by Lisa Wooning

Saludos de España!

I am studying abroad in Spain and I’ve been asked to share my experiences with you. To start, I am a third-year student in the education program at Cornerstone studying English, Spanish and TESOL. I am studying Spanish in Seville, Spain with the Semester in Spain consortium program with Trinity College.

I live with a host family which consists of a señora, her housekeeper and my roommate, Katie Wiggins. The food here is very Mediterranean—olive oil, fruits, vegetables, bread, veal, fish, etc. My favorite food besides café con leche is paella con pollo (rice dish with chicken, vegetables, and saffron).

“My favorite food the cheesecake ice cream, but, meal-wise, my favorite is guiso de patatas,” Wiggins said. “It’s a common Spanish dish that somewhat resembles vegetable stew with an olive oil base. The food is usually very good; it just took some time to get used to the strange eating schedule: breakfast at 7, lunch at 3 and dinner at 10 p.m.!”

My favorite part of being here is that I live and breathe Spanish! It is actually a chore to write in English because I am surrounded by Spanish all day. At times, it is overwhelming how much I don’t know even after studying Spanish for over six years. My señora is always supportive and reminds me there are things in the Spanish language that even she doesn’t know…and she’s spoken Spanish all her life!

All my courses are taught entirely in Spanish by native Spanish professors. My advanced grammar and communication class is excellent because we study the small aspects of the language that make a significant difference in effective communication. My art history class is interesting because I am able to learn a lot about culture and history of Spain while learning about a concept that is unfamiliar to me—art. The literature class is taught from a Spaniard’s point of view in Spain rather than Latin America. New perspectives are always great!

I go to a convent with orphans on Thursdays and help with homework—it is a great way to use my Spanish in a very authentic situation.

“A guiri, is someone wearing shorts and a T-shirt, camera around his/her neck, and walking around the streets of Seville, map in hand, at 4pm in the afternoon,” Professor Salva, my literature professor, said.

I hope that I am becoming less of a guiri every day! It is very true that Spaniards are never out at 4 p.m. in the afternoon because that is when the beloved siesta takes place. This is definitely something we need to implement in the United States. I try to pass as a Spaniard sometimes by dressing more formally and not smiling at someone on the street unless I know the person. The mentality here is, why waste energy on saying hi to everyone? This sounds really rude to Americans who are accustomed to making eye contact and acknowledging the person, but it makes sense because this is a large city and we can’t smile at everybody!

Thus far, this semester has been better than I could have imagined. Granted, there are times I miss my friends and family in the States, but how can I have that mentality for too long when I have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

¡Hasta Luego!