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| Cathedral of León during the winter. |
I didn't know a lot of things about León before I moved here; what a great discovery for me as an Erasmus* student! I didn’t expect it would be like this before I came here, but I’m not disappointed.
As a French girl, I couldn't imagine that our two countries were so different; you can only realize it once you live here, I guess.
There are many differences in the way of life, different food, you have to break your habits...
As a French girl, I couldn't imagine that our two countries were so different; you can only realize it once you live here, I guess.
There are many differences in the way of life, different food, you have to break your habits...
According to me (and I don't want my classmates to beat me up) some clichés about Spain are more or less true.
First of all, Spaniards like to go party (if you are a student, there is party Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday if you want). They eat tortilla at anytime of the day (very nice, by the way), they speak loud and they're generally open-minded. But these stereotypes are true just like some clichés about France are: for example, French people eat Camembert cheese and Parisians may be arrogant sometimes, but just like anywhere in the world.
For me, the biggest stereotype is the one is about the weather: when I first came to Spain, my friends told me “Wow! Lucky you! You’re going to wear T-shirts all year!”. They hardly believed me when I told them I don't. Actually, my T-shirts have been in my wardrobe for a long time now! As I am writing this article, it's raining and the temperature is around 10º C (50F).
Not all Spain has the same weather, but people don't usually realize this. Yes, Andalusia, the Canaries Islands or Majorca, for example, have a warm and hot climate, but this changes from region to region.
Spain is not only this 'holiday paradise' that we have in mind:
Spain is not only this 'holiday paradise' that we have in mind:
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| Ibiza, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean sea, and a popular vacation destination. For example, both in Galicia (North West) and the Basque country (north) it rains a lot during all year. Here in León, we have continental Mediterranean weather: hot summers but very, very cold winters: Temperatures can reach sub-zero, and it snows an average of 16 days per year. I hope it won't happen this year, and I'm sure you understand why...  Adiós, palm trees and beaches. Hola, coat, scarf and umbrella! But despite everything I've said, I hope you’d still want to come to Spain and discover this beautiful country :) |
Hola Pauline!
ResponderEliminarSoy Jen de UNH. I liked your blog about some stereotypes being true. I can vouch to that....when I lived in Oviedo, my host mom made me tortilla almost EVERY day...but maybe that was because she knew it was my favorite!
When you say "I don't want my classmates to beat me", it sounds kind of funny. "beat me" sounds violent, if you say "beat me up", it sounds more playful and sarcastic. If you say someone was "beaten", it's much more violent and brutal than "beaten up" which sounds more like a fight on the playground between kids.
"We have a continental Mediterranean weather"....you can take out the "a".
You could say "We have continental Mediterranean weather", or "We experience continental Mediterranean weather patterns" (This sounds very formal, like something you would hear a weatherman say on tv).
"I didn't know a lot of things about Leon", you can just say "I didn't know a lot about Leon". Using "things" makes it sound less natural, although technically it's not incorrect.
It seems like you are having a blast in Spain! Your English is awesome! Are you learning Spanish as well?