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My time spent living and studying in Seville, Spain influenced both my understanding of Spanish culture and my personal ability to adapt and maintain open mindedness. Operating in a culture that was different from my native culture often put me in situations where I felt unable to fully express myself or communicate fully. I believe this experience facilitated my development of cultural competence and cultural humility, because I was able to experience another culture firsthand while also learning what it feels like to exist in a foreign culture. This allows me to have a more empathetic understanding of a large population of people living in a foreign culture. As someone who values empathy and is pursuing a career in medicine, I find cultural competency and cultural humility to be vital skills when communicating with those from other cultures. My experience living and studying, enabled me to more deeply connect with individuals from backgrounds different than my own.

 

One of the biggest culture shocks I experienced upon arrival to Spain was the extremely high value that Spaniards hold for close, knit, friendships and familial support. For example, my host mom lives within a ten minute walk of almost every member of her immediate family, including her seven siblings. There is always family visiting the house, and she is constantly surrounded by friends and family, even if they just stop to chat for a few minutes. As an introvert, I have previously been very comfortable in America with more individualistic values. I am very accustomed to spending lots of time alone, and it is normal to only see my extended family once or twice a year. For many Spaniards, that is unacceptable and seen as a sign of disrespect. I quickly had to adjust to the experience of having people constantly around me and it was difficult at first to not be overwhelmed with the constant socialization. With time, I learned to appreciate the support more, especially because it allowed me to appreciate the deep love that Spanish people have for their friends and family. Although I didn’t understand it at first, I find it a beautiful thing that Spaniards invest so much time in energy in the one into the relationships with the ones that they love, and upon arrival back into the US once my study abroad was over, I was able to truly see the difference in priorities between Americans and Spaniards. Since living with my host mom, I have incorporated the Spanish value more into my daily life, and I now try to spend as much time with my family and friends and show my appreciation to them as much as possible. I believe that living with family have another culture was the only way I could’ve gained this experience because I would have never known the frequency with which friends and family truly spend time together.

 

Another aspect of culture that I truly enjoyed about southern Spain was the openness with which all people have towards each other. With few exceptions, I encountered so many warm, kind people in southern Spain. As a language learner, I found that restaurant waiters, business owners, and people in the street were more than happy to help me practice, and to ask about my life. Many times people would strike up a conversation with me just to ask me how I was or what I was doing, while I was reading or writing in my journal. At times, it can be scary, or vulnerable to feel unable to fully communicate in a language and culture, but I truly am grateful that I was able to live in a place full of people who tried to make me feel as welcome as possible.

 

One of the most significant aspects of education that I encountered while studying in Spain was the proximity to history and historical artifacts, and how it influences educational processes. One of the classes they took in Spain was Spanish, civilization and culture, which started at the beginning of documented history in Spain, and covered every century up until the 1900s.  During many classes we would start in the classroom reading about architecture or arts or literature, and then spend the second part of class, taking a walk around the city, to identify the remnants of buildings or artifacts from many centuries ago. I found it incredible that it was so easy to connect ancient history to buildings and places that I would walk past every single day. Although this is not the case, for every part of Spain, ancient Spanish culture is much more intimately tied to the culture of today Through the valuation and efforts to maintain what remains of ancient history today. It is clear that the city and the citizens value these artifacts, and it was such a privilege to learn about Spain’s history from a truly first-hand perspective. Contrary to American history.

 

Overall, the culture of Spanish living and learning shaped my understanding of values, interpersonal relationships, and learning in context. The knowledge and cultural perspectives I learned have shaped my worldview and empower me to operate with more cultural competency and empathy in all my interactions.