Stages of "culture shock"

Before I came to Spain, I told myself: "I'm adventurous. I'm confident. I like traveling. I like meeting new people. I love to learn about culture." On top of that, I also told myself: "I won't get culture shock. That's ridiculous and won't happen to me."

Then, before I could even realize why I was experiencing emotional mood swings like a pregnant woman deprived of chocolate, I thought back about that little thing we learned about in orientation: culture shock.

It's not anything like I thought it would be, and it's not nearly as bad as they make it out to be. It's kind of hard to explain, but this article on Matador Network does a great job at detailing each stage.

Depending on the source, the stages may vary a bit, but generally they are: wonder, frustration, depression and acceptance. 

I'd like to think there aren't really "concrete" stages that just abruptly end as the next one starts, rather a mixture of all four of these stages appearing and disappearing throughout the entire length of your stay.

I'm still experiencing wonder every single day. I don't know if I'd ever get bored with the incredible and new things I've seen here. There's just too much to do and see.

As for frustration, I've experienced that a few times, and sometimes without even knowing why. Sometimes I would wake up frustrated for no reason at all. Other times, I felt frustrated solely because I didn't understand the entirety of a situation. Language barriers don't help. Finally, living with a host mom can be great at times, and extremely frustrating at others. (Keep any eye out for my personal blog on why). Maybe it's just a culture thing.

Overall, I'd say I'm way more happy than I am depressed, but I've had a few bouts of distress due to the difficulty of making new friends. I'm a bit more shy when it comes to meeting new people if I have to speak in Spanish. Sure, I've met some awesome people here, but it's taken nearly two months to actually find regular people to hang out with. Not to mention, I miss my ladies back home. So, while I haven't shed a tear since I've been here--I'm not a big crier--I've had some moments where I just decided to stay in bed and pout.

Acceptance. The final stage. Not going to lie, the culture here isn't so much different from ours that I couldn't stand it, it's almost that the things that are different here are just so much better. I haven't really had a big problem accepting the culture. Boom, that stage is easy.

So in conclusion, I've experienced some of the emotional distress while studying abroad, but I'd never let this keep me from recommending it or even traveling more in the future. Depending on the person, culture shock can be like falling into a giant sinkhole of grief you can never climb out of, or it can just be tiny little bumps in the road. It all depends on your perspective!

The Madrid Experience

With every day that passes in Spain, I somehow feel like it's my first day here--and my last. It's so hard to explain the phenomenon, but I'll try.

Bustling Madrid streets

Since I am exactly at the midpoint of this study-abroad adventure, I'm coming to terms that I've experienced a lot, yet I haven't experienced anything. I've become more accustomed to the way of life here, yet I still feel like there's so much to learn. 

And of course, it's impossible to see it all, as with the case in Madrid.

Kris, another student from CMU, and myself made our journey to Madrid on October 9-12. It was four days of exploring, walking, picture-taking and aprovenchando. 

Kris and I 

If you already don't know, the city of Madrid is the number one tourist destination in Spain, and now I can see why. With incredibly designed architecture, buildings and art full of history, culture, energy and endless shopping, I can understand why people love to come here.

Although we walked for 6-10 hours every day, there was no way to see it all. However, we did spend our time wisely and we still saw some very important sights. 

1. Buen Retiro Park.

Being one of the largest parks in the city at 350 acres (and probably most beautiful), Buen Retiro was full of lush flowers, sculptures, bright green grass, fountains, and trees as far as the eye could see. What a sight! Pictures don't do it justice. 

2. Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol is a plaza in Madrid that was very close to our hotel. It was bustling with people, street performers and of course it had amazing statues and beautiful architecture including the well-known Casa de Correos. 

La Casa de Correos

Estatua del Oso y el Madroño

"Human statues"

3. Plaza Mayor

This plaza is located directly in the center of the city. It's a large square plaza with shops, restaurants, and of course more historical statues, including one of Felipe III of Spain. 

4. Palacio Real

Palacio Real is the official residence of the king of Spain, and it is a monster of a building. It's large, white, Baroque-style architecture is incredible to look at and impossible to capture all in one picture. 

