No Longer a Tourist

I am loving my time abroad. It is different, challenging, and enjoyable. I had dreams about coming abroad for a long time. And now I am here! Some of the ways I envisioned my time here have come true, others have not. I don't mean to say that my time has been bad - it has been better than I could have imagined - what I mean to say is that I am getting more settled in here.

When I imagined my time here I always pictured myself nicely dressed with the sun shining around me. I envisioned a mini vacation filled with new experiences instead of the comfort of home. I will admit that studying abroad is like a vacation in a way. But the great thing about studying abroad is that I am living here. I am not just embarking on a short trip to see a new place. I am actually participating in the culture and trying to live it for the next few months.

This is where my experience differs from a vacation. Life usually, at least for me, takes a pause during vacation. Life is free, unstructured, relaxed, and full of wonderful things. But when the vacation ends and life resumes, life takes on a little more structure. You begin to plan things and you begin to have more things that you have to do, like go to school for instance.

Now that I have been in Spain for close to a month my schedule of life has shifted from that of a tourist to that of an active participant. Instead of looking for the main attractions, I am looking for little pastelerias (bakeries). Instead of spending my entire day exploring, I am attending class and exploring in the meantime. I now have a routine - a loose one but still a routine nonetheless. I have things I need to do - like homework and helping clean up after dinner. I have places I like to visit and foods I like to eat.

Although my food and location choices may differ, it is not that different from life back in the States. People here have to carry on life just like we have to. They may go about it differently than we do in the United States but that is to be expected. I think that is the beauty of studying abroad. You get to stay in one place for long enough that you see how they live everyday life. It really is eye-opening.

What started me on this subject is that it is raining here today. In fact, it has been raining for a week straight with an exception of a little sun on Friday. For some reason I did not think it rained this much here. Back home this wouldn't be that big of a deal to get rain but here it becomes difficult. Where I am staying is largely a walking community. You walk everywhere and almost everything is in walking distance. If it isn't then you walk to the nearest bus station. But when it is raining out a conundrum is faced. If you go out you are going to get wet (an umbrella can only do so much). Even if you want to get to the closest mall you need to walk to the nearest bus stop, take the bus to a certain stop, and then walk from the stop to the mall. It is not bad when the sun is out but when it is raining you begin to rethink things. After my walk to and from Mass I realized why there were so few people on the streets. Even just a ten minute walk meant my clothes, shoes, and jacket were all wet (and I was walking with an umbrella). When I got back I decided to take my host family's idea and stay in for the day.