5 Things I've Learned in my First Month

Madeline Mulkey
Feb 27, 2017
4 min read

I celebrate my month-aversary in just a few days, so I thought it would be beneficial to take some time to reflect on things I have learned in my short time here. There are so many things, but I've just picked out a few interesting things that I thought would be good to share.

1) I’m blonde and it’s a good thing.

Last Saturday I went to dinner and out on the town with a group of Spaniard students. We were talking about how noticeable it was that I was a blonde, and how it was very clear that I was not from here. I mentioned to them that I had thought (very briefly) of dying my hair brown for my European travels, and they all shot that idea down just as quickly as I had thought of it. “Your hair is so pretty!” they said, and continued to say how they all wanted hair like mine, and I should never change it.

Talk about a confidence booster.

2) "Allah” is not (emphasis on the not) the name of the Muslim God.

This is my actual schooling coming into practice (Middle Eastern studies class)

Allah is the Arabic word for God. It’s not a name, it’s a word. When someone says that someone is “praying to Allah” it’s the same as someone saying they are “praying to Dios” (Dios = God in Spanish). It is mixing two languages and giving a false pretense, putting more and more distance between the already extremely tense relationship between Christians and Muslims. Our media, culture and society have done a very good job at convincing all of us that “allah” is the God that "they" serve. Makes it a lot easier to hate that way.

This is not the case at all.

The way to fix this situation is knowledge. People don’t know this simple fact that changes so much. So now that you know, I challenge you to politely inform others when they misspeak. It may be just as mind boggling for them as it was for me. Word choice is very important!

3) Catholicism is not just a religion, it is a culture.

Coming from the Bible Belt of the United States, I’m well aware of what it means to have religion as a part of every day life. Here it is similar. Sevilla in particular is known for their “Semana Santa” (Holy Week) festivals, and therefore has a lot of people who are Catholic, but only on Holy Week, as told to me by a local student.

The little gold cross that I wear, once belonging to my mom, has been an increasingly more noticeable part of my wardrobe. Strangers change their conversation topics because they see it, and I’ve had someone explain thoroughly that their drinking habits are not at all this bad during Semana Santa. He explained this to me for about half an hour. Always a good time.

4) It’s okay to be alone sometimes.

I hate to admit it, but I get really bad FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). It comes with being an "extroverted extrovert" as my friends say, I just can’t help it.

Being in Spain has changed that. I realized after our trip to Granada that to truly understand the culture of the place, you can’t be in a group of eight Americans. Having traveled all over the world, I’ve found I’m not as interested in gift shops and fancy shows, but rather understanding what the character of the city is, what the people are like, and how they live everyday.

This has been what I’ve wanted to learn while traveling Spain, to understand the area, and to be immersed in it’s culture, and for that, sometimes you have to be alone.

**disclaimer - I do have lots of friends here, please do not be concerned that I am without people to hang out with.

5) America’s biggest export is culture.

I was aware of this fact before leaving, but it really has hit me in the face while here. I will

walk into a bar and hear songs in English like “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE, “Sorry” by Justin Bieber and “Closer” by the Chainsmokers.

Walk by the movie theater and the top sellers are American. I mean it makes sense, the most popular movie industry is Hollywood, but it is just fascinating to me that people will flock to the movies to see a film that is just dubbed over in their language, and where the actor’s mouths aren’t saying what you’re hearing. I personally find it frustrating, but I'm spoiled.

These are of course just a few things I have learned while here, and these are not even including the obvious things like Spanish. With that I’m learning to be careful with what I say to be sure I say what I mean to say. Something our friends at the Oscars should have done…my heart goes out to La La Land.