#strugglesinspain
I know I’ve said this in every post, but studying abroad is much harder than I ever expected! Thankfully, everyone I’m studying with and I have been able to laugh about our struggles- we’ve even started #strugglesinspain on social media- and we have been able to share tips about how to avoid, or at least minimize the struggles.
The major issues that I’ve encountered are things that I seriously never even thought about before leaving. I want to student teach abroad in a few semesters, so hopefully that experience will be a little easier after knowing what I do now. Here are the top 5 biggest problems I’ve had in Spain.
... And they’re funny at this point because I’ve had plenty of time to cry about them or complain about them and figure out a plan :)
1. MONEY
In March, I got a credit card. I’ve had a debit card for a few years. I had plenty of money in my account to really do whatever I wanted while I was in Europe and still get back home with a reasonable amount of money left for reality. Before I left, I converted enough dollars to euros for a week or so (shout out to the Fairmount State Bank for being the only place in Grant County that had euros- who would’ve thought). When I arrived in Seville, money was really not a concern of mine at all.
Then... I went to use an ATM one day on my way home from school to get enough cash for a few weeks so I wouldn’t have to go use it all the time. I switched the machine to English to “ensure” that I’d understand what I was doing because I’d never used an ATM at home. Then the ATM took my card and never gave it back! I freaked out, so I called home and told my parents to cancel my debit card right away. That afternoon I found out that all I’d have to do is go into the bank and as for my debit card and they’d be able to get it out of the machine for me, but of course by then I’d closed the account. A few weeks later, I thought I had a new card on the way, but the card that I got was for the same number as the one that I’d just cancelled. So currently I still have no way to get cash, but I just try not to think about it and it’s fineeee.
Also, my credit card has “no foreign transaction fees.” Right. The credit card company doesn’t charge a transaction fee, but the company of the purchase can charge a fee if they feel like it. Thankfully I haven’t had that many hefty fees, but that was still another unexpected “adventure.”
And euros look like you’re spending a lot less than you actually are. I live within walking distance from an H&M, and a 15 E top looks like a great deal if you don’t think about how weak the dollar is and actually consider how much you’re paying.
Another strange thing: coins are actually valuable. The euro is in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, but there are also 1 and 2 euro coins. The smallest denomination of cash is a 5 euro bill.
2. walking... and walking everywhere
My feet are so gross right now from all of the blisters that I’ve had. I knew I’d be walking a lot, but I really didn’t know how much I’d be walking. I really miss my car, but I’d never want to drive in Seville. There is public transportation, but you know my struggles with the bus system, and I’m still not a fan of subways.
I do have a Sevici bike pass that I bought before I came, so I’ve ridden a bike several times, but I’ve had some struggles with that too. With this card, I can “rent” a bike for 30 minutes for free. There are racks of Sevici bikes all over the city, so basically you can get one from wherever you’re coming from and return it wherever you’re going. The first day that I got my Sevici card I rented a bike to ride home from school. I was riding home and trying my hardest to stay in the bike lane where people aren’t supposed to walk. But then 2 women out on their "stroll” (which is basically walking at a pace where you have to decide are the actually moving or just standing there?) decided it was a great idea to walk/stop in the bike lane right where the lane curves to go around a subway station. So I proceeded to ride my bike into the subway station while attempting to stop and avoid hitting the women. I was totally fine, but the women looked at me like why is that American in our way?
I’ve definitely gotten used to walking so much, and now I know which shoes I can and can’t handle for certain events and certain distances. I still have no idea how Spanish women can wear wedges ALL DAY LONG EVERY DAY.
3. wifi
Wifi in Spain is as abundant and as functional as it is in the US (minus 4G/LTE... I miss it). However, if you want to use the wifi at Starbucks or at a restaurant, you have to ask for the key. The barista can then print out a receipt for you with the user name and password for the wifi, but the session usually times out after about 45 minutes. The code is only good 1 time, so if you have a phone and a computer and an iPad, you have to ask for 3 codes. You can’t share the codes. The codes that they give you sometimes don’t work, so then you have to go ask for another one. As long as you buy something while you’re there, the waiters will keep giving you codes, but it’s so annoying and I usually just opt to work at home if I need to have reliable internet access.
