Steve's sandbox

Tag: Palma de Mallorca

  • Bienvenido a Palma de Mallorca – Agosto – Rebekah Willett August 2016

    En primer lugar, quiero decir un enorme gracias a John Speak Trust por darme esta oportunidad de escribir sobre mi práctica.

    Para los próximos seis meses, voy a vivir en Palma de Mallorca en España donde voy a trabajar para una empresa de turismo. He visitado Palma solamente en otra ocasión y tengo muchas ganas de vivir aquí y aprender más sobre la isla. Después de haber pasado los últimos 6 meses en León en el norte de España, he encontrado que la ciudad de Palma es muy diferente. En este blog voy a escribir sobre Palma de Mallorca y mis experiencias aquí.

    La ciudad de Palma de Mallorca está ubicada en la Isla de Mallorca, que es parte de las Islas Baleares de España. Las Islas Baleares consisten de tres islas. Estas son Mallorca, Menorca e Ibiza. Palma es la ciudad más grande del grupo de islas y también es la capital de la región.

    Una de las cosas interesantes de Mallorca es que además de hablar español, muchos locales también hablan mallorquín, que es un dialecto de catalán, una lengua regional hablada en algunas regiones de España y Francia. Muchas personas de la isla hablan el idioma y clases en las escuelas se enseñan en español y mallorquín.

    En Palma de Mallorca hay muchos lugares de interés para ver. Personalmente pienso que el más espectacular es la catedral. La catedral del estilo gótico está situada en una colina al lado del mar y de fuera de ella hay vistas al mar. Encuentra al lado la catedral es el hermoso Palacio Real de la Almudaina. Esta muy antiguo palacio todavía está utilizado por la familia real en España para recepciones oficiales. De hecho, me he tenido la oportunidad de mirar alrededor del palacio y pensaba que fue muy interesante.

    Así que eso es un breve resumen de algunas de las cosas de Palma que he descubierto hasta el momento. No puedo esperar para explorar la isla más y escribir más sobre mis experiencias en los próximos seis meses.

    The beautiful cathedral in Palma de Mallorca

    English:

    Welcome to Palma de Mallorca

    Firstly, I’d like to say a massive thank you to the John Speak Trust for giving me this opportunity to write about my time on my placement.

    For the next 6 months I will be living in Palma de Mallorca in Spain working for a tourism company. I have only ever visited Palma once before and I am really looking forward to living here and learning more about the Island. Having spent the past 6 months in León in the north of Spain I have found Palma to be very different. In this blog post I am going to write about Palma de Mallorca and my experiences here.

    The city of Palma de Mallorca is situated on the Island of Mallorca which is part of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The Balearic Islands consist of three islands. These are Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. Palma is the largest city in the group of islands and is also the capital city of the region.

    One of the interesting things about Mallorca is that as well as speaking Spanish, many locals also speak mallorquín, which is a dialect of Catalan, a regional language spoken in certain regions in Spain and France. Many people on the island speak it and lessons at school are taught both in Spanish and Mallorquín.

    In Palma da Mallorca there are many interesting sites to see. Personally I feel the most spectacular is the cathedral. The gothic styled cathedral is situated on a hill next to the sea and from outside it there are amazing sea views. Found next to the cathedral is the beautiful Royal Palace of La Almudaina. This very old the palace is still used by the Royal family in Spain for state receptions. I actually have had the chance to look around the palace and found it very interesting.

    So that’s a quick summary of some of the things about Palma that I have discovered so far.  I can’t wait to explore the island more and write more about my experiences over the next six months.

  • Amy Clark – Case Study France and Spain 2014-2015

    I can´t quite believe that my 18 months abroad are coming to an end, it only seems like 2 minutes since I was boarding the plane to Alicante in January 2014 to begin my Erasmus study period! I feel that my time abroad, in France and Spain has been the most beneficial part of my university course so far; not only has it allowed me to greatly improve my French and Spanish but I´ve also developed a variety of skills that are going to help me throughout the rest of my life! As a student from Sheffield Hallam University, now in my 3rd year, I jumped at this opportunity of being awarded a scholarship, as I knew it would be a big help towards various costs that travelling and working abroad would endeavor.

