Summing Up

Ok, ok. I know this is long in coming. I’ve been back for over a week now. But, as I’m sure most of you know, coming home after an extended stay, far away, is a lot of work. You have to unpack and you want to see all the people you’ve been missing for weeks or months. But it’s here now, and that’s all that matters.

So now that this amazing trip is over, did I accomplish what I set out to do? Did I achieve the growth I was looking for? Yes and no. The no is short, so I’ll start with that. The only thing I would do over is speak more Spanish. It was insanely difficult, especially because we were together as a group so often, and we’re all English speakers. So maybe my Spanish didn’t improve as much as I wanted it to, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t improve at all! I can understand it now like nobody’s business (don’t quote me on that). Those Spaniards are the fastest speakers of the Spanish-speaking world. If you can remotely understand them, you can understand everyone else. My confidence in speaking definitely went up. I don’t feel awkward or weird starting a conversation in Spanish anymore. It actually seems pretty natural. I dunno how much my speaking ability improved, but I feel like I’m slightly more articulate now. That’s acceptable, right?

And now to expand on the yes. I’ll admit, I had to look back at my first post to even remember what it was I wanted to do. “Growth, and lots of it,” is what I said. Well, I found that growth I was looking for and learned some surprising things too. I feel like I’ve gained a confidence that can only be gained by stepping completely into a foreign world. I think I could navigate my way around the planet now with little trouble, and I definitely outgrew that terrified feeling I had at the beginning. That’s not to say I won’t have some apprehension about going somewhere new. That always comes with something new. I just think I’ll know how to handle the situation better.

I’ve grown in my awareness of the other people of this world and my tolerance for different points of view. I’m a white girl from North Idaho that goes to school in Utah, so I can’t say I’ve been exposed to much diversity, until now. I feel like I better understand the role of culture in people’s lives and how it influences their living and thinking. If you take the time to know the culture, you’ll know the people.

I think most importantly, I’ve grown in my love for people. I’ve realized the great worth of everyone’s souls and seen that we are all sons and daughters of God, no matter what our race or nationality is. There are so many GOOD people on this earth, trying to make the world a better place by making their cities and communities a better place. There is still hope for humanity.

I was surprised by how normal it felt to be in Spain. It didn’t really feel like a foreign country (I realize that Spain is a developed country and that if I went to a developing country, that notion would be blown out of the water). Sure, everything was in Spanish, but it still didn’t feel that different. I used to think of foreign countries as these big, interesting but scary places, where everything is different and you have to completely change everything you do to adapt. I quickly realized that’s not true. There’s little things here and there that you might have to change (like shorter showers and no carpet and different eating times), but it’s not like you went to live with lions or something. You’re still living with people.

The most interesting thing I learned (besides arco de medio punto!) is that we really aren’t that different from the rest of the people in the world. I think the similarities outweigh the differences. We are all striving for one thing: happiness. We just might look for it in different ways. I loved learning how these cultures found happiness in their lives. It opened me up to new ways of finding joy in my own life.

One last thing, I’ve learned to appreciate the life I have here and the blessings and opportunities available to me (like free water and free refills! Just kidding, but only kind of). Seriously, we live in a great country with amazing freedoms that I will try not to take for granted anymore. I’m so grateful to be here.

So even though I didn’t become as fluent as a native speaker, I think I learned some really important life lessons that will stay with me longer than my Spanish would have. All that’s left to say is thank you. Thank you to all who have influenced my life in such a positive way. I wouldn’t have been able to have this experience without you.

What will become of this blog, you might ask? Don’t worry, I will keep updating it, although probably not twice a week. Remember, it’s about my adventures abroad AND at home. Trust me, I always find some sort of trouble fun, wholesome thing to get myself into, so keep checking back! Until then!

¡Qué riquísimo!

First, let’s all shout hooray for having the internet! Now I don’t have to stay up until 1:00 AM writing blog posts so I can post them at school the next day. Actually, it was set up on Saturday, so I haven’t had to do that since then. Before, I was mooching internet from La Plaza de Cervantes and the school. It’s kinda sad how crippled I feel without my phone or the internet all the time. No, not kinda sad. It is sad. It’s slightly ridiculous how dependent on technology I am. But, I justify it by remembering that I use it to keep in touch with those that matter most. Anyway, I’m not here to talk about the pros and cons of technology. I’ll leave that to someone else. I want to share a little about the food of España, a much more interesting topic I think.

The eating schedule here is a little different, or a lot different. We eat breakfast around 8:00 or 9:00. Pretty normal. Then we don’t have lunch until 2:00 or 3:00, and dinner isn’t until at least 9:00. Some families even eat at midnight! Don’t worry, we don’t starve in between lunch and dinner. Generally, that’s the time to have a little merienda (snack) or eat tapas!

All the food here is so rich! It’s rich and heavy. I love it, haha. And everything is drenched in olive oil. And a lot of it is fried. Hmmm, sounds like America. Except people here walk a lot more, so obesity is not such a problem. Spaniards love their meat. And seafood. And bread. We eat bread with every lunch and dinner. It’s a good thing I kind of really like bread! They also love little, sweet things (hey, me too!). We have this drawer full of dulces that we just eat whenever. Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to work to keep my girlish figure. ¿Quién quiere correr conmigo? Nice alliteration! After every meal, we have either some fruit or some yogurt for dessert. So there, I’m getting my healthy eating in too.

