Si.

To truly get the Spanish people and their culture and become a little patata brava yourself there is only one way: aprender español.

While Kelvin is training like a little ‘loquito’, I have been going to Spanish class daily for the last 4 weeks. I loved every single minute of it. For the simple reason that I love Spanish people and their language. And ok, maybe also a tiny bit because I am a sucker for studying and little tests and new notebooks with new fresh markers, and learning, and, and, back to the topic. The Spanish. Not speaking Spanish makes you miss out. A lot. In case you haven’t been to Spain or just simply missed it; The Spanish love to talk. All day, everyday. Everywhere. To just about anyone. So when you can answer in Spanish a new gateway will open. It doesn’t matter if your answer was a simple ‘si’ or a full correct Spanish sentence. For the Spanish this is like the traffic light goes to green. Bienvenido a España.

Even though slightly intimidating, because they tend to talk kind of fast, hang in there. Sometimes you will get the big picture and if not ‘smile and wave’. The Spanish will always ‘smile and wave’ right back at you. But if you actually start getting it, you will love the Spanish and their culture even more. They will tell you everything. Where you should go, what you should eat and drink. Everything. Next time you will order a ‘mini’ instead of a huge ‘bocadillo’ (a mini sandwich. If they have it. If not, you will receive a normal sandwich for the price of a mini. Makes sense…). Get a ‘vermut’ (a little drink with a tapa, originally to awaken your hunger) before you go and have dinner. You won’t be weirded out when they call you ‘reina’ (Queen. Ment in a sweet way. Not a psycho way). You will know to translate every English name (Prince Charles of England is Carlos here. U2 is U dos. Again, makes sense…). You will also know that ‘tio’ is not always your uncle and can be street language for ‘dude’.

Go with the flow and always ‘tranquilo’, don’t sweat it. If you stutter while you try to explain in Spanish and turn red, don’t worry. The Spanish will always be patient and love you for trying. And for a big, fat gracias in return they will bombard you with Spanish. Lots of Spanish.

Looking for a nice place to learn Spanish in Girona? Click here.