Author: skylerchiabai

This weekend was the first time I had traveled outside of Spain since I began my study abroad. I had never been to Italy so I was so excited to have the opportunity to visit. It feels surreal that I’m able to say “I’m going to Milan for the weekend.” Our original plan was to go to Lake Como for day one and sightsee in Milan for day two, but as this trip unfolded I realized this would be a trip full of learning experiences.

Traveling efficiently takes skill, experience, and planning. 

There were eight people I traveled with and we all knew we wanted to see Milan and Lake Como but not a single person thought about how. We arrived at the airport and we were practically stranded. We decided to rent a car, but none of us are 25. The Malpensa airport has no direct trains to Lake Como. The bus takes us to Milan central station but it takes an hour and a half and at this point we won’t make it to Lake Como until late in the day. We began to abandon our Lake Como adventure and decided we needed to rework our plan which, to be honest, did not exist in the first place. After troubleshooting and deliberating we decided we would take the bus an hour to the central station and then take the public tram another hour to our airbnb. Similar situations occurred the following two days, so while there were many parts of this trip that were absolutely wonderful it felt like most of it was spent in a train, or bus, or ferry, or uber, or on a plane. 

A lack of knowledge on the transportation, airport, and airbnb cost us a lot of time that we did not have. In the future I think it would be beneficial to create a loose itinerary that includes insight on the logistics of the trip. It doesn’t sound the most fun but in hindsight it definitely would’ve been the right thing to do. Getting an airbnb that is closer to the city, flying into an airport that has direct transportation, and making sure that the train workers are striking when you decide to go to Lake Como are a few things I will keep in mind for the next weekend adventure.

Although there was a lot troubleshooting this trip, it made me extremely grateful for the friends I have made during my time here. It’s awesome to watch everybody’s personalities come into play when we’re all so out of our element. There were a few times that tensions were high, everyones hungry, exhausted, and lost but we stayed giggling, and made light of our situation. I came into my abroad experience not knowing anyone and I have made such a fun group of friends that make me excited to go out, try new things and travel.

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To be completely honest, at first, I thought culture shock was something that was kind of exaggerated. I knew going into this experience it was going to be different; I knew I would have to get used to a completely new way of living, but I never fully understood the concept of culture shock until recently.

Not speaking Spanish in Spain

My Spanish-speaking abilities are severely lacking. I knew I would have trouble communicating clearly with locals, but I didn’t realize it would come with feelings of embarrassment and guilt as well. I want to start off by saying that almost every interaction I’ve had with people working in restaurants or stores has been extremely kind and helpful. But every time I have to say “hello” instead of “hola” to indicate that I speak English, a part of me feels guilty for not learning Spanish before coming to Spain. It feels like I’m disrespecting the people who put in the effort to become bilingual and that I’m perpetuating stereotypes about American ignorance in Europe.

Barcelona is a city filled with constant tourism year-round, always bustling with visitors from all over the world. So, here, it’s normal to speak multiple languages, and I thought I would get by pretty easily. What I didn’t expect was how out of place I would feel going places alone, not being able to communicate clearly if something were to go wrong. I want to feel confident leaving my dorm, and I want to feel confident walking around this wonderful city by myself. But as of right now, until my Spanish improves, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I will continue to feel uncomfortable.

Luckily for me, I’ve made friends through ISA that I’m incredibly grateful for. I’ve met two girls who are bilingual and have helped us out of sticky situations more than once. Truly, I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. Although it has been extremely helpful, I can’t rely on them for the rest of this experience, I don’t feel like it’s fair to always lean on them for translation needs. I’m not going to be with them 24/7 either, so I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t try to learn Spanish. Watching them translate interactions is inspiring. I would love to be able to navigate this city and talk to people on my own the way they do.

Almost every interaction I’ve had with Spanish people has been extremely pleasant, but there’s a group of Catalonian students who live in the same building as me and other international students who haven’t been the most welcoming. Catalonia is an autonomous community in Spain, where Barcelona is located.

In my personal experience, I’ve noticed that people in Catalonia can sometimes come across as more direct or reserved toward non-natives. However, I understand that this varies from person to person and doesn’t represent everyone. I went down to the basement to get water and walked past the group of students hanging out in the common area. I smiled, and they said “hola,” so I responded with “hola” back, and they burst into laughter. I know a few other people who’ve had similar experiences with locals. As I write this, I can laugh about the situation, but at the moment, I was pretty shocked. I couldn’t imagine laughing at another student who exchanged one word in an attempt to engage.

Upon reflection, I realize that cultural norms can be different, and while it was a shock in the moment, I don’t take it personally—it was just one of those learning moments as a foreigner adjusting to a new environment. Culture shock is part of navigating study abroad, and I won’t let this one unfortunate interaction discourage me from meeting other people in Spain. I’ve since met many wonderful people from other parts of Spain who have been incredibly welcoming, and I’m excited to keep moving forward in this journey.

A friend and I practiced our bargaining and Spanish speaking skills at La Maison Rose flea market.

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