{"id":4611,"date":"2015-11-12T17:02:35","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T17:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eurotalk.com\/blog\/?p=4611"},"modified":"2026-08-20T20:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:29:14","slug":"you-never-know-until-you-try","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/en\/news\/you-never-know-until-you-try","title":{"rendered":"You never know until you try\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

More years ago than I care to remember, I did a degree in\u00a0Hispanic Studies at the University of Nottingham. I loved the course, but there was one part of it that filled me with terror from the very first day.<\/p>\n

The Year Abroad.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a pretty standard element of a modern languages degree \u2013 you spend your third year living abroad, either working or studying, and that\u2019s when you really<\/em> learn the language.<\/p>\n

I had the choice of going to Spain or Latin America, and being the cautious soul I am, opted to stay close to home (a decision I still occasionally regret). So in September 2002, my friend and I nervously boarded a plane for Madrid.<\/p>\n

The first challenge when we arrived was to find somewhere to live; we\u2019d booked a room in a hostel for the first few days, but after that we were on our own. And so we got on the phones.<\/p>\n

Now just to be clear, I\u2019ve never been a massive fan of talking on the phone in English; the thought of calling people in another language was genuinely terrifying. But given a choice between that and being homeless, I had to pull myself together and get on with it.<\/p>\n

Initially, my friend and I were looking for accommodation together, but when it became clear we weren\u2019t going to find anything, we split up. So suddenly there I was, in a strange city, going off to view apartments on my own, in another language.<\/p>\n

\"Lost<\/a>
Definitely not lost in Madrid…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually I found a slightly shabby room in a shared flat… only for my friend to announce the following day that her new landlady knew someone with a much nicer room \u2013 which was also cheaper. Feeling slightly anxious, I went to talk to my own landladies (two elderly sisters who lived in the flat downstairs) and successfully negotiated the return of my deposit and first month\u2019s rent. In Spanish.<\/p>\n

Once the living arrangements were settled, the next challenge was going to university. We\u2019d been enrolled at the Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Madrid, and had to pass exams in a certain number of modules to pass the year and continue to the\u00a0final year of our course. So before I knew it, I was taking classes entirely in Spanish for the first time in my life – and then, a few months later, preparing for two-hour exams, all of which, to my surprise, I passed.<\/p>\n

Looking back on my year abroad now, I sometimes can\u2019t quite believe I really did some of these\u00a0things. I even managed to get my hair cut once, although it didn\u2019t go all that well \u2013 let\u2019s face it, I have enough trouble describing what I want done to my hair here in London. And I spent the year living with a very lovely lady who didn\u2019t speak a word of English. (It was always very entertaining when my family \u2013 who don\u2019t speak any Spanish – came to visit.)<\/p>\n

Learning a language can open up some amazing opportunities, and sometimes you just have to take a chance, however nervewracking the situation. You never know, you might surprise yourself with the things you can achieve. And even if it goes a bit wrong, a bad haircut will grow out eventually.<\/p>\n

Liz<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More years ago than I care to remember, I did a degree in\u00a0Hispanic Studies at the University of Nottingham. 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