Experiencing different cultures is one of the best things a human being can do. It puts your whole world into perspective.
Stephanie Gilmore
As people, we naturally have certain expectations every time we enter new situations. Traveling especially comes with a lot of expectations: what the people are going to be like, the ways you think you’ll change, the things you think you’ll like or dislike, etc. If anything, my almost two months abroad in Spain have been a giant lesson on expectations. There were so many things I never saw coming, both good and bad.
So what’s different here in Spain?
Surprisingly, not a lot. And that’s something I didn’t expect. We often think that study abroad is going to be completely life-changing. You hear so many people talk about culture shocks and you prepare yourself to adapt to anything. But living here in Spain is honestly not that different from my past experiences living in India and the U.S. Culturally, Spain is very similar to India. For example, my hometown does the same greeting with a kiss on both cheeks. The people here also operate in very similar ways to Indian society and in terms of amenities or resources, Spain is like an in-between of India and the U.S. (they have popular chains like Sephora but residences typically don’t have air-conditioning).
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some differences. Most notably for me— the meal times! Usually, at Wofford, I have a tiny breakfast around 8 AM, lunch at 12 PM, and dinner at 5:30 PM. But here in Spain, the meal times are typically way later: breakfast at 8 AM, a second breakfast around 10 AM, lunch at 3 PM, and dinner anywhere between 9-11 PM. Also, por supuesto, I can’t talk about Spain and not mention the beloved siestas or nap times. Everything here in Granada shuts down between 1-4 PM for a collective nap or rest time. However, people typically only nap for 20 minutes. I must say I do love this part of Spanish culture.
Another thing I love is the freshly squeezed orange juice you can find all over the city. The supermarkets even have machines that squeeze the oranges right in front of you so you can fill up a bottle to take home!
But all these things aren’t major differences or things that are hard to adjust to.
And I suppose I was expecting those big cultural adjustments. I thought I would really have to work to overcome differences. But it’s been an almost seamless transition in terms of cultural adjustment. However, this doesn’t mean that my time here isn’t meaningful or that it’s not teaching me anything. It’s just teaching me more subtle, “softer” things, if that makes sense.
It can be really easy to judge your life based on the big things but sometimes the smaller things matter just as much or even more. I’m learning how to deal with conflict (a constant problem I have as a 2w3), finding new facets of my personality (like the fact that I need way more alone time than you would expect for someone who scores 98% extravert on the Myers-Briggs test), and basically building on growth that was already happening vs. starting something completely new.
My time here has been something more cozy and slow rather than a whirlwind of new. But you may go abroad and have a completely different experience: you might love the fiestas more than the siestas, find Spain to be worlds-away from what you know, and maybe even utterly shift your worldview.
Both experiences are valid.
So, a little piece of advice? Learn how to just be. Whatever abroad brings your way, accept it with open arms. I promise that no matter what, you’ll come out knowing yourself better than you ever have.