My first years in Spain were a blast. I hitchhiked down in a few days with my friend Odd and we split up when we came to Barcelona. It wasn’t the first time I went travelling, but it was the first time I wasn’t planning on going home. Menorca became the place where the real adventure began. The events on Menorca has been crucial for my life since then, especially people I met there and people I’ve gotten to know because of them.
From there it was a lot of roaming around, a lot of new people and experiences and a lot of plain old getting wasted. Sleeping under the stars I visited most of Spain, stopped by Portugal and travelled around France several times on my journeys up and down from Norway. Granada became my base, and still is. I was always writing and drawing, but not like now, it wasn’t really in the centre of attention. The adventure was more important.
When I first arrived I didn’t speak Spanish, but slowly you learn. In Spain Spanish is what takes you around, and some of my friends from the very beginning spoke no English at all. I had a good base for learning. People in other countries told me I had a Spanish accent on my English, I guess from adapting English for Spanish people to understand me better. Now I have the Spanish language under control, but there’s still lot to learn.
I think my Spanish helps my English a bit. Especially it’s given me more vocabulary, and a deeper understanding. English is quite a hybrid language, with a lot of words and influence both from Latin and Germanic, among other languages like Celtic and Greek. It’s one of the things I like the most about it. They say the Vikings and the British understood each other more or less. I guess Scotland was closer than England, and today as well I think I can hear a resemblance to Norwegian accent in Scottish. Maybe it’s just me, but hey, it’s not so far away after all.
In Norway we learn a lot of English in school, and we don’t translate movies, so most Norwegians have some level of English. I’ve learned a lot from travelling and reading books as well. I manage English more or less, but I know I make a lot of mistakes. Please feel free to correct any errors I make in my posts and stories in my comment fields, it will be appreciated.
So I’m still in Spain, though there’s a lot less action in my life these days. It’s probably a good thing if I want to live for a while. Now most of the adventures goes from my head to the screen and from the screen to my head. Not that I’m not doing other things, but creating and absorbing other peoples creations is what i do the most. Which is a lot fun as well.
http://englishhistory.weebly.com/english-roots.html
https://fauxcroft.com/2017/04/17/random-variables-called-life/
Reading your perspective on the English language was really interesting! Also, I’m Scottish so it was cool to see that you think there are some accent similarities 🙂
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The eyes of the ones on the outside tend to see things differently;) Thank you for your interest.
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It takes a lot of determination to go to another country without speaking the language, and even more to learn the language and adapt successfully. I’m sure you have quite a few stories to tell from your adventures.
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Thank you for reading. I do, actually. Some can be seen every once in a while in my ‘blog’-category. I think adapting to another culture is one of the most valueable things you can do in life, you really learn a lot about yourself and about people in general. And it’s a whole lot of fun, too;)
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Nice update on your life. Cheers.
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Thanks! Little by little we’re getting to know each other:)
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To me, your writing is the real adventure. Glad to see you get around!
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Thank you very much! I see you have a new one up as well, it will ve read;)
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My new one is backstory and character development. Important, but no grandiose hallucinations! Thanks for reading and continuing to inspire!!!
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Hey, I am Indian and I could totally relate to the new place, new adventure feel. I guess it is quite universal. Also, keep up the good work.
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It probably is. Everywhere is an adventure as long as it’s new;) Thanks!
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Yeah, but wherever I go…there I am!!
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Your English is considerably better than that of many, many people in the U.S. whose first language is English.
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Thank you incredibly much! I do my best, and the correction program helps quite a bit;)
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I once took German in an American high school being taught by my Spanish teacher in Spanish… I never felt so mentally fit!
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It is refreshing, isn’t it. The bad thing is I hardly use my native language anymore. But, hey, why worry. Thanks for reading:)
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Language is so interesting, as is travel. I learned Spanish in Guatemala. Very different from Spanish in Spain. When I was in Spain I spoke Spanish with an American accent, which meant Central American Spanish accent. I learned as much about English as I did about Spanish when I was learning it. Now my English is better and I’m a native speaker with a better understanding. I like English and I love Spanish. I don’t like to travel anymore.
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Thank you for an interesting comment. I prefer to speak Spanish and to write English, if that makes sense. It might have something to do with the way I learned them from the beginning, but I think there’s something more to it, that it has something to do with the nature of each language. Norwegian, on the other hand is quite interesting in many ways, but less practical in my point of view. I still like to travel, though;)
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Thank you for visiting
See you on the side of creativity
As Sheldon Always
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Thank you.
