Semana Una; Blog Tres- 343 Palabras

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Polaroid (Individual): One thing that has been unexpected to me this week is how I have struggled to use my Spanish. I anticipated that linguistically it would be difficult for me to speak Spanish, as I do not know the language as well as I had at the start of college. However, I did not realize how it would be emotionally challenging for me to use Spanish. I found this week that I am significantly more self-conscious when speaking in Spanish to native speakers, as I am very aware that they know every mistake I am making. I have often had to be aware of my own feelings, a large part of developing CQ Strategy. I then had to build up my CQ Motivation by using my Spanish knowledge anyway rather than resorting to English which was the more comfortable option to me.



Postcard (Relational): My unexpected discomfort when speaking in Spanish at first posed a hinderance to me, as I would often start speaking in English when I felt too uncomfortable. This impacted my ability to interact with others as I was in stores or museums. I had to plan for these intercultural exchanges, as described in CQ strategy, and decide how I wanted to interact with others dispute discomfort. As the week progressed I was able to become more comfortable and capable of using Spanish to interact.



Bill Board (Social): . Culture Smart Spain discusses that not many of those who speak Spanish also know English. While this is likely true for much of Spain, in the areas heavily influenced by tourism have many people who know both English and Spanish. Being in Barcelona I have not had to rely too heavily on my Spanish understanding, and I was surprised by this. It made it very apparent to me that areas largely driven economically by trade and tourism are also largely reliant on English. The power of knowing English is a large element of participating in the global economy, which was not something I truly understood until my experiences in Barcelona.

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