"No pasa nada"... But So Much Has Taken Place!

One phrase that is indicative of the culture of Valencia is ‘No pasa nada’, which means ‘Nothing happened’. This is often combined with the phrase ‘No te preocupes’, which translatesroughly to ‘Don’t worry about it’. These two phrases display the relaxed attitude of Valencians, which is one of the large differences between Spanish culture and American culture. Spaniards preoccupy themselves with improvement, with moving forward, and with enjoying their time at a healthy pace. Immersion in Spanish culture shows a clear contrast to American culture; Minnesotans are deeply concerned with their relation to others, whereas Valencians do not let any one moment take over their entire day. When someone would say something incorrectly in our Spanish language class (pictured first below), the person would often get flustered, but theprofessor would combine both phrases and say, “No pasa nada. No te preocupes.” ‘No pasanada’ could almost be the motto of Valencians – not because nothing happens, but because when something is overly concerning to someone, the people with them often chime in with the phrase. The use of this phrase is important to acknowledge, as well; this reassurance comes from people within the group as well as any other people involved in the interaction that prompted the phrase.The phrase ‘No pasa nada’ can be heard many places: when volunteering at Actiyam, in classes, in restaurants, from people in the streets, in conversations with host families, and even among the other Gustavus students; it was the first Spanish phrase that the group learned together in Spain.

Our group with our great Spanish teacher. We focused both on learning grammar and learning local expressions in Spanish. It was a lot of work, but... it was a stress-free learning process... "no pasa nada"

Learning Spanish in Spain has been a game-changer, especially regarding retention. The brain remembers more of previous teachings – and of current teachings – under the pressure of possibly needing to use the information learned during a conversation. In Spanish classes, if things get difficult, students can ask each other for help with words using English (although this is not recommended by professors). However, this is not helpful when conversing with a person who does not understand the English words. Strategies from those Spanish classes for talking around words or asking for help in Spanish, rather than reverting to English, become necessary. If those strategies were not properly practiced in the American setting, they become much more difficult in a Spanish setting, such as the language exchange (pictured second below). Americans tend to try to rush to guess the word first, whereas Spaniards will prompt people onward only occasionally. This difference allows for a more organic connection between words and descriptions, which also becomes cemented in the mind because of how awkward the silences can feel during the search for a word. Additionally, if sentences do not make sense, Spaniards are patient in explaining how it did not make sense and in prompting correct phrasing.

Learning local expressions and the local idiosincracias was enhanced through our weekly conversation exchange with Valencians in a local "bar". Very "no pasa nada" attitude to wrap up our week.

The host families make a world of difference in assisting with the adaptation to life in Spain. Without an introduction to casual conversation, many things would have been much more difficult. Many common phrases, such as ‘No pasa nada’, ‘no te preocupes’, and ‘vale’ wouldhave been more difficult to learn if they were not repeated time and time again by various members of the host family. The host family had wonderful recommendations for the city, and even more useful suggestions regarding the language and slang. The host family adds an entire dimension to studying abroad. The entire trip was made worthwhile just to see how they interact with each other and to learn from them. If the only option was to stay with a host family while exploring the city without guides or classes, it would still have been an extraordinary experience.