Words aren’t necessary

I have an internship in a Spanish café which deserves its own special post but, I have a coworker named Carlos whom I get along with so well. From day one we clicked - me with my little Spanish and him and his few English words. He really understood me and my sarcasm without a common language to really a communicate with. Carlos and I both agreed who were the annoying clients in our café and who we thought was strange. All of this with pointing, grunting and rolling of eyes and I learned a whole new set of vocabulary I would have never learned in school. With the help of Carlos I learned so much about Spanish sayings and I actually had a genuine friend too. He took me to meet his friends and to travel to bars
It was also the same for my host mother and sister. I have never felt so connected to people who don’t even speak the same language. My host mom and I get along so well and we only have observations and trial and error. I really enjoy just sitting in the room with my host mother and just talking to her and asking her questions that spring off of my basic questions. She is so full of joy and always willing to help me learn and practice my Spanish.
I have learned that words are not always necessary and sometimes not even needed. All that you need to understand another person is patience. This is a virtue and always quoted and in actuality is the basis of understanding. I now know that I will take this new thought process with me and try to instill that more in my American way of life.

Things I love about Spain/Things I dislike abut Spain

Things I love about Spain:
Walking everywhere
Olive oil
Public transportation
Siestas
Conservation of resources
Things I dislike abut Spain:
Walking everywhere
Olive oil
Public transportation
Siestas
Conservation of resources
It is funny how everything you love can be everything you hate at the same time. I really love the cultural differences and how I have learned to adapt to another lifestyle. I think a common misconception about studying abroad is that you either hate or love your country and your experience. I have learned that I love balance. I do enjoy walking everywhere but I miss my car. I wish there were more options to have better public transportation in Dallas and that I could pick between both instead of just driving. I also enjoy the wonderful benefits of conserving resources such as light, electricity, and water. Although I wish that the hot water was always on instead of having to turn the gas on or maybe I could take a shower longer then 15 minutes. I must say I do enjoy the accessibility of recycling. Here in Seville there are always bins right in front of your face so recycling is so easy to do here. In the states it often hard to harder to recycle if you live in an apartment or live outside of the pick up zone. We had bin at Tech but there was that conspiracy about it just being in appearance and they really threw the recycling in the trash! I really like olive oil it 's good for you but, what about variety I like corn oil too! Siestas are nice but what if I wanted a yellow double-sided highlighter between the hours of 2-6pm not a possibility here. I love how at home I can run in to a store open 24hrs a day whenever I want. The first thing I will do that first week I return home will be to go to my favorite stores between the hours of 2-6pm. I love Spain and hate Spain it all at the same time. I am grateful for this experience and will miss it dearly... but, I will be the person to offer to drive when get back to the states!

Can you hear me now?

Today I experienced the joy of waiting for an hour in a Spanish mobile phone store. To my surprise the notion of “the customer comes first” is only an American thing. Service and money are not directly linked in Spain. They serve you when they want to serve you. Waiting in line is not organized and you better hope that they saw your face and remember when you came in. I am used to waiting in line at a phone store, as a slave to my contract. At least at home they treat me like I am their most valued customer. People come in, look at the line and choose to leave or stay. In my experience there is normally more than one worker at the store but it takes two of them to process an order. It is a very time consuming ordeal, and a visit to the phone store is never fun but one is Spain can be excruciating.

I have waited for hours in the states at the Sprint Store and if given the choice between that and waiting in Spain – I would choose Sprint every time. This is only because you can yell at them in English and they will quickly try to resolve the issue. Not the case in Spain -you yell, they say “It’s not my fault” and nothing gets resolved. Let it be known that Spaniards argue all of the time about everything. What I miss most about the states is that employees address you based on priority and not who is closer to the desk. But Spanish mobile phone companies did get one thing right: You can buy whatever phone you please with no contract! Thanks Sprint for binding me for two years with roaming fees…

