I Lived in A Spanish Village for 8 Months, and it Changed Me Forever.

Have you ever thought about spending a year in Spain? Casie Tennin, a graduate from New York City, writes about her experience as an English speaking assistant at a school in a tiny Spanish village.

What was a major culture shock for a New York City slicker might not be so different for most of us, because life in Spain is in a league of its own…. Casie begins her stay in utter confusion: the shop keeper who keeps her waiting at the till because she is having a long chat with a friend, the waiter who refuses to serve her a sandwich at 7.30pm (dinner is at 9.30pm!), an apartment without a clothes dryer, heating, air conditioning, or oven, not to mention the strange habit people have of poking their forks (or fingers) into her plate of tapas.

Fregenal de la Sierra is a farming village in the province of Extremadura and personifies life in the slow lane: everybody has time to greet you, there is no hurry to get things done by yesterday, quite simply because today is to be enjoyed. Casie falls in love with the friendly community, learns that fun doesn’t stop at 30, that socialising doesn’t mean you have to get drunk fast (better to do it slowly and wait up for the sunrise), that jamon is extremely important, that life is for sharing and much much more…..follow the links to read her blog in both English and Spanish.