Well, as of tomorrow I will have officially been in Spain for a month. I can´t believe it. Only 2 1/2 more to go. The whole time I´ve been reflecting on a lot of different things and I feel like it´s about time I finally write them all down. So here it goes...
My first night with my host mom she came right out and told me she didn´t like Americans. I expected that to some extent but not my first day here and from my host mom. I was offended. Since then I´ve come to learn she wasn´t trying to tell me she didn´t like Americans in a way that was meant to be offensive, but she meant she didn´t like Americans as a whole. Daily the U.S. is on the news here. Things that Spain would never be on our news for in the U.S. I can only assume this is the case throughout most of Europe. This has helped me to realize that Europeans no more about our country than any of us average Americans know about theirs. Why? My answer came last week one night at supper.
I was at the table with my host mom and Leticia and we were watching the news. I can´t remember what the story was on the news but it was something about the U.S. and my host mom made another comment about the U.S. I didn´t really say anything which is my typical response to comments about the U.S. and after a while she told me she didn´t mean any harm by it. She explained that the reason she doesn´t like Americans is because they think they´re above the rest of the world in a way that keeps them from working together with other countries on a normal basis. I thought about it and it makes sense. We think we don´t need anybody else but ourselves. I suppose it may be true but is that how we want it to be? Especially if it´s giving us such a bad reputation? I don´t know... just something that´s been on my mind lately I guess.
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For a study abroad trip with a high level of Spanish as a prerequisite I´m really surprised at how little Spanish I feel I´m learning. I can tell my Spanish has come a long way and I´ve only been here a month and I have to keep reminding myself of that but I just really feel like I should be able to speak it so much better. I´m taking a grammar class which helps a lot and soon I´ll start meeting with a professor from here to speak in Spanish (for me) and English (for her). Kendra and I constantly challenge ourselves to only speak in Spanish with each other but when we´re all together as group everything´s in English. I hate it. I came here to speak Spanish!
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When you´re traveling it´s so easy to appreciate what you´re seeing and it´s much easier to keep yours eyes open to what you´re experiencing. However, when you´re living in a foreign country it´s easy to forget to do that. Days start to blend together and the things around you become normal. I´ve been making a conscious effort to try and make my life here and experience rather than just a place I live. While trying to do this, here are some things I´ve noticed:
My first night with my host mom she came right out and told me she didn´t like Americans. I expected that to some extent but not my first day here and from my host mom. I was offended. Since then I´ve come to learn she wasn´t trying to tell me she didn´t like Americans in a way that was meant to be offensive, but she meant she didn´t like Americans as a whole. Daily the U.S. is on the news here. Things that Spain would never be on our news for in the U.S. I can only assume this is the case throughout most of Europe. This has helped me to realize that Europeans no more about our country than any of us average Americans know about theirs. Why? My answer came last week one night at supper.
I was at the table with my host mom and Leticia and we were watching the news. I can´t remember what the story was on the news but it was something about the U.S. and my host mom made another comment about the U.S. I didn´t really say anything which is my typical response to comments about the U.S. and after a while she told me she didn´t mean any harm by it. She explained that the reason she doesn´t like Americans is because they think they´re above the rest of the world in a way that keeps them from working together with other countries on a normal basis. I thought about it and it makes sense. We think we don´t need anybody else but ourselves. I suppose it may be true but is that how we want it to be? Especially if it´s giving us such a bad reputation? I don´t know... just something that´s been on my mind lately I guess.
---------
For a study abroad trip with a high level of Spanish as a prerequisite I´m really surprised at how little Spanish I feel I´m learning. I can tell my Spanish has come a long way and I´ve only been here a month and I have to keep reminding myself of that but I just really feel like I should be able to speak it so much better. I´m taking a grammar class which helps a lot and soon I´ll start meeting with a professor from here to speak in Spanish (for me) and English (for her). Kendra and I constantly challenge ourselves to only speak in Spanish with each other but when we´re all together as group everything´s in English. I hate it. I came here to speak Spanish!
---------
When you´re traveling it´s so easy to appreciate what you´re seeing and it´s much easier to keep yours eyes open to what you´re experiencing. However, when you´re living in a foreign country it´s easy to forget to do that. Days start to blend together and the things around you become normal. I´ve been making a conscious effort to try and make my life here and experience rather than just a place I live. While trying to do this, here are some things I´ve noticed:
- For starters, people don´t get married here until much later than we do. Early 30´s seem to be about the time people get married. Nobody´s ever in a rush to do anything.
- Grandfathers taking care of their grandchildren. Small grandchildren. I can´t tell you how many times I´ve seen old men pushing infants in strollers or walking their children home from school. Can you imagine what people would think if they saw that in the U.S.?
- Everybody owns umbrellas. My mom bought me an umbrella especially for my trip. Why? It rains just as much in the U.S. (okay, maybe a little less, but we still would have use for umbrellas). It´s because we hardly walk anywhere. If it´s raining here nothing about your daily routine changes nor how much you have to walk. All you do is open your umbrella. I like it.
- In the U.S. there is nowhere you can live where a walk to school or work would involve taking a very old stone staircase past a cathedral that´s centuries old. I try to remember that as I pass by it everyday.
I´ll leave you all here. There´s more to come but long blog posts are hard to read, especially when there´s no pictures. Sorry!
1 comment:
Great comments - - you put into words so many things that we also learned about Europeans. It is very hard to explain to people who have not "lived" it, but only traveled. Continue to absorb as much as you can. You'll be amazed by some of the habits that you come home with, something as simple as always carrying an umbrella! Enjoy yourself and don't be too hard on yourself, just think of an evening of speaking in English as a mini trip to the spa...Alison, Brooke & Billy
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