Cactus Language Blog

Online Diary: TEFL in Seville from our Scholarship winner! (5)

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad

Anna Prime, winner of the Suzanne Furstner Scholarship 07, reports back at the end of her TEFL & Spanish course in Seville (Week 6 of 6)

These six weeks in Spain have felt like a lifetime. Looking back on the essay I entered into the competition, I can hardly believe how little I knew at the time about what was in store for me.

Even if I hadn’t done the CELTA course, I still would have learned more than I ever have before in six weeks, about myself and life in general. It is clichéd, but true. In order to grow as a person there is no better experience than moving to a new country where you know nobody. That is when the truest of yourself shines in trying to create a new life for yourself. And in the last couple of weeks my life, my friends and my state of mind could not have been any better. I would have been happy to stay in Sevilla indefinitely, however, commitments call me on to the next adventure.

The CELTA course was one of the best things I have ever done. I always knew it was something I wanted to do in the vague future but I had no idea how much I would actually enjoy and gain from it. I had assumed it would simply fund my travels. But now I see that is the perfect thing to do for linguists; if you study the languages of others, you must share the knowledge of your mother tongue. It’s only fair.

I enjoyed the Spanish course, brief though it was, very much, though I must admit I think I learned more Spanish by going out at night and chatting to the various Spaniards who I met in random bars and on the street. Sevilla is so unbelievably friendly; meeting people was the easiest, most natural thing in the world.

The night time culture of Spain suits me very well, as do siestas, covering everything in olive oil, drinking beer as thought it were a soft drink, and everything else about the Spanish life style. I feel very confident in my Spanish now, especially as the Andalucian accent is one of the hardest to understand, so if I understand them I can understand anyone.

I am so unbelievably grateful for this opportunity. Thank you to everybody who made it possible. It has given me more than you could know. I am a changed person, for the better, and I will never be the same again. The future is looking very bright.

Read more of Anna’s TEFL diary:

Week 1 ¦ Week 2 ¦ Week 3 ¦ Week 4 ¦ Weeks 5 & 6