Well, amigues, today marks my official two-year anniversary of living in Spain! That’s wild to me because I feel like I just got here and am still afraid of talking to the butcher or the hairdresser. On the other hand, when I do get up the nerve to talk to people, it tends to go well (a huge improvement from my first week here).
In the past, I’ve demarcated eras of my life by jobs or relationships, and two years is when I tend to get restless: I quit every job I ever had except the Goethe-Institut after 2 years, and every relationship but Brian fizzled out after 2.5. The things that have lasted—15 years with my college friend group, 13 years in New York, 9 years with Brian, 5 years with Malta—share a feeling of existing outside of time. Anniversaries sneak up on me, and I’m always surprised by how much time has passed because things still feel new, exciting, and easy. I’m happy to say that’s true about my life here. It’s peaceful but never boring, and even though I miss parts of my old life, I feel fulfilled and have the time and energy to do what I want to do.
I read somewhere that Year 2 in a new place is when you start to settle in, and Year 3 is when it really starts to feel like home. We’ll see about that, but I do feel like I made strides toward assimilating this year:
Mejoré mi español / I improved my Spanish
I made a major commitment to Spanish this year—I switched from group classes to private lessons with the same teacher, and I also enrolled in a conversation class at the Universitat Popular de València. So I’m studying four days a week and trying to watch and listen to things in Spanish, like music, podcasts, TV shows like Valeria, and exercise classes.
I still feel like a fish out of water a lot of the time, but I hit some huge milestones this year, including:
Conversing with my suegra (mother-in-law) in Spanish
Playing tour guide for my parents, and not just ordering for them in restaurants! I was able to talk to a ceramicist about what my parents were looking for and translate what he was saying about Valencian history for them. I also navigated a sticky situation buying train tickets in Barcelona.
Not getting burnt out in social situations where the group is speaking in Spanish
Making a joke in class and my classmates laughing
I’m excited to see how I progress this year. Some of my 2024 goals are to read more books in Spanish (I’ve already picked my first: Las Malas by Camila Sosa Villada), take ceramics classes, and potentially start publishing a bilingual edition of this newsletter.
Vi más de España / I saw more of Spain
Thanks to guests visiting, I saw a lot more of Valencia this year, including the Museo Fallero, the Ceramics Museum, La Lonja de la Seda, and the Silk Museum. I also saw my first movie here (Barbie!) and discovered my new favorite place thanks to a class field trip: Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània, a public exhibition space in an old convent.
Outside of Valencia, Brian and I visited Meliana, Zaragoza, and Madrid, and I spent time in Barcelona and Montserrat with my parents. La Sagrada Familia was definitely a highlight, and I absolutely loved Montserrat—my first time experiencing some of Spain’s natural landscapes!
Brian and I are floating the idea of visiting the Canary Islands for our 10th anniversary next year, and I hope we can make that happen. Aside from that, I want to dig deeper into what Valencia has to offer—concerts, exhibitions, performances, etc.
Hice amigues / I made friends
The single biggest change this year is that I finally found my people here in Valencia. I had made friends through Spanish class before, but most of them were here temporarily and left after a month or two. This summer, Christine Job posted in a podcasting listserv about the 100th episode of her podcast and signed off from Valencia. I don’t think of myself as a super outgoing person, but non-fluency has kind of inured me to low-level embarrassment, so I’m less self-conscious than I used to be. I emailed Christine and asked if she wanted to grab a coffee, figuring the worst that could happen was being ignored. Luckily, Christine is super friendly and met me a few days later, and it felt like everything clicked into place. Here was this smart, talented, ambitious, and fun person who was here for the long haul—two hours flew by, and she invited me to a group hangout the following week.
There, I met the community she’s built here, full of other brilliant and lovely people from all over the world (including here!). In this day and age, it’s easy to not feel lonely since you can talk to your friends back home whenever you want, but I didn’t realize how much connection I was missing. A group of friends who share your values and goals goes a long way toward making a foreign city into a true home.
Aside from Spain-specific things, I also met some of my 2023 goals!
Leí 40 libros / I read 40 books
It was a good year for reading, even if I read less Spanish than I intended to. My favorites are pictured here: Bliss Montage by Ling Ma, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy, Carnality by Lina Wolff, The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro (which features a surprise Emiliano Zapata romance storyline), Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns, The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey, Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie, and Chlorine by Jade Song. As usual, literary horror topped my list, though Alicia Kennedy’s No Meat Required has motivated me to be more conscious about my food and eat less meat going forward.
I’ve been thinking deeply about Carnality since I read it in June, especially since it deals with Francoist Spain and fascism’s aftermath. I plan on rereading it and writing a separate newsletter about it next month, so stay tuned for that.
Corrí 3 carreras / I ran 3 races
My goal this year was to run a 10K, and I did it! I had intended on running the Valencia 10K next month, but I put off training for too long so will be running the 5K again. I’m not sure what next year has in store for running, but I do have a pipe dream of running the Valencia Half Marathon in October. We’ll see about that, too.
Another thing I’m proud of this year is continuing this newsletter, even if it’s not always super regular. Thank you all for being here!
Song of the Month:
Need a last-minute addition to your NYE party playlist? I first heard “Tu Olor” by Chilean singer Rubio a few weeks ago, and I have been listening to it obsessively. It’s dark, sexy, animalic—it gives me Nine Inch Nails vibes (especially “Sanctified”) but it’s got a more contemporary gloss on it.
¡Feliz año nuevo!
—Kata
Feliz aniversario! I love hearing your updates and I’m so glad year 2 was filled with so much growth!