Spain
Au Pair Experience
From June to August 2016, I traveled to Madrid, Spain, to be an au pair (similar to a nanny who speaks a foreign language with the children) and live with a Spanish family. The family wanted me to practice English with their two teenage daughters and teach them about the American culture, while I learned about Spain and practiced my Spanish with the parents and others in the area.
A takeaway from this experience is learning about cultures--not just that Spanish culture varies across the country--but I also learned about my own culture. Before traveling abroad, I hadn't given much thought about my own culture or even considered that I have a very unique one. But when I would share with the girls about life in the states, I found myself painting a picture of the experiences and values I hold dear.
Over the course of the two months in Spain, I had the opportunity to travel to a few provinces in the country. I had expected that Spain would be quite the same all around! But, honestly, each province in Spain has its distinctions.: geographically, historically, and especially lingjuistically! I traveled to Barcelona, and thought I had arrived in a different country! Spanish is not the official language there--it is Catalan. In other provinces around the country, languages like Basque and Gallego are spoken. And the accents vary across the country, too, even though it is rather small.
While in Spain, I had many opportunities to practice my second language; I have to admit, sometimes I felt completely overwhelmed listening and speaking Spanish for hours at a time. Although I felt uncomfortable with my inadequate language abilities, I became comfortable with the progress I was making with each new conversation I had. I can connect to my future Spanish and English-language learners because I understand how difficult it is not only to learn a new language but to be ambitious in using it outside of the classroom. Learning a second language is an accomplishment!
Using my second language in context connected me to Spain and made me more comfortable travelling and experiencing the country.