Daniel Clavin, '12

On spain

     I came to Spain with no expectations whatsoever because I knew everything would surpass whatever I had previously imagined. I mean, what preparation did I have? A few years of Spanish under my belt, a Montserrat course that was my first glimpse into the true nature of modern Spain, and a culture class that prepared me more than I knew at the time. The transition was tough, harder than I thought it would be. I wasn't exactly homesick, but I missed my friends and family and for the first few months I couldn't help but feel terribly lost and out of place.
     People would ask how my year abroad was going. There are the basic answers: "So amazing, I'm learning so much," "The culture is so cool," "The food is fantastic," and "Everything has so much history." But how do you describe Spain? I mean really describe the diversity of the people, the different languages and regions? How does a gringo like myself, un americano, even dare to try to put into words the nation's proud yet torn past, or thirty-six years of pain, censorship, and repression?
     Spain, its people and its history, its past and its present, can't be truly understood from across an ocean. The movies of Almodóvar or Bardem, the writings of Cervantes, Lorca, or Matute, the teachings of Unamuno, the art of Picasso, Dalí, and Goya, the politics of Franco or Zapatero - all of these things are only the tip of the Iberian iceberg. Forget the bulls and the toreros, forget the beaches and the sol: to understand Spain you need to take in the greenness of Galicia, imagine how far the flat nothingness of the Meseta Central extends, wet your feet on the shores of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, stand in awe in the cathedrals and museums, lose yourself in the Pyrenees, the Picos de Europa or the Sierra Nevada.
     You have to meet the people, but really meet them, talk to them, see what their life is like in the city or the pueblo, learn about how their parents and grandparents fought to survive during the Años del Hambre or froze in terror on 23-F or 11-M. You have to try your hardest with the acento andaluz or the llengua catalana o además el galego. If you don't do these things, you'll never understand what it means to truly be Spanish - an identity issue steeped in the conflict of a painful past and yet illuminated by the hope of a very bright future. Hay que hacer lo mejor que puedas hasta que alcances esta comprensión de la vida española, hasta que conozcas a la gente y hasta que tú también encuentres tu segunda casa y tu nueva vida allí bajo del sol español.
     Vine a España sin ninguna expectativa porque ya sabía que todo sobrepasaría lo que había imaginado antes. Mis únicas metas eran perfeccionar mi español y a lo largo del camino aprender más sobre el mundo y la vida. It took a new continent, many new cultures, and some growing up along the way, but I'm here now almost eight months later. Goals accomplished.