Head in the Clouds by Natalie Martin

As I did my usual walk to the gym this morning, I again took in my surroundings, surroundings which still awe me. I could hear the birds chirping with the hope that today Spring will finally begin to show. As I experience this little bit of peace, something creeps in to take it all away, the smell of a cigarette being smoked on the street. At home, in the States, I used to hold my breath each time I had to walk past someone who was smoking. Not only did the smell make me feel nauseous, but I had been conditioned from years of DARE and health classes, that while smoking was bad so was second hand smoke. As I walk down the streets of Seville, I can not go one minute without seeing someone smoking a cigarette. At first it baffled me, but I have grown more and more accustomed to this particular part of Spanish culture, with each passing day that this city becomes my home. If I can become somewhat accustomed to walking past people who are smoking, without having the urge to hold my breath and walk faster, in just two short months, then how is it for those who grow up in this culture? Is smoking just a modern day normal? Are they not conditioned the same way in which we are in the United States?