The Dalai Lama once encouraged the world, "Once a year, go someplace you've never been." Technically, I've been to Spain before. I am visiting the same cities and eating the same foods as I did two and a half years ago, however this time my experience is through a different set of eyes. Allow me to elaborate.
I have spent a large part of this week working in an English class with students of Sereva Ochoa, the local school district in Alcobendas and the "sister school" to my high school in Philadelphia for the exchange program. My life is opposite to theirs, both on the globe and in lifestyle. All week, the students and I have asked each other questions about our lives, families, favorite activities, movies, music and foods. I spent an entire day talking with them about my big brother and sister and telling them about Philadelphia. I listened to a boy named Hugo tell me that his favorite food is ice cream and that he has a younger sister "who has six years old." The age difference between he and his sister reminded me of me and mine; we traded stories of our hermanas. (Apparently, sisters can be annoying everywhere in the world.) It is incredible how much curiosity, open-mindedness, and patience a group of twelve-year-olds can have for someplace they've never been.
Yesterday we wandered through the city of Madrid, exploring streets and seeing sites. We were guided by a one of the school's history teachers named Ignacio, who speaks little to no English. Of course Ignacio took us to see the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, and other places that can be found in any travel book, but we walked the city like Europeans and I feel like I appreciate Madrid more so than I did the last time I was here. We strolled through La Calle Arenal, a popular spot to grab a bite to eat with a friend, rummage through shops, or in our case, find the perfect spot to enjoy Churros y Chocolate at Chocolatería San Ginés.
I love how inviting this country is, and even more so, how easy it can be to immerse myself in its culture. Traveling, in my opinion, is designed to take the traveler out of his or her comfort zone and to challenge almost everything we ever thought or believed. In order to explain why I feel this way, I should first explain my favorite metaphor of three fish in a fishbowl, a story once told by David Foster Wallace. It goes like this:
These two young fish are swimming along one morning and they happen to meet an older fish, swimming in the other direction. The older fish nods at them and says, "morning boys, how's the water?" So the two young fish swim on for a while longer until eventually, one of them looks over at the other and says, "what the hell is water?"
The point of this story is merely about simple awareness and taking ourselves away from what we think we know. The fish are so integrated into their environment that they forget to notice the obvious thing around them. Thinking and living inside our own little world is easy and automatic, however it is much more exciting (and completely terrifying) to break through the confines of the glass. After all, broken glass is how light gets in.
 |
| In front of El Mercado de San Miguel, a smaller, Spanish version of the Reading Terminal Market in Philly |
 |
| a group of kids I spent the day with today. It was a gym class, but it was taught in English so the kids can continue to learn |
So well-written-- I'm living through you chica!
ReplyDelete