Ojas Chaudhari People talk a lot about missing their home whenever they go elsewhere. They say they miss their people, their food, their culture, their country. However, at the same time, they also discover a new place, new people, a new culture, and perhaps a new home. That’s exactly what happened to me when I moved to Spain from my original home, India. I am Ojas Chaudhari, a 23 year old Language Teaching Assistant from Mumbai, India. I am currently teaching English at IES Juan Sebastian Elcano, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, until the end of May 2020. You might wonder what a young Indian is doing in an Andalusian town. Well, let me tell you more about it! Being an aficionado of languages since an early age, I graduated with a degree in French Literature in 2018, after which, I went to France to work as an English language assistant in a high school in the north of the country. My main aim at the time was to improve my knowledge of the French language as well as culture. I had such a positive experience there that I thought about doing the same thing in Spain. Since I dream to be a multilingual translator and interpreter, I had already started learning Spanish during my high school years. Hence, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to brush up on my Spanish skills, and to experience Spanish culture closely. When I was informed during the summer of 2019 that I had been placed in this quaint seaside Andalusian town, I couldn’t hold back my joy! That joy only doubled when I actually arrived here. I distinctly remember my first few days in Sanlúcar. I couldn’t believe that I was finally here, about to start a new life in perhaps the most beautiful region in all of Spain! I took my own time to explore the city before starting my work, but I just couldn’t stop admiring its radiant beaches, its colourful buildings with distinctly beautiful Moorish features, its richly decorated churches, and above all, its liveliness. But most importantly, I would feel captivated by the beauty of the sea. Strangely, I have lived by the sea throughout the 23 years of my life; first in Mumbai, then in France, and now here, in Spain. I couldn’t believe my luck on being placed in a seaside city. And with the seaside views came
the seaside food - a delicious blend of langostinos, pescaditos fritos, almejas, and cazones, to name but a few. The richness of the seafood here is so legendary that it made me give up on vegetarianism after more than eight years! As you can see by now, I felt as if Sanlúcar had everything that would make me feel at home. I was learning something new about Spanish culture every single moment. I was relishing the beautiful Andaluz landscape and the sea everyday. I was trying a new traditional Spanish dish every week. I was attending a fiesta or two every month. But the beating heart of any home is the people that inhabit it. And I was very fortunate to have come across such welcoming people when I moved here. All my colleagues have been very kind to me since we met. They have always made me feel like a cherished member of the vast Elcano family. I shall never forget our coffee breaks at the nearby cafe, which had almost become a daily routine for me. As for my students, I had a great time teaching them, mainly because they were always very eager to learn, and that’s something that I admire a lot about them. Spending time with them was always a worthwhile experience, because it ended up teaching me a lot too. However, it is unfortunately true that every experience in life isn’t always just positive or just negative; it is a little bit of both. My time in Spain was passing so smoothly and happily that I would never even have dreamed that it would change so drastically. This sudden change was brought about by the raging pandemic, COVID-19, or Coronavirus. It was on the day of my birthday, March 10th - when I was out celebrating a birthday lunch with some of my colleagues - that we first heard about schools in Madrid being ordered to shut down. Within five days, the entire country had entered an unprecedented lockdown. This pandemic deeply struck India and the rest of the world as well. No one had imagined that they would have to remain confined in their houses for a long time, for fear of contracting a deadly virus. The pandemic changed life completely for me. I couldn’t go to work anymore. I was forced to forget any more of those cheerful coffee breaks that
Revista del IES Juan Sebastián Elcano | 11
bilingüismo
A LIFE AWAY FROM HOME...AT HOME
