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Before I landed in Tokyo to transfer to Nagoya I had never been outside of the U.S., and because of this, I tried to refrain to the best of my ability from holding expectations. I definitely planned logistics before I came here, although I intentionally wanted the experience to be shocking. I had figured you learn more about the way you actually are by trying not to fight the sense of shock that comes when you are put into a situation in which you have never been before, and I think I was right. I was very tired after my flight, as the trip in total took about 17 hours, which made communication on the first day quite difficult. My host family does not speak any English, which has been great for adapting to another language but definitely made things complicated at first. I remember hearing some linguist say that practicing a language by speaking only really helps dramatically when you can have a conversation about topics beyond a surface level, and I definitely have to agree with this sentiment. In these situations, I have to make a conscious effort to think in the logical order of Japanese (which is often the reverse of English), and I feel like this creates a more “personal”, albeit often frustrating, connection with the language that a set routine otherwise wouldn’t. Definitely the most noticeable thing for me has been the strengthening of the so called “Prison-house of Language”. I would say that I definitely struggle significantly with expressing my thoughts through words in English, and while obviously I can do this even less so in Japanese, there is a sense in which it feels freeing as, well, of course I can’t articulate myself after 1 year of studying. I’ve noticed Japanese can be a rather concise language if used correctly, and thus I think that by practicing concision in a second language I can gain concision in my first language.

My favorite thing so far has definitely been the timeliness of everything, as I would say nothing makes me more frustrated than lateness. The public transit is fantastic and always runs on time, as well as people so far have not been late to meetings. In fact, I would say the biggest “critical incident” so far isn’t a particular incident but rather a prolonged observation of behavior. It is very surprising how much people follow the rules here even when there aren’t really other people around. I live in a pretty densely populated area and I genuinely think I can count on my hands the amount of people I’ve seen walk across the crosswalk when the light wasn’t on. I’ve also yet to seen someone litter despite the distinct lack of trash bins. It seems that people have a much greater concern for the environment and the immediate world around them here, which does make sense and was something I’d heard of. On time this surprised me, however, was when I was hiking up a mountain and I heard a bell constantly ringing. There were a fair few other people on this trail, but I was still confused and wondering if there was a temple nearby. As it turned out, it was another hiker who has small bells tied to his backpack so that they would ring and alert any animals lest he trample on them. I had heard of this before in my high school’s world religion class, as Jizo, a famous bodhisattva, was said to carry a staff with 6 rings on it in order to jingle and warn the nearby animals lest he do them harm. I do not go out of my way to harm nature, but this devotion towards life in my experience is not emphasized, even by groups who claim to care a lot about life, and thus it left me surprised. Obviously not everyone here is this conscious of their surroundings, but this moment did definitely make me think about how very old traditions morph our modern society in an often indirect way. Buddhism is still very prevalent in Japan, and although it operates quite differently than a western religion (as it seems to be more tradition than religion per se), it still is interesting to see how its doctrines impact daily life. This has been the biggest sign of this that I’ve seen so far, but I am certain that I will se more in the future. The line between religion, philosophy, and way of life seems a lot more blurry here then it is often made out to be in my American education, which I have found very interesting.

For a deconstruction of a critical moment in my travels, I will use a conversation from my excursion to Russian Orthodox Monasteries in the area. D – I started speaking with a plump, older-looking woman. She said she was from Ukraine, and started telling me about how there are Russians in Ukraine who want to become part of Russia. There was a woman sitting next to her, perhaps half her age, but still probably in her late twenties or early thirties. I was told that this was her daughter. I – It soon became clear that this mother was trying to pawn off her daughter on a western tourist. When she started asking about my love life, it also became apparent that she was unnerved by the fact that I already had a girlfriend, but she nevertheless remained persistent. V – I was fairly certain this was the case because one of my friends understood the situation similarly, despite the fact that she understands even less Russian than I do. E – Following from this evaluation, I persistently rebuffed the mother, saying I was very happy that I was in a relationship and that the reason she isn’t travelling with me is because she is doing fantastic travels of her own. This was a funny encounter, because the daughter squirmed as her mother spoke about her. It felt almost like an arranged marriage negotiation, or perhaps closer to haggling at a bizarre, except for the fact that I wasn’t buying what was being sold. It was mentioned that the deep-dive exercise was an enunciation of an instinctive process, and I would happen to agree. In the moment, an evaluation occurred following an initial observation.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my second blog post. It’s crazy to think that I’m writing this at the two week mark because it feels like I’ve only just gotten here while at the same time I feel like I’ve lived in Madrid for an entire year. To say that my first two weeks in Madrid have been amazing would be an understatement. Ive started classes, gotten to know my host family, met an incredible group of friends, and started to feel at home in this exciting city.

