A Little Perspective

I leave Spain in six days. Its a weird feeling knowing that I have so little time left here. I am so used to thinking that I have all the time in the world.. now I can count the days on (almost) one hand. I don't think I have had these feelings since I graduated from high school and said bye to all those friends and that old life at home. That is sort of how I feel now. I never realized that I would make such good friends while I was here- friends from all over the world. Its really crazy to think that there is a good chance that I will never see them again. For the past four months I have been living in this crazy international world. I have been immersed in the Spanish culture, but through having classes with people from all over the globe I also feel like I have engaged with the entire world. I have learned Spanish alongside people who speak the language with a Russian accent or a Japanese or French accent. I have shared life with them. I have shared my culture with them and in return learned about their cultures. It has been the best four months of education that I have ever received- concerning both Spanish and just life lessons. I am really going to miss sitting in class with students from all over the world. I will miss being in a constant state of learning- even when not in class. 
I have made so many memories- like going to a Chinese restaurant with our friend and having him order mystery food for us in Chinese!
I have gained new perspective- like talking about the Cold War and the Boston bombings with Russian girls in our class or discussing the North Korea threats with our South Korean friends.
I have gotten used to being a novelty! What will I do when I return home and being American is not longer a topic of small talk or interest?
I have experienced what it is like to look at America from the outside. I have watched Spanish news reports covering Obama's speeches. I have discussed American politics, economy, and society in my classes. I have watched American movies at the theater dubbed over in Spanish-- Was that ever a crazy clash of cultures! It was strange to see America on the big screen, but hear everything the characters said in Spanish!
I have learned that there is a type of movie that is distinctly American- I had no idea! They are the movies that focus on one strong hero that saves the day- think about how many there are! Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Ironman, Gladiator, Avatar, James Bond... All of them have one main character that the story rides on.

And through this new perspective, I think I have learned one big lesson-- people are all really the same. Cultures definitely come into play, but people just use culture to express the same emotions that all humans feel.
Did you know that in Spanish they have an expression for six-pack abs? Its tableta de chocolate-- meaning chocolate bar. Think of how a Hershey's bar looks. It makes sense right? I remember the Russian girls saying that they had an expression too, but I can't remember what it was! That phrase exists in the language because there is a need for it! Just like Americans, there are Russians, Spaniards, Chinese.. who all want those six-pack abs!
In Spanish there is also an expression that goes- Mucho chow chow y poco meow meow. It means A lot of chow chow [probably a cat noise] and a little meow meow. Know what that one means? "Little dog, big bark."
One more- A cada cerdo le llega su San Martin. It means- For every pig comes their day of Saint Martin. On Saint Martin's day in Spain, they sacrifice pigs. This phrase is basically a way to express "What goes around comes around".

In language, we all have a need to express the same things- we just express them differently. 

When taking pictures with the Japanese girls, we asked them why they kept holding their hands in the shape of peace signs against both cheeks. They told us that it was to make their face look slimmer in pictures! That made me think of how American girls pop a hip with a strategically placed arm on it in pictures in order to make themselves look slimmer in pictures.

These are little things we all do!

Through different cultures, these emotions, troubles, life events, rites of passage may be expressed in different ways than in our culture, but nevertheless they need expression! Underneath it all, there is a common bond of humanity. There is a common problem of sin, of need, of imperfection, of a desire to love and be fulfilled.

I used to be one who would go on a little week-long overseas trip and come back whining about how the country I went to was soo much better than America. I would swear that their culture had gotten it right and that America was so wrong.
But living overseas for four months has made me realized how ignorant I was! I think that Americans that travel think they (including me!) are so cultured- and maybe we are more so than others- but really, it is not until you really live somewhere for longer than even a month that the honeymoon stage ends and you start to see the faults of the other culture. 

For instance, some would say that the American culture is overcome with individualism. Americans like to have their own life- focus on their own success, do what they want, trample anyone who gets in their way. In Japan it is the opposite. People work together. They cooperate. They seek the advancement of the group- not the individual. Sounds pretty good, right? One week in Japan and you might return to America praising the glories of the humble culture of the Japanese.
But there is a problem. The Japanese are taught to conform. They are taught to groupthink. Students may not stand out. They do not raise their hand for a question in class, because that would be stepping out of line. They do not question what they are told or debate the opinion of others. Reputation and honor are driving forces. With this comes a desire for honor, and a fear of what others think. Did you know that Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates? These are all things that I did not make up. They are faults that our Japanese friends pointed out to me about their own culture!

In America I have heard people say that we work too hard. We are too busy, too focused on the next thing. We don't live. In Spain, there is a law that requires that everyone have a month of vacation. Students only got to class for a total of about six months out of the year. Most people don't save their money- they live day to day. How is that for relaxed? When I told one of Pepita's friends how much I loved the relaxed culture here she laughed and said, "Ha, and have you noticed that we are in a crisis?"

These are all problems! On either side, you have two extremes! I think we need to realize that every country has their own set of problems. The U.S. is NOT perfect. But in somethings, we do not have it all the way wrong. Its so easy to go to another country, stay in a nice hotel, see the nice side of town, and leave before reality hits. Then forever in your photo albums you remember how perfect your stay was. What I have enjoyed most about this experience has been seeing dirty, passionate, hot, sunny, greasy, lazy Spain for what it really is. And realizing that the U.S. is just one country out of many that has faults and assets.

Now here is the thing-- I have only lived here for four months!! Who knows what my perspective would be like after staying here for a year.. two years.. three years! But I can say, that these four months have taught me so much and changed my perspective on so many things... And I have loved being immersed in the culture here. I feel as though I have really been able to interact with it and grasp it in a way that I never have before on any other trip I have been on, and I have absolutely loved it. How special it is to get to step outside your world and into another one to try it out for awhile.

What I do know is that I feel like less of an American and more like a citizen of the world now. I don't know if any of you have taken the missions course called Perspectives, but if you have, you will know what I mean when I say that I want to be a World Christian. That is how I feel. And I think the Lord has used this experience to show me what it means to be a World Christian.

What a special time of learning and growing it has been. Honestly, I feel a little nervous to go back to the States! I can't believe that this short season of my life is ending and that I am about to start a new adventure at home called SENIOR YEAR. The time here has gone by so fast and I am so grateful for this whole experience. I know that I will look back and count it as one of the developing factors in my story. 

Thank you for keeping up with my life for the past four months. I look forward to coming home, seeing friends and family and struggling not to kiss people on both cheeks as a greeting (as we have gotten used to doing here). That will be interesting.
Anyways, I will try to blog once more before coming home next MONDAY!

Cheers.