Jessica is a third year Modern Languages student coming to the end of her year abroad in Spain. This guest post considers the Spanish language and its relationship with Spanish national identity and culture…
It’s safe to say that my Spanish has undergone a profound transformation in the last 8 months. From my first day arriving in Madrid when I quite confidently thanked the taxi driver in impeccable Thai, ‘khob Khun kaa’, for taking us to the train station, I knew I had a long road ahead of me. After five weeks in Thailand I had unconsciously memorized a few local phrases, and I wondered how living in Spain would do the same on a much larger scale. Living in a foreign country is vital to truly surround yourself in the language, perfect the pronunciation of words, and obtain a variety of idiomatic expressions and fantastic swear words from first hand sources. But as you start to notice
the subtle nuances a language holds, you notice the hidden linguistic messages through which the Spaniards individually and collectively project their culture and identity. There are some things that just can’t be translated. Continue reading
Well hello my fabulous readers! Yes, it’s true, I’m sad to say that this is my final year abroad blog! I’m sure you’re all holding back tears right now but don’t worry, we’ll get through this together. To summarise… 
Why hello there you fabulous readers! Only one more month to go until I’m back in England. Honestly, can’t believe I just wrote that sentence, it’s insane how quickly the past few months have gone! Everyone is slowly realising that this awesome year is coming to an end and there are a lot of mixed emotions about it. I’m sure you’re all aware of how much I’ve loved this year abroad experience, so I thought I’d dedicate this blog post to a few of my fellow year abroaders living with me over here in Canada. 