Semana Santa

This past week has been Semana Santa, a weeklong celebration for the death and resurrection of Christ. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends with Resurrection Sunday. Semana Santa is celebrated all throughout Spain; the country is a Catholic Nation. The celebration is especially big in Seville. I was here for the whole week of Semana Santa and I saw the main attraction which is the viewing of the pasos. Pasos are like large lifelike scenes depicting the last days of Christ’s life. The Pasos are mounted on large decorated (piece of?)Wood and adorned with gold or silver and these are the center pieces in processions of men and women dressed in hooded attire to hide their identity.
I never have experienced anything like Semana Santa in my life. In Spain I am considered a protestant and the celebrations for Easter time greatly differ in the states. Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) I went out with my tutor and her family to watch the Pasos. Domingo de Ramos in Seville is a sight to see: everyone is dressed up in their Sunday best. Café and bars across all of Seville are open to cater to the tired, hungry, and thirsty from watching the Pasos. Everyone is out and the whole city is filled with young and old walking the streets following the pasos. There are tons of people walking the streets, watching and waiting for the pasos. This routine continues throughout the week until Thursday when the all night processions begin. You can literally view processions from 4pm Thursday afternoon until 4pm Friday. Saturday there are more pasos to watch and Sunday the big day. The day Christ rose from the dead monumental for Christians. Nothing happens. No pasos. No people dressed up in there Sunday finest. A football game was on that day and everyone was dressed up in their finest reds and white for Seville. No mention of Jesus Cristo or la Virgin Maria. I realized then I do not really understand the catholic nation of Spain. :D

Patience and Endurance

I now realize after being here for the second time. That it takes a lot of patience and endurance to study abroad. I have learned so much about myself by being away and in new country. It pushes me in ways I have never would have imagined. I have enjoyed many aspects of Spanish life and the main things have been the importance of family central, enjoying the entire the whole day, enjoying life and working for a living and living not work. I am in awe of my host family and how they can open up their home and allow me to come and live with them an take part of their lives. Everyday I am met with an new challenge it may be simple like interpreting directions or hard like trying to explain a misunderstanding in Spanish. It makes me appreciate being in Texas so much more. I know that living abroad is much more than glossy photos and notions of travelling Europe. It is everyday mundane activities put into new and different settings. I am so proud that I have studied abroad twice and would do it again in a heartbeat just to learn what I have learned.

Mi Familia

I absolutely love my family here in Spain! They are the main reason I wanted to return to Spain in the first place. My family has hosted for 6 years. They have different students three times a year. I stayed with them the summer of 2008 and I had a wonderful time and chose to live with them again for the spring 2009 semester. My Spanish family consists of my host mother (Teresa), father (Manuel) and two host sisters( Marie and Rocio). I am constantly amazed at their generosity. They open their homes and hearts and trust that we will do the same. My host mother in particular is so joyful and full of life and she is always willing to help me with homework, directions, or anything I am confused about. When I am traveling by myself they always call and check in on me. Rocio is always inviting me to hang out with her and her friends. Everyone in my host family is always making sure we are included and feel like a part of the family. My favorite people to talk to are host grandmother and Teresa’s granddaughter Maria. The grandmother is eighty years old and has a lot of stories to tell. While Maria is two so I get to see what life is like for Spanish children. Maria is learning how to speak and I imagine the ways she talks sounds just like me when I am trying to grasp on to a new concept. Extended family is very important in Spanish culture and through my family I have had great opportunities to observe the relationships central in their lives. My host family has been like a second family and I will be very sad when I have to leave them.

Background on my Blog

Just to explain my blog and the order of the posts. There is no order. None at all. It is simply my thoughts as they come whenever they come! I write and try to post when I have access to the internet. Thank you for reading!

Hitting the Wall!

Today I am very frustrated! There are those days when you just want to go home and climb into your own bed with your own sheets and blankets and lie down. I get so tired of having to work so hard for the simplest things. I just want to be able to manuveer around Spain and everyone to understand me. I am sick of school and I feel that our teachers do not understand how longs it takes to learn a new language. I have been speaking english for almost 22 years atleast and it is hard to learn a new language. I just have those days where I just want to go home! Where people get me.

Back again for the second time!

Upon arriving in Seville for the second time I instantly felt like was at home. Although the troubles with transportation and my lost luggage quickly overshadowed my feelings of warm fuzzies about my trip back to Spain.

Loosing your luggage is fine. At some point it is going to happen. On Day 1 you are content. Day 2 you are optimistic. Hey who does not love shopping! Day 3 you are a little annoyed and the annoyance only increases from there. By Day nine I was depressed.


This quickly overshadowed my joyful feelings about learning the language of Spanish. I only craved American comforts such as Mcdondalds, Starbucks and Friday´s. It is so suprising how much little things such as familar food can comfort you. Going into an American resturant in a foreign country can do wonders for your soul! You forget about the outside world and breathe in the sights and sounds of Big Macs and fries!!! You can even block out the languages that the menu is currently written in. Who cares if it says hamburgesa instead of hamburger! These temperoray comforts helped to ease the pain of not having Luggage and overall helped me Idenitfy why American adbroad someimes flock to American resturants ts not just for the food but the sights and sounds.