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I admire both your adventuresome spirit and your command of multiple languages! Glad to meet you here and I’m looking forward to many visits and adventures in your blog-land.
Adios, farewell, ha det bra & may all of your adventures be happy ones!
Kathryn
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Thank you, happy you stopped by! Ha det bra du også!
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Truly enjoyed this post. I will be headed to Panama at the end of next month, I know many of the people speak English but I know very little Spanish. I can write it better than I can speak it. Your post gave me hope that it isn’t too late to become a fluent speaker of the language! Also thank you for following my blog.
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Thank *you*! Don’t worry too much about the language, you’ll get around:)
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Nice one. Great that you are trying to pick up the language. What has been the hardest part? Where do you plan to visit? Seville is a great place, but I do love the north too. Best of luck.
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I’ve been around most parts, but I would like to go to Galicia some day, they say it’s beautiful. The verbs are without doubt the most complicated part of the Spanish language from my point of view. Thank you for stopping by!
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What an exciting adventure! Look forward to following you. We are heading to Svalbard in September and then further north. Looking forward to this too!
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Wow! Further north than Svalbard! That sure is an adventure. Bring warm clothes:)
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Very interesting narrative. Yes, travel enriches a writer’s experience. You are so fortunate to travel. Anand Bose from Kerala
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Sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to go abroad someday.
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You should! And a whole lot of other places as well:)
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Have not been to Menorca but LOVED Mallorca. I would permanently move there in a heartbeat if I could navigate the EU red tape. Thank you for swinging by the Ranch. We ❤︎ visitors. Cheers!
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Menorca is similar to Mallorca in many ways, but smaller and less touristy. You can say it’s a bit like Mallorca was thirty years ago. Which means great;) Thank you for sharing:)
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Thank you. I’ve been poking around your sight. NICE illustrations. Loved the Duckbill story. 😉
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Thanks a lot! Yours is looking good as well:)
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😇
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Nice post a good read…
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Thank you 🙂
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Thank you for your sharing
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Thanks for reading:)
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I”m living in Vietnam. I have created a site to help people to study English. It would be nice if you visit my site and give me some feedbacks about my article. Then, I can improve to help people study English
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Just stopped by and followed. Looking good!
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Adventure! Oh, I love! And your flair for languages is very admirable. I don’t know about other African countries, but here in Nigeria, it is not common for people to travel around just for the pure fun of it. Travel is almost always connected to work, study, treatment, or less commonly, vacation. I guess we’re “firmly rooted” so to speak 🙂 . It’s lovely to read of your adventures. I hope I can do such someday. Lovely post! Again, thanks for following my blog.
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Thank you for sharing, and I’m very happy you liked my post. 🙂
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You’re Spanish seems to take you into real conversations. I knew a couple who traveled South America and said their Spanish got to the point where they could shop and ask directions and then never got better. I’m American and English-only. We are terrible at teaching languages – no idea why we’re so stubborn about it.
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Since you’re trying to get better at English may I suggest taking a look at typely(.)com? It can really sharpen your writing skills.
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Yes you may. Thanks, I’ll check it out tomorrow. It’s bedtime in Spain 😉
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Thank you for visiting/following my online writing studio. I’ve returned the favor, and will return to sample your work. I’m going to assume that you, as do I, appreciate commentary on the work and not just “likes.”
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Of course. Connecting verbally is the best way 😉 Happy you answered my call 🙂
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Reblogged this on Fictionspawn Monsters and commented:
I can proudly let you all know that my story One Day Music Came was published on Wordpess Discover on Tuesday. I’ve been welcoming a lot of new readers since then, and find it fitting to reblog this post which is the closest to an about-page I have here on Fictionspawn Monsters. A big thank you to all of you, both old and new friends and followers.
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Interesting point about Norwegian and Scottish speech being similar. I never thought of it before.
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It might just be me, but there has always been contact, though. It’s not really that far.
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It’s nice to get to know a little about the real person behind the wonderful stories!
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I have some more non-fiction in the thoughts category, and I might get some more of it out soon as well. We’ll see. Thanks for being here 🙂
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My pleasure, I admire your work
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Thanks! I like yours, too 🙂
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What a crazy mix of experience! But it promises a terrific wealth of creativity. 🙂
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