In November 2018 I was 2 months into living the most colossal decision of my life - leave everything behind and moved to Spain.

Things were going good - I found a steady job and I loved the city where I lived.

But there were still problems eating away at me…

I had no friends, no Spanish level and above all… no confidence.

I needed to do something out of the ordinary to meet people. I wasn’t going to magically make friends out of thin air whilst I sat in my flat all alone. No matter how difficult it was going to be, I needed to put myself out there.

Then an idea hit me…

Go to a local language meet-up in a bar in the city centre.

It seemed like the perfect plan to speak with natives who wanted to practise English and also other expats wanting to practise Spanish.

Looking back, I have no idea where I plucked the courage from. If you had known me back then, entering a room full of people and trying to make conversation was a horrific nightmare.

But I did it anyway.

I arrived to see a bar full of people speaking in large groups. It was so packed I couldn’t even find a place to sit. I scanned the room for a friendly face with whom I could start a conversation.

Luckily I saw an empty chair at a table in a quiet corner of the room.

So I walk over and sit down with a man and woman.

I clumsily introduce myself and try to think of questions to ask which causes my brain to overload.

Then there’s an awkward silence.

The two people are looking at me as if I’m an alien with 3 heads and slimy tentacles.

My heart is racing at 100mph.

Have I said something wrong? Have I insulted them? Why have they come to a meet-up if they don’t want to talk?

Then the bomb drops.

They tell me they have NO IDEA about the language meet…

And they’re actually on a date together.

I guess now I can cross “gate-crash a young couple on a date in a foreign language” off my bucket list.

What did I learn from this embarrassing moment?

Learning a language should never be so serious that you can’t laugh at your own mistakes.

Embarrassing stories turn into funny anecdotes to tell people in the future and voilà - suddenly you’re glad you took that scary step outside your comfort zone.

What’s more, with more red-faced situations the thicker your skin grows over time making them easier to overcome.

Your language journey isn’t supposed to be black and white - in fact there are many colours that get splashed upon the canvas. Embarrassing moments are just one colour of that stunning portrait you’ll look back on in many years with a warm smile.