My Conversation With Carlos

My conversation with Carlos came about after my host mom asked if I would be willing to speak in English to a friend of hers, so he could practice before his exam. I agreed, and the next day Carlos and I went to a tapas bar in Pedregalejo for a beer. He was curious about Dickinson and the study abroad program and the cities we had visited. And after hearing the long list, he admitted that I had seen more of Spain in five months than he had seen in his entire life. At first, this came as a surprise, but later I realized that our group has probably seen more of Spain than a very large majority of Spaniards.

From that point on, the majority of the conversation turned to topics concerning the United States. Inevitably, he told me he wanted to visit California and New York, but was disappointed after hearing that the United States doesn’t have the high speed rail system like those in Europe. Though, I was caught off guard when he brought up the NBA (about which I know next to nothing) and started throwing out names of players and teams. It was also interesting to hear that he loved big, gas-guzzling American cars. After we had finished talking, we got up and he insisted on paying for my beer because I was in his country. I think that encounters like these are important because, despite the usual negative feedback we receive, they show you that there are many things people like about the United States.