Lessons from Spain

By: Allie Andrews

Over the Summer I had the opportunity to visit and study in Spain. My program took place in two lesser-known cities in different regions of the country. The first city I stayed in was a small, tight-knit city called Cuenca. It is in the southern mid-region of Spain, and if I were to describe the overall vibe of this city, I would say that it was a homey, Mediterranean version of the midwest in our country.  People were extremely friendly, rarely spoke English but they were happy to attempt to communicate with me.   The people that I met treated me like family. After my stint in Cuenca, I participated in the Camino de Santiago or the “El Camino” which is a traditional Pilgrimage taken by Christians from around the world. This path ranges from a minimum of one hundred kilometers to literally thousands of kilometers. Finally, we ventured to the northern coastal city of A Coruña. This city is younger and moves at a much faster pace than Cuenca. The people were less open, to begin with, but this city is more similar to what I am accustomed to in Atlanta, and it made me realize the parts of my city I love the most.

Beautiful Views of Cuenca.

When I arrived in Cuenca, I was greeted with a huge hug and kiss from my new host mom. She welcomed me into her home and gave me a tour of the city. This walk around the city, in which we covered nearly everything, took about an hour. We visited bakeries, cafes, fruit stores, butchers, and so much more. This is where I learned that one of my favorite things about Cuenca-each item has a special store, typically run by a family who have been running it for generations. My host mom explained that although there were two main grocery stores in the city, you could get virtually everything from local businesses and that it was not only less expensive, it was much better quality.  I can attest that the fruit was indeed fresher, the meat richer, and the bread… oh my goodness… the bread!  Apparently, according to my host mom, Spain loves their bulls, their chorizo, and their bread. It was a daily practice to visit these stores, and although it was more time-consuming than Kroger, the costs and the quality made it well worth it.  As an added bonus, it could all be done on their midday lunch break, which was at least two hours. My host family often complained that visiting these local bakeries, butchers, and produce farmers was a practice that was going extinct and that it was worsening the job market and making everything more expensive. I wonder if this sort of thing would even be possible in the US, if small businesses could outcompete bigger ones, or if people here could place the value on quality over efficiency and quantity to make it more plausible for these businesses to thrive?  I love this way of living and to me, it just makes sense.

The Ending Point of The Camino

The next part of my journey, the Camino, was by far the most rewarding on a personal level. I have never been an athlete and the idea of walking 16 miles straight up and down mountains every day wouldn’t have been something I would ever do.  By the last mile of the first day, I was in a great mood, I was laughing and sharing stories with my friends and I felt unbeatable. That was until, of course, the last mile was not our last mile. We got to this great viewpoint along the coast and our guide pointed at the bottom of the hill, across the water… and that was our destination! It was at least three more miles and we had already walked more than I think I ever walked in my life and my mood dropped. For the rest of the walk, I cursed the universe, put my headphones in, and shut up. Each step was harder on my newly forming blisters than the last. Our destination was a harbor. We had plans to take a boat ride after we finished trekking, but we all just wanted to shower and lie down. Instead, we boarded the boat and sailed off to the middle of the water. This is when it clicked for me… I am in a boat, in a gorgeous bay, in SPAIN. What was there to be mad about… my feet?? I think this was a universal feeling as we got further away from shore- and then they brought out the beer and food. Every exhausted soul was overcome with happiness and I realized the pain in my feet wasn’t the problem, it was my perspective. This was my best day in Spain. I took on the rest of the Camino with no expectations, just enjoyed the journey and it ended up being the best part of my trip and one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

On the Boat!

The last place that I went to was A Caruña, which is a bigger coastal city. It was far more fashion-forward and design-heavy. The way of life there was beautiful, fun, and reminded me a bit of home. I think this is when my homesickness emerged and I began to think of all the good times in Atlanta. I was staying alone and also found it much harder to find people to talk to. Caruña is a bilingual city, but more often than not, the people are speaking Galician, a language that I do not understand. The culture here is also much less welcoming and I think there was a pretty common distaste for foreigners. Fair Enough. But for me, it meant that I would have to be uncomfortable if I wanted to make any connections. One night, there was a festival to welcome the official beginning of summer. We camped out on the beach and built bonfires, as is their tradition. Finally, I was able to find an opportunity to talk to people. I was participating in their traditions and listening to their stories and I became quick friends with many people I met that night. It ended up being a matter of stepping out of my comfort zone, being willing to be a part of something unfamiliar, and generally being open to someone else’s cultural identity, and in return, they were open to mine. 

Festival of Summer Solstice.

I am still in awe of this incredible opportunity. The memories I’ve shared only scratched the surface of my lessons learned, and I will take them with me forever. I am grateful to have been able to practice my Spanish, meet the people I did, and genuinely enjoy myself. I will not soon forget all of the great memories I made, and I look forward to the next trip… whenever my bank account recovers.