The Students

I originally planned not to write about my students, but it seems inevitable since they occupy a lot of my time here. On the whole, they are really wonderful kids. Super smart, very respectful and interested in the culture. Many of them are even going out of their way to interact with the locals. As in any group, I have hit it off with some of them more than others. I love listening to the guys chat in the common room. I eat my dinner and they just chat away about the girls they've met, the ones they'd like to meet, and the tv shows they watch. I find it fascinating.

My neighbors are two girls who didn't really know each other before they came here and have since become fast friends. It really reminds me of my experience in college. I was assigned a roommate whom I had never met and after only a few days at college we were inseparable. These two girls next door have really immersed themselves in the Barcelona experience and they already have a group of local friends. It's really cool and I love hearing about their experiences. I feel like the older sister.

It's not all sunlight and moonbeams, though. I worry about them traveling even though I know they've traveled on their own before. When we go on excursions I hope (and sometimes pray) that they are all healthy because if they're not it falls to me to take care of them. Not one of my strengths, I have to admit. I've become the tea lady. Always carrying my own tea and dispensing tea to students. Tea seems to be my answer to everything that ails a person. Drink some tea. It does seem to make people feel better.

I've found that I'm much better at giving advice to the homesick or those who are already beginning to notice the flaws of Spain, and Barcelona in particular. Sometimes my method is to chime right in and join the complaining, but usually I try to remind them that these are the idiosyncrasies that make the experience unique, and memorable.

Being with all these students and watching them make adjustments to this new cultural and linguistic experience brings back all the feelings I remember having when I was here in college. I am very sympathetic to their complaints about Spain and being away from home. But observing Barcelona through their eyes and being around their incredible energy has reminded me not to become old before my time and that it's necessary for all of us to relax and enjoy the opportunities for fun that are all around us. I feel a little like Doogie Howser here (remember, he used to write a sort of moralizing journal entry at the end of the show), but what can I say. It's how I feel and what I've been seeing and experiencing.