Visiting Spain has been breathtaking. Upon first arriving in Barcelona, I was struck by my surroundings. The water is the most beautiful blue I have ever seen, the streets are colorful and filled with people actually socializing with one another. I cannot say how pleased I was that in the streets of Barcelona people were actually off of their cell phones and socializing. There are so many restaurants with seating alongside the streets and the people are actually sitting, eating and talking amongst themselves. It made me realize just how isolated within ourselves we are back in the States and I fear that we are losing key social skills, and possibly even creating more stress among ourselves.
Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was the graffiti all over the city and even on Menorca Island. So, I asked our tour guide, Ariadna, about it and she told me that it was very accepted, and that Barcelona was becoming very “underground.” I find that all the street art really enhances the color of the city. The graffiti is also different in Spain as it tends to be more focused on pictures and different types of art rather than obscene types of images or slang. On this trip, I have also really enjoyed trying new things such as cooking, eating different types of foods and trying to immerse myself in the language and pick up all the Spanish that I can whilst I am here. The people here are super friendly and help me to learn to say certain key phrases.
Here on Menorca Island, I can’t get enough of the culture and the sleepiness of the town. It is the opposite of Barcelona. The streets are very quiet all day long and the vibe is much slower paced. The town seems to come alive in the evening, when the shops and restaurants are in full swing. In the town square, there are twinkle lights everywhere and playgrounds where children play outside till well past 10:00 pm. Menorca is absolutely breathtaking, the houses are beautiful, the streets are swept clean and the Mediterranean Sea is the most beautiful water I have ever seen. Yesterday, I was able to swim in the Mediterranean and it was absolutely incredible. The archaeological sites are also worth mentioning. We hiked to an acropolis and one thing I couldn’t help but notice was that the site was not blocked off in fact, it was open for people to hike, freely.
Today was our first day working at the museum. Working with real bones is incredibly different from working with the simulated skeletons we have in class. All the tombs are also very different, unlike how it is in class, you have no idea what to expect! One group had very clean bones, that were in good condition and intact. The other group had multiple people, two being adolescents. And the last group had remains that were all broken postmortem. Although it was difficult working with fragmented remains, it was such a learning experience! (especially for day 1). Working with real bones and dentition made everything we learned in the class come to life. It allowed us to apply our previous knowledge from the anthropology classes to real engagement with the remains. We also noticed that working in the museum with remains has encouraged collaborative work between classmates. From asking each other questions to engaging in problem solving activities with one another, it expanded our development in understanding anthropology better. It also created a safe learning environment, no one was afraid to work with each other or ask questions. It was such an amazing first day! We can’t wait to go back to the museum to do more inventory!
It is especially interesting the things you can learn from skeletal remains. Things such as how old the person was when they died, what biological sex they were, how tall they were, what diseases they had and what types of diets they had access to. Some people may tend to think working with skeletal remains is strange, but in truth, they can tell us so much about a person’s life. A person that is not much more different then you or I. We can get a glimpse into the past and when learning about these individuals it also gives us an insight into the local culture and how people on Menorca Island once interacted, how they lived and even the different things they may have liked. This experience has been very eye-opening in many different ways, and I know it will continue to be going forward. I cannot wait to see what comes next.
Tags: Study Abroad