One mistake that I’ve made in my new culture was nothing incredibly life changing or anything that taught me a grandiose lesson... To start, the one thing that I have noticed over the last few months is that personal hygiene isn't always recognized, and as a result, I’ve learned to always carry tissues, hand sanitizer, etc. with me at all times. Far too many times, at various restaurants, bars, and clubs, I’ve been underprepared, and for someone like me, this was not OK. I hate going into bathrooms lacking a single shred of toilet paper or going to wash my hands without soap or individual towels. Additionally, I’ve noticed that many establishments don’t even have an “Employees Must Wash Hands” sign and hot water is rare to find. This is one of the many reasons in which Spain is so different from the U.S. because having a full stock of bathroom "utilities" is MUCH more common back home. Even though this example is something minuscule that has low significance in comparison to other “life lessons”, my under-preparation at the beginning of the semester was definitely a mistake that I’ve learned the hard way in my new culture, and you better believe I never leave the house anymore without toilet paper or tissues in my purse, ever.
*I think that it is appropriate to add that directly after I typed this post, I went to use the bathroom in the library here at my school and actually got stuck in the stall for 20 minutes... The door handle on the inside of the bathroom was in fact broken (go figure), and I had to wait until some gracious Spanish woman came in to save me, as hell would have frozen over before I would have crawled on the floor to get out... perfect example to go along with my other frightening bathroom experiences. I can't make this stuff up...
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