Mi Amigo Alvaro: Interview with a Native Student

I have been putting a lot of effort into trying to befriend more Spaniards in the last couple of weeks since speaking with natives is definitely the best way to practice and improve one's language skills. One of my new friends is Alvaro, another student who lives in my residencia. Since we have been spending a lot of time together, I thought it would be fun for me to give him a little interview so you can get a peek of the type of people I have met and gotten to know here in Spain. Alvaro also speaks very excellent English, and we are always switching back and forth between Spanish and English so that we can both practice our second languages. Since this blog is for y'all in the US, we did the interview completely in English.

This is where I hang out with the Spanish student. We watch TV, do homework, and hang out. That's how I became friends with Alvaro!

Eve: Where are you from? What is it like there?

Alvaro: I am from Aranda de Duero, in the state of Burgos. It is cold. Cold even in the summer. I really like it because it’s my home town. It’s in the north of Spain and it’s sometimes boring - it’s a small town and there’s not much to do. For example there’s only one cinema in the whole town and it's like a kilometer from my house. And the landscape is boring - for example there are forests and I don't like them too much.

Eve: I love forests! That's what it's like where I'm from.

Alvaro: They are just pine trees, and I don't like pines very much.

Alvaro's Home Town, Aranda de Duero

Eve: What are you studying?

Alvaro: I’m studying translation and interpretation in English and German.

 

Eve: Do you want to do interpretation or translation after you graduate?

Alvaro: I want to do interpretation, and I want to do a Master’s in interpretation. I want to do it in Belgium, but I know it’s hard so I’ll have to study a lot. And I would like to work for an international organization like the UN or the EU.

 

Eve: What is your favorite thing about Granada?

Alvaro: The people, I think. They’re so open. For example, when I came here, I came all by myself, but after a while I had a lot of friends. And people helped me a lot when I was here getting ready at the beginning of the year. In the North it’s not like that at all, people are very closed off. I prefer to be open.

 

Eve: People seem more closed off here in Granada than where I am from.

Alvaro: No way! People are so nice here. In the north, if you are new, people do not talk to you unless you talk to them first.

 

Eve: What do you like to do for fun?

Alvaro: Going out with friends, hanging out, going to the disco. We go and dance to reggaeton. When I want to feel relaxed, I prefer to watch a movie, a TV series, play the piano.

 

Eve: What is your favorite TV series?

Alvaro: American Horror Story. Asylum is my favorite season, it was incredible. I've been watching Hotel, and it is pretty good too. Freak Show was not as good as the others.

 

Eve: What is your favorite food?

Alvaro: My favorite food I think is lasagna. I really love lasagna. I miss the one that my mom makes.

 

Eve: Do you like Granada or your hometown more?

Alvaro: I don’t know. Ok…each city has good things. My home town has my parents, my friends from my old life, and it’s the place where I have lived for 17 years. Here, it’s new, it’s a new experience. Because I’m becoming an adult I have to learn new things. But if I had to choose, I would stay with my home town. I want to die there. When I don’t have to work anymore, I will move there and die there.

Alvaro in his Burger King crown.

Eve Olson is the Fall 2015 CEA MOJO Blogger in Granada, Spain. She is currently a Junior at the University of Utah.