Wow, it really just seems like yesterday that I was blogging about traveling back to the states for summer break. And here we are six weeks later and it's almost time for me to head back to Madrid. So far the summer has been wonderful, but hot! Oh, and it's been going by way to quickly!
One of the hardest things to do is to transition from speaking 100% Spanish to 100% English. The first few days were really hard, because there were some words that just automatically came out wrong or in Spanish. In my head I kept thinking Spanish, but reminding myself to speak in English. Now, I'm dreading the transition back to Spanish, because my brain has been processing everything in English these past few weeks. It's going to be interesting.
I've gone through a reverse culture shock. I do miss the long coffee dates or just meeting a friend for a coke and sitting on the sidewalk. I had an awkward feeling the first weekend I was here, at church. It was 4th of July weekend, so everyone was on their higher-than-normal patriotic ship. Someone mentioned from the pulpit how glad they were to live in the best country in the world and I immediately tensed up. It made me appreciate the fact that I'm living outside of the US and am gaining so many new perspectives on the world. When I tell people that it is very arrogant to say the above statement, people mistake it for my being "un-american". What gets to me more is that people proceed to say, "it's the truth." I'm pretty sure if I asked my friends in Spain how they felt about this statement, they wouldn't tell me it was true. I really can't explain this feeling, other than to say it's something you can't understand until you live overseas. Regardless if I'm currently in the world's best country or not, there isn't a better feeling in the world than to be with your family. It seems like every single weekend has been planned out, but spending time with them has been priceless. One of my biggest concerns was gaining weight and I think I've done fine until this week. Today is the first day in a week that I haven't eaten out. So I guess we can call this my fat week! :)
A funny thing I've realized since being here is that Spaniards think I'm on vacation while I'm in the states and Americans think I'm on vacation while I'm in Spain. I can reassure you that neither is true. This summer has been a busy one for me Not including the first Tuesday I was here, I've been working every day, Monday-Friday, 7:30 am until 6:30 pm. So even though this is my "summer vacation", vacation is such a false word....
One thing I've been reminded of is how much has changed in one year. It's been a year since I've seen some people and a lot happens in a year. Mom reminded me that this is part of choosing to move. Honestly, I just wanted to come home and spend time with my family, so it hasn't bothered me that much at all. I've also changed over this past year, so it works on both ends. In two weeks I'll be back in Spain and life will go on not only for me, but for everyone here.
Until next time....
One of the hardest things to do is to transition from speaking 100% Spanish to 100% English. The first few days were really hard, because there were some words that just automatically came out wrong or in Spanish. In my head I kept thinking Spanish, but reminding myself to speak in English. Now, I'm dreading the transition back to Spanish, because my brain has been processing everything in English these past few weeks. It's going to be interesting.
I've gone through a reverse culture shock. I do miss the long coffee dates or just meeting a friend for a coke and sitting on the sidewalk. I had an awkward feeling the first weekend I was here, at church. It was 4th of July weekend, so everyone was on their higher-than-normal patriotic ship. Someone mentioned from the pulpit how glad they were to live in the best country in the world and I immediately tensed up. It made me appreciate the fact that I'm living outside of the US and am gaining so many new perspectives on the world. When I tell people that it is very arrogant to say the above statement, people mistake it for my being "un-american". What gets to me more is that people proceed to say, "it's the truth." I'm pretty sure if I asked my friends in Spain how they felt about this statement, they wouldn't tell me it was true. I really can't explain this feeling, other than to say it's something you can't understand until you live overseas. Regardless if I'm currently in the world's best country or not, there isn't a better feeling in the world than to be with your family. It seems like every single weekend has been planned out, but spending time with them has been priceless. One of my biggest concerns was gaining weight and I think I've done fine until this week. Today is the first day in a week that I haven't eaten out. So I guess we can call this my fat week! :)
A funny thing I've realized since being here is that Spaniards think I'm on vacation while I'm in the states and Americans think I'm on vacation while I'm in Spain. I can reassure you that neither is true. This summer has been a busy one for me Not including the first Tuesday I was here, I've been working every day, Monday-Friday, 7:30 am until 6:30 pm. So even though this is my "summer vacation", vacation is such a false word....
One thing I've been reminded of is how much has changed in one year. It's been a year since I've seen some people and a lot happens in a year. Mom reminded me that this is part of choosing to move. Honestly, I just wanted to come home and spend time with my family, so it hasn't bothered me that much at all. I've also changed over this past year, so it works on both ends. In two weeks I'll be back in Spain and life will go on not only for me, but for everyone here.
Until next time....
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