with everyone else if I have to, however with my family and Keith I have to talk to them.
I feel like I'm realizing more about myself and like I know what changes I have to make to accomplish my goals. I just hope I can get other USACers to do the same. While I don't mind doing my own thing, it's also nice to have friends in my classes and to go traveling with.
Again...I wish I could have done this in high school. When I have a house, I will host exchange students. My children will be exchange students (sorry kids, you have no option...)
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