By jcapobia
When I was in Rome last week, my traveling companion, Brian Schwartz, and I went out to an American bar. We chose that place because we had really been dying for some American culture and contact. After spending sometime there we struck up a conversation with a Mexican (Javier) and an Italian (Giovanni), who for whatever reason found themselves at an American bar that night. We started talking and, when I mentioned we were studying in Madrid, they switched to speaking to us in Spanish.
For the rest of the night, we communicated in strictly Spanish, which basically equated to 3 hours of non-stop Spanish conversation. While we were in the bar, we also met a bunch of native Spaniards who came over to talk to us because we were the only ones in the bar speaking Spanish (the rest were Americans speaking English). While the night progressed, it felt to both Brian and I that we had an “in” or we were somehow different because of our ability to speak Spanish. When we left the bar and said goodbye to our Spanish speaking friends, we were ecstatic because that had really been the first time our studies of Spanish language and culture had produced a real world effect. Had we not known Spanish, we would have never made friends with Javier and Giovanni or the other Spaniards because, to them, we would have been just another bunch of Americans in that American bar.
And had we not been there, they probably would not have spoken with any Americans. As I have written, people seek out the familiar and because English wasn’t their strongest, I doubt they would have had the opportunity to talk to Americans. Its incredible that my unique cultural experience here in Madrid helped me break down a wall that otherwise would have existed between us.
I think this story, more than anything that has happened since I’ve been abroad highlights what I wanted to get out of the study abroad experience. A lot of people go abroad, and a lot of people come back from abroad, but do they really change much? Do they really bring back something that makes them special or unique or different than everyone else?
Now, I’m not saying that Brian and I, two Advanced-ish Spanish speakers, were the only ones in the world who could have communicated with them. I am saying that, taking that bar as a microcosm of America, I am excited to return home with what I’ve learned and what I’ve gained from this experience here because I really think I've gained something that makes me different than most average Americans.
Nevertheless, when I return home in less than 3 weeks, my biggest fear is that I’m going to lose all the progress I’ve gained in my acquisition of the Spanish language and my appreciation of the Spanish culture. I have a fear that I’m going to be sucked back into the American bubble just as quickly as I left it, forgetting all that has happened in the last few months.However, I think if I do forget everything and look back on my time here as a waste, I will always hold that one experience in Rome as one of the best experiences of my life. It’s one that highlights why people should go abroad (not always why they actually do): It's to be different than your countrymen, break the mold, and surprise those around you.
Study Abroad is great for a lot of reasons including travel, food etc. But I think if you can take your experience abroad and use it to gain relationships and friendships that you otherwise would not have-- well than it was all worth it.
