It wasn’t until the first lunch at the office that it really hit me – I am now an intern at a Spanish consulting company. The lunch was when the “Spanish” part of it became most apparent – this was a gathering of an unprecedented volume and scale, something I haven’t had the chance to witness during my two years in Germany. The entire office gathered downstairs at the local bar, where the siesta started with a round of tapas and beers (at the office! at 2 pm!).
During the lunch, I got to meet some of the employees, each and every one of whom I had to – in traditional Spanish fashion – kiss on both cheeks upon being introduced (people I kissed that day include my immediate supervisor, the office manager, countless co-workers and even the cleaning lady). A giant cake concluded the rowdy gathering – turned out it was one of the employees’ birthday that day, and (as she happened to be from France) we all sang the “happy birthday” song to the birthday girl, who was by then wearing a shiny golden crown and unpacking her mountain of gifts. Needless to say, impressions from my first day at work were plentiful.
The job itself turned out to be mainly to do translations, and here another little surprise was awaiting – I am supposed to translate not only English to Russian (my mother tongue), but also Spanish/Italian/Romanian/Latvian/etc. to Russian. The thing is that my task at the moment is translating the names of various sights and points of interest (such as museums, galleries, historic buildings, etc.), and these are often provided in the local language, or – what complicates matters even further – in Spanish, which often distorts the original name of the location to a point that makes it near impossible to figure out the original place name. This fun fact makes for some extensive research work, which, thanks to the time at the Englisches Seminar of the WWU, I have got quite good at. How dare anyone say doing Literary and Cultural Studies has no practical application in the real world?! I’m sure I’ll be able to apply my solid research skills in further translation assignments, too.
Outside of work I am experiencing Spanish life to the fullest. Luckily, there is plenty of time for it – the working day ends at 15.30 (at 15.00 on Fridays), so come 4 p.m. I’m out and about exploring. Although I haven’t taken up flamenco classes (yet), I am very much embracing the tradition of “siesta” and have grown to love my lazy afternoons after work. I learned that in Spain bars are empty up until 11p.m., but even then the party only begins, and it doesn’t get really lively till after midnight. I also learned that churros (deep-fried donut-like pastry) with hot chocolate are the most delicious thing on the face of the Earth and I have decided to make it my utmost goal to find the best churros in Málaga – I will keep you updated on the progress of my mission.
Another – less exciting – thing I had to adapt to is the absence of central heating and the use of gas in the apartment. Giant bright-orange tanks need to be purchased in advance in order for the dwellers to be able to take a warm shower or prepare food on the stove. If you run out of gas mid-shower or while frying some chicken – oh well, it is your own fault for not being forethoughtful enough. At the moment me and my two flatmates – Alessandro from Italy and Nicolas from France – are in the process of learning the lesson of buying the tanks in advance the hard way. How many days is it socially acceptable to not have showered? I guess, we will soon find out!
Me and my flatmates get along quite well, actually. I had never shared an apartment with 2 guys before, and I have to say it has been quite great so far. As opposed to my previous flatmates they never steal my make up, don’t sing pop songs all the time and have yet to come to me for relationship advice. Besides, the bathroom is never occupied for longer than 10 minutes, which is a luxury I was devoid of for mornings upon mornings in the past.
Next weekend we are planning to explore Málaga a little more by going on a bike trip along the coast, climbing the hill to visit the local castle and do other exciting things in the (already!) warm rays of the southern sun. I will of course go to the Saturday market to get great bargains on delicious local fruit and vegetables, which is especially fun since I don’t speak Spanish (the estimate of my level right now is negative A2). But I will work on it, amigos, and soon tell you more about my Spanish vida loca. ¡Hasta luego!
