“A Different Language is a Different Vision of Life”

“A Different Language is a Different Vision of Life” (quote by Federico Fellini)

By Mariam Taha

It is hard to believe there is only one week left of our trip in Spain. Looking back, I feel like I have improved greatly upon my Spanish, specifically when it comes to speaking. I arrived knowing that the biggest thing I wanted to work on and improve was my speaking and pronunciation. I have now experienced, and I confirm, that studying abroad is the best way to learn a language. Here in Spain, we are completely immersed in the language, while we are at home with our host families, at school, site-seeing, or on the streets speaking with locals.

People from other parts of the world or even other parts of Spain have claimed that it can be difficult to understand when people from Southern Spain speak Spanish, but I have not encountered any difficulties. I can definitely hear and recognize the Cádiz accent, but I have no problem understanding people when they speak. The only thing I need to work on is understanding native Spanish speakers when they begin to speak very fast, no matter where they are from.

Our classes here are very discussion and conversation-based, which makes sense considering listening and speaking are two of the biggest aspects of a language. The classroom setting is a great place to practice because there are students of all different levels and we can help each other without feeling awkward or uncomfortable (as some may feel while speaking in public with a local). It is also nice to have the professor there to help us and correct us when necessary. We get to practice speaking about so many different topics, therefore practicing using new vocabulary and grammar all the time.

I feel like I got the most practice speaking Spanish at our meals with my host mom, Pacquita. We would eat lunch or dinner and end up just sitting there and talking for a long time. I would talk about my classes and various experiences in Cádiz, and she would talk about her past and her life as it is now. She is a very interesting, kind, sweet person and I am so lucky to have had her as my host mother in Spain. We can understand each other very well when we speak and she also makes sure I understand what she is saying and will explain it using other words if needed.

I am so glad I have had this experience because now I feel much more confident in my second language. I truly love the language and I think learning a new language is so much fun. This is happening at such a great time too because I am about to get started in the health field, where knowing Spanish will certainly be useful. I unquestionably recommend studying abroad in a foreign country to anyone wishing to learn a new language, or improve upon one they have already studied.

Our Spanish class with our professor

Our Spanish class with our professor

Some classmates at the top of the Torre Tavira

Some classmates at the top of the Torre Tavira

It Is All in the “Flip”

Todo es en el “Flip”

It is all in the “flip”

By Caterina Francisco

Cuando vistes un lugar nuevo, algo muy divertido para hacer es tratar unos platos principales. Está noche fuimos a un restaurante que se llama Transvaal, donde miramos una demonstración en cómo preparar el salmorejo y las tortillas de patatas. Mi anfitriona ya me ha hecho el gazpacho, que es similar con los ingredients usados para el salmorejo. El salmorejo es una sopa de puree que consiste de pan, tomate, aceite, vinagre y sal. Está servido frío con jamón y huevo por encima de la sopa. Estuve un poca nerviosa de probarlo con los huevos y el jamón encima porque esta tradicionalmente servido así, pero si no te gusta, puede ser opcional. Para hacerlo, primero necesites una batidora, o como todos los españoles usan, sus “thermomixes”. El thermomix es un robot de la cocina, que puede cortar, mezclar y batir todos los ingredientes al mismo tiempo. Después, ponga todos los ingredientes, además del aceite, dentro de la maquina y mezclar hasta que llegues a la consistencia que quieres. Mientras que está mezclando, añada el aceite hasta que la liquidación empieza a ocurrir. Como nuestro instructor nos ensenó, todo es de ojo. No hay una receta concreta que el instructor usó para mostrarnos y esto es lo que pienso es divertido de la comida española. Hay muchas diferentes tipos y maneras en como puedes preparar la comida. Lo que es importante es de escoger la manera que a tí te gusta.

When visiting a new country, something very fun to do is try the main dishes of that region. Tonight we went to a restaurant called Transvaal, where we watched a demonstration on how to make el salmorejo and a potato tortilla. My host mom has already made me gazpacho, which is similar in some ingredients used to the salmorejo. Salmorejo is a pureed soup, which consists of bread, tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar and salt. It is traditional served cold and topped with hard-boiled egg and ham. I was a little nervous at first to try it with the egg and ham on top, because it is traditionally served like this, but if you do not like it, it can be optional. In order to make it, first you are going to need a blender or, just like the Spanish, use a thermomix. The thermomix is a “robot of the kitchen”, that can literally chop, mix and blend all of the ingredients at the same time. After getting all of your ingredients, put them all in the blender, besides the olive oil, and begin to mix them all together until you start to get the consistency you would like. While it is mixing is when you add the olive oil until it starts to get into a nice liquidized form. Like our instructor informed us, everything is by eye. He did not use an actual recipe to make the salmorejo, and this is what I think makes Spanish food so much fun. There are many different types and ways in which to prepare food. What is most important is to choose the way you like best!