Yo tengo Blue Cross/ Blue Shield!

I have been to the doctor twice since have been here and each time has been an enlightening experience. The first time I went with my roommate for her sore throat and the second time for my sinus infection. Now let me first explain the Spanish idea of getting sick. According to my host mother Teresa there are only two ways people get sick - by not wearing house slippers or drinking water outside of Spain (nationalism at its finest). This is the truth and the common belief here. In every house it is customary to have tile floors and this idea is great because you can just mop down the whole house. However, this does make for incredibly cold floors, possible sickness and a nice theory. Although tile floors alone cannot account for asthma, allergies, strep and most other illness beside the common cold. Because of this mentality throughout Spain the basic treatment for illness is lots of rest, water and ibuprofen.
It is also sometimes hard to convey how sick you are -- perhaps you are sick and you did wear house shoes. So when I was sick for three days and I had been faithfully wearing my slippers, I knew that I needed to see a doctor.
Just like the time I saw him with my roommate he asked me the same standard questions and I told him my symptoms. He starts writing out the prescription which is ibuprofen and syrup for congestion. This is the basic remedy for someone who is just getting sick, but I’ve been sick for three days. If I was in the U.S. I could quickly run by the nearest Wal-Mart and pick this up without a prescription. I however am in Spain and the only way to purchase any type of medicine is to go to the pharmacist. No other stores sell medicine and it cannot be purchased at a convenience or grocery store.
Because of these details, I knew that I had not come all the way to the doctor to be prescribed Tylenol. My roommate Francis had been to the doctor twice for more severe symptoms of her sore throat only to be given the same standard ibuprofen and syrup. I quickly thought did I tell him everything and I realized I left out a very important detail. I yell out I have green mucus!! He quickly realizes that this is serious and I get an antibiotic! Through this experience I am eternally grateful for over the counter medicines and the ability to purchase them at the nearest gas station. Not being able to purchase the basics in a time of need has made me more aware of the freedoms we have in the states and how medical care is carried out… The syrup by the way liquefied Mucinex!

Driving Spanish Style

Mi amiga mejor en España (best friend in Spain) is Maria Soraya Perez. She has been a wonderful friend to me always helping me when I need help with my Spanish or I am confused about the culture and costumes and the best thing is she also speaks English. We have many wonderful experiences together and many funny moments explaining things lost in translation. My favorite thus far has been watching her learn how to drive. In Spain the legal driving age is 18 and you must go to driving school in order to get your license. So the first day we plan to get together Soraya decides that she wants to pick up her license from the school and take me for a drive without supervision. Her very first driving experience with any friend and she chooses me I am honored. I am also scared out of my mind at the same time.
Spanish drivers are by far some of the most fearless drivers and scariest people I have seen on the road. They love to honk and yell and curse. Driving seems like a pastime here sometimes while Spaniards are driving they will play songs with their horns and they are always talking to each other from their cars at people passing by or at people in other cars. The streets of Seville are filled with buses, vespas, taxies and cars. People make up their own lanes and drive according to their own rules.
So riding with Soraya was a something to be cautious about. Soraya’s first car is a 14 year old stick manual and here again I throw caution to the wind. she puts her sign in the back that says new driver. In Spain you must keep the sign on the back windshield for a whole year. This should help with people being more cautious around her. It doesn't people honk and curse at poor Soraya.
We are supposed to pick up and drop off her grandmother at her mother’s office. Simple task. We drive to her grandmother’s house . Smooth sailing… so far. We arrive… the car only cut out once at stop light. We arrive at the house and this probably was not the best of ideas because all I hear them saying was “O Dios Mio” in English it means “OH MY GOD!” Her grandmother continued to pray throughout or whole journey. We pull up to the gas station it should be simple she goes in and gets an attendant. They still have full service gas stations in Spain. She forgets to put the car’s emergency brake on and we are rolling away into the street. People at the gas station are yelling and screaming trying to get her attention in the store. Slowing inching closer towards oncoming traffic she finally runs out and saves us. We get gas and continue in are journey. Finally and alive we arrive at her mother’s office. I am happy to be alive and grateful that I learned how to drive on open roads and parking lots!