It's hard to believe I last posted just a week ago...so much happens in each day I spend here! Since I last wrote, classes have begun, the temperature has dropped a few degrees, and I have started to enter a new phase of adjustment. Whereas as first I needed to get comfortable with my new bedroom, new walking routes, and a new daily schedule, I'm now starting to experience the deeper shift that comes from this sort of cultural transition. A quick Google search gave me a better vocabulary for this shift I'm experiencing:
According to the Counseling Center at UIUC, the first part of any cultural transition is the "Honeymoon Stage." After arriving in a new culture, everything may feel exciting, and the novelty of this new culture sparks curiosity and interest. Sounds good, right? For me, everything from the ceramic tile street signs to the fountains flowing in the city plazas was exciting, new, and just so different. Now a week or two later, that stage is starting to fade and I'm entering the "Culture Shock" stage. That term can sound a bit dramatic at first---whenever I've heard this term before I've visualized someone receiving a very literal shock. From my experience, though, I'm starting to understand it as a slower, deeper shift...think: tectonic plates. When you spend time living in a new place, your focus starts to shift to the differences between this new culture and you home culture, and internal conflicts inevitably arise. For me, I have at times struggled to even feel physically comfortable and that has taken its own emotional toll. To give an example, people are very conscious of the resources they use in Spain (water, electricity, heat). So, showers are kept short and you are meant to turn off the water while you shampoo/condition/etc. While that routine may be no problem in the summer, the temperature here hovers between 25-45ºF in the winter and it is very cold in the shower without the water on! Or, many buildings heat spaces for limited amounts of time during the day or choose to heat only certain spaces---in our school, for example, they heat only the classrooms so the hallways are chilly and unwelcoming. I do my best to keep an open mind to these environmentally-conscious practices (especially with Spring only a few weeks away) but I sometimes daydream about a long, warm, and uninterrupted shower back home.
To give another example, I was battling some sickness this week (stomach flu? ...unsure) and there's no experience quite like being sick away from home. There's medicine here, of course, and other important health-related resources, but I missed the comforts of home and the assurance of knowing I could accurately communicate to someone how I was feeling and what specific symptoms I had. In my experience, being sick away from home also amplifies whatever homesickness I was already feeling, so this week I have missed my dog, Dylan, I've missed my mom's hugs, and I've missed the collegiate, collected campus at U of M where I feel purpose and belonging. An interesting cultural fact: universities here do not have the same idea of campuses, so their buildings are scattered all over the city. I will just be taking one class in the university and my study abroad center only has 1 building in total as is, but I miss that physical space of belonging that college offers. I may not miss the caffeinated hustle-and-bustle of U of M during midterms season, but it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
All of this is not to say that I do not still wonder at the new space I'm in or the culture I'm entering. The new challenge is to be patient in the slow shift away from all things comfortable and familiar and adapting to those unfamiliar and unknown customs, ideas, and, yes, shower routines. Before going abroad I think it's normal to have a fairly romanticized idea about your study abroad experience, but eventually comes a sort of disillusionment phase. Part of studying abroad is building a life abroad, so my days are not all glamorous and fast-paced like that of a short-term tourist. Instead, a big chunk of my time is spent walking, keeping track of class syllabi, daily homework, and random errands. Sounds a lot like my life as a student at U of M! Nevertheless, I recognize the privilege I have to be doing those things in a city as beautiful, historic, and colorful as Granada. In the days that come I hope to show myself grace in the slow adjustment to life in this corner of the world where I have the opportunity to learn about new layers of a city and new layers of myself, too.
Last weekend our program went to Sevilla where some of us enjoyed a walk along the Guadalquivir river
On the same trip we stopped at Ronda where we learned about the city's rich history and took in the amazing views
Earlier this week it snowed in Granada. This is the view from the third floor terrace of our school building!
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