5. Mercado de San Miguel 

This market was near Plaza Mayor and had everything from smoothies, to decadent desserts, specialty meats and fruits and veggies. We passed through it to check it out, but unfortunately didn't buy anything. 

6. Museo del Prado 

We spent quite a lot of time in the National Museum of Prado, where we saw precious artwork from Goya, Rubens, Calderon, Pedro Nunez del Valle, Velazquez and many, many more. This museum was so huge that we could have spent our entire day inside. We even got lost a few times. (Note: I technically wasn't supposed to take pictures of the artwork, so don't tell on me.)

Museo del Prado from the outside

7. Templo de Debod 

This ancient Egyptian temple was donated to Spain in 1968 as a thank you for their aid in helping save the temples of Nubia. It was amazing to see from the outside, and even more incredible when we found out we could go inside!

Last but not least, you can't forget the food!

We enjoyed churros y chocolate every morning while there, and dined at a few delicious Turkish restaurants. We also made our way into a Cuban restaurant, and had some cocktails.

Heaven.

All in all, Madrid is an incredibly beautiful city. I wish I could share the hundreds of beautiful photos I've taken of Madrid, but you'll just have to see it for yourself! Rich with history, art, natural beauty and stunning architecture, Madrid is definitely a must-see city in Spain.

Week 7: Ibiza aftermath

Ibiza.

"The all-night raver, the boho-cool hippie chick, the sexiest babe on the beach – Ibiza is all this and more to those who have a soft spot for the part-loving sister of the Balearics. The cream of Europe's DJs (David Guetta, Luciano, Sven Väth et al) makes the island holy ground for clubbers. And nowhere does sunset chilling like Sant Antoni de Portmany's strip of mellow cafes." - Lonely Planet

The quote above may be the perfect in-a-nutshell description of Ibiza, if one exists. Austin Stowe and I took a nice mini-vacation two weekends ago (mine was a bit longer due to flight limitations) and we decided to book a hotel in Sant Antoni de Portmany. Like the quote says above, the sunset over the water was definitely the most beautiful I've ever seen. 

But don't get me wrong, I didn't spend 6 days in Ibiza staring at the sunsets. Ibiza has way too much to offer to do that. Being an EDM (electronic dance music) enthusiast, this tiny little stretch of an island was packed with some of the world's craziest and largest clubs. 

Night #1, Thursday, October 2: Austin and I settled into our hotel, and he quickly made friends with two English boys in the adjacent room. I did very little exploring around the hotel besides walking down the strip to buy some food. The first night, however, we decided not to waste any time. We went to Sankey's, a double-layer club with a rooftop area, which featured CUFF, Amine Edge & Dance, Been Trill, Ardalan and K-Lagane. I made it on stage with Amine Edge & Dance for a bit because I was talking to "the sound guy" and he invited me to come onto the DJ stand. Needless to say, Thursday was a blast. The only thing I wish I had was pictures to prove it!

"The strip"

Night #2, Friday, October 3: Recovery day. I slept in, relaxed and finally got back on my feet at night, when the crew decided to make our way down the Sant Antoni strip. First, we hit a karaoke bar, and it was astonishingly ALL English-speaking people inside. I went up and down the strip with another girl in our hotel I also met the previous night. Nothing crazy, but all-in-all it was a good night.

Night #3, Saturday, October 4: Amnesia, "the best global club of Ibiza." We went to the closing party, which started at midnight and went until 3 p.m. the following day! I couldn't believe it. The promoter who sold us our tickets advised us not to go until 6 a.m. because that's when all of the "good DJs started." We thought he was loco, but we partially took his advice and waited to go until 4 a.m. Surprisingly, we stayed until 10 a.m. dancing the night away, and I never felt so exhausted yet accomplished for lasting that long. There was a continuous line out of the door the whole night and into the next day. These people were nuts. Below is a video of one of the two rooms.We estimated that there was probably 10,000 people inside.  

