Living in Tenerife - how integrated are you?

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On the promise of a few bottles of local red, four Tenerife residents were lured to the splendours of the Hotel Jardin Tropicale to reveal just how much - or how little - effort they had made to peel away from Eastenders and merge into the local culture. Heather Shaw, 34, from Essex , Receptionist Moved to Tenerife two and a half years ago. Lives with fiancé, Richard and daughter, Natalie aged eight. Grades her level of cultural integration as only two out of ten Lisa Davies, 31, from Liverpool, Sales Manager Moved to Tenerife two and a half years ago with husband Lenny and four-year-old son Ross. Grades her level of cultural integration as five out of 10 Angie Bagge, 27, from South London, Full-time Mother Spent six months in Mallorca before moving to Tenerife 18 months ago with partner, Alan. Now has a 6-month-old daughter, Sophie Grades her level of cultural integration as seven out of 10 Irma Guanche, 29, from La Laguna, Tenerife, Schoolteacher Born in Tenerife, lived in the UK for three years. Now married to husband, Lee from Essex Grades her level of cultural integration as 10 out of 10 (surprisingly) Would you say that Tenerife is just England in the sun for you? Heather: Probably, yes. It' s getting up, going to work and going to bed in the sun and not in the rain. Angie: When I first moved to Spain, I only came for the sun and to have a good time. All that' s changed now though. I used to think that Tenerife was quite ugly but now I find it really interesting. Lisa: You' re right, the diversity is amazing. The mountains and national park are beautiful. Irma: Fifty per cent of English people here go to English supermarkets, English restaurants, have English friends and don' t know anything about the North of the island but fortunately not everyone' s like that. In what ways are you integrated? Heather: Well, my boyfriend, Richard, had been here ten years when I met him and all his friends are English so I' ve found it very hard. Lisa: My son is in Spanish school and all of my neighbours are Spanish, which means my language abilities have had to improve 100 per cent. So I guess I' m kind of integrated. Now I only eat in local restaurants, never in British bars. Angie: I' m the same, I don' t live amongst English people either so I try to mix with my neighbours. I do have to admit that I can' t do without PG Tips though. I need to shop at Iceland every now and then. Would you like to be more integrated? Heather: I' d love to, but whenever I speak, Spanish people answer me in English and I think, ‘am I saying it right' ? Lisa: I' d like to be but it is the language barrier that' s the problem. I think integration is an age thing as well. The older you are, the harder it seems. Angie: Sometimes people can be a bit awkward about it and refuse to understand if you don' t get it exactly right. Lisa: I just tell them, ‘that' s what I said' . Irma: The most important thing is that you are here, so you should learn Spanish. How easy is it to get by here without speaking Spanish? Lisa: I think we all agree that it' s very easy to get by here without speaking Spanish. It must have been different for Irma when she lived in England. Irma: The problem is that wherever you go there' s always someone who speaks English. When I was at university in the north my English teacher used to say to me ‘Go down to the south to practise your English.' Heather: Everyone I' ve spoken to says that the best way to learn is to have a Spanish boyfriend. Can' t exactly say to my fiancé, ‘well, I' ll have to take a lover!' Do you think holidaymakers should make the effort to learn at least a few Spanish phrases? Heather: I think it' s important to learn something on holiday, even if it' s just to order a coffee or a beer. Angie: You' re right, if you' re going abroad you should make a bit of an effort. To be fair, when I worked as a rep, most of the holidaymakers at least knew how to say ‘hola' and ‘gracias' when getting off the bus. Irma: There' s a joke here that all the English know how to speak Spanish because they all know how to order a beer. What kind of effort have you made to learn Spanish? Heather: I did ‘level one' at the cultural centre and a few lessons before I came out but I haven' t had the time. I bought Linguaphone and I' m doing it at work. Lisa: I took classes at the Britannia School, ‘level one and two' . It' s enough to get me by. Angie: I lived in Mallorca before I moved here so I studied a bit there. I managed to grasp several words but putting them together was the problem. Lisa: I usually find that a glass or two of cava usually helps. Angie: That' s true. I don' t think you need to be fluent though. If you can have a conversation that' s enough. I still get worked up though at the thought of going to a Spanish party and having to make conversation for a few hours. Irma: You have to practise the language. I speak English but I' m still going to English lessons. Angie: You' re right, if you live here you should make an attempt to learn the language. I think it' s rude, lazy and ignorant if you don' t. How often do you watch Spanish TV, listen to a Spanish radio station or pick up a Spanish newspaper or magazine? Heather: We watched Spanish TV for a while when waiting for Sky to be put in and I' ve been renting DVDs in English with Spanish subtitles. Lisa: I just tend to watch the news on