Blogging
From Abroad

So I’m starting my blog a little late into my trip, so in order to catch everybody up to date on my last month in Spain I’ll just touch on the basics and add more specific stories later.

My first lesson that I learned about studying abroad is when they tell you to pack light, they REALLY do mean pack light. I packed way too much luggage and had a very difficult time getting it to my final destination. It was especially difficult having only one wheel when I landed in Madrid, which later fell off and became no wheels all the way to Granada. So my advice to first time travelers would be one big suitcase, one small suitcase and a carry on is sufficient!

My second lesson that I learned very quickly was I didn’t speak as much Spanish as I thought I did before. In a classroom setting you become very comfortable talking with other students who may not speak very good Spanish either, so they can not correct you. Once you are talking to fluent speakers, it is a whole other world. I have received plenty of confused faces after reciting some of my broken Spanglish. So my advice would be to find fluent speakers to practice with a few times a week in a café or park before studying abroad. They can help by correcting you and telling you the proper way to say things. I practice here in Granada with what we call “Intercambios” They want to improve their English and in return helps me with my Spanish.

I don’t like to call some things I learned about the food and clothing a culture shock because I actually was not shocked. I was warned before I came how it was going to be, but I did not expect to notice the differences so abruptly. The first lesson in Spanish dining is DO NOT eat it if you do not want it! I learned that the hard way of finishing a particular dish I did not care for and was then served it several times after because I must have gave the impression I liked it! The second lesson in Spanish dining is DO NOT eat more than you usually do or usually care to eat on a normal basis, because again the impression is you can eat this large portion of food regularly and you will be served the same amount next time. My third lesson is you should know the phrase “Estoy llena!” which means “I am full” because if you try to casually turn down more food with a polite “No, Thank You” they will insist that you eat more because you are the guest and they assume you are just being shy, when truthfully you do not desire to eat anymore.

If anyone reading this blog attends WVU, then you know how comfortable everyone is with wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts all the time. Well, in Spain that is not the traditional style of dress no matter where you are going and no matter what day of the week it is. You will never see a Spaniard dressed in sweatpants. I was aware of this before I came so luckily I brought plenty of nice jeans and dress shirts. A very popular style is leggings or fashion stockings with high boots and long shirts. So that will save you some room in your suitcase as well, because you do not need your bulky sweats!