Being Me Abroad!

It goes without saying that living abroad brings about a whole host of changes to your everyday life. It also goes without saying that for some people, that change can be a bit overwhelming. I’m definitely one of those people, and going into my summer abroad I knew I wanted to try and stick to some semblance of normalcy from my life in the States to try and ease this transition. So, here are a few things I did to stay true to myself, my identities, and my lifestyle while also fully immersing myself in the Spanish way of living. 

1. Maintaining my faith while abroad. I was raised Catholic, and going to church on Sundays was a part of my upbringing that has continued to be part of my routine in college back at UNC. I knew going into this summer that Catholicism was the main religion in Spain, so it wouldn’t be hard to keep my faith abroad. Not only was this true, but I even say that the religious experiences I had in Barcelona were so memorable and more meaningful than the ones I’ve had recently. I was able to regularly attend mass in Spanish, which I haven’t done since my childhood because the church I attend in Chapel Hill only offers English masses. I was also able to attend mass at some of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen, la Sagrada Família and Santa Maria del Mar. Being able to do my weekly worship in such historic, stunning churches made me deeply appreciative and grateful for the life I found myself in, which deepened my spiritual connection and experience.
2. Reconnecting with my culture through food. One of my favorite parts of living in Spain was all the different foods I got to eat on a daily basis. 1€ chocolate croissants, fresh pastries, amazing paella, and Tinto de Verano were just some of the foodie highlights from my time in Barcelona, and I developed a deep love for croquetas de jamón ibérico. As much as I loved the Spanish food, the Colombian and Dominican in me found myself really missing Hispanic food a few weeks into my program, particularly the way we make our rice and beans. A few of my other Latino friends from my program felt similarly, and one evening we set out to find a Colombian restaurant. That night will be one that I remember fondly from my program: laughing and sharing bandeja paisa and arepa con queso outdoors as we listened to the bar next door cheer on Spain during one of the Euro Cup matches.
3. Being present in the moment. In the past year or so, mindfulness has become a huge part of my morning routine. On a typical day, I do a breathing exercise followed by a five-minute meditation before getting out of bed; it settles me in the morning and helps keep me grounded throughout the day. As important as this is to me, I found it hard to incorporate into my morning routine while living in Barcelona: late nights, early mornings, and getting as much sleep as possible meant I didn’t have time for everything I would normally do. To make up for not doing it in the morning, I found other ways to sneak in mindfulness time throughout my busy day, such as not putting in my AirPods to listen to music as I did my morning walk to the Metro and instead listening to the sounds around me; or not scrolling on my phone while I ate to form a better connection with my food and relax my mind a bit.
4. Finding a balance between doing and resting. With only eight weeks abroad, I felt the need to make the most of my time in Barcelona by doing the most. This quickly wore me out; I soon became exhausted and sleep-deprived and, when paired with the heat of a Mediterranean summer and the dehydration that can come from late nights out, I became a bit sick as well. It was clear that I couldn’t do everything, but as I started saying “no” to plans with friends and nights out, I also had to grapple with feeling like I was wasting my summer by choosing to stay in. This is where finding a balance became key: I recognized my desire to be booked and busy and have fun nights out as having equal importance to my physical need to be well-rested and healthy. To compensate for this, I saved going out to clubs for the weekends or nights when I knew I could sleep in later the next morning, and started opting for bar nights during the week, as they were a bit chiller and didn’t run as late as clubbing tends to in Barcelona. Planning more relaxed nights with friends, like wine nights in our living room or going out to the movies, also helped me feel like I was taking advantage of my time abroad without exhausting myself. Most importantly, mindset is everything and it’s helpful to reframe thoughts to avoid guilt or shame. One example of this is: it’s never a waste to prioritize your health and physical needs, and doing so actually helps you better enjoy your time out.
5. Keeping a journal. For the past year or so, journaling has been a key component of my everyday life, and I’m very glad I kept it as a part of my routine while I was abroad. It was great to have in the moment to process my thoughts and all the new experiences I was having, and I’m sure my future self will be happy to have a written collection of what I was feeling and thinking from one of the most important summers of my life.