That explains a lot.

I’m living every student’s dream: I have no official tests or exams, I don’t have to turn in my homework by a set deadline, attendance in class is not required, and I can get away with doing all of my research on Wikipedia. My classmates and I were even allowed to determine what would be our last day of class! But, be careful what you wish for. As a kid born and raised in the US culture, and furthermore, as a product of US academic culture, I have found the lack of structure and the extreme amounts of flexibility to be quite stressful and nerve-wrecking. I just don’t know how to deal with it!

In Culture Class, we’ve learned that there are three categories of problems that create clashes between cultures. The categories are: problems that stem from social relationships and interactions with people, problems that stem from attitudes about time, and problems that stem from concepts about place.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it is that I am definitely a product of my culture. Really, everyone is a product of their culture. No one has no culture. Everyone is influenced by their own culture. There is no way to avoid it, and there is no way to stay neutral. It’s inevitable, and unavoidable. No one culture is better than any other; cultures simply present different solutions of dealing with the same problems.

Here are some examples.

Don’t ask me what my last day of school is. I don’t know! It will be more frustrating for me to explain to you WHY I don’t know what my last day of school is than it would be for me to just bask in the complications of not knowing. In one class, we asked the professor, “what is our last day of class?” Basically, she didn’t know either. She told us that, as an employee of the school, she is required to say that she will hold class until June 13. As a nice person, she encouraged us to take advantage of her support, and she assured us that she would be flexible and respectful of our personal schedules. She said, “well, what day you want the last day of class to be? I can’t force you to come.” I finally said, “look, I’m uncomfortable making that decision. As the teacher, I would like you to tell me what I have to do to be successful in your class.” Instead of determining the last day of class, what I remember as the outcome of that conversation was that the deadline for our final homework assignment was extended because we (the students) indicated that “we would need more time” to work on it.

Don’t plan out the days for while you’re in Spain. I learned that the hard way (but of course, I still do it, anyway). The US has a very forward-thinking culture; we are constantly thinking about the things we “have to do” today, or the plans that we “have to make” in order to have a successful day or a successful life. Spain operates with a much more relaxed mindset, where they enjoy the present without worrying about consequences or other factors. They are much more in-touch with having important and meaningful social interactions, which will take precedence over any other plans. For example, when I “scheduled” an appointment with a professor for a make-up test several weeks ago, I waited for him in the classroom for an hour before I decided I was wasting my time. I sent a nasty-gram email saying “what happened? When can I make up my test? I thought I was supposed to do it an hour ago!” My professor apologized for getting wrapped up in conversation over breakfast and losing track of time. He assured me that we would be able to find another time to reschedule (again) my test make-up.

Food and meals are a different concept, all together. There is no such thing as “fast food” in Spain. There is no such thing “grab a bite to eat.” There is no such thing as “eat quickly, before we have to go.” No one is ever in a hurry, here. Rather, meals are always intended to be enjoyed as a sit-down face-to-face social bonding experience. Putting an end-time on a lunch-date is unheard of; that would come across as a slap-in-the-face to the person or friend with whom you’re eating. Because of that, meals in the middle of the day or nighttime dinners could take up to four or five hours to finish. The meal isn’t based on the quality of the food or the speed of service, but rather the intimacy of the conversation that is being enjoyed in the present moment. Eating isn’t just a necessary chore because we need the energy, but rather it is a vehicle for relaxing and spending time with friends.

Wikipedia is regarded as the best invention on the planet, since sliced bread. “If you aren’t familiar with Wikipedia, you should really check it out sometime.” “It’s a great site.” “Oh, wow, this is great: there is a summary on Wikipedia!” “Cool, maybe we should check the Wikipedia page for more information.” (--Things that have been said by professors, in Spain.) In line with not planning out their days, and not thinking about what will happen tomorrow, professors often pull up the Wikipedia page and read off of it, as they teach class. We have no syllabi or rubrics to follow. We can always have “off-topic” conversations during class, because there was no topic established for the day in the first place. This teaching style takes the meanings of “self-directed” and “student-run” to a whole new level; we (the students) are asked what we would like to talk about in class today. And, needless to say, as far as my school work is concerned, there is absolutely no need for: databases, time to do homework, stress over class, or even a notebook.

