Meya in Spain Archives - Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

I’m Back?

July 25, 2016

When I think about being in Salamanca or try to tell someone else about my experiences there, I feel like I’m in a fog. It’s almost as if I was never there and I’m telling folks a fairy tale of sorts. To have explored a foreign country and return home is a very surreal thing. I didn’t expect to be watching my children play and think about the kids playing in the fountain at La Parque Alamadillo. Or go for breakfast with my husband and not being able to finish a good ol’ American pancake meal when all I want is just a cafe con leche and a croissant. Crazy.

Garden Wall in Madrid, Spain.

The best churros in Spain at Valor in Salamanca.

I’m not sure that I even thought about what would happen once I returned home and to my routine. I haven’t had much trouble adjusting to my old life (strange to call it “my old life”). I’ve jumped back into the swing of things with both feet and I think I’m doing a good job of it (if I say so myself…and I do). But I feel myself fighting to hang on to my memories of being in Spain. I’m not quite able to express to my friends and family EXACTLY what my walk to school was like. Or what pinchos really are. Or how I really feel about being back home.

San Sebastian Coastline, Northern Spain.

My señora (host mom) in Spain.

I may never be able to explain all that I gained in Spain through this wonderful opportunity Alamo College and the Gilman Program gave me, but I will always have my memories of this very special place. I am forever changed. I will never be able to fit into a cookie cutter mold. And that in itself has made everything worth it.

I Feel Ready

July 8, 2016

Ready to take on the world after my study abroad journey. I feel more prepared to look a potential employer square in the face and tell them I am a globally-minded individual that can work with an assortment of personalities. I have had the opportunity to take a long, honest look at what I believe and how I think and actually question my beliefs. I believe that this is something everyone should do a few times throughout their lifetime in order to be open to new ideas and possibilities.

Learned so much about Spanish and European architecture here in Salamanca!

I also feel prepared to raise children that are more globally-minded and can think beyond the “us and no more” mentality and begin to feel compassion for their world and beyond. Before I could only give them vague guidance on how they should approach interacting with new cultures and personalities, but now I can give them advice based on solid experience. My experiences. How cool is that?

This is the most magical food in all the world: paella.

Working with the people of Spain in their homes, in their schools, in the grocery stores and beyond has given me insight into how other people think about things like managing a home, teaching, and customer service. I have learned to be a bit more patient. Not only for other people and learning to allow others’ ideas to come up against my own, but patience for myself to allow some of these ideas to take root and change me.

Climbing Monte Urgull in St. Sebastian.

Hasta luego.

A Realization of Sorts

June 29, 2016

Hola! In roaming the streets of Salamanca, I am aware of an awakening taking place here. When I gaze out over the river Tormes or stop for café con leche in a hole-in-the-wall café, emotions grip me. I am both terrified and curious. What is happening to me?

The new bridge of Salamanca overlooks the Tormes River.

I am terrified because I am being forced to come face to face with the limitations I have placed on myself. I can chose to either open my mind or stay bound to the expectations placed on me by myself and others. In the forefront of my mind is this mental chain that says no self-respecting wife and mother should be away from her family for so long. I feel like I am shucking my responsibilities, that my children need me 24/7 in their lives and that the sun will not rise tomorrow because I’m not there! In the back of my mind is a small voice fighting to be heard that is saying “LIVE!” Should I choose to listen, this voice promises that I will make a lasting impression on not only my children, but their children. That in some small way, I’m not being selfish, I am imparting a sense of adventure and self-worth that can only be learned by the example that I am setting.

Today, I chose to listen to the latter. Tomorrow I don’t know. But a part of this experience is the realization that every day is different and full of possibilities. And also the realization that every day holds a choice for me. Today, I choose life.

Exploring the old streets of Salamanca.

Hasta luego.

-Meya

Mi Amigo, Jesús Gonzalez Perez

June 20, 2016

As a child, Jesús Gonzalez Perez began to form his most early conclusions about Americans, and Texans specifically, from watching Western movies with his father. “Those were his favorite kinds of movies,” he says in his smooth, matter-of-fact way, “and if we wanted to see a movie, that is what we watched.” From such movies Jesús imagined Texas as a “wild” place where the people were “serious and brave.”

Thirty-three years old and a middle child of four children, Jesús says some of his favorite things are being a tio (uncle), playing guitar (although he admits he’s not very good at it), reading (he enjoys books on the history of Spain and cuentos or children’s tales), and visiting with friends at bars.

A culture exchange: teaching and learning to play UNO in Spanish!

Jesús believes that being at some of his favorite bars with friends, laughing and talking about life is his way of self-care. “I enjoy listening to the music and talking with people and learning. I can do that in the corner bars and share a little of myself and gain a little of the people around me. I am better for this.” He says the best thing about Salamanca is the university because it brings diverse cultures to the city, adding to its identity and charm.

This writer would have to agree, seeing as how you can spot so many different people of different backgrounds on long walks through the streets. Before coming to Spain I expected to be an outcast here and quickly made up in my mind to put on the fasçade of indifference. And though I have gotten a few second glances and curious looks, mostly no one makes any special efforts to figure out what I am doing here. I appreciate that. Salamanca is a place where you can feel, not only welcome, but a part of its growing identity.

It’s Meya (Mee/yah)

June 13, 2016

You are entering a place where few dare tread. It is unappealing to the pallet and boggling to the mind. A veritable “Twilight Zone” of contradictions. This is my life. I am a 35 year old sophomore in community college, attending San Antonio College, one of the Alamo colleges in Texas. I have been put into the category named “non-traditional” (a term I do not like because, really, what is a traditional student?) because I am a mother of three, a wife of 14 years, and because I have a passion to carry on my degree plan at an age where most feel I should be in the kitchen baking cookies. Never being one to fit the mold, I have decided to go back to college and, not only that, but take advantage of all that this experience has to offer. Which brings me to this study abroad opportunity in Spain. Because of the Gilman Scholarship, and a bit of my own gumption (toot, toot!), I am immersing myself in a beautiful country!

Packed.

Preparation for an experience like this is not easy however, especially for a student who has responsibilities to a family of their own. Preparation for my trip abroad began months and months before I was scheduled to leave. Some of those preparations included (very sweetly) talking with my husband about being gone for so long and so far away, asking my mother to help out with keeping my children (also very sweetly), and researching my destination in order to know what to pack and prepare for. I did the majority of the “sweet” work before my trip and the majority of the researching and packing closer to departure. I ran around researching adapters, rain coats, clothing, the most comfortable shoes, fighting with myself about buying those shoes or the best looking ones instead, best hairstyles, looking up Spanish phrases that might be helpful and so much more. Did all my efforts pay off? Well, that has yet to be determined. But in the next few weeks I hope to share with you all my experiences including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Happy reading to you all and heres to breaking those molds. Hasta Luego. -Meya

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