Bill & I have been in Sevilla one month now. We've walked many, many miles and met many, many people. We've attended classes for 4 weeks learning Spanish.
The school that we attend has classes year-round on an on-going basis. That means that new people arrive every week. Those folks take a test to determine which level they will be in... there are levels... Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. And each of those levels have 2 levels... so, a "I know nothing" would probably go into Basic I.... knowing something about the language and the language usage would probably get you into Basic II. More advanced would be Intermediate I and II, and of course, the prolific speakers would go into Advanced I and II.
The Bed and Breakfast where we live houses many students who are attending the various language school in Sevilla. So not only do we meet folks from other countries at Enforex, the school Bill & I attend, but we meet both students attending other schools as well as everyday tourists and vacationers.
The students at our school can attend classes for as little as one week, or as long as they need or can afford to go. We met one girl from Iceland who is in her 10th month in classes. Needless to say, she is in the more advanced class.
Four weeks ago our little class started with 6 ... one person left immediately to another class, and a second left after one week. A few others have come and gone, but 4 of us have been together for all four weeks. Yesterday was the last day for Ingeborg, our classmate from the Netherlands.
Here she is, receiving her certificate of completion from Rocio, our instructor.
It was hard saying goodbye to Ingeborg... she was not only a classmate, but I feel she became a friend.
Bill, giving her a congratulatory hug... and best wishes from both of us.
We had known Ian for only 2 weeks....
He's from England... took 2 weeks of classes.
He lived in the same B&B so we had lots of opportunity at mealtime to learn more about his life.
Ian's wife and daughter came to visit one weekend and we got to meet them.
Ian also left today... we wish him happy travels!
Patricia is also from England...
That's Carlo, our wonderful host family at the B&B, who is giving Patricia a goodbye hug as she's waiting for her taxi.
Patricia also spent 2 weeks at Enforex. Her Spanish is quite good so she was in a higher level.
She's heading to southern Spain for a week to visit her daughter.
Her daughter is expecting a baby girl in a couple of months, so I'm sure she'll be back to Spain often.
Another delightful housemate...
Lauren and Bill
Her daughter is expecting a baby girl in a couple of months, so I'm sure she'll be back to Spain often.
Another delightful housemate...
Lauren is from Pittsburgh, PA. She has completed her under and post graduate work in San Francisco and has applied to several medical schools in the USA. She has traveled extensively not only in the US, but also throughout the world.
Her mother is Chinese and her father is Irish... her maternal grandparents live in El Paso, TX. Talk about an interesting heritage!
Lauren has been living in a small village in northern Spain for a few weeks and is meeting her brother (who works for Google in California) in Casa Blanca tomorrow.
We meet so many interesting people when traveling... no matter whether we're in the USA or abroad...
Young or old.. makes no difference... it is such a delight to learn about their lives, their cultures and their plans.
Sometimes, though... it's hard to say goodbye.
That's All For Today!
Lovely post. We all have so much more in common that we realize.
ReplyDeleteLoved today's post. You are never really alone - there's willing friends everywhere :-)
ReplyDeleteThey look like a nice bunch of folks! Saying good-bye would for sure be hard.
ReplyDeleteSaying good bye can be sad, but be glad that you got to meet such great friends.
ReplyDeletePage, TexCyn, Montanagirl & DD.... You are all so right... we DO have more in common than we realize, and we are never really alone, if we don't want to be. And yes, we are fortunate to meet such great people and feel that they are friends. I'll tell you a little secret... I feel the same way about my Blogging friends... we come from all over, sometimes don't seem to have much in common... but when we write our blogs or share our photos or thoughts with others, we do become friends. Thank you all...
ReplyDeleteWhat great pics. I'll bet it's good that you're now totally fluent in Spanish. Otherwise, it would be difficult to understand (and be understood by) those people from England!
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to meet so many interesting people and have the memories to take with you.
ReplyDeleteI also learn so very much from the friends I meet and make along life's way. I think continuing to learn is most important as time marches on...
ReplyDeleteIt's great to be this way when you meet people that are interesting rather than meeting people who are somewhat threatening. You've had a very beneficial experience with these people and I'm sure you've influenced them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely bunch of people you hang out with! It's so nice to meet folks from other countries and backgrounds. I wish I go do more of that.
ReplyDeleteThat month seems to have just flown by. It's quite the thing to go to another country and just "jump in" to a language course. *respect*, as they would say in Jamaica.
ReplyDeleteI too remember how hard it was to say good-bye at the end of courses, years ago in far off places. Easier though today to keep in touch if need be. I'm afraid I lost all of my contacts years ago. It happens.