Week 3 by Tiffany Cole

Self-Reflection:

My Third Week in Caceres
Tiffany T. Cole

This is my last weekend in Spain. By this time next weekend, I will already be back in America, both getting resituated in my old life back home and starting anew. It’s the first weekend I’ve spent here in Caceres just exploring the town, buying souvenirs for family and friends, and relaxing in my room, really reflecting about myself and my life and really immersed in my work and studies. It’s been a relaxing, hard-working weekend of solitude, one that I think is fitting for my last full weekend here.

Since my last entry, as per this program, I went to Merida and saw one of the longest Roman bridges still standing as well as an old village encapsulated by walls. It was beautiful seeing old and new. We visited the Palacio de Los Golfines, and I went to La Feria, which is a big deal here in Caceres. The fair is part carnival, part market, and part dance club—different than fairs in America.

Surprisingly, I’ve learned how to get around, even on my own. And even though I still stumble to completely understand sentences or articulate my responses in fully grammatically correct Spanish, I understand quicker without a lot of concentration, and I can order food with no problem, at least.

As I’m coming into my last week, what I feel, more than anything, is a powerful personal awakening that I know will impact me professionally and academically. I feel more grounded, more understanding of myself, because I’ve learned that no matter how far you go, no matter how different your environment, you have to face yourself. You are always you no matter the place, so you might as well embrace all that you are.

I have not completely figured out how this experience has impacted me professionally and academically, but I know, when I return to America, I will be reflecting until I figure it out.