Before arriving, I heard that Spanish in Spain was different. I emailed our ISA advisor Allison and she assured me that “vosotros” is most definitely a thing in Andalusia, and that scared me. A girl I knew who had studied in Spain said she could not understand Mexican Spainsh because it was so different. What!?!? That realllly made me nervous.
But now that I’m here, I’ve calmed down. There are a few traits specific to this region that I’d like to point out.
1. The end/middle/beginning of the word being convienently left out. When MJ first told us that I was confused, but I can definitely hear it. The most common ones are gracia(s) and (de) nada.
2. People actually say “hola” and “adio(s).” In Ecuador, it’s more common to say “buenas” and “chio.” “Buenas” is still a common greeting here though. You can use it and “hola” interchangably.
3. The slag words are called “tacos.” My Spanish professor said that Sevilla in particular has tons of tacos. Young people call each other “tío” and “tía” even if they are not related.
4. Allison was right. Vosotros is common, but not as tough as I thought it would be. It’s actually kind of fun. I should have guessed – I’m a big “y’all” user in English.
As the trip continues, I hope to learn more Spanish. Even now, I am much more comfortable with the language than I was on day one.
(Did you get the musical reference in my title?)