Hello folks, it is Bernard Gburek III posting here.
One of the big adjustments for me coming to Spain is just how different time seems to work out here. In Berkeley, I (and probably most of the rest of the program) feel busy pretty much all the time. While school is in session, I feel like I'm working or should be working almost all the time, eat pretty much all my meals in no more than 20 minutes, and often eat by myself instead of with friends doing homework or browsing the internet while I eat.
Now in Spain, I feel like I'm on a completely different planet timewise. Suddenly, I have 2 hour lunches almost every afternoon and a siesta following lunch. I feel like I virtually never have this kind of an afternoon break in Berkeley, as my lunches usually consist of me stuffing a sandwich in my face at a library. I suddenly have time to wander aimlessly instead of rushing from place to place with some task in mind.
This was a surprisingly difficult adjustment for me. At first, I wanted to skip all this, get a quick afternoon lunch, and rush back to work. Gradually, however, I have come to realize that these longer lunches have helped me slow down, have actual conversations with the wonderful people I have met on this trip, and appreciate life a bit more. I don't need to fill my schedule 24/7, sometimes it is okay to just relax.
Once in a while, I still skip lunch to get some research done, but I am glad that my experience in Spain is slowly teaching me to stop and smell the roses a bit more.
-Bernard Gburek III
Update 6/28/19: Okay lunch was like 3 hours today, maybe that was too long.
One of the big adjustments for me coming to Spain is just how different time seems to work out here. In Berkeley, I (and probably most of the rest of the program) feel busy pretty much all the time. While school is in session, I feel like I'm working or should be working almost all the time, eat pretty much all my meals in no more than 20 minutes, and often eat by myself instead of with friends doing homework or browsing the internet while I eat.
Now in Spain, I feel like I'm on a completely different planet timewise. Suddenly, I have 2 hour lunches almost every afternoon and a siesta following lunch. I feel like I virtually never have this kind of an afternoon break in Berkeley, as my lunches usually consist of me stuffing a sandwich in my face at a library. I suddenly have time to wander aimlessly instead of rushing from place to place with some task in mind.
This was a surprisingly difficult adjustment for me. At first, I wanted to skip all this, get a quick afternoon lunch, and rush back to work. Gradually, however, I have come to realize that these longer lunches have helped me slow down, have actual conversations with the wonderful people I have met on this trip, and appreciate life a bit more. I don't need to fill my schedule 24/7, sometimes it is okay to just relax.
Once in a while, I still skip lunch to get some research done, but I am glad that my experience in Spain is slowly teaching me to stop and smell the roses a bit more.
-Bernard Gburek III
Update 6/28/19: Okay lunch was like 3 hours today, maybe that was too long.
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