Due to problems with the internet in my apartment building, I wasn’t able to post during my last week in Spain, so here I am back in America.
My last week in Oviedo I attended a futbol game, and saw Real Oviedo play Real Madrid.
Even though Oviedo lost 4-0, it was a great experience to cheer on my town. The other Oviedo fans were exuberant even when Madrid scored, singing, clapping, and waving flags. Although I’m usually not much of a sports fan, I enjoyed the game, and I felt a sense of belonging supporting Oviedo; even though I lived there for only a few weeks, it began to feel like home to me.
I spent my last day there saying goodbye to the town by taking in for the last time some of the sights I had grown accustomed to seeing every day. I visited the open air market, and a couple of my favorite parks, and admired some of the plazas, fountains, and statues that can be found all around Oviedo.
I didn’t expect to experience much culture shock upon arriving back in the US, but I did expect everything to feel very easy. I expected it to feel strange to go about everyday life with such ease; being able to speak English, and understanding cultural expectations.
While at first it was a little disconcerting to have everyone speak English, in general it hasn’t felt like much of an adjustment. Even in the short time that I was in Spain, I got used to how things are done there, and I was very comfortable, so being in the US does not feel “easy” by comparison the way I expected it to. I haven’t experienced much culture shock, but I have had a couple small instances of it. On my first day home I went out to dinner with family and I was surprised for a second when the waiter brought the check without being asked. In Spain it is considered rude to bring the check before it is asked for, and I am used to staying in a restaurants for much more time than we do here. However, in general my transition back has been pretty smooth.
Annelise
I definitely can relate to feeling like you are leaving a home when you go back to the US. After making so many connections in a place, making friends and creating a routine, it truly does feel like a home. The day that I left my host family, it really felt like I was leaving home rather than just returning to it.
I am getting nervous for my return home because I heard that the culture shock going home can actually be worse than when you reach your country abroad. I’m glad to hear that it has been an easy transition for you.
Maggie
Technology is, at it’s very best, unpredictable. Several students have had periodic technological challenges while abroad, so you’re in good company.
Even a month allows a person to start feeling comfortable in a new place, and it’s interesting that it is the small things when returning home that one notices–the waiter bringing the check without being asked, the shorter time to sit and enjoy a dinner out, etc. As time goes on, you may notice other small things as well that you wouldn’t have noticed before. Michele
I am glad to hear that upon returing to the US it was not a huge change. I am a bit nervous just because I have been gone for a while. I cannot imagine having to speak another language and then going back to Enlish.
On a side note, the futbol game sounds/looked like it was very fun. I have always wanted to see a real game, not one on TV but one where there are true fans and a lot of them. I have heard a lot of people say that the games can get pretty intense with the fans, did you experience any of that? Or is it like watching a game in the US?