¡Madre Mía! Culture Shock in the USA!

Ok, I never thought I would say it, but... I have culture shock in my own country!!! The past few weeks have been a roller-coaster for my body, mind and spirit-- I guess you fellow yogis could say that my xi isn't focused as of late.

Pretty creek near my home

The following things have put me threw a loop:

1. English, English, ENGLISH! Another thing I also thought I would never say: I don't enjoy speaking English as much as Spanish. The day after my flight home I went to the local grocery store where I had a crazy experience when I went to the deli to buy some sandwich meat. I strolled up with my cart and instinctively said, "Me gustaría un kilo de jamón, por favor." You should've seen the employee's face! Realizing I had accidentally spoken Spanish, I tried to remedy the situation by saying the same sentence in English. However for some reason I didn't quite say, "I would like a pound of ham, please," instead it came out in a very awkward accent, "I... ham!... please?" Yeah. Still trying to figure out who took my brain that day! The other day a few Spanish speakers came to our house to paint our water-damaged wall and ceiling. Oh boy, was I in hog heaven! One of them was named Adolfo and we had a very pleasant Spanish conversation that made my week.                            
2. Everything really is SUPERSIZED. When I say this, I am not only talking about McDonald's and obesity. I'm saying that everything is huge and spread out and loud and proud! When I saw my brother Mike who is 6 feet 2 inches (approximately 1.9 meters) tall I was astonished. After successfully looking everyone in the eye for three months without tilting my head, I felt like I had neck cramps after the first night I saw him. Another thing is that American streets and homes are gigantic! When I walked into my bedroom I was almost disgusted to see that it was larger than my host family's kitchen, and it's all for me. Needless to say I feel like I live in such gluttony and I honestly don't know how to react.
3. Basketball is worth watching! I never realized how much I missed the good old NBA until I came back after watching the highlights of the B-ball league in Europe. Holy guacamole I love it so much!

   

   My best bud Ulia and I at an NBA game

4. I can't avoid driving. One thing I loved about Europe was that I never had to be behind the wheel; all I had to do was get on a bus, metro or train (all of which are very punctual, by the way) to get wherever I needed that was far away. And to go to close places we'd just walk and walk and walk! Now, though, if I want to take the train I have to drive my car to get to the station, because it's on the other side of a busy Interstate freeway. I don't mind taking the city trams (we don't have subways) but most of the people that ride the buses are somewhat creepy... Another thing I loved was that everything was very close! Instead of driving out to a supermarket and buying a whole trunk load of groceries (there I go again with the supersize) they can walk down the street to the panadería for bread one day and to the carnicería for meat the next. There's no need to go to Costco with their carts bigger than me because there's nowhere to put it all!
5. Guns. I've never really been a fan of guns just because my family doesn't have any in the home, but now I am super against them. Here I feel soooo paranoid to be out and about at night or in areas where there's not a ton of people. I mean in Spain I was cautious too, but I was at least comforted to know that if I ran into a scary situation they wouldn't have a gun. But because of our blessed 2nd Amendment every American loves guns! I don't get it. I feel nervous and afraid around guns because they were only made for one purpose, and you know what that is so I'm not going to push the issue any further. The only real problem I have now is that all the American hotties are into guns in one way or another so when they find out I think guns are bogus, all of a sudden I'm not as fun to be around.
6. Fabulous customer service! In Spain the employees/employers are in charge of what goes on in a store, but in the USA the customer is. I went to Nordstrom's a few days ago and wanted to kiss the feet of the woman that was helping me because she was pleasant, nice, had good advice and was actually doing her job! Ah, I love capitalism. It makes us all a little bit more motivated.
7. Everything is completely new. Seriously buildings that are only 50 or 100 years old are considered to be ancient here in the States, especially the West. I guess part of that has to do with the fact that the Native Americans in North America were nomads for the most part so we don't have any cool 1000 year old temples to excavate. Europe was gorgeous in the fact that there was so much history in every little street cobble stone, but home is gorgeous in the fact that we are the history. All of our buildings are new and shiny!

Super nice new library that opened
while I was away

Although I am obviously still working out some adjustments in my day to day life, I am grateful to be back home. I can't say that I don't want to be back in Spain, but I know that for right now I should be on American soil. I just have to say though that the one thing that shocked me the most was the bombing in the Boston Marathon. At first I honestly didn't believe that it had happened because it seemed like something that wouldn't happen in real life-- it was the first real event that blew me away since the nation's trauma on September 11, 2001. And yet I have to say that amidst that fear we all handled it infinitely better than we did when the World Trade Center was destroyed. With all of our nation's branches of law enforcement as well as the citizens working together we proved that we don't need to live in fear when we all do our part. Look: thousands of civilians died in 9/11 and thousands of servicemen died from the conflicts following thereafter, but only five people died in Boston (3 people at the finish line, 1 officer and 1 suspect.) We've truly learned from our mistakes. Now that is what I call a success. God bless the United States of America.

Glad to be back home!

