Journal 28

One summer I went on a trip to Spain. While it had some similar customs that I was used to, some I was unprepared for. I experienced a lot of culture shock. For example, when I would go to a restaurant to eat, I noticed that the server would only hand the males at the table a menu. They must have expected the males to order for us. Where I live this has never happened to me before and I was confused. Another difference that I noticed was that when you ordered a drink it would always come in a glass bottle. The server would also bring a glass of ice with a lemon. You were expected then to fill the glass with the soda instead of drinking straight from the bottle, like I would have if I was at home. Probably the biggest culture shock was the difference in language. I knew of course when going to Spain that Spanish would be the language spoken, but I was not quite prepared for it. It was strange but in a unique way to be in surrounded by people that I could not understand. This forced me out of my comfort zone, and I had to stumble through my interactions with other people there. Surprisingly, I found that I was able to adapt quickly and would use what little Spanish I knew to help me communicate. I was greatly helped by many of the friendly people who were patient with me as I tried my best to communicate with them. Also, many signs were first in Spanish and then in English, which also helped me immensely. Overall, I loved my trip to Spain and I even kind of liked the culture shock. I enjoyed getting out in the world and learning about people in different places and their culture. It made me discover how big the world is and that I want to get out and see as much of it that I can.