From Lost to the River
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2008
1
13
Trip End
Nov 14, 2008
La Alberca,
Spain
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
During our recent linguistic and cultural adventure in La Alberca, an old village in Western Spain, Casey and I learned a lot about the Spanish language, and concomitantly, a great deal about the Spanish lifestyle. We arrived at La Alberca with an English immersion program called "Pueblo Ingles." The program brings together 25 native English speakers and 25 Spaniards with intermediate and advanced English skills for a week of conversation and fun. They put the English speakers up for free in a fabulous hotel in exchange for our jabber. Based on the more that 15 hours a day Casey and I spent chatting, eating, debating, and dancing with our new Spanish friends, "from lost to the river" is not only a Spanish saying, it is also a way of life here in Spain.
A typical day looked like this:
8:00am to 8:45, Yoga and/or get ready for the day (one of the English volunteers is a certified yoga instructor)
9:00am to 10:00, Breakfast buffet and dining at tables of 4 (2 English speakers and 2 Spaniards at each table)
11:00am to 1:00pm, One on Ones in 50 minutes sessions (for every 50 minute slot I was paired up with a different Spaniard. We could discuss everything and anything so long as we are mindful of controversial subjects like American politics and the Spanish civil war. Among the many topics that came up in my conversations were online dating, 9/11, the cost of private education, the Iron Man triathlon, and, of course, Spanish cuisine)
1:00pm to 2:00pm, Two on Two (two English speakers and two Spaniards are paired up with a list of questions they can randomly choose from to jump start the conversation. Among the topics I discussed were women in the workplace, childhood pranks, and the question: "What would you do with 5 million Euros?" Mom and Dad, you will be happy to hear I allocated at least 1 million of those Euros to you, which won me some major points with the moms in my group)
2:00pm to 3:00pm, Plated lunch at tables of 4
3:00pm to 5:00pm, Siesta (while this is typically a time for napping or resting, Casey and I often used it to venture to the nearby village, La Alberca, just a short walk from the isolated hotel. La Alberca is a world heritage sight and it looks the same as it did 800 years ago. The town's citizens have maintained the old village tradition of caring for a community pig. It lives in the town square where it is fed by benevolent villagers throughout the day, then sleeps in one of their homes each night. It is big and black and very friendly.)
5:00pm to 6:00pm, Group activity (in random group of 6 or 7, we are presented with a challenge that we must discuss and present to the larger group at the end of the hour. These were very challenging, but fun, as they often required the English speakers and Spaniards to collaborate quickly in a creative way. On day, we picked the "Leader of the World" based on a 4 ambiguous profiles. Once everyone presented on their selection, the program leader announced that the profiles were based on real people: Hitler, Mother Theresa, Churchill, JFK.)
6:00pm to 8:00pm, One on One's
8:00pm to 9:00pm, Presentations, (Every night one or two English speakers presented on an interesting aspect of his or her life. One friend, Hilton, presented on the nonprofit he started with fellow Zimbabweans in London called We Zimbabwe. Another young woman, Laura, presented on her research in the Arctic as an undergraduate in college.)
9:00pm to 10:30pm, Plated dinner at tables of 4
10:30pm to 3:00am or 4:00am, YES, 3:00am or 4:00am, Social activities, including dancing, drinking Spanish cultural beverages, dancing, talking, dancing, singing, and oh, yeah, DANCING. It was during this period of the day when I learned the saying "From the lost to the river." There were nights when I was tired and feeling my introverted tendencies getting the best of me. Yet, undoubtedly, one of our Spaniard friends would grab my hand, pull me onto the dance floor, and I would make up my mind to go for it. And I am so glad I did. The Spanish know how to have a good time--and make sure everyone else has a good time--like no other people I know.
Each day was full of fun and interesting conversation, yet the week was not without some problems. Casey was sick the first 3 or 4 days we were with the program. However, the program directors took very good care of him, connecting him with a doctor and some meds that got him better in no time.
Now, we are back in Madrid with our friend Ennis, the Aussi that was so kind to me during my breakdown on the sea kayak in Turkey. More about our adventures in Madrid soon!
