Martina Peig i Pol San Felix
Entrevistem a la Harper, una jove nord-americana que es dedica a impulsar la conversa en anglès entre l’alumnat del nostre institut.
What is your function in this high school?
I am an auxiliary conversational, so my function here is to encourage people to speak English, because speaking is part of learning a language. My only job is to get people to speak.
For how long have you been in Spain?
I moved to Spain in the fall of 2021, so I’ve been here since September 2021. Then I want back to the United States last summer for three months because I had issues with my visa, but other than that I’ve been living here the whole time.
What was the culture like and the lifestyle back in the US?
It depends on how old you are, but from my experience as a 24-year-old living in the United States, it was all about work. You don’t really see your friends except for maybe once a month, and it’s very focused on work, working hard and if you don’t work over fifty hours a week then you’re kind of shamed in a way. It’s all really money centred.
What are the main differences between the United States and Spain?
I would say the work culture for one, people in the United States love to work and in Spain I think people work hard, but then there’s a point that you reach, and you’re like: okay, I worked hard today, I did a good job, and now I’m going to do something that I enjoy: I’m going to see my friends, I’m going to have a drink… That not always done in the United States.
The food is also very different. In the United States the food has a lot of chemicals, it’s more processed and unhealthy, whereas in Spain it’s fresh and very good.
What is what surprised you the most about Barcelona?
There are a couple different things that surprised me. One of them is how many people are out at all hours of the day and night and also how people bring their children to restaurants and bars with them, they incorporate their children into their daily life. In the States it’s really different, children are kept separated from the adults, you’d never bring your child out to a restaurant until twelve in the morning. They typically go to bed at eight o’clock, you never bring them out with you.
What has been harder to adapt here for you?
For me, it was the language, my Spanish level was really basic when I first got here. When I arrived to Barcelona, that changed. It’s definitely mixing Spanish with Catalan, it can be very tricky sometimes. My Spanish level is not good enough to know the difference between them. Everything mixes up together, and then I have a problem communicating, but I really love both languages.
What is what you like the most?
I think everyone is so friendly and welcoming, also I really like the food, the culture, I love the work-life balance. I also like that the people are actually taken care of, there’s free health care, everybody has health insurance, so you don’t have to pay for it. Likewise, I like that the education here is cheaper and more accessible. I just feel more taken care of by the government here, whereas in the United States I never felt like that.
I also love the weather, where I lived in the States it’s very cold and there’s a lot of snow, but here is beautiful, sunny.
Besides, you can go out into nature, but you also have the city right here too with lots of culture and I love that.