Forgotten how to study,
With love, ~Taylor

Cinema

When people in Spain ask me what I study, it’s sometimes hard to answer them.

If I were in the US, I would tell them the truth: Psychology, and Spanish.

But, in Spain, I have no Psychology classes. And all of my classes are in Spanish. Duh.

It seems too obvious to say that I’m studying Spanish in Spain.

There’s the technical answer: My degree program in Spain is in the Communications department: Translation.

But really, the simplest answer would probably be: Cinema. Which is ironic, because I know absolutely NOTHING about Cinema.

The thing is:

I’m taking a class on Spanish film, called Cine. I’ve have found that class to be the biggest waste of time, EVER.

In my Culture class, when I was assigned a presentation topic, I ended up with “Cine Español: the last 15 years.” Naturally, therefore, when I had to pick a topic to write about for Cine class, I picked “Cine Español: the last 15 years.”

Funny enough, out of seven assignments in Translation class, three of them (one article, and two tests) have been about Cinema.

In which case, while I know nothing about Spanish or English or American film-making, I am quite well-versed in the Spanish vocabulary of the Cinema field.

Interesting.

What I’ve gleaned from this conclusion: well, at least there was something worthwhile that came out of my school work in Spain. At least I learned a surplus of words and conversational topics pertaining to Spanish film. And, honestly, it makes me marginally happy to know that my courses here do actually complement one another, even if that overlap proves seemingly useless and unrelated to what I’m actually studying.

Should’ve studied Cinema,

Love, ~Taylor

London

I took a three-day trip to London with my friends Carlos, Karen, and Geminis. (I flew out on the night of Friday, May 11, and we returned on Tuesday, May 15. Our days in London were Saturday, May 12, Sunday, May 13, and Monday, May 14.) Some say that London is too big, and you need to know what you want to see before you go. I’m here to tell you that, while that might be a more time-efficient way to plan your trip, it is not entirely necessary. From someone who just walked around the whole of London in just three days, here are my recommendations (listed in the order that me pasaron a mí):

Speak English

My mind ended up so confused while I spent the whole weekend speaking Spanish in England. My friends are from Mexico, and translating English for them while also having to explain the differences between British English and American English was the biggest conscious effort I’ve ever had to make to constantly switch languages de repente and speak one or the other consistently.

Fly Cheaply

Ryanair is the way to go. (Left to right: Carlos, Karen, Geminis)

Take the Tube

The London Underground is an extensive metro system. It takes about two hours to get from one side of the other, and you may have to switch trains up to four times in one trip (I know from experience), and while it’s not quite as cool/easy/fast/well-organized as the Madrid Metro, it’s certainly better than the DC Metro, and it is a quicker and more economic option than taking a taxi.

I made some friends on flight on the way there: a woman named Alison who is from England but works in Madrid, and a nice Madrileño couple (Dulce and José) whose son is studying in London. As Alison explained to me, in an effort to calm my nerves about hailing a taxi as a worst-case scenario: “you know that image of the black London taxi with a yellow sign, and a red telephone booth? That’s real; you can’t miss it.” Here’s proof of the red telephone booth:

A one-day all-access travel pass costs ₤7.70 to ride the Tube as much as you want. We certainly took advantage of that opportunity! Our trip to Windsor Castle went like this:

From Wanstead Park, take the London Overground line towards Barking, to Barking.

From Barking, take the District line towards Edgware Road, to Paddington.

From Paddington, take the National Rail Service to Slough.

From Slough, continue on the National Rail Service to Windsor.

(Correction: The National Rail Service costs extra.)

Look Right

It is true that they drive on the “wrong” side of the street, (which is really the right side), and that the driver is on the other side of the car. It makes “look both ways” all that much more important. Don’t do what I did, and start crossing the street when you’ve only looked one way, because the likelihood is that you’ve looked to the left, but cars are approaching from the right. Because of this, walking traffic also moves on the right side of sidewalks and elevators. Weird.

