Here on the island, just like in the rest of Spain, it’s more frequent to hear “¿Hola, que tal?” (which also means "Hi, how are you?"). Even when the words are the same, they can sound very different. People here don’t pronounce the "s" sound at the end of syllables. So something like “Los dos chicos estaban jugando” (“the two boys were playing”), will sound like “Loh doh chicoh estaban jugando.” This may look like a small change when it’s written, but for me it has taken a lot of work to get used to.
Why do I bring up my accent and the accent of the islands in a story about the bank? Well, like I said, my Spanish is fairly good. But I was not prepared for the strong accent my bank teller had while I was trying to open up a bank account. I frequently had to ask him to say something otra vez, porfa ("one more time, please") or más despacito ("slower"). Every one of my interactions for the first few weeks included some form of no pasa nada ("don’t worry") or tranquilo ("calm down") from some kind Spanish speaker as I profusely apologized for my stuttering and inability to understand.
I’m getting better. I’m learning how to fit in and finding places to practice my Canarian Spanish. I hear it all day from the students at school. I talk with some of the other teachers in Spanish. I use Spanish at the gym. I’m still frequently corrected, but a little bit less frequently (and with less embarassment) than that first day at the bank. I’m still clearly American every time I open my mouth to speak, but I’m also getting better each day.
