During my 6 weeks in Barcelona, I learned a lot from the culture of Spain that I could not have learned in Northwestern classes. I experienced a lot of what I predicted coming into the program, but I also saw many situations that I did not predict in any way. To me, I think this situation is more ideal for a learning experience because there are things that I anticipated and also things that I could not know outside of this program.
For example, something I predicted coming to Spain was the change in schedule, and more specifically the eating schedule. However, I realized the time I ate each day was the same as back home– breakfast at 10 in the morning, lunch at 2, and many snacks during the day until dinner, at 8. It is likely that my meal schedule in the U.S. is simply more similar to that of Spaniards than Americans. I was also used to the idea of ‘sobremesas.’ During my meals at Northwestern with friends, we stayed in the Plex cafeteria for many hours almost every time, just to talk together. I really enjoyed this concept because it encouraged us to relax and discuss our days.
There were also parts about Spain that I did not expect to be true. For example, I learned in Barcelona the number of people who speak English. Before arriving at the Barcelona airport, I was very nervous that I would not find my luggage or tell the taxi driver my destination because of my broken Spanish. To my surprise, I met many people here who knew and spoke English. However, there were times that I wanted to speak Spanish to practice it, but when a person from a restaurant or store saw my slowness to understand Spanish, they automatically started to speak English. It bothered me sometimes because there weren’t many opportunities to speak Spanish outside of the conversation with Spaniards. But, I also understood that people wanted to practice their English and use every opportunity to practice it.
Coming into the program I encountered situations that I accurately predicted and ones that I did not see coming. All in all, they each contributed to making the learning experience in Spain even more worthwhile.