{"id":41184,"date":"2020-03-04T09:23:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T14:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=41184"},"modified":"2020-03-04T09:23:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T14:23:49","slug":"new-hobbies-tastes-and-interests-that-ive-developed-while-studying-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/03\/04\/new-hobbies-tastes-and-interests-that-ive-developed-while-studying-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hobbies, Tastes and Interests That I\u2019ve Developed While Studying Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"Rumor has it that travelling abroad refines us into more cultured people, and to that, I\u2019d have to agree. Here are the ways I\u2019ve developed a healthy appreciation for culture and learned lifelong lessons about human nature, while studying abroad on my outbound exchange program in Spain.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
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Me in Barcelona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nMy Appreciation For Spanish Cuisine<\/b>\r\n\r\nBefore coming abroad, I\u2019d heard so much about Spanish food and the rave reviews actually led me to assume that the Iberian diet would be overrated. And it is, until you try a Tortilla de Patata from La Buha (a chain Spanish restaurant with hefty portion sizes) or Patatas Bravas from a local cafe. There are just so many foods that live up to the Spanish reputation of healthy Mediterranean food. Essentially, the trick is to find the restaurants that the locals frequent and you will pretty much guarantee yourself a pleasant dining experience.<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/b>\r\n\r\nAn Affinity For Language Exchanges<\/b>\r\n\r\nI\u2019ve found that meeting up with people to speak your target language really boosts your confidence in your non-native language. From language apps to Meetup groups, the people I\u2019ve met during <\/span>intercambios <\/span><\/i>or Spanish language exchange have been invaluable to my experience here in Spain. Not only have I developed a new interest in Spanish, but in language learning as a whole, and I\u2019m excited to master Spanish entirely so that I can move on to Arabic or French or Yoruba.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a><\/b>\r\n\r\nAn Adoration of Foreign Cinema & Television<\/b>\r\n\r\nI\u2019ve gone from watching mostly American programming to filling my nights with Spanish, Mexican, Colombian (and more) films and television. Simply exposing myself to foreign media and enjoying it has made me far more open-minded to different types of cinema and television. Korean dramas, French dramas and Italian films are now my go-to choice for a self-care night of feel-good entertainment.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
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Netflix is always a good idea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nTolerance For Behaviors That Are Normally Perceived As Rude In North American Society<\/b>\r\n\r\nHere in Spain, restaurant waiters will ignore you until you demand their attention. People will often make an abrupt and direct demand like \u201cget up!\u201d or \u201cgrab this for me!\u201d without prefacing the request with \u201cplease\u201d or \u201cthank you\u201d, as we would do in Canada. This obviously has the potential to offend those who don\u2019t adjust their mindsets to understand that politeness (as we know it in Anglophone culture) is simply not a thing in Spain.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nWhile there are some cultural norms, it\u2019s not rude to make a direct request. Spaniards see this as simply making sure their needs are met. The individualistic Spanish \u201cdo for self\u201d mindset ensures that people consider their own needs before the needs of others, while not at the expense of others either. In a way, I\u2019ve come to appreciate the lack of pretenses and the level of social honesty. If a Spaniard isn\u2019t getting their needs met, they\u2019ll make it known. Maybe us North Americans can learn from this.<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nRumor has it that travelling abroad refines us into more cultured people, and to that, I\u2019d have to agree. Here are the ways I\u2019ve developed a healthy appreciation for culture and learned lifelong lessons about human nature, while studying abroad…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “New Hobbies, Tastes and Interests That I\u2019ve Developed While Studying Abroad”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “New Hobbies, Tastes and Interests That I\u2019ve Developed While Studying Abroad”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/392"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41192,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41184\/revisions\/41192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}