Intercambio

Today started with a long sleep. We woke up at like 10:30 so we got a good 10 hours of sleep. Nothing can top that feeling. We ate breakfast and got ready for the day. 

Rachael took me to the papeleria (paper store) that she found on her walk home one day because they have good deals on notebooks. I bought some more notebooks, which are with grid paper - a change for me. The regularly lined notebooks were double the price, which does not make sense to me but I have heard that most Spaniards use grid paper for their notebooks. I also bought an accordion folder to keep myself organized and another pencil and highlighter. That should be all the school supplies that I need for the rest of the semester... I hope!

When we got back from the bookstore, I checked my email. My Intercambio emailed me back!

What is Intercambio?

Intercambio is when a Spaniard studying English (or other languages) meets with a student who knows Spanish as well as English (or other language) and they get together to practice their speaking. For me, the connecting languages are Spanish and English.

How does Intercambio work?

Intercambio is a free program that is run through CLM and is available online or through the office. I filled out a profile online, briefly marking when I am available, what my interests are (out of a list) and what my main language is and what language I would like to practice. After this, you get a list of students who match up with your availability, language, and interests. From there you can read a brief summary that they write about them (optional) and pick who you want to meet up with. I also checked to see if they had a Facebook to see if we would mesh.

I picked 3 female students, one of who responded to my request soon after sending it. Her name is Lourdes and she is 18 years old. After I saw that she was interested in meeting up with me I sent her an email and today we have been going back and forth figuring out our schedules and when/where and what we want to do.

We decided on meeting at a fountain and then going out for a drink after I have class on Monday. I think that Lourdes and I will get along well because in our emails I apologized that my Spanish was not perfect and she said don't worry and just wait until you hear my English. She was also very forgiving to my grammatical and spelling mistakes. 

I am very excited to meet her and to get the exchange (Intercambio in English is inter exchange or language exchange) started and hopefully make a new friend! I am also very nervous because I am forced to speak Spanish so she can understand me and we can communicate with each other. Something like this experience will improve my Spanish like no other, more than a school situation can, because there is no English translations available. 

The rest of the day:

Take a nice siesta to prepare for the evening. Eat dinner and get ready.

I don't remember if I mentioned this in a previous blog or not but when Rachael, Michael and I were in the airport in Chicago, we met 4 girls from the Maine area who would be studying in Seville, Spain for the semester. Well it just so happens that they are in Granada this weekend with their program and we have been in touch and are planning on meeting up tonight to go to the bars and the club together. Hopefully it all works out because that would be a blast! We have exchanged phone numbers and been talking throughout the week planning tonight so now all that is left to do is to carry out the plan.