Studying Abroad

~*~
If anyone reading this is considering studying abroad, I say go. No matter who you are, how unsure you are, or how worried you are about money. Make it happen. You can get scholarships and even though it can be scary, it is totally worth it.
Some tips for choosing where to go:
1) Consider whether or not you are a Big City or a Small Town person. I am personally more of a small town person. I enjoy relaxing and taking things at my own pace but some other people like the fast paced feel of the city. Base the town you go to on that. If you are going to Spain, Madrid is a wonderful place for city people, but Bilbao/Getxo might not be you're cup of tea. I love Getxo. It's a small coastal city and it is so beautiful here, but if it's not for you, make it a weekend trip.
2) Language. If you speak a foreign language, go and practice it abroad. However, if you don't know one, go anyways. I feel like my worldview has been broadened and my mind has been opened by living somewhere I don't know the language. You grow to appreciate and feel empathy for the study abroad students in the US and realize a lot more than Americans are out there. It's the people that go to countries like Spain and try and demand they speak to us in English that give Americans a bad reputation. You have to realize that YOU are the guest and that if they know English, it is still better for you to try in their language and let them take pity on you instead of rushing in and saying "do you speak english?" at least try it as "hables ingles?"
3) History. I didn't look into the history of Spain very much before I came here. I came with what I assumed: a more conservative, strongly Catholic country that I'd assume would be reasonably stable. Nope. Many of the older generations here went through a civil war when they were young. Because of the dictator at the time, who was oppressively catholic, many of the people have become quite the opposite. There are a lot of nude beaches, rude people and people that hate religion. However, there are many people like my amazing teacher, Marta, who still believe in the old ways, mainly: manners, manners, manners. And she taught those to us in class.



Some of the things that are super different that I won't necessarily miss:

-Almost all of the people here smell terrible. I don't think that the older generations shower very often. Taking the 20 minute metro ride from the Areeta stop in Getxo to the Moyua stop in Bilbao is like being locked in a sweaty mens locker room for way too long. A lot of the time I just want to look at certain people and tell them to put their arm down and risk falling instead of holding the pole because that scent should not have to be endured by anyone.

-Some bathrooms don't have toilet paper. They don't even have toilet paper dispensers. I learned fast to carry some around in my purse wherever I go, especially when going out at night to bars or to the street fairs. In fact, the "toilets" at the street fairs like portable buildings that just have a hole in the ground that you close the stall door and squat over. It was a challenge but I was laughing the entire time because it was just so ridiculous.

- Nobody uses driers here. Washing my clothes got old real fast because we had a tiny little porch to hang all of our clothes on, no clothes line, and only one little cot thing to lay them across. They came out crunchy and not fitting quite right. Luckily, I'm an overpacker and basically only had to wash underwear and undershirts (which were crinkly but were pretty good at going back to normal).


- People here will flat out just pee on the streets. During the day. I was walking to school last week and saw a man teaching his maybe 3-year old son to pee on a tree in the sidewalk. Seriously, Spain!? It smells terrible. It's not as bad in Bilboa/Getxo, but in bigger places like Pamplona and Madrid it was everywhere and it smelled horrible no matter where you went.


- Girls our age look like the 60's hair styles blew up and settled in the Basque metro system. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it! And too many men here have rat tails, mullets, and other such atrocities.