A little reflection

Well for my homework in my culture class, we had to write about some of the differences we have seen so far between US and Spanish culture--so I wrote it and then realized I could turn it into a blog entry. So here goes a little reflection--then some other random things.

I definitely think the biggest difference between the US and here is the lifestyle. The lifestyle here is very relaxed and calm. In the US, I feel like people always have so much to do and are always in a hurry. There is also so much stress in the lives of many Americans. Here people say that they work to live--not live to work. That really fits the general sentiment here. Work is important, but it doesn't consume a person's life. This is a place where every day shops shut down for 3 hours for lunch and a little rest before continuing with the day. It sounds odd--but it really works. It's a great chance to "recharge" your batteries and get set for the rest of the day. Another big difference is materialism in general. Here it is not important if you have a big house or many things--that is not what makes a person special--it's the experiences that a person has that makes them who they are. My parents told me something like that before I left when we talked about presents for people and spending money in general. We decided that it is better for me to go places and experience things rather than buy a little souvenir. The memories I'll have from experiences will last a lifetime.

The difference that is the most interesting to me is dealing with self-confidence and self esteem. The people here are all self confident and have very high levels of self esteem. Spaniards are comfortable in their own skin, and walking down the street you can tell. Walking along the beach, I have seen women of all shapes and sizes wearing teeny tiny bathing suits without a care in the world--women over the age of 60 walking around topless (too much info--I know--but it's true). The clothes don't make the person any more special--it's the inside. I feel like in the US people are always comparing themselves to others (myself included). I hope I'll be able to adopt the self-loving that I see here.

It's strange to think that I've been in Spain for almost 3 weeks--I've learned so much so far--only from watching what is around me. Maybe I need to open my eyes more when I'm home and really think about what I see around me.

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Now for a few more notes and such.
Friday was a good day. Traveling to the Mercado Central (the main market in the city center) with my culture class was lots of fun. We made random stops along the way. I would have enjoyed the market more had we started with the fruits and veggies--but we started in the fresh meat. If you know me well, you know I have some 'issues' with meat. This spoiled the first part of the market--seeing chickens and rabbits and such was not so fun for me. Nor was seeing eels, lobsters, and crabs that were still moving. Luckily we moved into the fruits and veggies and other items pretty fast. There are some pics up in the Valencia album. We also stopped at what I'll call a "deli" counter that had meats and cheeses. I can handle seeing the smoked pigs legs--sort of. Our teacher knew a guy at one of these 'deli' counters--so we all got samples of meat and cheese. Then our teacher bought a bunch of cheese and we walked around eating the cheese he bought. That afternoon the ISA group went to La Albufera--it's a freshwater lagoon south of town. A lot of kids compared it to the Everglades-minus the alligators. We went on a boat ride and just cruised around. It was nice seeing birds that weren't pigeons!! Then Friday night Marli and I just relaxed at home--the week went by really fast and was tiring. Yesterday we went shopping in the Centro with Sam. It was fun going into all the shops--I prefer the boutique shops rather than the department stores. We also went and got Horchata and Fartons at a well-known Horchateria in the Centro. Horchata is THE drink of Valencia--made from tiger nuts. I can't think of anything to compare it to--and fartons are just a type of pastry. Delicious! Now today I'm just relaxing and doing some homework. I guess that's about it. I don't know too much else.