4. the time difference
Obviously. I was really only super jet lagged (at least as far as sleeplessness goes) for a day or two after arriving. It didn’t take too long to adjust to the time schedule and eating habits. However, trying to communicate with friends and family at home is so challenging. Thankfully my mom and dad have flexible hours with their work right now during the summer, so they can talk to me at times that are more convenient for me. But the 6 hour difference is just enough to make communication really inconvenient. I’ve spent several nights up until 2 or so in the morning to Skype with friends (always worth it, and still not terrible), but it’s 6 or 7 in the evening in the US, so it’s not always the best time for them either. Needless to say, I’ll be pretty happy when my friends are only an hour off from me (between Chicago time and Indiana) and my mom is in the next room to talk.
5. the language
Another “obviously." But again, the Andalusian accent is so crazy. Listening and understanding is so much easier than speaking, but I am definitely getting better at both. I’m still impressed with random words that I remember in conversation. A lot of the vocab that I learned in high school was geared toward vocab that South American/Central American Spanish speakers use. So in Spain, people usually know what you’re talking about, but they also clearly know that you don’t know what you’re talking about. I found out in my advanced communication class yesterday that only in Spain do they use the past tenses in the way that we’re learning.
In most cases, I can communicate pretty well at stores and restaurants. Back to the money issue- one day I had to go to the bank and see if I could withdraw money with my credit card (which they couldn’t; another fail from VISA). I was able to speak with the teller and understand her completely, and she could understand me! In the moment, I was super frustrated, but looking back, I’m pretty impressed with myself... especially since I wouldn’t have probably understood a ton of “bank-y stuff” in English.
I can’t wait to talk to some Spanish speakers when I get back and see what they think about my accent, vocab, etc. Plus all of the Spanish speakers in Grant County speak such fake Spanish (because there’s so much English) that I hardly can understand them anyways.
I don’t have school today because of Corpus Cristi. It’s a Catholic holiday, but I honestly have no idea what it’s really for... something about communion, but basically for the Sevillanas that means partying, drinking, not working or going to school, and staying out until all hours of the night/morning blaring music and carrying around huge altars covered in candles. Tomorrow (Friday) I head to Lagos, Portugal, and then after this weekend I only have 2 more weekends left in Spain!
I hope you enjoyed my #strugglesinspain, and I pray that this list doesn’t get too much longer in the short time that I have left here!
The major issues that I’ve encountered are things that I seriously never even thought about before leaving. I want to student teach abroad in a few semesters, so hopefully that experience will be a little easier after knowing what I do now. Here are the top 5 biggest problems I’ve had in Spain.
... And they’re funny at this point because I’ve had plenty of time to cry about them or complain about them and figure out a plan :)
1. MONEY
In March, I got a credit card. I’ve had a debit card for a few years. I had plenty of money in my account to really do whatever I wanted while I was in Europe and still get back home with a reasonable amount of money left for reality. Before I left, I converted enough dollars to euros for a week or so (shout out to the Fairmount State Bank for being the only place in Grant County that had euros- who would’ve thought). When I arrived in Seville, money was really not a concern of mine at all.
Then... I went to use an ATM one day on my way home from school to get enough cash for a few weeks so I wouldn’t have to go use it all the time. I switched the machine to English to “ensure” that I’d understand what I was doing because I’d never used an ATM at home. Then the ATM took my card and never gave it back! I freaked out, so I called home and told my parents to cancel my debit card right away. That afternoon I found out that all I’d have to do is go into the bank and as for my debit card and they’d be able to get it out of the machine for me, but of course by then I’d closed the account. A few weeks later, I thought I had a new card on the way, but the card that I got was for the same number as the one that I’d just cancelled. So currently I still have no way to get cash, but I just try not to think about it and it’s fineeee.
Also, my credit card has “no foreign transaction fees.” Right. The credit card company doesn’t charge a transaction fee, but the company of the purchase can charge a fee if they feel like it. Thankfully I haven’t had that many hefty fees, but that was still another unexpected “adventure.”
And euros look like you’re spending a lot less than you actually are. I live within walking distance from an H&M, and a 15 E top looks like a great deal if you don’t think about how weak the dollar is and actually consider how much you’re paying.
Another strange thing: coins are actually valuable. The euro is in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, but there are also 1 and 2 euro coins. The smallest denomination of cash is a 5 euro bill.
