Rohrich Experiences the World in Pamplona, Spain

Before my arrival in Pamplona, I had learned my share about Spanish culture. Beginning in my 8th Grade “Intro to Spanish” class, we learned about the historic bullfights, the ancient conflict between the Spanish and the Moors and the daily afternoon nap known as the siesta. However, upon my arrival in Spain, I quickly learned that there was a vast difference between learning about a culture and actually living it.

Living the culture, I have found, means a variety of things. The most important thing to do is to put yourself out there, adapt but stay true to who you are. Being as that very few people here speak English, I was forced to speak Spanish as much as possible.

At the beginning, this was very hard and even embarrassing for me. At the train station in Madrid, I had to have an employee walk me through step-by-step of what I had to do four or five times because I could not understand all of what she was trying to tell me. I felt incompetent, and like all my study of Spanish had amounted to nothing. However, I quickly found out that the problem was not so much the inability to communicate as much as it was a lack of confidence in speaking.

Once I got over that hurdle, I felt right at home speaking the language, even though I am definitely still learning. Of course, I have made my mistakes in the language and have had people correct my mispronunciations at times. My most embarrassing slip-up occurred when I was at a restaurant with some friends. While asking us what we would like to drink, I accidentally ordered a female reproductive organ.

The waiter asked me to repeat myself and got quite a laugh when I repeated the same thing. Once the rest of us figured out what had happened, we started laughing as well. I will never make that mistake again.

Like nearly every other exchange student here, my primary expectation was to learn a lot more Spanish and be able to leave feeling comfortable in the language. However, more and more, I see that if a person wants to achieve this, he or she needs to make an effort. Adapting to the culture is one thing (something I found very difficult at first, with the exception of the siesta, of course); utilizing the language is the other. My region, Navarre, and the Basque Country to the north are unique in that when I am walking down the street, Spanish is not the only language I hear. The Basque people, who are native to the region and have a culture and language very distinct from the Spanish, speak Euskera. When I first heard this language, I was very confused. It did not sound like anything I had ever heard before and, even stranger, some consonants incorporated a canary-like whistle. Also very interesting is the nationalistic element to the situation.

While by no means all Basques are nationalists, there are rallies and protests almost every Saturday by Basques who desire independence from Spain.

Overall, Spain is a beautiful and interesting country. I have only been here for over a month, but already I can see improvements in my knowledge of Spanish as well as many other aspects of myself. I have learned how important it is to be globally conscious and that while you can read all you want about the world, it still is not the same as experiencing it for yourself.