My first week in Madrid was one big learning curve, and I quickly learned two very important things: the world around you is often a lot less organized than you think it is, and you are often a lot stronger than you think you are. For starters, I didn’t find out about my host family until the day before I flew out to Madrid because I’m learning that Nebrija is known for its disorganization and last-minute thinking. For anyone looking at the Nebrija or Madrid-university program, the biggest word of advice I can give you is to reach out to a former SLA recipient for help. I wouldn’t change my SLA experience for the world, but it helps to have some guidance along the way. I learned once I got to Madrid that everyone here is at Nebrija through their university’s study abroad program, which provides them with a program director to support them as they navigate placement tests, housing, getting a student metro card, and so much more. I had to do all of this on my own, which taught me that I’m really a lot stronger than I thought I was.

Being one of the only independent students at Nebrija this summer has made me quite the special case with the university’s administration. At this point every admin or professor knows my name, responding with a look of stress and curiosity when I tell them I’m Eva Marie (I’ve decided to go by my full name here). At the end of my first week I learned of an incident surrounding my class schedule that I’m lucky I wasn’t there to witness. The academics director had put my classes in the system as Teatro Española and B2.2 Language, when instead we had discussed putting me in Literatura Española and B2.2 Language. Because of this error I was locked out of my virtual campus for the first week. The first weekend I was out with some friends and my friend Ceci who is in the Teatro Española class told me that a Nebrija admin stormed into the Teatro Española classroom shouting “¡¿Dónde está Eva Marie!? ¡¿Dónde está Eva Marie!? La he buscado por todas partes. ¡No sé dónde se supone que debe estar y el problema es que tampoco creo que sepa dónde se supone que debe estar!” in other words, I’ve looked everywhere for her and I don’t know where she is supposed to be, and the problem is I don’t think she knows where she’s supposed to be either. The truth is, I was in my language class with absolutely no idea that the Teatro Española class was listening to the Nebrija admin shout my name. Luckily for me, my literature professor Ramón also teaches the theater class. Ramón, according to my friend Ceci, stood up for me and assured the admin that I had been to every literature class and that they had nothing to worry about.

When Ceci told me about this I was honestly in shock. I honestly can’t imagine a Notre Dame admin ever storming into a classroom and shouting at the teacher that a student is not where she is supposed to be. Truthfully, I’m glad I wasn’t there when she came looking for me. Looking back a week later, it’s really pretty funny. Ceci and I had a good laugh about it because we both knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong, and it was heartwarming to hear that my professor would stand up for me in front of a member of administration. It also made me realize how important it is for me to let go of my expectations for how the world should work based on what I’ve always known. Just because this would not be expected at Notre Dame doesn’t mean it’s not considered normal here. I’ve found the Nebrija admin and professors to be incredibly kind, welcoming, and accommodating of my unique situation. However, it does seem to be normal here to be expressive with every emotion– including frustration. This is a cultural difference that I will have to get used to. I won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt my feelings to hear that my name had been thrown around to a classroom of my peers. However, I realize now that I can learn to handle situations like this by viewing them with an open mind and understanding that different cultures learn to express themselves differently.

Now, enough with the bad stuff. I have truly had such an incredible time in my first two weeks here. Coming in without knowing anyone, I was free to be whoever I wanted and connect with whoever I chose. I’ve found a great group of friends from the University of Florida, I’ve become friends with classmates from all over the United States, and I’ve grown close with my host sister Beatriz who lives with her mom in Madrid but was raised in the Canary Islands. I’ve been truly shocked by my Spanish abilities, too. I’m able to have complete, fulfilling, and hilarious conversations with my host mom and sister, and I’m learning a great deal in my two classes. On the first weekend I got a taste of Madrid nightlife, watched the FA cup final at a pub near Parque de el Retiro, went to last Real Madrid game of the season, and saw the Little Mermaid with Spanish subtitles. Oh and we ran into Alvaro Monte on the street, followed him for a while, ended up at the premiere for Tyler Rake 2 that he and Chris Hemsworth star in. Picture below. On my second weekend my cousin got married in Vigo, so I explored the Galicia region of Spain with my family and even went down to Portugal. I had no idea that there is so much Celtic influence in Galicia; we watched a Galician band perform with gaitas, which are Galician bagpipes! This weekend I’m off to Valencia to stay in a hostel with the friends I’ve made through Nebrija, and even Keira who is the other SLA recipient in studying in Madrid this summer! I can already feel myself falling in love with this city and its culture. Hard to believe in just 6 short weeks it will all be over.

¡Hasta luego!

Eva Marie