Después de preparar el salmorejo, nuestro instructor preparó una tortilla de patata. He aprobado muchas tortillas desde que llegué y es posiblemente mi comida más favorita de España. La tortilla es muy fácil para hacer y solamente necesita cinco minutos para cocinar. Lo que es más importante es el “flip”. He escuchado mi anfitriona me lo explicar “el flip” muchas veces. Básicamente es cuando la tortilla está cocida, tengas que hacer un volteo con un plato encima del sartén para que la tortilla queda en su forma. Hay una expresión que el cocinero nos dijo cuál fue: “No se puede hacer la tortilla sin romper los huevos” y esto significa el esfuerzo que necesita para lograr una meta o un sueño. La cocina en un país extranjera es divertida porque puede reflejar lo que has aprendido como una persona individualmente, y de la nueva cultura y gente. ¡Buen provecho!

After getting the salmorejo ready, our instructor showed us how to prepare a potato tortilla. I have tried many tortillas since I arrived, and I have to say this is probably my most favorite kind of Spanish food! The tortilla is very easy to make and only needs about five minutes to cook. What is most important when making the tortilla is the “flip”. I have heard my host mom explain this many times. Basically when the egg is cooked, you need to make a flip by putting a plate on top of the frying pan in order for the tortilla to keep its form. There is an old Spanish expression that our instructor told us which was: “You can not make the tortilla if you do not break the eggs” and this represents the effort that you need in order to achieve a goal or dream. Cooking in a foreign country is fun because it reflects what you have learned as an individual person, and of the new people and culture. Bon appetite!

Preparation is key

Preparation is key

Eagerly waiting to try everything :-)

Eagerly waiting to try everything 🙂

It's all in the flip

It’s all in the flip

The finished product: a perfect, round tortilla

The finished product: a perfect, round tortilla

Exploring the Southern Coast

¡Hola! Soy Caterina Francisco, escribiendo del cuento de Mariam!

Hello! I am Caterina Francisco, writing from Mariam’s account!

Alrededor de la costa del sur de España, hay tres ciudades más importantes que empezaron la historia de España. Hoy visitamos las tres ciudades, cuales son Vejer de la Frontera, Bolonia y Tarifa. Vejer de la Frontera es una ciudad muy conocida por su color blanco en casi todas de los edificios y casas. Mi primera impresión fue que esta ciudad es muy tranquila porque cuando llegamos había casi nadie en las calles.

The history of Spain is said to have been started by the settlement within three main cities, which line the southern coast of Spain. Today we visited those three cities which are Vejer de la Frontera, Bolonia and Tarifa. Vejer de la Frontera is a city very well known for the white painted style of buildings and homes. My first impression of this city is that it is very quiet, because when we arrived there was hardly anyone outside in the streets.

Tuve que presentar para mi grupo sobre un poco de información sobre las ciudades: Vejer, Bolonia and Tarifa- la ciudad más al sur del país. Vejer de la Frontera está ubicada a la derecha del rio Bárbate, en una colina y es conocida por su pueblo que es casi totalmente blanco. Salimos está mañana a las ocho y media por autobús para ir a Vejer. Cuando llegamos en Vejer, saludamos a nuestra guía. Ella fue muy simpática y sabía mucha información sobre la ciudad y lo que ha ocurrido allí. Caminamos mucho tiempo adentro de la ciudad por las calles principales. Saque muchas fotos de las vistas y de las casas blancas. Fue maravillosa de ver como la gente de esta ciudad son muy amables y si necesite ayuda, ellos se asisten inmediatamente. Lo que fue especial para ver fue las calles y los edificios. Las calles son tan estrechas y algunos tuvieron que ser reconstruidas después del terremoto que ocurrió en Portugal en 1755. Es muy interesante para mi cuando puedo aprender y conectar algo que ya sabía de mis origines o de mis estudios portugueses a algo que ocurrió en el mundo hispano.

