maria FELICIA ramirez

HEY YALL

The title of this blog is obviously my name. In case you didn't know, my middle name is Felicia. While I was traveling this weekend, Gisela helped me realize something about myself that I never really thought about. It's that, my parents must have known how I would turn out and for that reason, they gave me the name they gave me.

What do I mean? Well in case you ain't know, "feliz" in Spanish means happy, "felicidad" means happiness, and that's where my name comes from. And if you know me, I'm generally a happy person. I'm usually laughing (even if I shouldn't be) and I'm usually not making a big deal out of stuff (even if I should be). Kinda cool that I have an actual connection to my name (other than the fact that it's my name), eh?

While I'm talking about names, let me share something else with yall. I learned in my Spanish Civilization and Culture class that all last names with an "-ez" suffix that they are 1) Spanish and 2) the son of someone. They say that you go abroad to learn about yourself and explore your identity, and gosh darn it, that's what I'm doing here. I learned that someone in my family at one time came from Spain and that this person was the decendant of Ramiro.

Mr. Stein of Waukesha West High School would love me right now because I'm going to make a SEGUE using that last topic of identity exploration. I explored my identity in further detail by traveling to Austria this last weekend. Let me just say: Man, do I love my heritage. I've actually decided that since it is not known exactly where my Austrian family came from within Austria-Hungary, I shall hereby adopt the city of Badgastien. So naturally, it will be important to make future trips to be able to learn and strenghten the cultural traditions of my ancestors.

A little about the trip: I invited my friend Georgia (who is also studying here in Spain) to come with to visit our family friend's the Mayerhofers in Badgastein, Austria. It was no doubt the best weekend we've had thus far in Europe and also a great breath of fresh air both literally and figuratively.

That is...

We were in the Austrian Alps. I never thought I would enjoy a vacation which takes me out of a warmer climate and puts me into freezing weather, but when you're in the Gastienertal valley in the Alps, it's a different story. The air is fresh, the water is deliciously clean, and the scenery is breathtaking. This is my fourth time in the same city, and I never cease to be awestruck every morning when I wake up, pull aside the shades and see the other side of the valley and the snow capped peaks in the background.

Figuratively speaking, it was a breath of fresh air from Spain.

I’ve realized that though I see the Gisela, Martin and the girls only a few times in my life, they are closer to me than some of my real family. For this reason, going to Badgastien was something like going home for the weekend. I’ll admit it was nice to have the material things (a nice shower, feather beds, a coffee maker, ample silverware, working and reliable internet, etc) but even better is being with people that you’ve known your whole life and who know everyone who is important to you.

Also, it was nice to be in straight up "Western European" culture. I realize this might sound racist or "culturist," but I have also come to terms with the face that the world is made up of different people who follow are part of different cultures. I’m not a follower of Samuel Huntington who says that a “Clash of Civilizations” will create the majority of problems that we will face in our time; in fact I am a fan of our multicultural world. What a boring place it would be without them! I am simply saying that while people are people are people and while we all share the basic wants and needs, it become very clear that we all go about getting them in different ways.

Being the foreigner definitely gives you a new point of view. When I meet in the United States, I normally will note where they are from and carry on as normal. In the US, everyone is taught that equality should be held in high regard and that everyone should be treated the same. I am not questioning this assertion. However, I am realizing that someone’s background really should be given more consideration in how you treat a person. Call it stereotyping, call it what you will, but depending on where someone comes from and depending on the cultural background of a person, his or her world view (Weltanschauung—how you like THAT Jeremi Suri) will be so different to the point that you treat them differently. This may sound negative, but I don’t mean it that way. People from different backgrounds have different motives for doing different things and each of these motives should be comprehensively considered and most of the time, respected. I wish I could give a specific example, but that would take at least a 500 page novel to explain the situations I’ve encountered.

I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world here in Spain just like I have in the US. The thing is that here, I am “one of them;” I’m also an outsider.

In the US, I think “Man, how come those Asian people always grouped together ?” or “Why do those Mexican people always speak Spanish together?” Well guess what, take out the words Asian and Mexican in those sentences and replace it with Americans. Because that’s what’s happening here. While I go to Spanish or Latin American parties, I start off the night with American friends. When I am with a group of Americans, even if we are in the middle of Madrid, we speak English. Really makes you think twice about what you think about others when all of a sudden you are the other.



Well, I meant to write just about Austria but I got a little of track. More to come about the wonderland that is Austria.