So I have officially been in Spain for 2 weeks and I guess that I am slowly adjusting to it all. I am sorry to say that this isn't going to be a very happy post...but I guess they aren't all going to be happy. Right now I guess that the biggest emotion that I have is missing and wanting. I know that probably isn't really considered an emotion but it is true. I miss home. The biggest part that I miss about home is how home is. Everything here is SOO different here. And when I say everything, I mean everything. The food, the place that I live, the showers, school, culture, how things work, the language, the people, the stores, the money, how laundry is done...I mean absolutely EVERYTHING is different. And unfortunately for me, most of it is different in a bad way. I am just trying to live with it all. I am trying to find and eat food that I like. I just very much miss American food. I know that the food that I miss really isn't even American, but it is the food at home that I am used to. But Im trying to do the best that I can with it. I am slowly adjusting to the size of the house, and my room. The shower is super tiny, with no room to frolic, but I guess that I am getting used to that too. School is one thing that is different but in a good way. I like how short it is, that the classes aren't too tough, and that we don't get much homework. The culture is something that I am really working hard at, but it is pretty much the toughest part. I like the walking, it makes me feel good and I am losing weight because of it. Well because of that and lack of food that I like, I've lost about 10 lbs already I think. But there are some parts of the culture that I really don't like at all. The first of which is the fact that the society is still very old fashioned. The mother is expected to do EVERYTHING! She does all of the cooking and cleaning, she personally plates us all of our food at every meal (which really annoys me, because I can do it on my own), and she is the only one that can wash clothes in the washer (her daughters who are 16 and 20 don't even know how to use the washer, which to me is RIDICULOUS!). The meal times still are hard for me, especially dinner. Some nights we don't eat until 10:30-11:00 and in the US I am asleep by then. I really bugs me because it feels unhealthy especially because it causes me to go to bed later and get less sleep. So that is really a struggle for me. So the culture is really a struggle for me. The language is also a struggle, I am getting used to it, but when I am tried or possibly intoxicated, it is very hard to speak it or understand it. But it is getting better. The people seem to be very closed off and not open to talking much. People are rude to you if you come into their store speaking English, which I speak sometimes with my friends, and it bothers me. It is not good business and it has happened a few times. I really don't like it at all. The way that they shop is different but I dont consider it to be bad in any way. Their stores are very nice and I enjoy that. But if they don't understand you, they are extremely rude to you. The money is different, but I am adjusting to that well. That is no big deal. Money is money, it sucks that when I change my dollars to euros that I lose like $.35-40 on the dollar but I can't help that. Also, they have no dryers here for drying clothes. They hang everything up to dry. And since the mom, Angela, is the only one that can do the laundry, I have to wait for her to have time to do it, which I think is ridiculous, because I could do it myself. But then because there is no dryer, I have to wait over a day for it to dry. It is the biggest pain in the butt..man!
Look, I don't want to seem ignorant or that the way that America does things is all right. I just prefer it. I def prefer the US much more than Europe. I am doing everything that I can to adjust to the differences and make the best of my time here. I am enjoying myself for the most part, I just miss things that home. I feel left out by not being home, and I cant wait for Keith, Mom, and Coz to come here so that I have my family around. Sorry...I hope that this post doesn't get you down too much. I am learning to like the culture and I hope that by the time that I have been here for a few months that I will be used to anything. Until then...I will just take things day after day...
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