Intercambios

Last semester, Julia and I met two Spanish girls who are studying English at the University of Salamanca.  We all got together for coffee a few times in the Fall and we've developed a strong friendship over the past few months.  Now this semester, we meet for coffee every Monday to practice speaking.  An intercambio is an exchange of languages.  When the four of us get together, we alternate speaking in English and Spanish.  Some days the entire conversation is in one language and other days it is more of a combination of both.  We talk about anything...movies, celebrities, our families, places we have traveled to.  We even help eachother with our homework from time to time.  Last week I asked one of the girls, "How do you think your English is?"  She laughed and said that she thought is was terrible compared to how Julia and I speak Spanish.  I laughed at that because Julia and I feel the same, but in reverse.  We feel like Marisa and Antziñe speak English much better than we speak Spanish.  As I walked home today after our coffee date, I was thinking about how curious the world is.  Somehow, the four of us have gotten to be good friends despite living in two countries so far apart.  But the things we talk about are the same topics I discuss with my girl friends at home.  We all ended up in Salamanca...and I'm so glad that we did.  Julia is from Alaska.  I live in the Midwest.  Marisa is half Thai and half Spanish.  Antziñe is from País Vasco.  But we're all here now...funny how things work out.