Yesterday afternoon, I met up with Fernando again for another intercambio. This time he picked me up at the city gates, and we drove a short way out of town to a bar to have a few drinks. Fernando is training to be a police officer, so we talked a bit about the police in Spain, and it was quite interesting because he said a few things that were very different from what Elvira had told me.
Fernando told me that he had watched the riots in London on the news, and was surprised that the police just stood there and took abuse from the crowds. He said that would never happen in Spain, and that if you threw something or was abusive to a police officer here they would be a lot more heavy handed. This is the opposite of what Elvira said, but it could be different in Madrid where the media are watching everything due to the protests. We also talked about the difference in the way that suspects are treated in Spain compared to England.
One thing I have heard in England is that it is actually very time consuming to detain a suspect: The officer has to make the arrest, take the suspect back to the police station, and then convince the custody sergeant that the suspect has done something wrong. This causes issues when the police are needed on the streets, because the process is time consuming and they have to hang around at the police station for a while. (Someone please correct me if you know this to be wrong). Fernando told me that in Spain this process is a lot quicker, because the police officer just needs to drop the suspect off at the police station, and someone there will take care of everything.
The other difference between England and Spain that we talked about was health and safety, and the practice of suing people when there is an accident. I have seen on the TV some of the things in the fiestas here, for example in Valencia, where people are walking around with fireworks in their hands. The other thing that I always see on the news is when there are bulls running through the town with people running away, and being knocked over. You could never do any of these things in England because someone would sue the council if they got hurt! I told Fernando that this interferes with a lot of aspects of life in the UK because, for example, children often miss out on opportunities for school trips because there is so much paperwork and rules and regulations, that it is not practical to do a lot of things. I also told him that if the police are heavy handed with a suspect they are likely to be sued.
Today was the last day of school. For our break we went to a nice restaurant in town called com.es, and I had a tostada with jamon and tomato. You may have noticed that I am eating a lot of jamon: I can't really eat this in England, so I am eating as much of the stuff as possible because it is delicious!
At the end of class I filled in a questionnaire about the course, and I had no criticisms to write down whatsoever. I told Maite that the course has been amazing, that the host family has been perfect and Cristina has been a great teacher. Cristina asked me what I needed to do tomorrow, and it was a good job she did because it reminded me that I needed to print out my plane ticket!
After class I walked back with Cristina for the final time and it was really sad (¡que triste!). I told her that I had had a great experience, and that I was sad to be leaving. I said that I didn't necessarily want to stay in Toledo, but I definitely didn't want to return to England! If it were possible I would love to visit more places in Spain, but unfortunately I have to go home and work. I told her that she had been a great teacher, and that I would miss her a lot, and we did the kissing on the cheeks thing and parted.
Comments
I with you, can feel your sadness at leaving. I have felt like that at times in the distant past.
I have so enjoyed sharing this with you and am very proud of you.
It will be very sad saying goodbye to your family. Thank them for me for their hospitality.
I hope you have a good journey home.
The ratties are fine and I will miss them too on their return to you.
Look forward to seeing you soon, love mum xx
Nunca he comido tanto jamón en mi vida como cuando vine a vivir a Inglaterra! Me gustaba mucho cuando vivía en España, pero no lo comía siempre. Sin embargo, ahora, cada vez que voy a España mis padres tienen jamón en casa para que pueda comerlo. Cuando vengo me compran jamón para que lo traiga. Mis amigos me traen jamón de regalo cuando vienen a visitarme... Y como voy a España bastante a menudo, no paro de comer jamón!