Intercambio

18 Jan 2012

Today, I had my first intercambio--language exchange. I´ve been wanting to do this for some time. However, this fall, I wanted to get accustomed to my schedule and the rhythm of living in Spain.

Before Christmas break, two of the teachers in preschool talked to me about the idea of doing a language exchange. I was ecstatic! Finally, I could speak Spanish (with adults) and learn new words/practice some grammar.

Even though I´m living in Spain, I don´t always get the chance to speak Spanish a lot--or rather, I don´t get to have extended conversations with people in Spanish.

At school, I speak to the children in a mix of English and Spanish--depending on their level. I use English as much as I can, but sometimes it´s necessary to use Spanish. That´s the dilemma for any language teacher.

I speak to the teachers in Spanish, but I spend most of the day with the kids--not with the teachers.

At home, I speak to my roommates in Spanish, but they aren´t native speakers of Spanish.

With my friends, we speak in both English and Spanish--depending on the situation. Sometimes we just need to express ourselves in English. But we try to speak in Spanish most of the time.

So I met up with one of the preschool teachers after school, and we spent two hours talking--one hour in English and one hour in Spanish

I learned:

hacer lío


meterse en follones


These two phrases can be used to describe someone who likes to create conflict. Meterse en follones specifically refers to someone who sees a big crowd of people or mess and likes to get right in the middle of it.