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When we first
moved here we worried that the children were a little
bit old to integrate easily into the Spanish system, but
in hindsight at 9, 11 and 12 we think that they were an
ideal age. They had the advantage of already having a
good standard of English, both spoken and written which
meant that we didn’t have the added worry of teaching
them their native language, but they were also young
enough to pick up Spanish easily. Being the only English
children in the school at the time made it much easier
for them as they could only speak Spanish, whereas the
English children that have joined the school since do
not have the same advantage or incentive to speak
Spanish – it is only natural to prefer to speak in your
own language if you have the choice. Our children were
very lucky, though they may not have thought so in the
beginning! Strangely, they had the added advantage that,
not having experienced foreign children before, some of
the teachers didn’t actually realise that they weren’t
Spanish and consequently made no allowances for them –
very hard but ultimately the best thing that could have
happened.
Another advantage of moving here is the willingness of
the children to travel on their own. That first summer
when we went back to England for a holiday Elizabeth was
not quite ten, but she decided that it would be a good
idea if we left her in England to spend a bit longer
with her friends and she would fly back to Spain on her
own! The three of them have regularly traveled back and
forth to England on their own ever since. Moving to
Spain has definitely given the children more freedom and
independence – we never feel the same worry that we
would have felt in England when they are out on their
own. This is just as well, as the Spanish way of going
out late and not coming home until the early hours would
be very worrying otherwise!
Living in the campo is a bit difficult for teenagers.
All three of the children had mopeds when they turned 14
and studied for their moped licenses, which at least
gives them a bit of independence, though they have been
known to walk the 5km home in the summer after a
Saturday night out. John, now 19, passed his driving
test here last year which also helps a lot!
Insurance for mopeds is a big problem – you can get it,
but at a price! The best way is to ring up the insurance
consortium in Madrid. They will provide insurance for
minors for about 350€ which is about half the price of
anything else we have found.
Of course the campo has a lot of plus points – they have
been able to run wild in a way that they would never
have done in England. Being very outdoor, sporty
children they are in their element, with mountains to
climb, horses to ride, mountain bikes, skiing and
swimming, they have not been short of things to keep
them occupied.
For our first year here I was feeling really smug, with
my lovely healthy ‘outdoor’ children, who also devoured
books by the dozen in their spare time. That is, until
my parents very kindly decided to buy them Satellite TV
as a reward for doing so well at school – oh dear, now
they are more like normal teenagers!
Of course the internet has not helped either, though I
would not be able to run the business without it so I
can’t complain. Our slow digital system is frustrating
at times but we do know that we are lucky to have it at
all.
Teenagers do have a habit of comparing their lives with
their friends, and of course over the years we have had
to contend with Spain being blamed for anything wrong in
their lives, i.e. The internet is better in England, you
don’t get so much home work, 6th form is so cool – and
so on. Ask all their friends from England who see us as
their second home where they would rather live and I
know the answer!
 Our eldest, John, did find out for himself where his
home really was when he went back to England at 16 to
attend an army college in Harrogate. Having passed
Spanish school and achieved his Titulo after only 3
years here we were very proud of him. He decided that he
wanted to make his career in the British army, being
such a fitness fanatic and also very disciplined and
tidy. He set off in September 2003 to start his new life
and found the army life everything he had expected – he
loved it and thrived in the environment, enjoying the
many academic and travel opportunities that came with
it. He has fond memories of a trip they did to northern
Spain where his translation skills were put to good use,
and the Spanish lads he met there said he had an accent
just like their friends from Malaga! Surprisingly,
academically John found he was advanced compared to most
of the English lads. Having studied in a foreign
language since the age of 13 he fully expected to be
behind the English curriculum but that was not the case.
Us expats with school age children may naturally have
concerns about the standard of education in the Spanish
schools, so it is nice to know that they must be getting
something right!
John’s problems with his army life began when they were
allowed to go home for the weekend. Of course it was
impossible for John, and he started to realise that this
could become a problem. As time went on, he also
realised that when he went away on tour of duty, where
ever he was in the world he would always be sent back to
England and only then would he be able to find his own
way back to Spain. He started to become home sick,
missing his life in Spain and hating England!
Eventually, having stuck it out for 14 months he decided
to leave and happily for us, came home. It was lovely
for us to know that he had discovered for himself that
actually it was better here and that Spain was his home.
Now he even talks about becoming a Spanish citizen!
At still only 18, John had not lost anything and had
experienced so much, he doesn’t regret his time in the
army and he says that all boys should do it! In
September he started college in Antequerra, along with
his younger brother Harry and some of his Spanish
friends. Elizabeth at 15 is in her last year of school
and wants to make her career with horses. She has big
ambitions to study in California with Monty Roberts (the
famous horse whisperer) but since she can’t do this
until she is 18 (and we win the lottery!) we are not
quite sure what she will do yet, though she too is now
talking of going to college in Antequerra in September.
At the moment she is practicing her skills on our own
horses, and demonstrating ‘join up’ to any of our
clients that are interested.
From an early age she has been interested in Monty’s
work and developed her skills by reading his books.
About a year ago we attended a course with Tracy James
who trained with Monty Roberts and runs a natural
horsemanship centre in Bobadilla. We also built a round
pen and now Elizabeth has all the tools she needs to
practice, including plenty of young horses.
The only sad thing for Elizabeth is that she does not
have a like minded teenage friend to ride and do
‘horsey’ things with. It is such a shame, as when her
friends from England visit she has such a lovely time
messing about with the horses. Any truly horse mad
teenagers out there – apply here!
To be continued………………
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