Philippians 4:13 - “Christ gives me the strength to face anything.”

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.

I’ve also noticed differences between the Spanish educational system and the American educational system. The main difference that stuck with me is how students only take classes within their discipline. I met a humanities student in an English 101 class and was asking for his advice about an Introduction to Sociology class. He was unable to tell me anything about the professor let alone the class. I was in disbelief because he only had knowledge about classes that were in humanities and nothing else.

This is unlike America, where students are encouraged to take courses outside of their discipline as a way to allow them to be well-rounded in different aspects of life after college. So far, I am doing well in my language class and I am also starting to get acquainted with the Spanish language. I have discovered a love for sociology in my Introduction to Sociology course which has a focus in criminology. I am very excited to learn about different cultures around the world and the various justice systems within each culture. As I continue my time in Spain, I can’t help but wonder what sort of impact implementing the Spanish educational style in America would have on the value of the American educational system and vice versa. Hopefully I will get more clarity as time goes on.

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.

First Time in Europe: Am I in Over My Head or Am I Just Overreacting?

I have finally arrived to Alicante, Spain, it feels so unreal because my mind still thinks in two weeks I will be back on a plane to New York City. The city of Alicante is so beautiful the architecture of the buildings and statues are magnificent. Honestly, I am a bit nervous about meeting my host family because I do not know how they will react to having me in their house.

When I arrived at my homestay address I was greeted by the youngest daughter of my host parents. She was very kind and welcoming. Initially, I was confused because she and her mother share the same name, Julia, so once I met Julia’s husband, Jose and their daughter Paula, I thought that was my host family. But Julia explained to me that her parents went away for the weekend and would be back the following day. Afterwards, Julia accompanied me to a hotel where the other students participating in the study abroad program and the staff members were for the welcome dinner.

During this time, I was very worried because when I heard the other students speak in Spanish with ease, I felt out of place with the group because my fluency was not at that level yet. Three years have passed since I have studied the Spanish language, but I have been surrounded by Hispanics throughout my life from school, my neighborhood, and close family and friends. So I assumed I should be fine once I entered Spain and tested the waters. (Oh Boy was I gravely mistaken!) The Spanish in Spain was nothing like the Spanish I was accustomed to in the Bronx. Surprisingly, I started to second-guess myself about my trip to Spain. I experienced self doubt, and began feeling homesick. Fortunately, I called my mother and she helped reaffirm why I decided to come to Alicante, Spain in the first place – to relearn Spanish and become a fluent speaker —which helped me regain confidence.

When I met my host parents, Julia and Miguel, they were so delighted to see me they greeted me with open arms. I am highly pleased with the family I was assigned to because I feel as though I will learn a lot from them during my stay in Alicante. I quickly realized that the language barrier would be a potential issue, but noticed how patient my host family was with me getting acquainted to the Spanish lifestyle. In an effort to bridge the language barrier, I spent my first night practicing a few phrases in Spanish I could say to my host family the following morning.

University of Alicante's school symbol 

The next day, the program arranged an orientation for the host families and the students. During the orientation, our wonderful program director, Pepa, thoroughly went over the expectations and course requirements.Towards the end of the session, I felt more at eased because my director, explained to me that only my Spanish course would be in Spanish and the rest of the courses would be taught in English. I was excited because this would give me more time to focus on practicing my Spanish skills. She reassured me that I will be fine and just needed to take the classes day by day and before I knew it everything will be less difficult. After the meeting, we took a private tour, located our classes, and learned how to get to the school by train and bus. The trip was very informative and helpful; I personally am ready to start my language class so that I can become more fluent in Spanish.

I am excited to start the journey of being a new student in a foreign country. I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. Stay tuned!