Why It's Harder To Learn Spanish In Spain

So I have been in Madrid for two weeks now, and I finally feel as if I'm settling in.  Nice to know I am finally comfortable, halfway through my trip.  That being said, one thing I think I have learned in my time here is that, for me at least, practicing Spanish has actually been harder and even less productive than when I am home in the U.S.  "How can that be?" you ask.  Well, let me try to explain.

First of all, I arrived in Spain on a Friday morning and I hit the ground running.  I was excited, terrified, and exhausted all at once.  I had never been to a foreign country, and to be honest, even my experiences in big cities in the U.S. were limited, so to find myself on a subway, chugging away under the streets of Madrid all by myself was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.  I found my way to my host's apartment, unpacked, and hit the streets, hoping every stranger on the street would stop to chat.  Well, that wasn't the case.  In fact, I was nervous to be walking around all alone.  I didn't know anything or anyone and I wasn't even sure I could find my way back to the apartment if I strayed too far.  My first few days here were a blur and once my vision cleared, I realized not only had I not spoken very much Spanish, I hadn't spoken much at all.

After getting myself quite lost one afternoon, I decided I had better head home, regroup, and plan things out a little better.  I realized I had locked myself into a defensive mindset.  I was constantly on edge, worried I would get lost or say or do the wrong thing.  Instinctively, my brain locked me into English.  I wasn't consciously aware of it, but I wasn't allowing myself to think in Spanish.  I think I have said it before, but for me, speaking in Spanish is like flipping a switch in my brain.  Sometimes it is very easy to switch between languages, and other times, it takes quite a bit of effort.  Since I realized the trouble I was having, the switch has been easier to flip, but I am still reverting to English too quickly.

I have two more weeks here and I am hoping I can be more diligent in thinking and then speaking in Spanish.  I know I can do it, but it has to be done consciously.  I know being out of my comfort zone has had an impact on my abilities and I am hopeful when I return to the U.S. I'll be more comfortable using the language.  We'll see. Do you think stress plays a significant role in our language learning?  I think I would have to say yes to that.  Thoughts or comments?

New Friends In New Places

Before I truly dedicated myself to learning Spanish, the program Skype held little appeal to me.  I had grown up in the land of chat rooms and instant messaging way back in the 90's and felt they had run their course.  When I started looking for ways to improve my communication skills, however, I quickly discovered how useful a program like Skype can be.  I can't say exactly how long I have been using the program, but I can say that every one of my Skype friends are native Spanish speakers and none of them live in The United States.  Were it not for Skype or other similar chat based programs, I don't know that I ever would have made the progress I have made in speaking Spanish.

This realization brought about another interesting thought to my mind.  A monolingual person would likely only have friends who speak the same language as them.  That seems logical, right?  Well, being at the very least bilingual opens the doors to make many new friends.  According to Wikipedia, there are roughly 21 countries in the world in which Spanish is the dominant language.  Thanks to Skype, and thanks to my efforts in speaking Spanish, I can potentially make friends in 21 countries in which that wouldn't have been possible were I to only speak English.  That's literally MILLIONS of potential friends I would never have had the chance to make were I monolingual.

OK, maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact is, speaking multiple languages allows you to meet so many new and interesting people.  While I once dabbled in learning additional languages (Italian, French, and Portuguese) I backed off after a few months of studying and made my focus Spanish only, at least until I felt totally comfortable speaking in Spanish without having to fall back on English.  I'm not quite there, but the thought has once again popped into my brain, and I can only imagine how my friend list would explode were I to start chatting in Italian, French, and Portuguese.  I find it incredible how easy it is to meet new people simply by saying I am an English speaker who is learning Spanish.  So many people are eager to talk with me, I honestly can't always respond to them all at once.

My upcoming trip to Spain has inspired me to start thinking about other potential adventures and I started thinking about how great it would be not only to visit each of those 21 different Spanish speaking countries, but to have a Skype friend in each one to potentially meet in person.  Sure, 21 countries is a lot of travelling, but to meet at least 21 new friends all over the world would be quite a feat.  Right now, I just need to focus on meeting my friends in Spain.

So how has language learning changed your friendship status?  Have you found people near and far to help you practice?  Does having friends help keep you on pace with your learning?  I like to offer challenges to some of my Spanish speaking friends, such as to write 50 words or more in English for me to read next time we chat.  Do you think language competitions will help you buckle down and study a little harder?  Let me know your thoughts and experiences!