Finding Differences

In Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, three men find themselves in a land full only females. Such a large difference leads them to look for and learn about as much as possible, involving the comparisons and contrasts between their home country of America and their new surroundings of Herland. The complete lack of males is the most obvious contrast that provides the protagonists with the most confusing problems. The men are so accustomed to their life and culture in America, where at the time women were very much inferior to men, that they find themselves loathing the land while also envying the culture within it. The men struggle to understand that women could create and maintain a society all on their own, and do so incredibly well. The search for flaws and though they cannot find any, they do find themselves frustrated with certain customs and actions they are forced to follow or agree to.
As I am writing this blog I am in Madrid, Spain. I am on an exchange trip that I imagined to be a relaxing and unbelievably fun vacation. I knew that I would have to think and experience the spanish culture and language but now that I´m here I have been confronted with so much more. The culture shock was enormous for me as well as everyone, and not only being in a different country during the day but living with a family that finds everything new for you to be normal can really mess with your head. I can relate to the men in Herland so easily because the Spanish lifestyle, even for someone my exact age, is so very different and in a lot of ways different negatively. For the majority of this trip I have been extremely homesick, just as the men in the book would start to feel when they had to deal with things that were very new. I have enjoyed the trips with my classmates and experiencing the cities greatest treasures more than anything, but the home life and the way of communicating with poeple my age here has been rough. Having to adopt a family you do not know and cannot understand most of the time as your own, as well as on your own is very difficult. Therefore, while reading Herland during freetime her and brainstorming blog ideas this was the best I could think of. I actually feel as if I am one of the men landing in a foreign place that does almsot nothing the same. I know that when I leave Spain I will have an abundance of memories and will never regret my decision to come here, but I will be so glad to be home.