    My scholarship was split between my time in Montpellier, France and Palma De Mallorca, Spain, however during this time I was also able to travel to other places in Europe, making the most of the opportunities that I had. I managed to visit Bordeaux, Paris, Toulouse, Nimes and  Geneva whilst living in France, it´s been amazing to be able to travel and see so much in such a short time! As for my time here in Palma de Mallorca, I’ve spent my weekends exploring the beautiful island, hiring cars with new friends from all different backgrounds, visiting remote non-touristic places and generally experiencing the true Spanish culture. I´ve got to say that life on a Spanish island is definitely something I’d think about later on in life and Mallorca in particular is amazingly beautiful!

    Aside from all the exciting travelling, meeting new people and learning new things, there has of course been times when I’ve missed home, my friends and family and even once or twice when I have wished I could be back, but I know that this experience has had a huge impact on my life and on me as a person and I’m so grateful for the opportunity; I have no regrets about moving abroad and leaving my life in England behind as I know the positives have far outweighed the negatives! I’m looking forward to finishing my degree in Sheffield and moving on to bigger and better things!

    Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to the John Speak Scholarship Trust for giving me the great pleasure of being a part of their organisation for the last 10 months and would without a doubt, recommend it to anyone who is eligible to apply!

  • Amy Clark – Palma de Mallorca – June 2015

    friends

    Debido al hecho que este es la última vez que estaré escribiendo sobre mis experiencias extranjeros me gustaría expresar mi gratitud a John Speak Languages Trust para darme la ocasión para aprovechar de mis estancias en Francia y en España. Esta beca me ayudaba mucho durante esos diez meses, me ha permitido hacer cosas que no hubieran sido posibles si yo no fui elegido para recibir la beca.

    Tengo que decir que Mallorca es un lugar tan bonita y definitivamente yo recomendaría que organizar una visita. Durante mis tres meses aquí he tratado de viajar lo tanto que posible para descubrir toda la isla. Me aprovechaba mucho de visitando los lugares más bonitos y me parece que ahora, después de pasando todo este tiempo en el extranjero aprendí como apreciar más las cosas.  Creo que las experiencias que he disfrutado quedarán conmigo para todo mi vida; por ejemplo, toda la nueva gente que conocí de diferentes origines y países, las diferencias entre la cultura francesa y española y finalmente que he mejorado mucho mis conocimientos de la lengua francesa y española que estaba el objeto principal de este tiempo en el extranjero.

    Me siento que sobretodo mi confianza ha aumentado más, ahora puedo  ir a un lugar desconocido y hablar en francés o español a personas que no conozco, ya no tengo miedo. A mi parece que es esta experiencia que me ha ayudado de mejorar mucho estas competencias y me alegro mucho que he tenido estas ocasiones como parte de mi curso universitario.

    Sin duda, me gustaría continuar viajando en el futuro, creo que el mundo es tan grande para quedar en el mismo lugar y que viajando se ayuda a ver el mundo en una manera diferente. Después de mi ultimo ano de universitario espero que encuentre un trabajo que puedo realmente disfrutar y además uno que me permite de viajar en Francia o España para que pueda continuar aprender más de las culturas, los países y utilizar mis conocimientos de las dos lenguas.

    Calvía

    English Translation:

    Due to the fact that this is the last time that I will be writing about my  abroad experiences I would like to say a big thank you to John Speak Languages Trust for giving me the opportunity to make the most out of my time in France and Spain. This grant has helped me a lot during these 10 months, it has allowed me to do things that wouldn´t have been possible if I wasn´t chosen to receive the grant.

    I have to say that Mallorca is such a beautiful place and I would definitely recommend that you  organize a visit. During my 3 months here I have tried to travel as much as possible in order to see the rest of the island. I have made the most out of visiting the most beautiful places and I think now, after spending all this time abroad I have learnt how to appreciate things more. I believe that the experiences I have enjoyed will stay with me forever; for example, all the new people that I have met from different origins and countries, the differences between French and Spanish culture and finally that I have improved my knowledge of the French and Spanish language which was the main objective of my time abroad.

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    I feel that above all my confidence has increased the most, now I can go somewhere new and speak French or Spanish to people that I don’t know, and I´m no longer scared. It seems to me that this experience has helped me to greatly improve these skills and I´m so glad that I have had these opportunities as part of my university course.

    Without a doubt, I would like to continue travelling in the future, I believe that the world is too big to stay in the same place and that travelling helps you to see the world differently. After my final year at of university I hope that I find a job that I can really enjoy and furthermore one that allows me to travel in France or Spain so I can continue to learn more about the cultures, the countries and to use my knowledge of the two languages.