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Tag: Spain

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By fuentescaro

Before going abroad I had already established that I was not going to be able to eat all the food that I eat at home. I knew that home cooked meals were going to be missed but I was excited to see the differences in food. When my host mom asked me one day if I wanted a tortilla, I was too overjoyed to answer, “sí”. When I went to sit down, I noticed that a Spanish tortilla was made of potato/egg. The Spanish tortilla- was delicious. However, my host mom noticed my confused face. She asked, “what’s wrong?” I laughed and explained that for me, a tortilla was made out of corn flour. She started laughing and said she had never heard about it. We started to talk about what we could make with flour tortilla and the options ranged from pupusas to tacos. The irony of all of this is that a couple of days later I saw corn flour at Corte Inglés, an international supermarket, and I bought the Maseca (corn flour). I brought it home and my host mom, host sister and I spent the next day’s afternoon making tortillas. They loved it and now my host mom is trying new recipes with it! I felt a great sense of pride sharing a little bit of my culture with my host family.

...continue reading "Tortillas, anyone?"

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By fuentescaro

Time has sincerely gone too fast. I remember being excited early September about being in Sevilla, a beautiful European city with so much history. Now, I sit at a coffee shop late November while listening to Christmas music because in Spain they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. Looking at all the people here at the coffee shop, I cannot help but feel nostalgic. Nostalgic in the sense that I am going to leave soon a city that has given me so much perspective about my identity.

I still identify as a Latina and first-generation student in the United States. However, I have taken more pride in saying that even though I was not born in the United States, I am still American. A lot of people in Spain have questioned whether I am from the United States as soon as I start speaking. I have to explain my nationality and how growing up in the United States has influenced not only my accent but my Spanglish. It has been a strange feeling when people try to guess where I am from and I think the hardest part of leaving my international community will be not being able to see them and interact with them on a daily basis.

I will miss coming to my host home during lunch time and listen to the stories of an enthusiastic nine-year-old. Most definitely I will miss all the interactions with my CIEE friends, getting churros con chocolate and walking in the streets decorated with Christmas ornaments. For the most part I have been accustomed to communicating in Spanish with my host family and friends. I have had a hard time with some vocabulary but I think my Spanish has increasingly improved.

...continue reading "Al tiempo"

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By fuentescaro

The most memorable experience I have is teaching English at a school in Sevilla named Sagrado Corazón. The ages of the students ranged from 15 to 17 years old. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would wake up at 6:30am to eat breakfast, get ready and head to class. I had four classes that I had to prepare lesson plans for. Every day they greeted me with great enthusiasm and laughter.

One of my favorite moments was during my second to last class. A student from cuarto de la ESO (10th grade) approached me and told me that I had made an impact on her. She thanked me because every Tuesday (one hour per week), she looked forward to see me because she always had fun in class. I stood in silence for a couple of minutes not knowing what to say. Those words had meant a lot to me because I had cause a little happiness on a student's life. I told her I was lucky to be able to talk to them and to get to know them.

Further, the students of segundo de bachillerato (seniors), on my very last day were able to show me a little bit of the flamenco culture. They took out their instruments and started to sign typical songs from Andalucía. I was happy to join them and I learned a couple of steps here and there. It were moments like those that reflected a great time as an English student teacher.

...continue reading "Let’s learn together!"

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By fuentescaro

Latina. That is the first word that comes to mind when I am asked about my identity. It is a powerful word that depicts the struggles my parents and I faced when coming to the land of the American dream. At the age of eight, I knew multiplication tables, I could read legends and dance to cumbia - all as a native Spanish speaker. As the years passed, I became aware that some of the things I valued the most as a little girl seemed to have been lost in translation.

As the oldest of three children, I did not have the option to put my education on pause after I graduated high school. Since I arrived to the states my main goal has always been to graduate from college. I owe that to my parents, who taught me that being bilingual is not only a matter of knowing two languages. They taught me that being bilingual was cooking pupusas for lunch and getting McDonalds for dinner. Bilingual in the sense that as a first generation student in the United States, I was able to hold my high school diploma from an American school system while that same day attend mass in Spanish to give thanks for my acceptance to college.

I am beyond proud of where I come from. When I was younger my accent could have been distinguished a mile away. Sometimes I still feel subconscious about it, but some people seemed not to notice it. Some act surprise when they hear that most of my childhood I spent in Central America. Others, after hearing my story congratulate me and tell me that because of my background I am fighting the odds of graduating college. To those I say, nothing is impossible. Gracias por leer mi historia.

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By jcapobia

Ya está. That’s it. As quickly as study abroad began, it seems like only about a week remains until I find myself on a 7 hour one-way flight back to the states. Although it seems like so long ago, I remember my flight here, sitting nervously in my seat, very uncertain of what lay ahead. I even remember my last few moments in the states before I got on the fateful flight from NY to Madrid. The week before I left, I had done my best to not think about the biggest displacement of culture, identity, location, and language I was about to experience. I went about my business as usual, until on the drive over, a sense of dread suddenly befell over me. I remember looking at everything (house, dogs, favorite restaurants, highways, cars, etc.) and thinking how much they would all change by the time I got back.

...continue reading "Ya está"

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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.

