Did your study abroad opportunity influence your perceptions about your home country at all?
Photo provided by Kenice
As a black body in a predominantly white country you are forced to be self-aware. There hasn’t been a day (yet) where I have walked down the street without noticing the double takes and stares of my fellow Sevillanos. Although I do attend a predominantly white college, it is also very culturally diverse and not uncommon to see a variety of skin tones, hair styles/types and hear various accents. In Spain, I stick out like a sore thumb. I am a black woman with locs (dreadlocks). Surprisingly it is more common to see people with dreadlocks on a daily basis. Being so easily noticed has reinforced my idea of race and belonging. Although I am subjected to stares it is not because they dislike me but because the area in which I live is not a very diverse place and so it is rare (but not uncommon) to see a black person. It is next to impossible not to compare the two places. On one hand you have Seville, not very diverse but very welcoming of all types/races of people. On the other is the US, a diverse country but so intolerant of accepting everyone. It’s a lot to take in and think about.