A few weeks ago I was obsessed with finding the translation for “that’s hardcore!” in Spanish. I would ask every new Spanish speaking person I met. It felt important to me because it’s something I’d say in English, so how I could be myself in Spanish unless I knew how to say it?

The closest I came was “!hostia! !que fuerte!” – a phrase that’s not really spoken outside of Spain, and kind of means, “that’s some heavy shit.”

It’s not really a direct translation, and I’ve given up in finding one. Most of the people I asked would tell me there isn’t really a way to say “that’s hardcore!” in Spanish, which happens sometimes. At first I didn’t believe them. I mean what happens when a Spanish-speaking person sees something really intense, how do they express that feeling?

Well as Kylie explained, they don’t feel the exact same thing, although they might feel something close to.

Many people talk about how they almost become a different person in another language, or different aspect of their personality shines through. Perhaps in one you’re more flirtatious, in another more serious, in another more individualistic. And language provides cues to how a culture expects you to behave.

Life hasn’t been very hardcore here. I have many of the things I have in Sydney; sunshine, cafe culture, films, bookstores, nightclubs, restaurants … and friends to enjoy these things with. And that’s made for a very pleasant two months.

There’s only one aspect in which I would like to turn up the “hardcore dial”; and that is speaking Spanish. I don’t seem to do that much of it. I know some basic Spanish to see me through the day when it comes to purchasing things, but otherwise, with everyone I’m hanging out with, it’s just hours and hours of conversation in English.

There are things I can do to rectify this – things that I’m going to do. Because learning Spanish is very important to me. It is the main reason I’m here. And not only is it important to me, I enjoy it! I have begun to like practising it, and working on it, like one would work on any hobby, craft or sport. And my good exam marks was a little confidence booster – a reminder that I can be good at this, if I put in the hard work.