2. walking... and walking everywhere
My feet are so gross right now from all of the blisters that I’ve had. I knew I’d be walking a lot, but I really didn’t know how much I’d be walking. I really miss my car, but I’d never want to drive in Seville. There is public transportation, but you know my struggles with the bus system, and I’m still not a fan of subways.
I do have a Sevici bike pass that I bought before I came, so I’ve ridden a bike several times, but I’ve had some struggles with that too. With this card, I can “rent” a bike for 30 minutes for free. There are racks of Sevici bikes all over the city, so basically you can get one from wherever you’re coming from and return it wherever you’re going. The first day that I got my Sevici card I rented a bike to ride home from school. I was riding home and trying my hardest to stay in the bike lane where people aren’t supposed to walk. But then 2 women out on their "stroll” (which is basically walking at a pace where you have to decide are the actually moving or just standing there?) decided it was a great idea to walk/stop in the bike lane right where the lane curves to go around a subway station. So I proceeded to ride my bike into the subway station while attempting to stop and avoid hitting the women. I was totally fine, but the women looked at me like why is that American in our way?
I’ve definitely gotten used to walking so much, and now I know which shoes I can and can’t handle for certain events and certain distances. I still have no idea how Spanish women can wear wedges ALL DAY LONG EVERY DAY.
3. wifi
Wifi in Spain is as abundant and as functional as it is in the US (minus 4G/LTE... I miss it). However, if you want to use the wifi at Starbucks or at a restaurant, you have to ask for the key. The barista can then print out a receipt for you with the user name and password for the wifi, but the session usually times out after about 45 minutes. The code is only good 1 time, so if you have a phone and a computer and an iPad, you have to ask for 3 codes. You can’t share the codes. The codes that they give you sometimes don’t work, so then you have to go ask for another one. As long as you buy something while you’re there, the waiters will keep giving you codes, but it’s so annoying and I usually just opt to work at home if I need to have reliable internet access.
4. the time difference
Obviously. I was really only super jet lagged (at least as far as sleeplessness goes) for a day or two after arriving. It didn’t take too long to adjust to the time schedule and eating habits. However, trying to communicate with friends and family at home is so challenging. Thankfully my mom and dad have flexible hours with their work right now during the summer, so they can talk to me at times that are more convenient for me. But the 6 hour difference is just enough to make communication really inconvenient. I’ve spent several nights up until 2 or so in the morning to Skype with friends (always worth it, and still not terrible), but it’s 6 or 7 in the evening in the US, so it’s not always the best time for them either. Needless to say, I’ll be pretty happy when my friends are only an hour off from me (between Chicago time and Indiana) and my mom is in the next room to talk.
5. the language
Another “obviously." But again, the Andalusian accent is so crazy. Listening and understanding is so much easier than speaking, but I am definitely getting better at both. I’m still impressed with random words that I remember in conversation. A lot of the vocab that I learned in high school was geared toward vocab that South American/Central American Spanish speakers use. So in Spain, people usually know what you’re talking about, but they also clearly know that you don’t know what you’re talking about. I found out in my advanced communication class yesterday that only in Spain do they use the past tenses in the way that we’re learning.
In most cases, I can communicate pretty well at stores and restaurants. Back to the money issue- one day I had to go to the bank and see if I could withdraw money with my credit card (which they couldn’t; another fail from VISA). I was able to speak with the teller and understand her completely, and she could understand me! In the moment, I was super frustrated, but looking back, I’m pretty impressed with myself... especially since I wouldn’t have probably understood a ton of “bank-y stuff” in English.
I can’t wait to talk to some Spanish speakers when I get back and see what they think about my accent, vocab, etc. Plus all of the Spanish speakers in Grant County speak such fake Spanish (because there’s so much English) that I hardly can understand them anyways.
I don’t have school today because of Corpus Cristi. It’s a Catholic holiday, but I honestly have no idea what it’s really for... something about communion, but basically for the Sevillanas that means partying, drinking, not working or going to school, and staying out until all hours of the night/morning blaring music and carrying around huge altars covered in candles. Tomorrow (Friday) I head to Lagos, Portugal, and then after this weekend I only have 2 more weekends left in Spain!
I hope you enjoyed my #strugglesinspain, and I pray that this list doesn’t get too much longer in the short time that I have left here!
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