While visiting these cities for the day, I presented to my group some interesting information on Vejer, Bolonia and Tarfia, the southern most city in Spain. Vejer is located on the right of the Barbate River, on a hill and is known for its town dressed in white. We left this morning from Cádiz at 8:30 in the morning by bus in order to go to Vejer. Taking the bus was a great way to really see some of the countryside of Andalucía. When we arrived in Vejer, we greeted our tour guide. She was very nice and knew so much about the city and what has happened there. We walked a while inside the city through some of the main streets. I took many photos of the views and of the white houses. It was marvelous to see how nice the people were, and if you need help, they can assist right away. The buildings and streets were very interesting to see. They were narrow and some of the buildings had to be reconstructed after the after-effects of the earthquake that hit Portugal in 1755. It is very interesting to me when I can learn and connect something to my heritage or my Portuguese studies to the Hispanic world.

Después de visitar Vejer, fuimos a la ciudad Bolonia y visitamos Baelo Claudia, las ruinas romanas. Visitamos el museo que mayormente fue afuera de un edificio. Baleo Claudia fue abandonada en el siglo VI, donde tenía mucho terremotos. Me gustó mucho de ver las ruinas y pienso que es muy importante para una persona como yo de entender una civilización antigua para entender como llegamos a nuestro tiempo de hoy. Después de ver las ruinas, fuimos a la ciudad de Tarifa. Había mucho calor hoy, pero todavía podíamos disfrutar la playa y las tiendas. Después de caminar por la ciudad un poco, fuimos a mojar nuestros pies en el agua. El agua del mar mediterráneo fue tan frio que solamente podía poner mis pies. La vista de África en la distancia fue increíble. Nunca he imaginado que alguna día yo visitaría un lugar como Tarifa y definitivamente quiero volver algún día. Me siento muy tranquila aquí en Tarifa, es como el mar da el mejor equilibrio con el calor de la ciudad.

After visiting Vejer, we went to the city of Bolonia, where we visited Baelo Claudia, the Roman ruins. We visited the museum that is actually entirely outside. Baelo Claudia was abandoned in the 6th Century, after a serious of earthquakes occurred. I liked seeing the ruins a lot and I think it is very important to understand ancient civilizations in order to understand how we arrived to where we are today. After seeing the ruins, we went to the city of Tarifa. It was so hot today, but we could still enjoy the beach and the stores. After walking through the city for a little while, we went to wet our feet in the water. The water was so cold in the Mediterranean Sea that I could barely stand to put my feet in! The view of Africa in the distance was incredible. I would have never imagined that one day I would visit a place like Tarifa and I definitely want to come back. I feel very peaceful in Tarifa, it is like the ocean gives a great balance to the heat from the city.

 

The iconic pueblo blanco (white town) copied by many other cities

The iconic pueblo blanco (white town) copied by many other cities

The many archways throughout the city of Vejer

The many archways throughout the city of Vejer

Ancient town market of what once was Baelo Claudia

Ancient town market of what once was Baelo Claudia

The water was freezing! But at least is came with a great view of Africa!

The water was freezing! But at least is came with a great view of Africa!

El Mercado (The Market)

By Mariam Taha

To get the most out of our study abroad experience, it is important to immerse ourselves in the everyday lives and culture of the community. An example of this is following the routine of the locals. One way we did this was on Saturday morning, we went to the market. Going to the market is a very popular thing for people to do, usually on Saturdays. This way they get their fresh food for the rest of the week. This was made very clear to us because of how crowded it was. Some people even go every day to the market so they can plan their meals around whichever food seems the freshest that day. The market has fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and more. The market is neatly organized so that all the fish is one place, fruit in one place, and so on.

I personally love fresh fruit so I was elated when we got to try a few fruits native to this area. We got to try a cactus fruit known as “prickly pear.” It was sweet and tasted a little like kiwi to me. We also got to try “la pera de San Juan,” which is a small, juicy pear that is only in season for a very short time here. Since its time is limited, it is very popular right now and also slightly on the more expensive side. I absolutely loved it and I am lucky that my host family serves them with almost every meal.

This is a distinct part of the Spanish culture which is very different from the United States. In some towns in the United States, there may be farmers markets once a week or sometimes only once a month. For the majority of people, they get their produce from the supermarket. At the supermarkets in America, produce is not always the freshest and can sometimes be pricey if it was shipped from another area because the local climate is not adequate for growing that food. Here in Spain, it differs because most people get the majority of their food from the local market, and whatever they cannot find there, they will get from the supermarket. The food does not have to travel long since it is all locally grown, fished, etc. Therefore, the food is very fresh and the quality is much better, compared to that of the United States.

I feel that going to the market was a great experience because we got to see something that is so prominent in the everyday lives of people here.

Market Sign

Market Sign

Mucha Gente (Many people!)

Various Market Fronts

Fresh Fruits & Veggies

Market