Madame Tussaud’s

We didn’t actually go into Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, but it looked pretty cool from the outside! A mime approached us and encouraged us to go in. It’s right around the corner from the Baker Street Underground. There is a cool statue of Sherlock Holmes right outside of it, and a figure of Kate Winslet was on display.

Convent Garden

I still don’t actually know if Convent Garden is a real garden. If so, I didn’t see it. What we did see, however, was the Convent Garden Market, which was hopping with activity.

The Royal Courts of Justice

…were opened by Queen Victoria in December 1882, and is located on the Strand, a street in the City of Westminster.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

…is the highest point in London!

Millennium Bridge

…is a footbridge that crosses the River Thames. You may also recognize it as the “Brockdale Bridge” from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

From it, you can see the:

...Shard London Bridge, aka. The Shard of Glass, aka. The London Bridge Tower, which is tallest building in Europe. Construction is to be completed later this year.

(more pictures of the Shard London Bridge, taken from the Tower Bridge):

…The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral

...and some other landmarks.

Shakespeare’s Globe

…is another one that we didn’t have the chance to go into, but it was recommended to me by a friend. I took a picture of the outside. Shakespeare is buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford-on-Avon, but he also has a plaque in the Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Golden Hind Replica Ship

...is pretty cool. We walked right passed it. For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hinde

Southwark Cathedral

Tower Bridge

…is beautiful and iconic. Not to be confused with London Bridge, which is simply a traffic bridge crossing the River Thames (nothing exciting). The HMS Belfast is right in front of it, which was the largest cruiser in the Royal Navy, built in 1938.

The Tower of London

…was closed when we got there at the end of the day, so we didn’t get to go into the castle. From the view across the River Thames, you can see the water-gate called "Traitors' Gate."

  

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is a shopping district in London said to look like Times Square in NYC. Some of its attractions are the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, M&M World, Chinatown, theaters, and shopping. So cool!

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is especially cool to visit during the Change of Guards, which we did! There were a ton of people. According to the Union Jack flag situated on top of it, the Queen was not in residence at the moment.

Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Of course we couldn't take pictures inside, but believe me when I tell you that we saw the graves of tons of kings and queens, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Henry Irving, Charles Dickens, etc.

Big Ben

London Eye

Riding the London Eye Ferris Wheel, the tallest Ferris Wheel in Europe, was one of my favorite things. Our ticket included a short 4-D film about the skyline of London, which was really neat! I love skylines.

Golden Jubilee Bridges

National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Entrance into the National Gallery is FREE, which is GREAT for a student budget! We didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but the artists I recognized included: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh. It was also here that we saw the Official Olympic count-down clock =)

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Hyde Park, most popularly known for the Speakers’ Corner, is one of the Royal Parks, which is home to The Serpentine River, a Peter Pan statue, and Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

Windsor Castle

Despite the light rain, the cold weather, and the train-mess involved in getting there, Windsor Castle was stunning, and I am so glad that I took the trip to see it. We took an audio-guide tour through the castle grounds, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the Drawings Gallery, and the State Apartments. So beautiful!

Apollo Victoria Theater

Another highlight was seeing Wicked with Geminis in the Apollo Victoria Theater. I was not familiar with the story, but the show was fabulous. (Although, The Wizard of Oz was kind of ruined for me after that.) We had nosebleed seats, but it was still a great time. Also playing in London this weekend was Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, and Singing in the Rain. 

En fin…

En fin, I would love to go back and spend some more time. I think you could easily spend at least a full day in any one of the attractions I just mentioned. Ojalá que tuviera el tiempo y el dinero para hacer eso. This wall-hanging in our hotel pretty accurately summarizes the weekend:

Wishing I had more time and money to vacation to London,

Love, ~Taylor

(**Source Note: All statistics and historical information have been verified by material published on Wikipedia.)