Through the Eyes of a Brit: Guest Blog Post

A few months ago, my colleague Craig started doing some research on blogging and expressed interest in writing a "guest blog post" for Poco a Poco.  A couple weeks later, he sent me the following piece to post.  At the time I was traveling and writing about "time-sensitive" experiences that I wanted to post as soon as possible.  So I waited to publish his entry.  I also wanted to wait and post it when I thought my blog was getting a little mundane and needed in interesting entry to pick it up.

And now's the time.

So here it is--Craig Stewart's take on my time here in Spain:

I remember from my first experience travelling abroad, being handed a leaflet about the dangers of 'Culture Shock'. It closely resembled something you might pick up in a doctor's surgery among other leaflets about heart disease and diabetes and was no less terrifying. Moving to a new country for any length of time is an exciting experience, but it takes a strong stomach to survive it. Meeting Ashley, I remembered this leaflet and spent the first few months persistently asking if she was 'ok' and periodically checking her vitals. A 'strong stomach' was probably a poor choice of words given that (at the time of writing) Ashley has been ill for the past few days after a heavy late night dose of European cuisine. But otherwise I have concluded that Ashley seems to be doing ok, but that is not to say she hasn't met any hurdles along the way. Many of the 'trials' she has faced have been mentionned in her previous blog posts but here are a few of my favourites:

Spanish Promptness - Probably Ashley's first and biggest shock but something she has slowly gotten used to. If you read her blog you will have already heard her moan about how the Spanish never get anything done within a reasonable timeframe and generally replace the expression 'live for today' with 'live for sometime in the next month, give or take a few weeks'. Watching Ashley's patience be stretched and frayed has been my biggest source of empathy with her. But very slowly, her "American vigor and promptness" (to use her own phrase) has begun to adjust itself. Most notably recently when she turned up for class later than me (which is difficult!) and in an effort to fully embrace the Spanish mentality, gave her class in the cafeteria over a cortado (Ashley's favourite coffee).  Meanwhile, numerous students, who had turned up late for her class, came to my room wondering where Ashley was.  She was fortunate that I found her before it occured to me to contact the authorities and check she hadn't been deported.

Spanish Men - I've considered advising Ashley to buy some hair dye and dark glasses to help her blend in a little more than she does. But I doubt that would do much to dissuade the hordes of Spanish men that scan her with their eyes on a daily basis. I could mention a number of occasions on which this extra attention has irritated her but I think she will agree that her 'favourite' would be the conserje (custodian) at the university. Every day that Ashley arrives to collect her keys this man's shirt has been opened a little more and his hair has contained a little more product. He is incapable of holding a conversation with her without stroking her shoulder and at one stage was finding excuses to carry out some inane 'task' that happened to place him in the doorway of Ashley's classroom at the exact moment that her class ended. Fortunately, for wherever she lacks the vocabulary to defend herself Ashley has become a master of the 'death stare'. For the moment, her friend seems to have taken the hint, albeit having taken it pretty hard, as he now looks the other way when she arrives. Or perhaps he has just spotted some other young lector to ogle at.

Spanish Food - Ashley has embraced Spanish cuisine, to the extent that she has also embraced the toilet bowl on a few occasions, as her untrained stomach struggles to cope with the culinary bombardment. Over Christmas with my family, I tried a paella with rabbit and snails, which in this corner of the world is considered a pretty boring dish. I encouraged Ashley to try a snail (the biggest one I could find) forgetting that she had complained not half an hour before that the seafood extravaganza of the night before had given her insides a beating (sorry Ashley!). Despite this she still maintains a fascination with even the most mundane foods; what is effectively coffee and toast for most people becomes a delicacy worth blogging about (I count 3 cortado photographs in total).

One of the things I struggle with most living abroad is being away from family and friends. On occasions when I have asked if Ashley is alright and she has responded with an "mm-hm" directed at her boots I have known that she has been missing people at home. Amidst all the excitement of being in a strange new place she doesn't let a day go by without telling me about home and the family and friends she has left there and on this point I empathise with her. I'd conclude by reassuring all those people that Ashley is doing great. I don't think Culture Shock is something that Ashley needs to worry about. Her strong character and not so strong stomach are being tested, but I know that she will come back to you all a stronger person. And I apologise in advance if she comes back speaking like a Brit.

You can read more of Craig's wit on his blog, postcard undelivered.  Thanks Craig!

And I'll remember the next time you get sick off of American fast food.