I went to the canary islands last weekend. i’m so glad i went. i have to admit that at first i was really really hesitant because i really hate the idea of doing the whole tourist thing, especially since Granada is so wonderful and i would so much rather stay here than do anything else. But after we arrived, and i got to wear a tanktop and be in 80 degree sunshine, my mind changed a little bit :). It was so refreshing and exactly what I needed.
Going to the islands really gave me time to get away from everything and just think about where i was in my life and where i am going. I’ve come to realize that in order to move on in my life i really need to let go a little bit of what i left behind in the united states. It’s hard because i love all of my friends there so much, but I think being here in Spain and really immersing myself in culture here and discovering other levels to my personality requires me to let go of all the culture i am holding on to from the united states. it’s weird to think of culture as something that you can have, obtain or get rid of. Usually we talk about culture as being something that a country has, something that we need to absorb or something that is shocking to us. Like culture shock is supposed to be this huge deal that hits us all at the beginning of our travels, but then we get used to it after a week or so and life goes on. But lately i’ve been noticing the little bits of american culture that i carry with me throughout my daily life here in spain. For example, I get frustrated when I am crossing the street and some moped almost chops my head off. I get angry because s/he should’ve stopped at the crosswalk. Then I get upset because i think about how in the united states that wouldn’t have happened because we don’t have mopeds and people usually follow the traffic laws. But that frustration is coming from the fact that i am not used to being in spain, the fact that my brain sees crosswalk annd automatically thinks that it is safe to cross. Little things like that are cultural differences that cause culture shock. I was and still am really amazed at the fact that even though i’m in an entirely different country, people are the same. The people here look like they could be from New York City or Boston or Philadelphia. They just speak spanish. It’s interesting how superficially similar some parts of the US and Andalusia are to each other.
My classes started today and I am a little frustrated because the program I am working through failed to sign me up for 2 out of my 5 courses. So as of right now I”m only in 3 courses, which is a huge problem because the deadline to add courses was last week. I’m trying not to flip out about it, because I’ve noticed here that flipping out doesn’t really accomplish very much. But I am getting worried that my classes will not transfer and that I will not recieve credit for being abroad here. And on the one had that would really suck because I am going to university here and taking classes, and i would have to make up a semester. But on the other hand, I’ve already learned so much spanish and so much about myself that I don’t know if going back to school in the States would be the same dull experience. We shall see…
Muy Buenos Dias, Jessica,
I read your blogs and am, myself,
an ex-student at the Universidad de
Granada in the program, which garnered me the Diploma de Estudios Hispanicos. As I recall back to thet time, I remember that the girls often complained about the local fellas giving them a hard time with their “piropos” and with incessant stalkings. We even had some that up and left the program. One made the mistake of taking a local to her lodging, and the following day, he’d brought several other guys in the street outside her place calling out to her, much to her embarrassment and to the amusement of the neighbors.
My wife and I would take a paseo and find the guys walking their wives or sweethearts trying to stare down my pretty wife. That was all back in the late 60s, and I imagine that machoism has changed a bit with more modern times and more liberated thinking in Spain. In any case, the Spanish are quite nice when you know them well. I would suggest that you advertise your services in the community to give English lessons. I gave both English and French lessons, which gave me contacts in the Spanish community of Grenada and made some real friends. If you decide to make a return contact, whereby I could give you advice about Grenada and the locals, my e-mail address is [email protected]
My wife and I loved our stay in Grenada. I built off of my studies and became a teacher of French and Spanish in the States; however, after 6 years of teaching both, I opted for French only and finished up a career in that venue. I may be able to put you in touch with a very nice family there. Please feel free to contact me.
Hasta luego, George Brooke