On Tuesday evenings at 8:30 p.m., college students and Granada locals alike line up outside of the Sala Premier bar for a weekly language exchange, also known as the intercambio lingüístico. Hosted by the University of Granada’s Center for Modern Languages, these intercambios provide opportunities for people of all ages to practice the languages they are learning in a fun and informal setting. It costs a couple of euros to get in, which includes a drink (a Fanta Limón is my go-to!) and a tapa, which is a little Spanish snack to go with your drink. Participants are then sorted into different groups based on the language(s) they know and the language(s) they wish to practice. Personally, these intercambios allow me to practice Spanish with native speakers, while they get to practice English with me.
Lining up outside of Sala Premier before an intercambio.
I love that I never quite know who I will meet at any given intercambio. I’ve gotten to talk to Granada natives and Spaniards from various parts of the country. I’ve chatted with Russian guys who moved to Spain for work, and I met a French doctoral student studying political science. I’ve also gotten to know university students from Spain, Japan, and all over the United States as well. Though I might only have one conversation with some of these people, I also never know what relationships might stick. For example, I became friends with a college student from Spain at my first intercambio, and we’ve kept in touch and hung out in the city together.
Me with my new Spanish friend Ángela, who I met at my first intercambio.
I love getting to talk with people from around the globe to hear both their perceptions about the U.S. and about life in their home countries. Just this past Tuesday, a Spanish college student at my table was asking if kids actually ride to school in yellow school buses – something he’s only seen in American movies or TV shows – and he thought it was so funny to hear that this is a real thing! Another time, my mind was blown to learn that various cities in Russia have a car-share system similar to bikeshares, in which you use an app to find an available car that you can drive and then leave at any destination around the city. It’s also fun to compare day-to-day activities or significant milestones in our respective countries, such as our school system or the process to obtain a driver’s license.
My conversations at the intercambios have clarified my own opinions about my home country while increasing my ability to connect with people from other places. A Spanish woman once asked me and several other American students about our thoughts on patriotism and politics, which turned into a fascinating conversation about what each person thinks about the country in which they’ve lived or grown up. More and more, I’m coming to understand more deeply how each person – wherever they are from – is just a person, with their own unique interests and opinions. Their country’s role in international politics or current events does not dictate who they are. And while I knew this in my head before, connecting with these people in real life is helping me to believe even more deeply in the individuality and humanity of every single person.
Before coming to Spain, I had no idea that I would get to meet people from so many other countries, all in one city. These intercambios have definitely been one of my favorite study abroad surprises!