My semester in Salamanca, Spain, has come to an end, but I thought I would look back at my time here. This post will reflect on newly discovered Spanish culture and can be a guide for students who decide to study abroad in Spain. When I came to Spain, I knew it would be different from my American culture, but thought it would be similar to my Guatemalan culture. Boy was I wrong!
The first thing I learned when I arrived in Salamanca was that when you greet people you give two kisses, one on each cheek, even if they are strangers to you. For example, when I first met my host dad at the bus stop I was told to give two kisses, so I did. But when I met new Spanish friends I had to do the same. I got used to it after a while and fear that I will be doing that when I get back to the states.
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After my semester abroad, pretty much everything would be boring in comparison, but this year’s winter vacation takes the cake. Not only am I wallowing in Rome withdrawal-related depression, I’m not working or doing much of anything productive. Sleeping 14 hours a day has gotten old, even for me, and I wander aimlessly (in my house) for something to do, anything to keep me occupied. Probably my lowest point was the other night when I spent an hour playing with an iPhone app that lets you put your face into the body of a cat. Friends are either out of town entirely or traveling during their time off. If you’re in my boat, read on for some things to do over break that might break up the monotony!
anyone? I’ve also been able to catch some movies and re-watch some of Game of Thrones in preparation for the third season in March. This has been a much-needed break.
not entirely true. I did go to a restaurant with my family, but that was more to celebrate my brother’s graduation. My brother is all grown up now, a big-bad post graduate in a post-apocalyptic world.
stage manager instead of an actor this time, and it’s been eating up more time than I thought. I have absolute faith that the show will be fabulous, but we’ve only been rehearsing for a week so it’s very rough. Still, it’s giving me major flashbacks to last year when I was on the other side of the house - on stage.
come to for the purpose of mindless drivel. And there’s not much else to do while sitting on the couch surrounded by pudding and Advil.