Breakfast here usually consists of coffee and some sort of grain-based food, whether cereal or muffins or little graham-cracker-type cookies. Since we’re not coffee drinkers, Erin and I drink leche con chocolate (basically cold hot chocolate). We also have dulces with breakfast. Lunch and dinner are backwards here. Lunch is the largest meal of the day, which actually makes more sense if you think about it. You need more energy during the day than at night, although there is the food coma immediately following a big meal. That must be why they have a siesta! It’s all coming together now. For lunch we eat things like soup, fish or chicken fillets, and all sorts of salads. I don’t think they eat a lot of beef here. It’s mostly fish, chicken, and pork. Dinner is definitely reminiscent of American lunches. We eat little finger foods and sandwiches. It’s a pretty light meal, usually consisting of bread (of course), thin strips of meat, and cheese, or fried fish nuggets, or empanadas. Mari is an excellent cook and she’s going to make us the famous paella and tortilla española. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into that!

Tapas.

Breakfast!

Paella. Mmmmmm.

Today we went out and ate churros con chocolate. It was pretty delicious and a recipe I need to find and share. The consistency of the chocolate is sort of like pudding. That’s the closest comparison I can think of. Except, it’s a little more runny than pudding. But not runny like liquid. Lava. I’ll go with that. It has the consistency of lava, not that I’ve ever actually felt lava. Just humor me here.

Yes. I ate the entire thing.

What else have I been doing? Well, we don’t have another trip until this Friday so we’ve been seeking our own adventures. I had my second day of class today. I’ve been here a week and only had class twice. My kind of schedule. I haven’t even started the Spanish grammar class yet! Yesterday, a bunch of us went up to Madrid. We wandered through El Parque del Buen Retiro and paddled around in some boats. It reminded me a lot of Central Park.

We stood in front of La Puerta del Sol, the very center of Spain, where the 0 km mark is.

We ate lunch in La Plaza Mayor. Well, I ate before and just got some water, which cost me three Euros!!! Are you kidding?! Yeah, I didn’t know that when I bought it. Others got little pizzas that cost 14 Euros each. Lesson learned: do not buy food in La Plaza Mayor.

We also visited La Catedral de La Almudena. This one I got to take pictures in! So beautiful.

Last but not least, El Palacio Real de Madrid and its gardens. We plan on returning and going inside. Yesterday was Worker’s Day in Spain (which is why we didn’t have class) and lots of sites were closed.

I went to a Catholic misa today as well. It was a very interesting experience. There was a lot of reciting by the entire congregation, standing up and down, and only the priest took the sacrament. I can see why people think the LDS church is so different. Everyone participates in the meetings. Everyone takes the sacrament. We don’t have a priest, in the sense of other churches. We really are a peculiar people. I love it.

I already feel like I’m becoming a better person. I’m gaining more confidence, more tolerance, greater love for people everywhere, greater adaptability. And I’m having lots of fun while I’m at it. Thinking about doing a study abroad? Do it. It will be the best decision of your life.

Farewell U.S., Hola España

Today I begin my grand adventure. Two months in Spain. Seriously, who does that?! I am one very blessed girl, especially after this weekend. Yup, in spite of all that happened I'm still getting on that plane: cuts, scrapes, bruises, and all. If you haven't seen the pictures, here's a couple of the accident.

But all is well. This amazing, little body of mine (amazing as in astonishing or awe-inspiring because of its complexities, not as in insanely attractive. Although, I won't be offended if you think my body is kickin'! ;)) will be healed in no time.

As we speak, or as I write I guess, I'm sitting in the Dulles (pronounced dull-is, not dools) airport in DC waiting for my eight-hour flight to MADRID!! How am I feeling right now, you ask? A combination between ridiculously excited and completely terrified. This is my first time out of the country, and I signed a contract saying I would only speak Spanish, a language I am definitely not fluent in. But you know what? I think it's good for you to be completely terrified every once in a while. It makes you appreciate the times when things are nice and comfortable. Plus, how are you supposed to grow if you're not thrown outside your nice, comfortable world? I think that is what I'm looking for in this experience: growth, and lots of it. I want to become an even better person who is more aware of the world and the people in it. That is what I'm so excited for (besides those steamy Spanish men. JUST KIDDING!). So one emotion leads to the other. My terror brings potential for growth, which in turn brings excitement for that growth. What a great time to be alive!

I can’t wait to share all my experiences and growth with all you loved ones. Yeah, it sucks having to be so far away. You guys make my life worth living. But then we’re back to the terror and the growth and the excitement. All I can do is say thank you. Thank you for the guidance and the experiences that have brought me to this point in my life. I hope you enjoy watching my antics as much as I will enjoy doing them! It’s going to be a great two months. So jump on and relish the ride with me!

I can’t use my phone over here since it costs outrageous amounts, so please don’t text me! If you want to get a hold of me, add me on Skype! Username: e.chipman. Just let me know who you are because I won’t add creepers!! (but creepiers are alright)
Facebook is a great way too!
Also, I have this texting app I can use when I have Wi-Fi. So if you get a text from a strange number it’s probably me, although I’ll let you know just to be sure.
If you want the address where I’m staying, shoot me an email or a facebook message. I don’t want stalkers to find me without my consent, ya know.

¡Hasta pronto!