Today marks
three months until I have to go back to America and I am happy to say the
feelings of self-doubt have subsided and I am now getting better acquainted to
the Spanish lifestyle. As the weeks passed, I discovered a bible verse that has
been essential to my transition into the Spaniard living culture. Philippians 4:13
- “Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” This verse has helped in
keeping me encouraged and letting me know I am not alone on this lovely
journey.
I was
introduced to the other members of my host family; I met their other two
daughters (Dori and Maria), their grandchildren (Clara and Vera, Dori’s
daughter; and Guillermo, Maria’s son), and their other son-in-law (Dori’s
husband). Throughout the week and sometimes during the weekend Dori’s children
would stay over and enjoy quality time with their grandparents. When the
weekends were quickly approaching Julia and Maria came with their children to
spend family time with each other. One weekend the sisters decided to take the
children to Dori’s house for a day at the pool and catch up on each other’s
lives. It was fascinating to see how close-knit the family was because it
reminded me of my family back in New York City. Personally, I was flattered the
sisters thought to include me in their family activities.
-- A fun fact I
learned about my host mom is that SHE IS A TWIN- the older twin (if you know me
you know I LOVE TWINS!) It was interesting to hear about her childhood.
--
Since
arriving in Spain, I’ve noticed several differences between the Spanish
lifestyle and American lifestyle. I find the Spanish lifestyle is a lot calmer
and more leisurely than the American lifestyle. For example, everyone including
workers, students, and stores take a siesta (a nap/ close for a couple of
hours) during the day to get a break from their busy day. When I saw this
happening I was astonished because this would be impossible in America especially
in New York City, the city that never sleeps. Another culture shock moment was
my first time experiencing free tram day. Free tram day is a day in which no
one has to pay for transportation to school. Initially, I thought I was
hallucinating because the only way there is free transportation in NYC (which
rarely ever happens) is if the systems are down and when that does happen,
train stops tend to be out of service.
During my
first month here, I have embarked on adventures I could not imagine doing in
New York City. I’ve partaken in aquatic sports in the Mediterranean Sea, taken
a day trip to Valencia, and tried new Spanish dishes like tapas and paella. Quicker
than expected, my trip to Spain has become the trip of opportunities. Our
program coordinators fortunately organized an aquatic sports day for us, where
we broke up into three groups to kayak, windsurf, and sail on the... (wait for
it) MEDITERRANEAN SEA!! I was so overjoyed about this opportunity because never
in a million years would I fathom the idea of being in the actual sea
participating in water activities, let alone the Mediterranean Sea.
Many
memorable moments were shared that day, but the funniest moment of them all was
during the second to last activity. While my friends and I were sailing
on the boat we decided to jump off, dive into the sea and practice different
swimming techniques. As I was having fun enjoying the sun beam in my face and
occasionally tasting the salty (very, very salty) water, my friend Kate who
stayed on the boat shrieked at the rest of us as we returned to the boat. “Oh
my God, where did Efosa’s wig go?”
At this
moment I was in disbelief as I entered the boat and I slowly patted my head
thinking Kate was joking. Unfortunately, Kate wasn’t, she actually thought the
group and I were trying to trick her into thinking we were hiding my wig from
her. I quickly asked our captain if it was possible to retrieve my wig. “No,
it’s gone,” he tersely replied. I was so devastated and upset about my wig
floating in the Mediterranean Sea, it took me about ten to twenty minutes to
grieve for my wig.
The people
in my program are the most beautiful and sweetest people I could have wished
for to accompany me on this study abroad program. They were so considerate,
some offered to dive into the water to find it and reassured me that I did not
even need the wig in the first place. They asked what my natural hair was like
and I explained how it grows into an afro and my main purpose of the wig was to
limit the amount of maintenance my hair would require given the fact Alicante
has a limited supply of water. (More on that next time). As luck would have it,
the aquatic sport instructors found my wig the next morning in the bottom of
the sea. My wig has floated to another island overnight. (I think my wig wanted
an adventure of it’s own. LOL)
The day trip
to Valencia was very interesting. We took a bus tour around the city and was
able to see many scenic sights and architectural marvels that reminded me of
Italy. For the second part of the trip, we visited several museums and churches
and got the opportunity to see various depictions of Jesus Christ during the
Renaissance and Medieval (Gothic) eras. In some of the paintings Jesus
Christ was drawn with muscles to show his strength, while other paintings
illustrated Jesus as being very skinny and scrawny to convey his plight and toughness
from crucifixion to resurrection.
These experiences have shown me the importance of not always living life
in a fast pace, but to sometimes pause and take in my surroundings. Most
importantly, no matter how secure I think my wig is NEVER GO INTO THE WATER
WITH IT! LOL!! The experiences I’ve had and will continue to have will change
my life forever in more ways than I could have ever imagined. All of this would
be impossible without the strength of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