...continue reading "What I’ll Take With Me"

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No I’m not homesick, sorry if the title was misleading. I’ve just been thinking about going home lately and I’m starting to wonder how I’ll fit back into American society and how I’ll be when I get back. Obviously, readjusting to my usual eating times and my uncivilized eating habits will come naturally, but there are other things that will likely change. Being in Spain has given me a nostalgic eye that makes me look back on everything American with a new sense of appreciation. However, at the same time, I will also look at a lot of things I used to take for granted with a critical eye.

  • First the good. America, unlike European countries that I have been to, is diverse. Something we often forget as Americans is that all countries of the world aren't a rough cultural mixture like say New York City. I think in places like NYC or DC, the incredible diversity of people you see on the streets or the different languages you hear all the time is beneficial because it produces amazing mixtures that would not have occurred if we remained separated. A great example: Jazz. If not for the unique experience of African Americans, mixing African rhythms with Classical music and instruments, we would be living in a sadder world. I think I’ve always taken for granted how much diversity exists. People with foreign ancestry, whether Italians, Irishmen, Jordanians, French, Germans, etc. have so much to offer each other in the United States and all though we clash a lot, we also learn so much from one another.
  • People don't get freaky in the US on the metro or in public. PDA is too popular in Europe.
  • Rain. I miss a little rain. Why does it not rain in Madrid?

...continue reading "Homesick"

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By jcapobia

Let’s be honest. There are some people in this world that we could never get along with no matter how hard we tried. It’s really no one’s fault, but there are just some people who you don’t click with. Maybe you have clashing personalities, different interests, or just genuinely don't like each other.

And this usually isn’t too big of a problem, given that there’s almost 7.2 billion people in the world. As mentioned in previous blogs, people usually seek out like minded individuals and wall themselves off. Sure, may not be the greatest way to live your life, but there's some sense in it. It is genuinely hard to relate to people that don’t share your interests, your experiences, or your views.

Here in Spain, I’ve kind of felt trapped in the sense that meeting different kinds of people has been a struggle. I haven’t had the patience or time to actually maintain some of my earlier friendships, and this has led to the dissolution of many relationships. Additionally, as I’ve gone through my adventures in Spain, I’ve found that being an American restricts you in a way that makes you not quite “exotic” (for lack of a better word). Through the omnipresence of American media, foreigners will always know much, much more about the United States than you expect. And I think this kind of takes away from the cultural exchange aspect of studying abroad because I have no culture to exchange; Hollywood, Kanye West, and The New York Times are already spreading it around the world.

...continue reading "How to Make Friends Abroad"

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By jcapobia

I am writing this blog just after the attack in London (3/22/17) and a week after the attack at Orly airport in Paris last week. As someone who grew up in the shadow of 9/11 (literally and figuratively), I’ve more or less lived with the threat of terror in the back of my mind. all my life. Although I’ve been lucky and never suffered the consequences of a terrorist attack and really haven't worried about becoming a victim myself, there's something about these recent attacks that have given me pause for concern.

So when tomorrow comes and I fly to Paris-- to the exact airport (Orly) where the terrorist attack occurred.--for the first time in my life, I am a little scared. I know this fear is not logical as my likelihood of being killed by my christmas tree is higher than being killed by a terrorist. Nevertheless, when I saw the pictures of London under lockdown after the attack, it made me very afraid because I remembered being on those exact streets just a month before.

I think I’ve always looked at terrorist attacks through the safety of a TV, thinking they occured in a world far away from me. However, something about being on those streets before, traveling to the airports, and being able to place myself in these hot spots of terrorist activity has made it all the more real for me. I’ll be honest,and admit that I am a little worried about my next two trips (Berlin, Germany and Paris, France) because these are two countries that have taken an active role in the Middle East and have been targets of previous attacks.

...continue reading "When I was in High School, I had a Pretty Severe Fear of Rollercoasters"

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By jcapobia

 

I haven’t done a “day-in-the-life” post yet so for those wondering what I do between writing these scintillating blogs, this posts for you. I’ll break up my days into three different categories: Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday, and weekend. They mostly vary based off my class schedule, but overall all are quite similar.

Monday/Wednesday:

  • 6:45: Wake Up and eat breakfast. 7:20 leave for train; a fifteen minute walk (at New Yorker speed) from my house.
  • 8:00-9:00: Arrive at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid gym.
  • 9:30-11: Class 1: Advanced Oral Communication: A class that examines stereotypes, linguistic, and cross-cultural differences between the U.S. and Spain, focusing on communication techniques and differences in expression
  • 11:30-1: Class 2: Camino de Santiago: A class that studies the Camino de Santiago and prepares us for our trip along the Camino in May.  
  • 1-3: Take the train back home and arrive at home for La Comida 2:15. I usually eat with my host mother and one or more of my host brothers. We discuss our days or talk about random topics. Great for practicing Spanish as I make sure I use a new word or phrase everyday. Practicing with native speakers everyday is an incredible support to my language learning.
  • 3-5: Siesta: I actually do take a siesta Monday and Wednesday. While the siesta doesn’t exist “officially” in Spain, as many stereotypes hold, there's definitely a noticeable drop in activity both at school and in my house during the late afternoon.
  • 5-8: I grab the train (45min ride) to the center of the city where my Flamenco class is held. During class we prepare for our May performance by rehearsing the Flamenco style dance Las Sevillanas. Take train back
  • 8- End of day: Either I will go back home and eat with the family for La Cena or if it's Wednesday, usually the GW Madrid program sponsors some type of cultural activity for us, whether it be a play or a Flamenco show.

...continue reading "Un dia en la vida"

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