La Vida Loca: "Mañana..."

So it is the end of my third week and the start of my fourth week in this amazing country. The biggest thing I have learned since my descent in Europe: picking up a language from scratch is NOT easy. I spend most of my days surrounded by some sort of American or English influence. The television channels often have American TV shows (LOST, Simpsons, Man vs. Wild, etc) and many people here speak enough English to accommodate my lack of ability. The concept is strange since in America, foreigners are often scorned and ignored because they "can't speak our language". Yet, as I travel about places with thousands of years of history and language, I'm eagerly greeted with my own language and welcomed by Spaniards yearning to learn more of what plainly isn't theirs. Needless to say, I'm trying my best to learn their language with as much diligence as they have learned ours.

Moreover, the Spanish seem to operate in an extremely relaxed way. Requirements for courses are an incredible contrast to the harsh torture that James A. Clark School of Engineering calls education. First of all, the focus of each class is very abstract. No homework, no tests, no grades, just pure knowledge. One class, Physical Concepts, is a philosophical discussion on the existence of physics. Our Einstein-look-alike professor spent his first transcendental lectures on the existence of energy. As schoolwork is incredibly rare, I have enjoyed adjusting to the mandatory daily routine which includes a three-hour-long siesta.

From the Spanish lifestyle, we can coin the term "Mañana." To anybody educated with a semester or two in Spanish, or for anybody equipped with Google Translator, this word simply means "tomorrow". But here, "mañana" exemplifies the greatest outcome of Spanish lifestyle. Relaxation feeding procrastination. To say "mañana" and to be "mañana", you are doing what every one of us has been cautioned against our entire lives: procrastinating. But "mañana" in Spain is perfectly acceptable. It may be mañana in registering for courses, or mañana while buying tickets for a movie. Even mañana in skipping class as a teacher (true story). Mañana mañana mañana.

As the Spanish say, "tranquiloooo". It literally means chill. So what if something doesn't get done TODAY, there is always mañana. In Spain, the important things are appreciated: great food, great weather, and fantastic company wherever you go.

Hasta luego!

(And some photo peeks)