Week 1 by Brianna Martin

This first week in Caceres has been overwhelmingly welcoming, disorienting, and rewarding all at the same time. The decision to study abroad has been by far the greatest decision of my life. The moment I stepped out of the bus to meet my host family I became extremely nervous, however upon meeting them, I felt like I’ve known them all my life. To this day I have not experienced any homesickness, but the language and culture shock hit me in the face the moment I got to Spain. Although my native language was Spanish, there is so much terminology that is not used back at home. Up to today, I have come to the conclusion that language consists of culture, and culture consists of food, customs, traditions, slangs, and so much more. My host family is very educative and I am learning to much from them. They are my supplemental instructors after class when it comes to culture and history of Spain. Their routines like there greetings, what is culturally appropriate, and daily life has been enriching throughout my stay with my host family. My mind has definitely broadened, and I have learned to appreciate United States culture as well as Spain. When one is taken out of their comfort zone we realize there are different customs in every country not that all the other countries are the same as ours. I personally have appreciated my culture and now see things in a different perspective where I can compare the similarities and differences between both cultures and draw my own conclusions as to what we aspects from each culture I could use to make a better society overall.