Wow. As I look at my calendar on my desk, I realize just how short one month is. When I look at the highlighted days from the 5th of September, until today, the 6th of October, I can remember every single one of those 32 days. Every emotion, every laugh, every moment when I thought I would give up, and every moment when I thought, "Wow, I can actually do this." I'm so happy to look at the past 7 days and remember how happy I was. Since my last post, I have really just started enjoying Spain. As I look ahead, it seems like an endless number of days until June 29th. I know from almost every single person who went abroad, that those days will seem long, but the months will fly by and before I know it, I will be on a plan back home. Wow, I just got goosebumps writing that. I'm just happy right now that I'm not longer in a rush to countdown those days.So for the past month, I have been writing down all the things about spanish life that have stuck out at me. The differences:
Shoes are ALWAYS worn in the house: This is mostly because they don't have carpets in Spain. Like the literally don't exist. So the tile gets pretty cold, especially in the winter. When I bought a pair of slippers in forever21 with Margo Tschantz a few weeks before I left, I never thought I'd be wearing them every single day in spain :)
Hands are always shown at the table: It's rude if you have your hands in your lap and it's totally acceptable to have both your elbows on the table. Totally the opposite from back home, right Mom?
At a store, you don't slide your card, the cashier does: I learned this the hard way the first time I went shopping. Everyone freaked out when I slid my card and I just stood there like the dumb american they think I am.
Bagels do not exist in Spain: Oh how I miss my daily everything bagel with cream cheese :( But now I'm obsessed with having golden graham cereal with hot chocolate. Much more acceptable.
Kisses, Kisses and more kisses: Whenever you greet someone, whether you know them or they're a complete stranger to you, you kiss their left cheek and then their right. This was hard getting used to, especially when my friends at school would introduce me to other guys in my grade and I would have to kiss them. It just felt weird to me because that would be so strange in the US. Thank god I haven't messed up the directions yet because that could end badly....
Mierda ≠ Miedo ≠ Mienta : (Shit/ Scared/ Lie) These words are sooo close but if you mix them up, it's just awkward...
No one runs on the road: That's what gyms are for I guess.. but I always run on roads and I love being outside, exploring and learning what's around me. I've gotten used to the confused stares from the old farmers, and the violent barks from the shepherd dogs.
Everyone has two last names: Instead of totally getting rid of the wives last name, the Spaniards keep them both, but no one has a middle name. When formally referred to, people will say their father's name first and then their mothers, but usually they just use their fathers. When two people get married, they both drop their mother's names and combined their fathers.
Calendar days start on Monday, not Sunday: It took me awhile to realize this but now, I kind of like it better. It makes more sense.
No 1 Euro bills: I don't know if this was universally known, but I never knew that they only had 1 euro coins, and no bills.
Flip Flops are only worn to the pool, or to the beach: This was one of the hardest things for me because I wear flip flops everywhere, to school, after sports practice, to the mall, wherever. I just throw them on and I'm ready to go. I did that in the beginning here, not knowing, and I got some pretty weird looks walking around town. My family explained it to me laughing the whole time when I told them that in the US, we wear them EVERYWHERE.
No ice cubes: Another hard thing for me to accept. Most of you know that I put ice cubes in EVERYTHING. I love having a really cold glass of water, or even an orange juice with ice cubes in the morning. Here, ice cubes are only found in restaurant and bars and even there, you only get a single ice cube for your whole drink. I guess I'll be coming back with a new appreciation for room temperature drinks?
Milk doesn't go in the refrigerator: I'm still trying to figure out how the dozens of milk cartons in the pantry don't go bad.
The food schedule: This totally threw me off at first. Breakfast is normal, before school. Lunch is after school around 3, it is the biggest meal of the day. Merienda around 7 which is basically a scheduled snack time. Dinner is around 10 and is light.
Braids: NO ONE wears braids. I feel like I stick out so much when I show up to track practice with my braided pony tail. I love my braids though so that's not changing!
I'm 1.62 meters!!
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| Spanish friends! |
Now just a few things about school:
No lunch at school: There is a 30 minute "Recreo" halfway through the day where students can eat sandwiches that they backed from home.
Lecture Lecture Lecture: Classes seem to just be lectures. The teacher stands at the front of the room and just talks for 50 minutes. This is extremely hard for me 1. because I can't understand half of what they're saying 2. I'm so tired sometimes I find myself sleeping with my eyes open (is that possible?) and 3. WFS was never like that so it's just something I've never experienced.
Dates seem more important than concepts: At least in my Social Studies class, this seems to be true. The teacher will randomly call on students and ask them things like "What was the government system of the Early Modern Age?" or, "What year was the french revolution?" I was so embarrassed when the teacher called on me and asked "What year was the American Revolution?" and I totally blanked. My classmates were so surprised that I didn't know. Ugh.. Social studies has always been my worst subject.
Math: 1,000 is written 1.000 and a decimal like 3.879 is written 3,879 so that totally threw me off in the beginning. Still haven't gotten used to that.
Students: While the teacher lectures in the front of the room, it seems optional whether to listen to them or not. Most teachers ignore the groups of students in the back of the room just socializing the whole class. Paying attention is definitely not required.
Grades: There is no secrecy to students grades. The first day of Lengua, each student had to shout out their final grade from last year so the teacher could record it in her book. In Ethics the other day, the teacher read through everyones grades, comments included, in front of the whole class. (I got a 6/10!!!! I was so happy! That's basically like a C/B- in the US.)
So as the days start moving quicker, and the smiles come more easily, I realize just how lucky I am to be here. A piece of my heart will always remain in Delaware, with all the people I love so much. Especially during hard times like these, when tragedy strikes back home, I wish I could take the next plane back, and just hug everyone. I just want to be there physically and not with a computer screen to separate us. To all my friends and family back home, I love you so much and I think about you all the time.
Please pray for Aly Mitchell <3
