Balancing School with Adventures

During my time in Spain, I'll be honest, I have done a poor job balancing my school work with going on adventures. I have done more studying in the morning before class here, than I have ever done on campus at Purdue. My instinct is to feel slightly guilty about this. But here's my excuse, I'm in Spain. Although that might not be a justified excuse for others, for me I'm allowing it to be one. My entire life I have always put school first. I have stressed about grades to the point that I would find my identity within my GPA. After struggling with this exceptionally last semester I decided I was going to start living what I claim and know that my grades and my GPA do not define me. So I have gone on more adventures. I have stayed up later. I have taken random trips to other countries. Yes school is important. I think given more time I would be able to learn how to organize my schedule better so that I could put more time into school. However, 4 weeks is short. It is a very short time to try and adapt to another culture. It is a very short time to try and find your way around a new city. And it is a very short time to experience things I might never get to experience again. Through this I have discovered that my GPA is of value, and I should continue to work hard at it, but my experiences are priceless. So if you are planning on studying abroad and tend to be someone who is obsessed with grades here's my advice:

•  Relax. Studying abroad is more of a time to grow as a person than it is to increase your GPA.

• Study abroad for a longer period of time. The extra time will allow you to adjust so that you can learn how to balance your school work with your experiences.

• Put adventures and experiences first. Those will last a lifetime. You're GPA will only matter for so long. 

Spontaneous weekend trip to Amsterdam

Decided to get lost in a labyrinth.

 

Hiked Montserrat. Did a handstand on top of the world.

Aspects of Intercultural Communication

 

Within my first two weeks in Spain I noticed the difference in openness between the communication of people from Spanish culture and communication of people from American culture. At the dinner table my host family tends to like to ask my roommate and I multiple questions. I was shocked when my home stay parent looked at me and directly asked "So, do you like Clinton or Trump?" I laughed and was not quite sure what to say. At home it is very well known that the topic of politics is not considered a conversation that you have at the dinner table. I tried to give a casual answer to brush the conversation away, but after I replied I noticed that my home stay family continued to stare at me. I realized they wanted me to bluntly answer the question and literally say who I intended to vote for. This was such an interesting experience for me. I decided to go along with the conversation and gave them my honest opinion of the politics currently occurring in the United States.

The one thing I noticed between the interaction and the communication was that my host family listened. Never once did they interrupt. Never once did they tell me my opinion was wrong. They asked a straight forward question, accepted what I said, and more importantly appreciated the honesty within my answer. 

In reflecting on this experience I realized the concept of them asking me a straight forward question was not only different, but the genuineness and level of respect they showed towards my answer I felt was an even greater difference. There was also no sign of non verbal communication displayed from my Spanish family that made me feel as if they disagreed or did not accept my answer. It was legitimate openness.

I am not sure why Americans struggle with similar aspects of openness while communicating. Not just openness to ask question, but also openness to listen and receive another person's answer. Listening is such a vital part of communication, yet I have realized since being in Spain that Americans are really bad at it. And, if an American does take the time to listen their non verbal communication generally does not display a concept of openness. This might be because American culture tends to be extremely individualistic. Americans focus so much on what they might want to say that they don't listen to your answer, but instead are configuring their response for when you are done talking. Or Americans have the habit of blatantly interrupting in order to say what they want to say. Maybe because of the individualism seen in our culture, which creates a lack of listening as well as an action of interrupting, Americans have developed the habit of avoiding these kinds of direct questions and  conversations within communication altogether. Maybe there are other reasons why Americans not only avoid these questions, but also struggle to listen and approach a conversation with respect, and openness. Some quick advice to consider when participating in intercultural communication that I have learned from this trip,

• Observe the details of how the person acts while you are communicating with them. Watch their eyes, watch their facial expression, and consider their tone.

• Ask yourself, 'How are those details different from what I might experience at home if I were to have a similar conversation?'

• Consider why those differences occur, and then ask 'Do those differences effect the conversation and overall communication that is occurring?'

I have noticed with traveling between countries and cultures that it's the multiple little things that effect my comfort level. Within communication and conversation it is the same way. Look for the little things. Learn from them, and grow.

First Week in Spain

As I flew into the beautiful city of Barcelona I felt full of excitement. This is my first time I have traveled out of the United States. Although I have experienced multiple cultures within the U.S., I was excited and looking forward to the challenge of experiencing a culture outside of my home country.

                                               

The first couple of days I was in awe and almost disbelief of everything around me. I constantly found myself asking, "Am I really in Spain?" Despite being in a whole new country, I still felt extremely comfortable. Not much bothered me. Nothing seemed to be stressing me out. I would walk around this city and only feel excitement and disbelief. My professor explained our first day of class this is called the "Exhilaration Stage." One might experience excitement and hopefulness during this stage. The first four days of being in this country I lived in this stage. Everything was a constant dream. From the architecture, the people, and the gelato. Despite my inability to speak Spanish or find a local coffee shop, I loved it.

Then the fifth day hit. When I switch time zones the third day is normally the hardest to adjust to for me. I learned when you travel across the globe however, day 5 is the new day 3. I ended class at 1pm excited to go out to lunch with my fellow classmates. There were several challenges our group faced in finding a restaurant, but after a few tries we found a place that we all thought we'd enjoy. However, I became very flustered and confused multiple times throughout the meal. I worked my way through lunch which lasted over 2 hours. The constant language barrier, and the lack of cultural knowledge made everything very difficult. I learned that day that in Spain if you go out to eat, expect the meals to have multiple courses and for them to last multiple hours. Tired and now very very full I went to the metro to go home. As I was going through the metro gate however, my ticket wouldn't work. I went to a male security officer to help me. He, in English, directed me to his partner. I approached his partner in the extremely busy metro station. She looked at me and quickly turned away. I then tried to approach her again and said, "Excuse me, can you please help me." She looked at me and spoke extremely quickly in Spanish. I looked at her and responded in Spanish "I'm sorry I don't understand. Can you please speak English." To this she responded in Spanish "No! In Barcelona we only speak Spanish! We do not speak English here!" She then turned away from me and refused to acknowledge me when I tried to ask for her help again. I was shocked by the fact that a woman who's job is to help people with their tickets refused to help me because I spoke English. I eventually was able to get through the metro and find my way back home, but at that point I broke down crying. I had never struggled through a day so much all because of things I couldn't change in those moments. I knew I had hit what my professor called the "Disenchanted stage."

After some time to reflect on that day however, I have put my largest struggles behind me and learned what I can from them.

After those five days here are 3 lessons I have learned:

• When traveling to another country, take time to learn the language that they speak
• Research cultural meal norms. For example how long do meals last? What time do meals take place? What to expect if you go into a restaurant
• And always be kind. You don't know what the person might be struggling with that day. 

 I know I will be much more empathetic to those in my home country if there is a language barrier and do everything I can to help them. Those who have done that for me here in Spain have left such a positive impact on me. I'm ready for week two! Looking forward to the challenges of this week, and hoping to learn, grow, and adapt to this beautiful culture!