Week 1 by Amanda Knight

Upon arriving to Caceres, I quickly noticed that the daily lifestyle is much different than that of the United States. For many people in the United States, life never slows down. We are consistently on the go from one activity to the next, and often times neglect important things such as rest and nutrition. Our days are long, our breaks are short, and classes are scheduled back to back. Americans simply have too much to get done in too little time. For people in Cáceres, this is not the case. Life may be busy for them but they allow enough time in the day to complete their activities, while still being able to nap and eat lunch together in their homes. They have mastered the balance between work and relaxation, and this is something that people in the United States just cannot comprehend or incorporate into their lives.

Learning how important rest and nutrition is, has been an eye opening experience for me. I don’t think I truly understood the difference between my home life and life here in Cáceres until my host mom asked, “what time do you have lunch in the United States?” and I replied “whenever I have time to eat.” For me, and many others, days are too busy to allow time to stop and sit down for a meal. We go from school to work, from work to school, and sometimes from work to work. We fill our days so much so that we are unable to participate in one of the most crucial activities in life, which is eating. The beautiful thing about Spanish culture is that to them nothing is more important than relaxation and recovery. Life stops, stores shut down, and people return home to enjoy this special time of la comida and siesta.