Week 1 by Tiffany Cole

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: My First Week in Caceres 

On May 7, we all arrived in Caceres, Spain and went home with our host families. My host family has been really nice and helpful, and, though there’s been a lot of rain, I’ve been enjoying the beauty of Caceres and the many stories it has to tell just based off of its mix of modern and ancient architecture.

Ever since I arrived in Caceres, I’ve been doing a lot of personal reflection and I feel like I’ve learned a lot about my personality in general. I’ve also learned that, for me, it’s absolutely important to walk and explore with at least one to two people so we can work together and discuss how we’ve experienced the same moment in different ways. I’ve learned that, until I’ve explored a number of times with a number of people, I won’t take chances completely alone in another country. I can’t say if it’s good or bad, but it works for me.

Even though I’ve been here for less than a week, I’ve gotten so much better at understanding Spanish and thinking of creative ways to respond when I’m struggling. Though I still have a lot to learn and I’ve forgotten many words, I feel confident that, based on my current level of progress, that by the end of this month I’ll be able to follow conversations in Spanish, get around in predominantly Spanish neighborhoods, shop in Spanish stores, and order in Spanish restaurants without a struggle. I don’t expect I’ll be fluent by the end of the month, but I’ll be close if I continue to practice after the trip.

I’ve noticed a couple of differences between Caceres and the United States: all the roads are pretty much roundabouts; restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and Dominoes sell different foods with completely different pricing and taste; all the cars are sticks; they sell beer pretty much everywhere, and here drinking is not a big deal because people don’t drink to get drunk; café con leche is very common and cheap; and food in general is cheap. However, apart from all these differences, I haven’t been hit with a huge culture shock. Maybe it’s because it’s still unreal to me that I’m actually in Spain, but Caceres reminds me a lot of America, except that everyone here speaks Spanish and the food is different.

Though I’m still struggling here and there, I’m looking forward to seeing all that Caceres has to offer.