I learned about the culture of Spain by experiencing different festivals such as Las Fiestas del Pilar, Las Fallas, Carnaval and La Feria de Abril. I learned about the history of religious influence in Spain from visiting cathedrals such as La Sagrada Familia, La Catedral de Sevilla and La Catedral de Burgos. The list of everything I learned goes on and on, from traditions and customs like juevinchos to El Camino de Santiago to different languages such as Vasco, Gallego and Catalán. Hopefully, I’ve been able to share some of what I’ve learned with you all, and I hope to continue learning and sharing when I return back to the United States.
Beyond being a learning experience, Spain has also been a year of transformation for me, learning how to integrate into my community and recognize different perspectives and living and working in a different country.
For all of these reasons and more, I know that I will continue to travel as much as I can and learn more about different cultures for the rest of my life, and I hope that you will too. There is a world of things to learn, experiences to have, and people to meet out there, and we have everything from books to movies to teachers to learn about all of this and become global citizens. All we really need to begin is an open mind and a readiness to confront things that might not be familiar or comfortable to us.
Here in Spain, it is much more common to say “Hasta luego!” or “See you later” to someone than to say “Adios” or "Goodbye." So, I will end this journal with an “Hasta luego”--until next time.
