As I mentioned in the previous post, I've changed and grown since coming to Spain. But as someone told me before I left California: "Spoiler alert: everyone changes while abroad", so I guess I'm not very original. But it is still a very important part of this experience for everyone.
There are several ways in which I want to continue to grow, and several things I want to remember from my time in Spain:
There are several ways in which I want to continue to grow, and several things I want to remember from my time in Spain:
- I can't be afraid to go up to people and ask them for help, or be afraid to speak up for myself. If I can ask for help or directions, voice my opinions, and more in Spanish, a language I am not 100% capable of speaking, there is absolutely no reason why I can't do any of those things in English.
- I want to continue to explore. In Spain, we are constantly going on excursions, trying new foods, and just wandering around, but it is very easy to get stuck in the same routine at home. I want to explore Providence and Rhode Island more. Of course, there will be the slight (read: huge) addition of studying, bad weather and more, but my friends and I are promising ourselves we will make the effort.
- It is really, really hard to learn another language. And because the United States is full of immigrants, it is very common to encounter people who speak English as a second language. Often times, it is easy to listen to someone speak poor English and then think in your head that they are unintelligent, but this is not even close to being true. I can't say very complicated sentences that grammatically make sense, especially when it comes to more theoretical stuff. But I still try, and I think "it doesn't matter they know I'm a foreigner anyways". So I want to hold myself accountable and not assume anything about people with whom I'm speaking and also be more understanding.
- I also really want to continue to speak Spanish. My friends and I are already talking about Spanish dates. We text each other in Spanish and I'm sure that will continue as well. It makes me sad to think that this semester could be the peak of my Spanish speaking, so I will try to continue to learn more. I'm still trying to decide if I"m will take a Spanish class in the spring but right now I'm definitely leaning towards it.
- Because English is currently the most dominate and unifying language, as Americans we are very privileged that it is our maternal language. However, we are disadvantaged as well. So many Europeans speak at least two languages. Many are here studying their third. Sometime Spaniards ask how many languages I speak and I can only say one and a half. I would really like to raise my future children bilingual, and if possible I would like to advocate for more language for all Americans. I don't know how to do this yet, but I believe we are missing out on amazing intellectual and cultural power by only speaking one language.
- Continue to grow and change. This is pretty vague and basic, but I've recently made some changes in my life focusing on growth (more on that later), and I want to hold myself accountable. I look forward to the next "Spoiler alert, everyone changes after (college, first job, etc)"