Interview with Jake Hyslop

1) What is your name?

My name is Jake. 

2) Where do you come from?

I’m from Birmingham, England.

3) How long have you been here?

I’ve been here for six weeks.

4) Is it your first time here?

No, I lived in Valencia for two months in 2012 and in Granada in 2013 for six months.

5) What do you like about Mallorca?

I like the beaches, the buildings and the cafés and restaurants which are very good and really cheap.

6) What differences are there between Palma and Birmingham?

Palma is a lot smaller, around a fifth of the size, Palma has the sea, the weather is better but sometimes it can be too hot. The streets are also much more lively.

7) What buildings have you visited in Palma?

So far I’ve been to the cathedral, the walls, the Olivar market, the stations, the Cort and the Plaça Major.

8) What would you be doing if you weren’t teaching?

I would probably be working in some kind of financial job in London whilst I considered what career I wanted long-term.

9) Did you choose to come to Spain?

Yes I did. I studied in Granada last year and I really enjoyed it, so I decided to come back to Spain for a year to improve my Spanish.

10) Have you travelled around Europe much?

I’ve visited quite a lot of Europe; Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and of course Spain. I went interrailing when I was 18 which covered a lot of these places.

11) Would you like to live in Spain permanently?

Yes, but in Barcelona or Madrid. I prefer bigger cities as there is more to do.

12)Which is the most well-known Spanish city in England?

Barcelona, everyone has visited Barcelona at least once. Very few people seem to have been to Madrid.

13) What shocked you the most when you first came to Spain?

Shop assistants and people working in customer or public services here are often extremely rude and sometimes borderline insulting. I couldn’t understand it at first, but now I just come to expect it and try not to take offence. I think if some of the Correos or TIB employees here worked in other countries in the world they would be fired.

14) In England, can you retake exams if you fail them?

You can, but you have to pay to resit them and many University courses and jobs will only recruit candidates who passed all their exams at the first attempt.

15) What do you do in your spare time?

I don’t have much free time here due to all my teaching hours, but I love travelling and want to travel around the Balearics and Spain in general a lot this year. I run, swim or go to the gym most days, and I want to make the most of having the sea close-by this year and take up Paddle-Surfing.

16) What do you plan to do in the future?

I haven’t really thought about it. Next year I’m unsure whether I’ll stay in Spain or return to the UK. If I go backto the UK I’ll move to London because most of my friends now live there and most jobs are based down there too.

17) Which kind of music to do listen to?

I listen to lots of different types, but I prefer different kinds of House and Underground, I really like the Boiler Room project. I’m not such a fan of reggaetón or Spanish music to be honest haha.