The Foreigner Aspect Whilst Living Abroad

Short post about being in a foreigner's shoes

Starting off with a decisive declaration: the good ol' USA is a melting-pot; a nation filled with foreigners and immigrants from different countries. I have noticed this more in my time during college since I have met many people of different nationalities. Some of the coolest people I've met were from Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Brazil and other countries. In some of the gatherings I've been too, they all had stories to tell and smiles on their faces. Some would mingle with the Americans, or others would hang out with their own nationalities, retreating to that comfort zone of language and cultural identity. In any case, they were in a new world experiencing something new. In my case, in Spain, I'm in their shoes.

Spain itself is pretty diverse in race...in some aspects. Major cities like Madrid is crawling with many different minorities from Asian to African and others in between. Moving to smaller towns, however, is pretty homogenous in terms of ethnicity. For example, the town I primarily live and work in has a couple of Asians, thats about it. Also, my roommate and I are the only foreigners in the town. Plasencia, the other town I work in, has more diversity but still distinctly has an outweighing Spanish population. Linguistically, I don't have a problem speaking Spanish to locals in shops or with teachers, yet I do sometimes have trouble adapting to their speech (Mexican Spanish isn't utilized here but its somewhat understood when I speak it). However, I speak a lot of English here due to my classes and meeting up with other English teachers now and then. I haven't really retreated to only hanging out with English speakers since they are somewhat sparse in my region (and I haven't networked well with others). In Spanish, I have talked to many different people and been in a couple of different outings where I had to use it. Admitting I do feel out of place sometimes and a bit uncomfortable. However, I want that. I don't mind being laughed at due to doing something out of the ordinary in a Spaniard's eyes, as its a learning experience (yet I mind if I am treated rudely).

The whole point of this is that I can finally say I'm a foreigner and I will be for 6 more months. Also, I've always had respect for foreigners and immigrants but after living in a new country for a couple months, my respect for them has risen.  Even though some flock to their own kind for linguistic and cultural comfort, will still feel a bit out of place in spite of sharing the same land that we all walk on.

If you have a different point of view or want to share something in the same vain, comment!