From the U.S to Valencia: A Q&A with one of our Spanish students!
Today we sat down with one of our long term Spanish students, Jim, to give you a bit of an insight into one of our most popular courses at EUROACE – our 20 hour intensive course.
Our Q&A with Jim not only talks about his motivation behind starting a course at our school, but he also tells us how life in Valencia has treated him so far, including the positives and the challenges he has faced.
Before we start, please tell us a bit about yourself and how long you´ve been in Valencia!
Hi, I´m Jim and I moved to Valencia from Denver (which is in the U.S) 6 months ago to study Spanish. I actually fell in love with Valencia 2 years ago when I visited here just for a holiday, so when my job was terminated I decided that I´d like to move back and start studying Spanish here.
I didn´t realise you´d already visited Valencia! My next question was actually about how you ended up moving to Valenica. A lot of the time, our students get information from our website or they complete the Spanish tests on our website to see what course they´re eligable for. Did you know anything about EUROACE before starting your course with us?
No, not really. I researched a lot about different Spanish courses and I looked at a lot of schools. EUROACE had a lot of good recommendations and references. There were actually two schools that stood out to me but the other one was a lot more expensive! After taking into account the great recommendations and affordabiliy, I decided that EUROACE was the one for me. It´s also located right in the centre of the city so it did really work out great for me.
I´m so glad to hear that Jim. You´re doing an intensive, 20 hour Spanish course so I wanted to ask you why you chose that course? We have a lot of students that do the same but we also have students that prefer to do fewer hours. What was the main reason for your decision?
Well, it´s actually quite embarassing to say but I´ve been trying to learn Spanish my whole entire life! I took 2 years in high school and then I did some travelling to Mexico and Guatemala but I never used it consistently. Occassionally I would take a class or two but I never used it that much until I started studying on Duolingo 2 years ago. I used the app every day and I still do – I actually have a 1,300 day streak on Duolingo now!
I also needed a visa to cone to Spain and you actually need to complete a 20 hour course to obtain a student visa. That worked for me because I wanted to learn as much as possible in a year so the intensive course was definitely something I was looking for.
So you really pushed yourself into the deep end! I have to say that you seem very motivated so I am sure you´ll do just fine!
Well, sometimes I do feel like I´m drowning. I suppose thats how it feels to try and learn any language or at least anything that is worth putting a lot of effort into.
I completely agree. Everything that is worth a lot always takes a lot of time and effort. Moving onto Spain and its culture, I’d like to talk a bit about Valencia. Would you say that its been easy to intergrate into Spanish culture and make friendships and relationships with people?
I would actually say that this part has been a bit more difficult for me. What I will say and one things that I love about Spain and Spanish people in general is the close relationships they form with their friends and their families. They make strong and deep connections which deifnitely do and should last a lifetime. A good example of this is the Fallas communities in Valencia and just in general the local communities that Spanish people join when they are young and grow up in.
The other side of that is that you have big groups of expats and foreigners coming to Spain either for holidays or for shorter programs and eventually they leave. I guess it comes down to the fact that if you want to invest your time into deep and meaningful friendships then you want the people to actually be in the same place as you and be there for you. Although Spaniards are very polite and welcoming, and they can never do enough for you, I have found it a bit more difficult to connect with them on a deeper level.
I suppose it will always be hard to try and create new relationships in any new country, but the fact you mentioned that Spaniards are very accommodating and polite is definitely a good sign for people thinking of making the move. What would you say has been the most enjoyable part of your experience so far?
Well I have to say that with the school and my course, all of the teachers are fun, super supportive and encouraging, patient and always well prepared. They always come to the class ready to teach. If I come to class and I´m having a bad day, they always reassure me and let me know that practice makes perfect. I mean there are days when I´m in class and I feel like I´m the only one who doesn´t understand something and they are still so supportive and are ready to answer all of my questions or doubts. I really appreciate that they genuinely care about my learning and understanding, rather than just delivering the information and getting on with their next class.
It´s so great that you have a good relationship with all the teachers at the school and I´m so happy you´ve enjoyed the course so far! If I´m not mistaken, Sandra is your teacher now, so what would you say is the best thing about her and how she teaches?
Well, apart from being understanding and patient, one of the things I appreciate about Sandra is that she is Valencian. I mean I appreciate all of teachers as they can all give a different perspective. For example, a teacher from Galicia has a different perspective and can teach you all about Northern Spain but not Valencian culture, and a teacher from Argentina who is a fun and an amazing teacher can teach you all about South America and the different accents and sounds but again, its not Valencia. With Sandra, I can ask her questions and facts about Valencians, as well as Valencian culture and traditions and she knows it all. I really have learnt a lot since being in her class.
You´ll know everything about Valencia before long! It is great that you´re learning new things each day and that you have a teacher who is a local here! Do you think that the teaching methods at the school are balanced? What would you say is the most difficult thing about learning Spanish?
I think its a good balance but one of my biggest challenges (and I think this is true for a lot of people) is listening to and understanding audio or people speaking in Spanish. I know that in the U.S we talk very quickly and its the same in the UK, but people in Spain also talk very fast and they could repeat the sentence a thousand times and I still don´t understand what they´re saying. People do say that this will slowly improve and that it just takes practice so I´m hoping that it´ll start happening soon.
I think so too! The fact that you´re here in a Spanish speaking city and have the chance to listen to people talking on the streets and interact with them already gives you a head start. Changing the topic a bit, what would you say is the biggest difference between Spanish and American culture?
Well this is actually an easy one for me. In the US, people live to work and here they simply work to live. Work is a means to a better life but it isn´t your whole life. For example, in the US, if you meet someone at a cocktail bar, the first thing they´ll ask you is » What do you do?». You are defined by what you do! In Spain, no one cares. They want to know who you really are, about your life ambitions, your dreams and they don´t put people into categories because they like people for who they really are and not for how much they earn.
That is a really lovely way to explain it. I think it shows as everyone here is always laughing and joking and they really do love to enjoy life.
Now for our final question. If you could choose 3 words to describe your experience here in Valencia so far, what would they be?
Only 3 words to describe my overall experience so far? Well, if I had to choose 3 then I would say.. magic, discovery and comfortable. I think that best describes my experience.
Well I think that is everything for now! Thank you so much for sitting down to talk with me Jim and for answering in detail and with so much information.
I wish you all the best with the rest of your course and I hope you continue enjoying your experience here in Valencia!
If you´re interested in taking a Spanish course with EUROACE or want to know more information about any of our services, please click here to find out all about the types of courses we offer. You can also follow this link to find out more about our internships and accommodation services.