No pasa nada.....

       Spain is great. I'l start off with that. The people are welcoming and adventurous and Murcia is a small city full of opportunities. The mentality here is different and refreshing as well; as is evident by every shop closing for four hours in the middle of the day for 'siesta' time. Initially I thought, "This is awesome, a country that openly and earnestly promotes the idea of taking afternoon naps everyday", what could be the downside of that? Oh naiveté you've won again. Although the laid back and carefree siesta lifestyle seems like a utopian idea, when it's 2:30 and all you have is two euros in your pocket and desperately need to withdraw money from the bank, you're SOL my friend. This defines the spanish mentality I am from here on out dubbing the, 'No pasa nada complex'.

     To better understand the, 'No pasa nada complex', we have to first define it. No pasa nada, translates to more or less, 'It doesn't matter' but retains a blase connotation; usually combined with the casual wave of the hand- as if to shoo away any disconcerting thing someone says. 

     Try to tell someone you're having problems registering for classes? "No pasa nada!"

     Tell someone you can't go out tonight because you have an 8am class and an exam? "No pasa                     nada!"

     Lost your arm to a rabid bear after a trip to the zoo gone wrong? "...No pasa nada!"

    This was especially frustrating when I was experiencing the most traumatic and difficult registration process of my academic career. The laid-back approach to life is grand when your talking about afternoon naps and always having time for a caña, but not when it comes to things that really need to get done on time; like registering for classes. My university was extremely unhelpful in providing me with information on how to register, how to make an appointment and basically every step from start to finish. No matter how many times I e-mailed my advisor or the register's office, no one responded for three days and with less than vague answers. I took a step back and tried to look at the situation with a little perspective and had my eureka moment. The way they do things in Spain is very different than it is back in the states. My money has yet to be dispersed after more than two months and I didn't register for classes until a month into the semester. Time constraints and deadlines just don't seem to be as important over here and you can't expect things to be the same. Even if it means bordering on a full on panic attack; hair falling out and breathing becomes difficult, just remember... 

No pasa nada ;)