A rollercoaster of emotions, by Itzel Zerecero

My personal experience in Spain has been a rollercoaster of emotions, definitely positive than anything else. I have learned so much about myself and others. I have experienced things that made me realize how privileged I am and everything has just contributed to my personal and emotional growth. I was born in Mexico but raised in the U.S., Mexico is also a collectivistic culture and living in Spain made me realize how much I am used to an individualistic culture. Based on my experiences in the past few months, I can say that I feel like home (Mexico) because the culture and people are very similar, although something particular of Seville is that I actually feel safe. Interacting with Spanish people made me realize how much we focus on ourselves and our priorities that we do not often sit back and actually enjoy the time we spend with others. In Spain life is slower and better quality, I notice people actually connecting with each other and interacting, in the United States everything is to the point and fast-forward. I notice a lot of this lack of connection goes back to being individualistic and the cultural pressure of accomplishing certain things. For example, going to school to be the best, working to have the most money, taking care of the self to look the best, etc. Most decisions are based on competition which is something I did not experience here, Spanish culture gave me a sense of unity, which can go back to being a collectivistic culture. During my time here I learned to be focused but also enjoy everything that surrounds me, interact with the people around me, listen to others, do things because they make me happy instead of just in order to meet the norm or because “I have to”.