Last week from the steps of the Capitol, our new President told us that the world has changed. Watching that stirring scene from across an ocean, I marveled at how Obama’s campaign slogan had become a self-fulfilling prophesy. One election promise cited frequently by Obama enthusiasts was that this new face of America would improve our reputation abroad, would remove some of the taint of recent years and return us to a position of international esteem. Out here in the world, outside of America’s borders, I wonder whether this shift will be realized, and if so, how large, fast and deep it will turn out to be. In short, will my life change in any noticeable way?

The easy answer is: of course! The world HAS changed. At the very least our political situation has provided some new conversation fodder; no longer will “Bush” be the first word out of people’s mouths when they find out where I’m from. So many times I’ve explained that I didn’t vote for the man, I don’t support his decisions – especially when it comes to foreign policy — and, honestly, I don’t want to talk about it. Years ago, one guy insisted. “No, but I LIKE George Bush!” he emphasized, with a sly smile, looking around to make sure that people were listening, smugly waiting to unleash the cleverness that no doubt lay in the corollary to this obviously ludicrous statement. I think I walked away before he had a chance to finish. I didn’t want to talk about it!

So maybe the first thing that changed was me. Returning from summer in the U.S., I sported an Obama pin and a news-obsessed mind; suddenly it’s all I wanted to talk about. Everybody else did too. People on the street, in bars, in my English classes were all itching to discuss this apparent political phenomenon. I got high fives all over the place. “Obama!” people would shout at me and not even knowing whether they just liked saying the name or were showing support or were just surprised to see a person actually believing in a politician I would smile and say that word back at them. “Si. Obama.” The shift wasn’t external — these are the same people who wanted to talk about Bush – but an internal opening toward the discussion of American politics. Because for once I had something to be proud of.

But the truth is, most Spaniards were Obama supporters, even if most didn’t know why. A friend told me that he loved Obama, though he didn’t understand a word the man said. This is a country where assimilation doesn’t exist and people of color can’t even get a job that requires a tie, where black people are referred to as Africans (more on this topic to come) and where partisan politics and distrust of government are stronger than in America, yet Obamarama somehow caught on. Maybe people understood this on the simplest of terms: Bush old, Obama new, and who doesn’t like a change every once in a while? But make no mistake, the U.S. is suddenly something that it hasn’t been in a while: cool.

Witness election night: 1000 people in a posh art space partying until 6am. On a Tuesday. Now, Spanish people need no excuse to party – even on a school night – but the excitement and joy, were palpable. The next days I received text messages and calls of congratulations from seemingly everybody. That was new. When is the last time you congratulated a foreigner on the results of their country’s election? I have to admit, never has being an American felt so good abroad.

When Obama received the Democratic nomination, a Spanish student of mine said (I paraphrase) “There are many times that the U.S. does things to make the world hate them. But once in a while they do something that reminds us of why they are a great country.” This immediate bump of goodwill has been apparent, but will there be a tangible benefit? Will it last? Will we prove to be worthy of it? For now, we still wait and see. But in the meantime, it feels good to be one of the popular kids again.