Although proudly Catalan, there are few better places to brush up your Castellano than on a language course amidst the winding streets and beautiful beaches of Barcelona

 

Note book. Check. Pen. Check. Barcelona guidebook. Check. I meander through the dusky, architecturally charming streets of Spain’s Antoni Gaudi-marked city, to be met by the loving linguistic arms of International House – a world class college that teaches English and modern languages – with the kind of butterflies in my stomach reserved for A-level exams way back when.

 

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The Mediterranean diet is often credited with helping Spanish people live longer, but family and city living seem to help along the way

Now here's a conundrum: if you could do anything to prolong the lives of your parents, would you do it? Of course you would. But what if that thing meant having them come and live with you? Mmm.

It seems that in northern European countries, only about 5% of elderly parents live with their children, while in Spain the figure is about 45%. And a recent study by Madrid's Universidad Autónoma suggests that this may be one of the reasons why Spanish people live so long – in Madrid, men are living an average of 78 years, and women a whopping 85.

 

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Trying to understand the Spanish sense of humour may leave you feeling like an octopus in a garage

Poetry, according to the poet Robert Frost, is what gets lost in translation; but the same is also true of humour. Anyone zapping through Spanish TV stations might be forgiven for believing that Spanish people are, like five year-old children, amused only by the most basic form of slapstick - a seemingly endless parade of men in drag, falling over and shouting abuse at one another.

 

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Spain magazine and Cactus, the language training company, are offering the chance for one lucky Spain Magazine reader and a friend to jet off to bustling Barcelona and learn Spanish on location. You and your friend could win a week of Spanish lessons with Cactus’s partner school in Barcelona, International House, right in the heart of Europe’s most exciting city.  Whatever your language ability, you’ll be able to brush-up your skills by immersing yourself in Barcelona life, staying either with a host family (B&B) or with other students in a self-catering apartment.

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