That is SO meta

After getting over the complete rant which was my last post, I realized that I made it sound as though Spanish social/nightlife is some sort of savage life fueled by alcohol and hormones. Let me edit that to say that that is not the message I was trying to get across- perhaps it would have been better to start off by explaining the weird transition from winter to spring that can only be explained by one word: META

Meta is a prefix added to a word in order to describe the concept reflected on itself. The first example given by Wikipedia is metadata: data (information like who produced it, where, why) about data. There is currently a course offered in my program about metafiction - works of fiction where the authors manipulate the craft because they are conscious of the fact that they are producing fiction, almost like a type of hyper-awareness of a situation.

My own participation in this "meta" phenomenon couldn't have been more clearly evident this afternoon when we met with the "chicos españoles" for a group activity after class. The chicos españoles are college aged Spanish students who help orient us throughout the quarter, and for most of the Spanish courses it is required to have weekly chats with one of these students. I got to know a couple of the chicos really well and actually had alot of fun during my weekly chats. 

This afternoon I had my first weekly chat of the quarter and I was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which I could talk to the chica española. It felt much more like catching up with an old friend rather than a program component (so is this what it feels like to have Spanish friends?).

As everyone else is trying to figure out bus routes, our weekly meal allowances, and who the heck these chicos españoles are - I'm reliving my own experiences from back in January. All the advice and anecdotes, which are only partly directed at me, jog my memories of Madrid which seem so long ago but are somehow so alive in my daily life. 

All of this has brought a hyper-awareness of my place in Spanish society. On one hand, I feel much more comfortable with my lifestyle here but I am also strangely aware of being the veteran in a new group. Madrid has become such a comfort to me that it seems odd to go through the process of adjustment with classes, classmates, and various shenanigans here and there. My observations about the nightlife were mostly a rant sparked by my place in limbo as not quite the insider yet but not quite the outsider anymore.

So if I can’t figure out how to deal with it yet, at least now I have a name for it.