Real Spanish Experience

3 April 2013 - 11.30 pm (Salamanca)

 

I have just returned home from my first “real” Spanish experience.

My host family, Carmen and Jose Ramon, took me out for dinner to their local bar. 5 plates of tapas, 3 sangrias & 1 glass red wine later, I am feeling very sleepy and definitely not hungry. We also watched a fútbol (soccer) match between Real Madrid and a Turkish team. Real Madrid won 3 – 0 in what was quite an exciting match (even for a non fútbol follower like me). The food was excellent, the bar was noisy but the vibe was relaxed and homey. The Spanish are very passionate about their soccer but seem quite relaxed compared to reports of violence from other country's fans.

We later shared our table with a young Frenchman who spoke excellent Spanish. I had opportunity to talk to him in Spanish for approx. half an hour. We seemed to communicate okay for most of our conversation. The area we went to is locally called “Van Dyk” and has many, many tapas bars etc. It’s generally unknown for tourists but very well patronised by the locals. It’s also much cheaper than the “tourist” eateries in the historical section and only 5 mins walk from where Carmen and Jose Ramon live.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening although I am sure I will be useless in class tomorrow. At least tomorrow when the teacher asks me what I did yesterday, I’ll be able to tell her something different than my usual response (went for a walk, studied, practiced Spanish with my host family, watched the news).