La mejor universidad es viajar

This has been the fastest six weeks of my life.

Am I really sitting here tonight, June 29th, putting off reflecting on my study abroad experience?

I just got here!!!!!!!!! Didn’t I?!

I guess not. I’ve been in Spain for 43 days, and I think I’ve experienced more in the past six weeks than I have in my entire life. Okay, that was a little dramatic, but I’ve just learned so much about myself, other people, cultures, languages, traveling, and life. In the hostel in Barcelona, there was a quote written on the wall that read, “La mejor universidad es viajar” – which translates to “The best university is to travel.” I couldn’t have said it any better. You just learn so much more when you go places. Being an education major, I know that a large majority of people learn by doing. Personally, I have been able to make connections between all of the cities I’ve been to which helps me learn because things stick. For example, I’ve learned about the Moorish architecture styles because they are exactly the same in many of the palaces I have been to in cities such as Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada. “Azulejes” are ceramic tiles of 5 simple colors: blue, green, white, yellow, and black. They all symbolize a different part of life. Now, if I were to go to a location without knowing the history, and walk in the building and see this pattern, I would know it’s Moorish. If you taught me that in school, I could care less. I’d memorize it for the test then forget it by tomorrow. That’s not learning.

I’ve noticed how much more you learn when you connect things you are learning to what is around you. I wish it was possible to take my future students on field trips everywhere, but I know it’s not. This experience has been making me think about methods to teach students so they don’t just memorize, but learn and obtain as much information as possible. I haven’t thought of a way yet, but I’m determined to think of something! I have a few years, anyway.

Speaking of students, I got an official certificate from Gota de Leche, the volunteering opportunity I participated in. It’s very official and it says that I was a volunteer. Pretty excited about that! I really enjoyed that program because I got to see what a Spanish elementary school was like. There’s not as much ethnic diversity in Spain as the United States, but I learned that minorities exist in Spain as well. Here, the minority is gypsies. I worked with gypsy children; feeding them nutritious breakfasts and packing them a mini lunch for later in the day because their parents simply don’t feed them at home. They live a nomadic lifestyle and change schools a lot – usually multiple times a year. But, these kids are normal kids of course! They thought it was interesting that I didn’t speak fluent Spanish and that I was from the United States. When I told them my name was Kate, they looked at me like I had six heads…that’s not a very common name among Spaniards. Meeting and helping these adorable kids was something I am proud to say I participated in during my study abroad experience. I would have never known any of this if it weren’t for Gota de Leche. When I said goodbye to one little boy on my last day, he said “Adios! Hasta mañana!” (Bye! See you tomorrow!), I melted because I didn’t want to tell him I wouldn’t see him tomorrow! So cute.

My señora, Gloría, has been amazing! She is soooo wise. I’ve learned so much from her. We don’t exactly hang out and chit chat during the day, but we eat lunch and dinner together. Every day during lunch, we watch the cooking channel. First, it’s the end of a program with a chef, Bruno Ortega. He always makes the most intricate, detailed, tiny, fancy meals. We don’t like him very much. She mentioned to me that it’s interesting to watch men cook because they cook with their eyes. They are always concerned about the visuals of their dishes, while women usually are concerned more about the flavor and making sure everyone is satisfied with the food. Women usually just plop down the food directly from the pan and put it on the table. Men usually “plate” it perfectly so it’s visually appealing. SO WISE! I would have never thought of that before, ever. Now I’m going to think of it every time I watch the food network back home! I mean, I’m sure it’s not accurate all the time, but it’s such an interesting thing to take notice to. Anyway, after Bruno Ortega, a very famous Spanish chef Karlos Arguiñano comes on. He’s our favorite. He cooks very home-made, authentic, Spanish meals. He’s an older man and is just the cutest thing ever. I really enjoy discussing the ingredients and what the chefs are making with Gloría. She’s an excellent chef herself. I’m difficult to please when it comes to food but she hasn’t cooked a bad dish! (Side note: I don’t think I’ll go home and eat ham, sausage, or mayonnaise, but when in Spain I’m going to eat like the Spaniards!) She also instilled in me a love for warm bread. I never just sat down and ate bread unless I was dipping it in soup. But the bread here is so fresh. The other day she made me feel even BETTER about eating it. She said “Some people think bread makes you fat. That’s not true. It’s manufactured, industrialized bread that makes you fat. Not this kind.” So I gladly took another piece of bread and enjoyed it. Oh, another thing: olive oil is a way of life here.

Other than food, Gloría has such interesting points of view on life. She says she never wants to get married because she doesn’t like to try to control people. She’s a very independent woman that doesn’t want to be controlled so why should she try to control someone else? She has great friends, so what more could she ask for? Also, for my class I had to interview her and find out her point of view on gender equality in Spain. She said she was the wrong person to ask because she doesn’t like that people stereotype genders. She said it varies person to person. I totally agree with her. The list of wise words she’s said could go on forever, but I’ll just keep them to myself for now 

I guess I’ve learned some Spanish while I was here, too, right? I can understand so much more than when I got here. I can speak with more confidence. And recently many grammar rules have clicked with me in my head. I confuse English and Spanish a lot and I don’t realize what language I’m being spoken to in, I just understand. Which is something I’m truly proud of! I think I’ve been doing okay in my classes, too. The Flamenco class during the first three weeks genuinely interested me and I think I did pretty well. This grammar class has been an unstructured mess, but I’m trying to take out of it what I can. I just hope my grades end up good, because I have worked too hard to have them mess up my GPA! I won’t find out how I did until well after the program ends though. Cross your fingers!

I’ve adapted to many cultural things! I love Spanish fashion and I can’t help but to shop a ridiculous amount. Oops. I’ve also adapted to their times of the day! I didn’t think I was going to be able to adapt to mealtimes, but I did! And also doing things at night. At home, I was a “grandma” and I got up early, did everything for the day, and then would go to bed early every night. Now I’m up late a lot because it’s cooler in temperature at night here. So you go out and hang out with friends at night rather than during the day. Fortunately and proudly, I did not pick up the ridiculously popular habit of smoking cigarettes. But I still have not kicked my habit of chewing gum (sorry, Mom! I know you wanted me to stop that haha!). You can’t win them all though ; )

Travelling helped me learn to go with the flow and be more laid back about things that really won’t matter in the long run. Of course, I’m not some chillaxed hippy. I still know where to have structure and plans. But when things go wrong or when people are late, you just have to let it slide and be less uptight about it. I think this entire abroad experience changed me. I’m still the same person, but I just know so much more than I did when I got here. It’s really hard to explain.

Well, I think that was a solid reflection of everything I’ve learned on this trip. Now, my program ends Friday, but my mom is coming Saturday and we’re going to take on Spain! I’ll continue writing in my blog when she gets here, maybe let her make a cameo, but this will probably be my last post until my program ends so I wanted it to be a good, long reflection. Thank you to everyone that read my blog over the past 6 weeks. The feedback made me actually want to write in it!

I’ll end with this. I’ve been to ten + cities on two continents in the past six weeks. I have travelled to: Madrid, Sevilla, Cadiz, Huelva (to climb a mountain), Morocco (AFRICA! That’s another continent!), Gibraltar, Extremadura, Córdoba, Granada, and Barcelona. I have met some of the best people ever from all different backgrounds. I have broken out of my shell. I have walked more than I ever walked in my entire life. I learned how to do my make up. I spent euros like it’s monopoly money. I maintained a blog. I studied. I relaxed. I siesta-ed. I had fun.

I went abroad.