A Tuff Week

February 6 & 7, 2013-

Well, I'd have to say this week has been pretty rough for me. You really don't understand how much ones culture is different from another until you've been fully submersed in it, and being on vacation doesn't count. It truly is a struggle and this week proved to me just that.

Things seem to be completely different then what we're used to in America. In Spain, at a cross walk, if you're walking across and the cars have a green light you better sprint if ones coming because they WILL run you over. They have a saying written on the crosswalks, 1 in 5 people are killed every year because they cross when they aren't supposed to. Yikes. I'd rather not be that statistic, so I'll wait for the green light.

Teachers in Espana are held very high in society, as they should be. However, they seem to have a chip on their shoulder as well. I am in classes with all international students and the amount of Spanish each student knows varies, but the teachers talk about a million words a minute! And they don't care to slow down either.
The other day in one of my culture classes we were learning about Barcelona and Catalonia and we were going around the room and listening to traditional foods of each of the students country (Russia, Norway, Ukraine, Belgium) and then the teacher got to the American kids.......uhhh, hamburgers? ahah, we couldn't really think of any authentic foods to the United States. I think our culture takes many different foods from other countries and puts our own twist on it. Anyway, it was a good laugh, for both us and the kids from other countries. 

Also what is interesting is these students from other countries do not know English very well, so we speak to them through Spanish, I thought that was kind of neat. But the teaching method is completely different here than America, so that will take time to get used to. 

Food; ahh yes, I do need to eat while I am here. Spanish food and the food they have here is not really close to anything we have back home. They may have similar foods, but the taste is completely different. Some for the better and some for the not so good. Going to the grocery store is also an adventure in itself. Most of the food labels are in Catalan, which is completely different than Spanish. It's more of like a mixed of French and Spanish. So I eat things based on what the picture looks like on the package. Who knows what I'm eating, but if it tastes good, I buy it again :)  I have finally found some kind of sausage that I really like. I don't know what's in it, but I eat it on a roll with "tomato" sauce and melted cheese; similar to something I make at home. I've really come to liking their pastries. The best things I have EVER tasted. They are so fresh and like a piece of heaven. For an afternoon snack around like 3 my friends an I find a little hole in the wall pastry shop and have a pastry and "cafe con leche." However, we never return to the same one... Partly because we probably wouldn't be able to find it again, and partly because we're all about trying something new every day!

These are only a few things that I can think of off the top of my head. It's been a definite challenge living in another culture and it's been a rough week with lots of lessons, but I know eventually I'll grow to love it. 

I started walking to school today as I have been taking the metro everywhere I go. I think I'm at the point now where I can walk everywhere. The walk to school was SOO simple and really breathtaking. It's such a beautiful city here and walking in the morning to class really helps you appreciate that. I think from now on I will be walking to school every day, but I think I'll still take the metro home because it's dark when I'm out of class. Like I said: a lot of adjusting. I love being able to walk everywhere though, it's so convenient and such good exercise.

Which brings me to another point. The weather. 
The weather is pretty chilly here, but it's not like Colorado chilly and it's not like California chilly. It's FRIGID. Like, I don't even know how to explain it, but every day I put on layers upon layers. I kind of like it! 

Through it all though, if I've realized one thing, it's how blessed I am to live in America and live the life I do with the greatest people to be surrounded by. I am also SO grateful for this experience as it has already had such a great impact on me. Things will get rough and I will have my ups and downs, but the people I've met here and the memories I have and will continue to have will be with me forever. This opportunity is once in a lifetime, and words can't describe how happy I am that I took advantage of it.