Spanish without a tailwind – The photo shows the large Spanish flag at Plaza de Colón in Madrid. It stands near the Jardines del Descubrimiento, hoisted on a flagpole roughly 50 metres tall. The flag itself measures approximately 21 metres wide and 14 metres high — about 294 square metres in total. That makes it one of the most striking landmarks on this square.

Spanisch, somehow

Before I left, I had pictured myself chatting away in Spanish after two months. Now, a month and a half in, I order my coffee, and still sometimes nobody understands me. Zero as a starting point I had literally zero Spanish before this trip. No classes, no Spanish-speaking friends, no real contact with the language whatsoever. The plan was simple: start from scratch. In the weeks before leaving, motivation was high. I listened to Spanish podcasts, worked through language courses, drilled vocabulary cards, and watched Spanish films with subtitles, just to get a feel for how the language sounds. ...

May 16, 2026

A pretty normal day

Today, a normal day in Zaragoza, pretty much how it usually goes. Morning, coffee, out the door The alarm goes off somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00. Brush teeth, shower, and then the most important part: the little coffee machine gets fired up. Thermos in hand, backpack on my shoulder, I head out. The Casablanca tram stop is right in front of the student hotel. Tap the card, about €0.50 per ride. The tram is usually pretty packed, so I stand. ...

April 29, 2026

Coffee, Carrefour and everyday life

Sometimes a day is just a day. No big experience, no grand revelation — and yet, somehow, something always happens. Settling into the Routine Slept short, got up slow. The day started at its own pace. One thing stood out right away: the tram to work is more relaxed than expected. Get on, sit down, get off — done. No transfers, no long walks. Compared to my previous place, that’s already a small win. ...

April 14, 2026