Besos y lagrimas: The End of an Amazing Adventure

I’m sad to say that my study abroad adventure is coming to a close! It has been such an eye-opening experience for me in so many ways. I think that everybody that gets the chance to live in another part of the world (even if it’s only the other side of your state) should take a hold of the reins before it’s too late. I feel immensely grateful for the things I’ve learned. Although I’m sure I don’t quite realize some other changes that have happened to me, here are some of the life lessons I can recognize now:

Me with my Spanish language diploma
on the last day of the semester

Gaining Confidence

I’ve always been a little timid when it comes to meeting new people and I guess you could say that I have a talent of dissolving into crowds. Spain hasn’t necessarily changed my personality per se, but instead it has helped me realize how much a small gesture of confidence can make a difference.

When I first arrived I was terrified to ask Spaniards for simple things like directions, recommendations or small talk, but now I realize that my favorite moments of the semester have been when I stick my foot out there and do what’s out of my comfort zone to try doing those sorts of things. And you know the best thing? Most people were really nice; I didn’t have anything to worry about! (I guess except that one time that I got lost from my group in Madrid one evening—but even then I found a nice couple to escort me to the nearest Metro stop.) Who cares if I don’t quite get it right the first time? I gained people’s respect by trying my very best at embracing the Spanish culture instead of being a stick in the mud foreigner by having a closed mind.

My two teachers Teresa and Sofia
with my great friend Juliana

I’ve realized that being confident in my social skills here has helped me become a more socially confident person in general. I mean if I can make a friend while speaking a foreign language, what is there that I can’t do at home in my native tongue?

Having Empathy

My whole life I always felt like I’m a nice person and that I try to treat everyone equally, but boy was I wrong! I never realized that I was a pretty heartless person until being the fish out of water.

Two girls in my program, Steffani and Melissa,
 in Valle de los Caídos

Sundays are always my favorite days because I get to interact with mostly native Spanish speakers at church about deep topics. I remember one of my first Sundays I was trying to meet more kids my age, so in Sunday School I sat next to a pretty Spanish girl that seemed like someone I would sit next to in a Sunday School class at home. After awhile the teacher assigned us as partners to read a scripture and discuss it in front of the class. Unfortunately she didn’t turn out to be as nice as I had hoped and really turned her nose up at me when I tried to explain what I thought about the topic. Embarrassed, I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the day for fear of ruining my pride for a second time.

Taylor, Tatiana and Madeleine
 in La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

But that night a light bulb turned on in my head. “That’s exactly how I would’ve reacted had I been in her situation,” I thought to myself, “Students that don’t speak well come in and out of the ward every three months, and I bet she’s tired of putting up with dummies like me.”

Never before had I truly understood what it meant to not be able to communicate. Now in hindsight I see so many instances where I was the jerk in similar situations because I honestly couldn’t relate to the feeling of complete estrangement from one’s home, language, nation, culture and/or family. Now I really hope to have empathy for those from a different country living in my own.

Being a Friend

In recent years I’ve lived a pretty lonely lifestyle by the choices I’ve made. It’s honestly not necessarily a bad way of living, because I’ve always made myself good company. However I don’t think I ever quite realized what exactly I was missing out on when I would make selfish choices. Being on a program like this one has literally forced me to spend five times as many quality hours than I ever would before with people that I probably never would’ve had the chance to meet.

My friends and I at a YSA activity

Interacting with the fellow students in the program definitely impacted me for the better. I got to know everyone a little too well, but it really opened my eyes to see how much we could help each other out by supporting one another. By learning about each other’s problems, strengths and weaknesses we could really build each other up and balance each other out with our varying personalities. I am soooo grateful for everyone in my program!

Vicki, Andy, Emily and I
 struggling to fit on a couch

Interacting with the locals also taught me a ton. There were people of all ages and walks of life that I was able to meet. With them I was really impressed to see that they actually cared about me instead of blowing me off since I wasn’t staying for very long. I’ve really learned that being a good friend doesn’t mean that I have to see them everyday for the rest of my life. Even if it is only a short time, friendship is time well spent.

Saying Goodbye

The last thing I’ve learned about life is that there is no such thing as “goodbye” or “adios.” Saying “goodbye” indicates that you’ll never see that person or place ever again, but reality is that there can always be a next time. Think about it…

Cities don’t move! The places we love will always be waiting for us to come visit again; I mean life is ahead of us with endless possibilities in the future that we might not be completely aware of right now.

My favorite park in Alcalá de Henares

In regards to people, who knows if you’ll cross paths again? Just reflect for a moment: how many times have you run into a high school friend, college roommate, or long lost second cousin twice removed that you never expected to see ever again? If you’re like me, you’ll be surprised to count the times you’ve bumped into people like this. On a more solemn note dealing with death is the same way for me too. Although the deceased isn’t with us now, we’ll have the chance to see them on the other side.

Andy, Madeleine and I posing at La Alhambra

Therefore I’ve come up with a conclusion! “Goodbye” is no longer in my vocabulary. Instead it has been replaced with “hasta luego” or “see you later.”

¡Hasta luego, Madrid!

  

El Palacio Real in Madrid