Soon after I arrived in Madrid, I found myself trying to make small talk with one of the student mentors at the university. “Ummm, so,” I stuttered awkwardly, “Are you in any clubs on campus?” I assumed that this question would initiate a lengthy conversation, as it always seems to Georgetown, where who you are is very much defined by the activities with which you fill your time. The girl look back at me, noticeably confused. “No…” she replied, “But I go to a lot of them?” I laughed.
After spending more time in Madrid, I have begun to understand the significance of this short exchange, and the cultural differences that it so perfectly highlights. Undoubtedly, Madrid is internationally known for its vibrant nightlife, where Spaniards dance to reggaeton music until the sun comes up, and where the first metro of the day at 6:00 a.m. is filled with more people returning from a night out than with people starting their day.
Almost immediately upon my arrival, my host parents asked me when I was going to take advantage of the nightlife. I thought to myself, “How do they have time to go out all the time?” In part, this has to do with different academic demands. The majority of your grades in Spain depend on one or two exams rather than smaller intermediary assignments. But in reality, I think that the answer to this question has much less to do with academic rigor and much more to do with the different ways in which Americans and Spaniards value free time.
At Georgetown, there very much exists a culture of being constantly busy, and the club-oriented facet of this culture is at times all consuming. Regardless of your level of involvement in various organizations, there exists an intrinsic link between your academic life, your extracurricular interests, and your social life. I cannot begin to count the number of times I have been approached with the question, “Oh do you know (insert name)? He’s in the MSB, and he’s in the CORP, or GUGS, or GUAFSCU, or he writes for the Hoya.” At Georgetown, we are defined to a certain extent by what we study, but more commonly we are defined by what we do.
This is largely due to the fact that, if we have free time, we often try to find things to fill it with that we deem “worthwhile,” because if you have too much free time, you must not be doing enough. In turn, clubs embody a lot of social significance, since many students commit so much time to them. In Spain, it could not be more different. At my university in Madrid, the “activities fair” consisted of a few bulletin boards with club sports offerings and some flyers with volunteer opportunities. However, I think generally Spaniards try to spend as little time at school as possible. Contrary to what Americans may assume, this does not mean that they are lazy, but rather, it means that their academic lives and social lives are very separate entities. Free time is not for participating in clubs; it is for spending time with your friends.
In Spain, you aren’t really defined by what you do, but rather you are defined by where you are going, and to a lesser extent, by who you are going with. In the United States, the thought of going out on a Tuesday night seems absurd and irresponsible, especially to a Georgetown student. However, here, having a vibrant social life and attaining academic and professional success aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll be able to convince my fellow Hoyas on this one, but until next time, you’ll know where to find me.
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