For our fifth meeting, we first met at home before heading to a bar. This gave us the opportunity to teach each other a few things beforehand. We started by reflecting on our previous meeting. What had we taken away from it? Which words had stuck with us? I noticed that I had remembered the words better than in previous meetings, as the language is starting to feel more familiar, and I no longer have to think so much about how to pronounce each letter.
Next, we moved on to the material for the current meeting. We taught each other about what nightlife is like in our hometowns. As usual, we expanded our vocabulary and taught each other some phrases. Finally, we created Spotify playlists for each other featuring popular songs from our hometowns. This was a fun activity because we started practicing the songs together to get a sense of how to sing them before going to the bar. However, I found that it was much harder to master the language while singing a song. The lyrics go by so quickly that by the time you’ve thought about how to pronounce something, the song has already moved on to the next line. I did notice, though, that once I had heard the chorus a few times, it became easier to sing along. It was a good idea to meet at home first and go over the songs beforehand; otherwise, it would have been even more difficult.
It was fun to see the variety of Spanish songs Sandra included in her playlist. I occasionally listen to Spanish songs in my free time, but almost all the songs I heard this time were new to me, except for Macarena. For example, she added Qué bonita es la amapola and explained that it’s a typical song of the charangas at village festivals. While listening to it, I told her it reminded me of the parades we have during the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas. This made it very amusing for me to listen to. I also noticed that Sandra mentioned songs from Spain that are popular at parties. Since we do listen to some Spanish songs at parties in the Netherlands, I expected to recognize them, but they were completely new to me, as were the style of singing and the melodies. This made it even more fun and educational because it was so unexpected.
I also learned about nightlife in Spain, which is similar to that in the Netherlands. Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular nights to go out, just like in the Netherlands, and Thursdays are typically for student parties. One funny difference is that in Spain, it’s customary to eat tapas and pinchos around 6:00/7:00 PM before going out. On Sundays, they have a tradition called “vermú,” where people drink a specific type of wine with snacks around noon. Unlike “juepincho,” which starts late and only happens on Thursdays (jueves means Thursday in Spanish), vermú starts early and can last as long as you want. Sandra also showed me how things are done in her city, Zaragoza. She explained that there are two main ways of partying:
- People who go to a nightclub (usually with a €12 entry fee, which includes a drink).
- People who prefer the “casco,” an area with many bars where you can bar-hop.
Additionally, in some places, there are village festivals. These aren’t very common but are a big deal where Sandra lives. Each village has a special festival week with activities throughout the day, communal dinners, street music, and big parties in the sports hall at night.
I also noticed that the English translations of the Spanish vocabulary were quite similar this time, which made it easier to remember and understand the words. I found it amusing that I now know what the word “bailando” means, so when I hear the song “Bailando,” I understand it means “dancing.”
Some phrases I learned during this meeting include:
- “I like this song” – Me gusta esta canción
- “I don’t like this song” – No me gusta esta canción
It was interesting to see that in Spanish, you place the negation at the beginning of the sentence with the word no, and the rest of the sentence stays the same. In Dutch, negation typically occurs in the middle of the sentence.
Overall, this meeting was fun and a great way to learn about each other’s culture and language through music and nightlife.
. 
Comments