Spanish TV. Angie: I have Sky in the living room and Spanish TV in the bedroom. Somebody said to me that they learned all their Spanish from watching TV. Irma: Yes, you should watch Sesame Street. That' s how I learnt English when I was in England. The best way to learn is with children. How much does your social life revolve around going out to places that are popular mainly with the English community? Heather: All the time. On our own, we go to Spanish restaurants; otherwise we go to English places, holiday bars basically. Angie: Having Sophie, we tend to eat locally, which is all Spanish. Having said that, we often go out for a Sunday roast at the weekends. Irma: Once every two months we have roast beef in Las Americas. Lisa: Oh yes, sometimes, you just have to have these things, Yorkshire puds and the like. Irma: Two or three times a year, when my parents-in-law come to Tenerife on holiday, we spend two weeks going out to English places and sometimes we go to English places with English friends. Do you go out of your way to avoid Spanish situations? Angie: It depends on the situation. It' s the phone that frightens me. I often end up asking, ‘hablas inglés?' Heather: Wherever I go I try to talk in Spanish but if people hear you' re English, they speak to you in English. Lisa: Again, it depends on the situation. I' ve got a nice guy, Gustavo, who looks like Antonio Banderas. If I need things sorting out in Spanish I' ll ask him to do it. It' s just easier. At work though I have to deal with things in Spanish. Angie: That' s like the other day, I needed a plumber and I was just thinking about trying to sort it out when a friend recommended a ‘Dave' who could sort it out which was tempting as it would have been easier. In the end though I didn' t need to. How many Spanish friends do you have? Heather: None. Because we don' t speak Spanish, it' s different. The only people we know are English, we drink at English pubs. Lisa: I can count mine on one hand. Angie: That' s difficult to answer. I probably have about 10 to 15, but I' d only class four or five of them as good friends. Irma: I used to have a lot of Spanish friends until I married my English husband, now all of them are English! What, if any, Canarian foods do you prepare at home? Heather: Garlic chicken. My other half' s a chef so he cooks that sometimes. I' m not that adventurous but I do like Canarian chicken. Angie: I made a Spanish lunch today actually; chorizo, goats cheese, sliced apple. I have a bash at tortilla occasionally as well. Lisa: We tend to eat out Canarian-style most of the time because it' s just as cheap. Irma: I know. It' s cheaper to eat in a Canarian restaurant than a fast food place, and it' s better. What Spanish products are in your fridge now? Heather: We always buy frozen English bread. The thing with Spanish bread is that when you spread butter on it, it breaks. Angie: Yeah, and it' s sweet, isn' t it? One thing I have to admit is that I do buy English bread. Lisa: Me too Irma: Really? I think that if you' re living here you should enjoy the products here because you' ll miss them when you go back to England. Now I' m back in Tenerife, I miss marmite. How much effort do you think the Canarians make in allowing you to integrate? In what ways could they do more? Heather: I think they make the effort to make you feel welcome by speaking English but sometimes that doesn' t help when all you want to do is speak Spanish. Irma: When I was in England you always had free English lessons for foreigners and I always used to do them, but here it' s really expensive to go to Spanish lessons. They should give them free. Angie: Some of the Brits haven' t done themselves any favours by coming over and trashing places like Veronicas. Unfortunately, it affects the rest of us as well. It' s about us spreading the word that we' re not all bad. Lisa: I think sometimes it' s a case of the Canarians just putting up with us because of the tourist revenue. Do you sometimes forget you' re a foreigner? Heather: Yes. I look out of the window and that' s the only time I realise, 'oh my God it' s sunny, I' m in Tenerife'. Lisa: I never forget that I' m abroad, the sunshine constantly reminds me I' m not in England. Irma: I' m Spanish but sometimes I forget I' m in Spain. Sometimes my Mum calls me and I can' t speak Spanish! Do you feel like Tenerife is your home? Heather: No, I' m still bordering with England, but I' ve only been here 18 months. For me it' s not home. In the future, I feel I' ll be in England. Angie: I realised that Tenerife was my home the last time I was in the UK on holiday and found myself saying, ‘I' m going home on Friday' . This is where I had my daughter; it' s where I live. It' s definitely home for me. Irma: When I met my husband we talked about living in England. I love England... Angie: Strange girl! Irma: ... but when I have children I want them to grow up here. There' s no pressure about what car you have, how big your house is, etc. Angie: Same with me. As soon as I had Sophie, there were no thoughts of going back to England. Mind you, the fact that it' s hard to get an epidural here might change that next time I' m pregnant! Round the Table was hosted by kind invitation of the Hotel Jardin Tropical. This article has been supplied by kind permission of Living Tenerife Magazine. Read more articles like this on Island Life, Golf and Property Tenerife.
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