Another round of culture shock

Coffee breaks every two hours.  A suntan in the middle of November.  Monthly European excursions.

I'm ready to go back.

Today I'm leaving the hills of West Virginia and entering the plains of Murcia.  And I'm ready.  I'm ready to catch up with my amigos, meet my new compañera, and, of course, wrap my arms around my novio.

While I’m excited to get back, I’m a little hesitant to give up certain comforts of home.  The main one being the familiarity of my own culture.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love the challenges and intrigues of living in a different culture.  But sometimes the constant game of “monkey see, monkey do” gets tiring.  And as I sit here in the international terminal of the Newark airport, I’m already getting subtle reminders of the challenges that come along with living in another country.  I’ve eavesdropped over four conversations in Spanish and understood 40% of them.  I’ve crossed paths with a Spanish woman, playing the awkward dancing game, trying to pass her and struggled to come up with perdona.  (Hopefully I’m just out of practice.)  It makes me want to go back monolingual Morgantown.

WVU Stadium

I enjoyed putting on my Mountaineer Maniacs shirt to blend right in the sea of gold at Mylan Puskar Satdium.  For the first time in months I wasn’t a strange sight in a crowd.  I enjoyed walking into Kroger’s and not having to think of how to say, “Where is the whipped cream?” before I asked it.  I enjoyed sitting in my backyard surrounded by the familiar sight of green.  By the sight of actual vegetation.  I simply enjoyed activities that I forgot about while in Spain in took for granted in the past.

Favorite spot at home

Maybe I’ve just become too comfortable at home, and I’m bracing myself for culture shock that’s going to be less electrifying than I’m anticipating.  Whatever the reason may be, I realize it’s because I enjoyed being back in the States. 

But just as I’m hesitant to board this plane, I was hesitant to board the bus to the Madrid airport back in August.  Sometimes the most difficult part of going through a major change is waiting for the big change.  As I type, I just eavesdropped my fifth conversation and understood 100%.  I’m slowly feeling good and ready—even though that conversation involved a child.

Regardless, it’s going to be a good year.

My advice for a guiri: Do something every now and then to remind yourself of your cultural identity.  It’s easy to forget after a while.