The second main room, which we called "the jungle." Photo credit: Austin Stowe

Night #4, Sunday, October 5: Austin had to leave on this day, so I spent my Sunday night with the English boys and two girls I met from the U.S. who are teaching English in Barcelona. We went to Pacha, which was way less packed, way more comfortable, and had better music. Solomun was playing and he was incredible. This night was definitely my favorite. Good crew, good music, and good vibes all around! 

Night #5, Monday, October 6: It was unimaginable that we could even have energy left, but this was Ibiza. There were Closing Parties every night (end of the season parties, more or less) -- even on Mondays. We took every advantage to see it all.  By now, the English boys were gone so I hung out with the two U.S. girls, and thank God for their company! They were great. Our server at Cafe del Sol (the name is fitting; this is where we watched the sunset) suggested that we go to dc10 on the other side of the island. Not a horrible choice, but it was a hot, sweaty mess. I'd say was a concert hall more than a club. We had a good time, but getting bumped into and shoved wasn't my idea of paradise. We stayed until 7 a.m. and decided it was time to go. By Monday, Ibiza had won. I don't think I would have lasted another night even if I wanted to.

The beautiful Cafe del Sol

To sum it all up, Ibiza was a high-energy, non-stop, dance-all-night and never-sleep type of atmosphere. I'm a little disheartened that I didn't have a chance to see the cathedrals and sights in the capital of the island (also called Ibiza), but hopefully I can make the trip back when I'm a bit older. For now, I'll have to say I don't regret a single second of it. Ibiza will forever have a place in my heart and a techno beat in my soul.

Extra: If you're reading this and planning on going to Ibiza, I have a few suggestions.

 1. Go before September 30 because the (4 euro) buses stop running and after that you have to take a (15-30 euro) taxi everywhere you go. 

2. For that, I'd also recommend bringing a little bit of extra cash. 

3. Last but not least, don't miss out on the beautiful beaches and sunlight while there! This island is crazy and wild as much as it is peaceful and enchanting. Ibiza is one heck of an experience. 

Next blog: Madrid aftermath

Week 5: Planning Ibiza, Madrid and more

It's hard to believe I've already spent a whole month in Spain. I think I've been reading too much of this book my mom gave me called "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed because I'm beginning to feel like I've been hiking a nature trail for the past month--alone. In a way, I kind of am.

Right now as I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the Valencia Airport waiting ...3 hours... for my tiny 45-minute flight to Ibiza. Poor planning on my part.

Getting here, actually traveling anywhere in Spain, is kind of like hiking. You may have never been to this new place before, so you have to stop, orient yourself and try to figure out which paths to take to get to your destination.

Instead of the easy route of flying out of Alicante, I saw a cheap flight and with all the excitement and daydreaming about Ibiza, I impulsively punched in those credit card numbers and hit "buy" before checking to see that it actually flew out of Valencia, two hours away. After realizing that afterward, I had to roll with the punches, and lace up my hiking boots.

My host mom told me about this thing called "BlaBlaCar" where you can share rides and pay way less to get around. People post their start location, destination and price. It sounded like a great idea so I quickly hopped online and only found one ride from Alicante to Valencia where I wouldn't have to miss my classes. However, BlaBlaCar screwed me all up. After securing and paying, the guy messaged me saying he actually wasn't able to leave from Alicante as his post said. Thanks, guy. Since he took two days to get back to me, I decided not to wait any longer and I would take the reliable Renfe train. But, with my awesome luck, the train didn't run between 12-4 today, so I had to take the 11 a.m. one and miss my class anyway. Oh and did I mention not even an hour later, he messaged me saying "Nevermind, I can actually pick you up now." Thanks again, guy. There's no refunds for the train.

Fortunately, getting here was way too easy and I didn't get lost. I'm getting better at this public transportation deal. But now, here I am patiently waiting to check in for my flight.

Lesson learned: plan more carefully and don't impulse buy! A flight may be cheaper elsewhere but in the end, the wasted time and the extra cost for trains and subways doesn't really amount to much of a savings at all.

Anyway, I'll be in the beautiful Bealaric Islands of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea for the next 6 days. Expect lots of pictures and incredible experiences upon my return! 

Next trip: Madrid in 7 days.