This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to study Spanish for five weeks in Spain. Before this experience, I had no inkling that I would ever study abroad. Nor did I care to improve my Spanish, let alone study it intensely for over a month. Little did I know, this trip was a God-send, in the most literal sense of the word. Sure, I learned a lot about Spain's culture, and I now want to add a Spanish minor, but the most important things I learned during my study abroad experience were outside the classroom. For one thing, my eyes were opened to how hard it is to live in, or even visit, a country where your native language is not spoken. Of course, English is pretty widely known throughout the world, so if circumstances were dire, I could typically find someone who could half understand me. But had I any other native language, I wouldn't have had that luxury. It heightened my awareness of the hardships people coming to America must face, where by and large solely English is spoken, and people tend to expect visitors to know the language. There was also the issue of social norms - having never been out of the country, and with all the other preparation I had to do, I wasn't cognizant of little things like norms that I find commonplace at home. For example, standard greetings. In Spain, they don't shake hands. Which I suppose I could have guessed - but when my host parents casually kissed me on both cheeks after taking my bags, I was taken aback, although I tried my best to act casual. In hindsight I should have read up on trivia of that sort, it would have saved me a lot of confusion (and awkward, "which side do I go to first??" mental debates). However, in all my flubs, the people I encountered normally gave me grace. It was an unexpected kindness - but I believe they saw I was doing my best to integrate myself and respect their customs, and they responded positively to that. There are countless other lessons I learned, both by way of great experiences and also through some hardships, but I wouldn't have changed any of it. My eyes were opened to how big the world is and how small I am, and that going through it in any fashion (but especially visiting a new, unfamiliar place) is trying, so the best way to navigate life is just being gracious to others. No one knows what they're doing and we're all just trying our best to get on with things, something that I can attest to in light of this experience.
Keep it kind, guys.
