Yesterday was pretty much perfect for me - I barely had a minute where I wasn't doing anything. First off I had 6 hours of class instead of the usual 4, and afterwards I walked Cristina back out of town and had a really nice conversation about the things that I'm going to miss most about Toledo.
After class I ate (although I can't remember what, so it can't have been that interesting!) and then had a shower and left the house again. By this time it was about 7:00 and the sun was just starting to cool off. I walked the same walk that I have done a few times, down by the river where it is shaded and there is lots of vegetation.
The walk was uneventful, and afterwards I went to the same bar that I went to last time in the 'juderia' (the Jewish quarter). I had a clara because I was thirsty, and chatted to the barman for about half an hour. I told him how my parents had visited, and that after only 2 days of speaking English I felt that my Spanish had started to deteriorate slightly. The truth is that I was thinking a lot more in Spanish before I saw them, and afterwards I was finding it a bit more difficult. (Today I think my Spanish has improved again and is better than ever, but this makes me worry that I will quickly lose a lot of my Spanish when I return to the UK).
After my drink there, I walked into town and ate at my favourite bar - Cafe Zocodover. I wasn't that hungry so I just had a jamon baguette, and shortly after I had finished eating, a group of Spanish women came in and sat at the bar. The bar maid introduced me to them, and told them that I was a student, and I ended up pulling up a chair next to them and chatting to them for about an hour. It was quite difficult at times, because there were more of them than me and they started to talk quite rapidly, but I understood most of what they said and managed to join in a fair amount.
They started talking to me because there was someone from Andalucia (in the south) on the TV, and they were asking me if I could understand their accent. I told them that I couldn't understand it, but not because of the accent - it was because the TV wasn't loud enough and there was too much going on in the bar for me to be able to listen properly. We ended up talking about the different accents people have in Spanish, and the different phrases people use in other parts of the country. After they left I chatted to the barmaid for a while, but then a load of customers came in and she had work to do.
I also had some good pinchos in the bar, and at one point they were coming out faster than the drinks were! I had crisps, olives, pickled fish, cheese and black pudding. I had ordered half a baguette, 4 small beers and a coffee, and it all came to less than £10 which I thought wasn't bad.
When I got back to the house I talked to Charo for a while, and she told me that she thinks I speak very well now. She also told me that her father is in hospital with heart problems. I think it is quite serious.
All in all, I had quite a good day, because I didn't have much time with nothing to do, and I had a lot of opportunities to practice speaking.
Comments
You seem to be confident, talking to people even if you dont know them. I dont think you will lose your Spanish when you come home, just the ability to think in Spanish. I think as soon as you are around someone Spanish speaking or back in Spain, you will soon get back into it again.
You are not going to suddenly forget all that you have learned.
It shows how much you have improved that Charo thinks you speak very well now. I think you have really well. xx