Lets not beat around the bush...

If you're reading this instead of studying the differences between 'por' and 'para' or swotting up on your subjunctive triggers, this is the post for you. 

Whether you're getting ready to go and live in a country for a semester or a year, it's very easy to want to have perfect grammar to impress the locals. Let's face it though, in reality no one talks like they're writing an essay on global warming. There are far more important things that will help you get by and communicate in a foreign country. Read on preparation tips...

We'll start with the activity you're going to spend about 80% of your time doing: eating and drinking. When in a restaurant in England, it's common to be really polite and use "please" and "thank you" like it's going out of fashion. This isn't the case at all in Spain, as we quickly learned. Of course, no one is rude to the waiters, but you won't hear a "Please may I have.....thank you very much". 

Instead, use "poner" in "Me pones un tinto de verano" (can I have a tinto de verano?) or "traer" in "Nos traes la carta?" (can you bring us the menu?), or simply "una caña, porfa" (a beer, please), and you'll have much more luck. 

Also, it's super common for a tip to be included in the overall price, so watch out for that!

When you can't be bothered eating out but you want someone else to do the washing up, you might be inclined to peruse one of the 10 takeaway menus that have been haphazardly stuffed into your tiny post box. (*N.B. Dominos is a LOT cheaper and nicer in Spain, the only downside being that it doesn't come with garlic dip, which is the best thing about it.) But what do you say when the delivery man buzzes on your door asking to come up? There's no greater fear than wanting a night without social interaction, hearing the doorbell and thinking "Oh no! I was never taught how to answer the door in Spanish!"

There are a few ways to say this, but our favourite ones are "pásale!", "entra!" and "andelante!". 

Now, this might sound like a bit of a ridiculous one, but bare with. Did you ever learn how to express that you're in pain in the foreign language that you're studying? We didn't either. But if someone steps on your toe in Mae West (apparently the best night club in Granada, though we wouldn't know...) or accidentally swings into you in the corridor at uni, you'd want them to know about it. 

In Spanish, the most common exclamations we've heard are "ay!" and "uy/uff!". You might be thinking "when will I ever need to know that?" but trust us, you'll thank us later.

In the same vein, we've learnt a load of conversation fillers, which come in very handy to sound more conversational, informal, and the biggest goal of all - native - when you're taking to your friends. These are similar to saying "so..." or "well..." in English, and give you a bit more time to think if you don't know what to say.  The one's we hear daily in conversation are "a ver", "pues" and "bueno". Try them out for yourself!

We'll end on an important one. As you may or may not know, in Spain, shops like Superdrug or Boots, where you can buy your paracetamol or other medications straight off the shelf, don't exist. In fact, you have to go into a pharmacy and speak to the pharmacist behind the desk to get the medicine that you require; even things like nail scissors and moisturisers can be locked away. 

So when you go into the pharmacy, make sure you know what you're asking for, or how to fully describe your symptoms, to avoid certain embarrassing situations that we (namely, Rebeka) have encountered. Note to self: either linguee doesn't always give the best translation, or the pharmacists just like to laugh at the poor exchange students trying their best to get some cream for insect (not animal) bites.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen (ibuprofeno), are pretty self explanatory, but when you're covered in little insect bites, you're looking for "crema para picaduras (de mosquitos)", not "de mordaduras"! 

We hope these tips are useful and you can see that, while grammar is important, being able to properly communicate with people will give you a lot more satisfaction in the long run!

Rebeka & Annie