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Worlds Apart

September 24, 2008

"People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
– André Gide

I’ve had this quote taped to the wall above my desk at home for over a year now. The words stay the same, but they take on new meaning depending on what’s going on in my life. Sometimes their message is more metaphorical. But in the last few months I have experienced their literal meaning more acutely than ever before as I faced the prospect of spending four months in a place I had never seen, living with a person I had never met. The thought of being half a world away from everything I’d ever known caused a horrible swooping sensation in my stomach, a symptom which worsened as the days before my departure melted away. It was like being a freshman all over again.

I have now been in Spain for three weeks, and the memories of my pre-departure nerves seem distant and detached, as though they belong to another person, another time. It seems impossible that everything I’ve seen and experienced since arriving could have occurred in such a short space of time. Each week has been so different. During the first week I felt an unexpected sense of calm coupled with the euphoria of continuous new discoveries. I absolutely love Oviedo. It has a small-shop downtown feel similar to Park Avenue, but with a sense of history that few places in the United States possess. The streets are a confusing tangle, the result of centuries of spontaneous expansion, so finding your way around can be a challenge.

The mayor of Oviedo has a fetish for cleanliness, fountains and statues, with the result that the city is immaculate, sparkling with jets of shooting water and littered only with people cast in bronze. My host, Nieves, is wonderful: Laid-back but concerned about my well-being, patient when I don't understand her Spanish (and when I mess up mine; she doesn't speak any English), an excellent cook and diligent housekeeper... all in all a very agreeable woman.

Classes began at the language school three days after we (Allison and I—we’re the only students participating in the Rollins in Asturias program this semester) arrived. All in all, week one was a pleasant whirlwind.

By week two, the initial euphoria of difference had worn off, leaving a sense of perpetual fatigue as I struggled to adjust to a different language and culture. I remember hoping that the constant dull ache in my head was like the muscle aches you get when you start working out or change your workout routine, signaling that you’ve worked hard and your muscles are stretching and strengthening because of it. I hoped the ache meant I was forging tons of new neurons.

On the bright side, our first full weekend in Oviedo was a holiday, so Allison and I decided to take a trip through northern Spain. We went to San Sebastián and Bilbao, which were well worth the visit. San Sebastián is famous for its seaside charm, and Bilbao is home to the Guggenheim Museum, an architectural wonder.

But for me the best part of the trip was the long bus rides that showed us so much of the gorgeous Spanish countryside: rolling green hills shifting into craggy mountains speckled with evergreens, sweeping bays between sheer outcroppings of rock that contain the bluest, clearest ocean I’ve ever seen, villages of red-tiled roofed houses nestled in valleys or sheltered in coves, pastures dotted with cows, donkeys, horses, and sheep, dazzling vistas of the sea from the tops of cliffs . . . it’s breathtaking.

Week three found me more settled and more emotionally balanced. Going away for a weekend was an excellent idea not only because we got to see more of the country, but also because it put Oviedo in the position of being “home,” which has helped us to feel more established. My Spanish has improved noticeably since I arrived, and I can only imagine what level it will reach by the end of the semester.

In the next month I will travel to both Switzerland and Ireland, two countries that for many years have been at the top of the list of places I want to visit. I am still in awe of the incredible opportunities study abroad offers, and even after only three weeks I can definitively say that, despite the challenges, losing sight of the shore has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

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