Enid and Ciaran attended our Spanish intensive course in Málaga for 3 weeks. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions and share your impressions!
Since when are you in Málaga and why did you choose to live here?
We arrived in Malaga in August 2020. We had hoped to move in March 2020 but we got locked down in Ireland due to Covid and so August 2020 was when we eventually got here. We chose to live in Malaga because we wanted to be in a location that is very accessible from Ireland. Also the climate is something that drew us to Malaga – we love the sun! Additionally, Malaga is a very arty and creative town with a huge art history so we were drawn to it for this reason.
Why did you want to take a sabbatical? What do you do for a living in Dublin?
Back home in Ireland, Enid is a Senior Librarian and I am an Architect. Both of us have worked in our respective careers for over 20 years and I had been balancing two careers of being a partner in my architectural firm along with working as an artist under my alterego of “PIGSY”. We both felt that we would like a change for a year and we wanted to live abroad. I wanted to focus fully on my art for a year and Enid has experience in digital marketing, web design, branding and event management. My art and Enid’s skills were two things that we could marry together and give us the opportunity to do something different from what we do in Dublin.
What are the differences in lifestyle between Dublin and Málaga?
When we first arrived in Malaga we were very surprised by how late Spanish people eat out at night time. In Ireland people eat their dinner much earlier – particularly during the week. We have now developed the same habits and tend to eat our dinner about 9pm most nights. We don’t have a car here in Malaga so we walk or cycle much more than we did in Dublin. I needed a car for my work as I was travelling around building sites, but Enid cycled to the train station and then got the train to work. Here in Malaga, we use public transport if we ever go anywhere that is further away and we think we won’t be able to cycle. This big difference between Dublin and Malaga is of course the weather so most things can be done outside in Malaga while they are done indoors in Dublin. A lot of socialising is done outside cafes and bars in Malaga while in Dublin we are inside in bars and restaurants which sometimes have big roaring fires on during the Winter time which of course would be unheard of in Malaga!
What are your favorite places in Málaga?
We have so many favorite places in Malaga. The CAC modern art museum in Soho is one of our favourite art museums. We also love the Pompidou Centre and the area it is situated in down at the marina. Another place we really like to visit is the “Mirador de le Acazaba” which is a phenomenal viewing site for the whole of the city along with being very spectacular architecture in itself. Here’s a blog post that I wrote about it https://www.ciaranmccoy.com/pigsy-artist-art-blog/contemporary-art/irish-artist-pigsy/citadel-slope-and-roman-ruins-in-malaga. For eating out we like to go to Casa Lola for some casual tapas – we love the Russian Salad there along with a “copa de vino tinto”. Another one of our favourite places for dinner is El Meson de Cervantes. We like to chill over coffee in the morning time and enjoy this in Dulce Dreams from time to time – but we think the best cup of coffee in Malaga is in the Carmen Thyssen Museum!
Why did you choose CLIC for your Spanish course?
We had researched a few language schools online and CLIC had very good reviews additionally it is very conveniently located in the centre of the city near Constitution Plaza. When we approached CLIC to enquire about a language course, I received a prompt, friendly and helpful reply so we knew that it was the language school for us. The CLIC course was very beneficial to us in many ways. First off we were unsure of what level of Spanish we were at as we pretty much had been learning independently online along with a one hour class per week with a teacher. When we first went to CLIC we did an interview with one of the teachers and she was then able to place us in a class that was suitable for our needs. The course was very structured and very informative with comprehensive notes. We also were given homework, which we appreciated, as this helped us to go over what we had learnt in class. But probably the best thing about the course is that you get to speak Spanish and ask the teacher questions and get clarifications on things you don’t understand. When we came away from our few weeks in Clic we definitely felt we had a better understanding and further knowledge of Spanish. But overall we are taking our Spanish learning day by day and think that it is a life long thing that we need to commit to and we won’t learn it in a short space of time.
Do you have any funny anecdotes from your learning experience?
For a few weeks we thought the word for rubbish was “Usame” and not “basura” due to the fact that in Malaga, most of the rubbish bins are printed with “Usame” which of course we now know means “Use Me”!!
Do you have a favorite word in Spanish?
To be honest, I am just glad to be able to pronounce a lot of words. When I arrived in Malaga I was unable to pronounce the name of the town “Pedregalejo” – but I can now!
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