The sprawling expanse of Toledo

Author: Colin Goolsby | Majors: Physics, Mathematics | Semester: Summer

It was only about an hour after my flight landed that I truly realized what I’d gotten myself into. I knew my Spanish was far from fluent, but after years of classes, I thought I could at least hold my own. But I never imagined that so soon after arriving in Madrid, I’d be being tugged along bustling streets and metro stations by a Spanish grandmother of whom I could barely understand a sentence. Some combination of jetlag and the chaos of the new environment had my mind reeling.

This wasn’t a bad thing, though. After all, I signed up for this program because I wanted a chance to see the world in a new light, living in a culture and city outside the borders of the US. I finally had the opportunity to explore Europe in one of its largest cities and to test my language skills in an environment dominated by native speakers. My first challenge came in meeting my host family, where I stumbled my way through each sentence of my introduction. While the mother and father spoke absolutely no English, they were very understanding and patient as I spoke with them. Gradually, as I listened and spoke more and as my classes began, my confidence grew.

Seeking only language and cultural immersion, I took (predictably) a class on Spanish language and a class on Spanish culture, both taught exclusively in Spanish. I was struck immediately with the stark contrast between classes at a Spanish private university and my lectures in physics or mathematics back home. My classes were intensely personal. Each day, students shared about themselves and their cultures and collaborated to both ask and answer questions together. My professors were energetic and personable, delighting in our questions as the direction of each discussion was led by the students’ inquiry. Most surprising to me was the homework. The activities we completed at home were not to be graded, but rather to be discussed as a class and to learn from.

Outside the academic world, lots of small things about Spanish life were different as well. Breakfast is nothing more than toast or a piece of fruit, and dinner is light and very late, usually around 9pm. Lunches are larger and, while you may have heard that Spaniards take a “siesta” to leave work and sleep after eating, this isn’t really true nowadays. While they do take long lunch breaks, heading home for a rest doesn’t really fit into the reality of working in the modern world. I thoroughly enjoyed the walkability of Madrid. The city features one of Europe’s best public transport systems, and for shockingly cheap I had unlimited access to the metro, buses, and trains.

As I spent more and more time assimilating into the madrileño life, I also took trips with my program to other parts of Spain. We went to Toledo, a city with more than 1000 years of history still visible, where you can see evidence of the Christians, Muslims, and Jews that lived in Toledo at various times during its long history. A centuries-old cathedral featured high gothic architecture, while a monastery that survived the reconquest of Spain showed Muslim influence. I was in awe at the sprawling expanse of the city. Only living in the US my whole life, I had never seen buildings so old before. We later went to the city of Valencia, where in addition to paddleboarding in the ocean we were taught by locals how to cook the famous Valencian dish paella, where the local variety includes rabbit. Within Madrid, we paddled in the famous Retiro Park and learned about the history of the parks and buildings.

While on paper I studied in Spain to take classes, I feel what I really gained from this experience was gaining a greater view of the world we share. Thanks to the modern age of the internet, I’d already made international English-speaking friends from various cultures, but an extended, physical trip to a foreign country unlocks a whole world of people and experiences that are otherwise inaccessible when you limit yourself to an English-speaking world. When you travel, you get a glimpse of the daily lives of others, in an environment where YOU are the one that must fit into THEIR culture. I hope to someday collaborate with others across the globe in a united effort to advance the study of physics. This experience gave me practice in working with strangers to build the bridge of communication to span linguistic and cultural barriers: a skill of critical importance.

I would easily recommend anyone who has the opportunity to venture out into a country that speaks a different language. The experience is unique; the longer you spend there, the easier it becomes to remember new words, and you can feel your brain begin to adapt in new ways. I’d advise them to be okay with making mistakes and feeling lost. Oftentimes I felt like I had to prepare an entire conversation before I had it, but this hinders you. If you jump in and just start trying to communicate, you’ll find that others will be understanding, and you may surprise yourself with how much you are able to communicate spontaneously with the knowledge you have. And if you fail, there’s no reason to be embarrassed! That’s simply how learning happens. I find returning to the US, I have more humility and confidence in tackling unfamiliar situations, and I’ll carry these experiences with me for the rest of my life.