Study Abroad

This past fall semester (fall of 2023), I was blessed to be able to experience a semester abroad in Seville, Spain with a study abroad company called CEA. During this time, I was able to immerse myself in the culture and improve upon my Spanish speaking skills. I made connections in the workplace and learned about how business works in a Spanish speaking country. I also formed invaluable friendships with people from all over the world. Not only did my Spanish improve, but my awareness and appreciation of Spanish culture, and the cultures of other countries, did as well. I am excited to share my experiences, what I have learned during my time abroad, and how I can take these experiences with me into my professional and personal life.

 

During my semester abroad, I was able to experience life as a local. With juggling four classes and an internship, I kept pretty busy during the week and was able to be involved in the hustle and bustle of it all. My day-to-day was packed full of classes, homework, my internship, and applying to jobs back home. In my free time, I participated in activities held by my apartment complex where I was able to meet new friends from all over the world, traveled to different countries with my friends, and spoke with locals in Spanish to practice my Spanish speaking skills. Additionally, I was able to connect with a local baptist church and got the chance to attend church services in Spanish. The four months I spent in Spain forced me to get out of my comfort zone, surround myself with a culture that was very unfamiliar to me, and immerse myself in the Spanish language and culture. This allowed me to learn, grow, and experience life in a whole new way. 

 

Before going to Spain, my main goal was to become a better Spanish speaker and learn more about the culture of Spain. Not long into my time abroad, I realized that I was learning not only about Spanish culture, but the culture of other countries as well. On a daily basis, I was surrounded by kids my age from all over Europe. My apartment complex was full of students from different countries and I was able to meet people from all over at my church. Additionally, during my internship, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know all different kinds of people from all over the world. This was crucial in my learning as I was able to get a glimpse of their cultures and see our similarities and differences. During my time abroad, my learning goals changed from not only learning the Spanish language and culture, but learning about the cultures of different countries as well. 

 

One of the most profound and challenging cultural differences I noticed during my time abroad was the negative stereotypes established about Americans. Very quickly, I picked up on the fact that most Spainiards, and Europeans for that matter, view Americans as stupid and lazy. Time and time again, I would overhear someone making fun of me for being American and dealt with many people treating me as an outcast simply because I was from the United States. I even met friends from different European countries who flat out told me that they believed Americans were less than competent and didn’t have much work ethic. At first, this was truly disheartening and made me feel left out. However, over time and as I strengthened my relationships with those around me, I was able to adjust and prove to them that this stereotype was not true of all Americans. By spending time with my new friends, coworkers, and the local people, I was able to overcome this cultural challenge by proving them wrong and realized that not everyone felt this way about Americans. 

 

Another cultural challenge was communication. Most people in Spain are a lot more blunt and to the point when communicating. At first, I had a hard time with this as it came across to me as people being rude. I was not used to such direct communication as people in the United States tend to beat around the bush and even sugarcoat things to sound as kind and polite as possible. While this direct way of communicating may seem like a negative, it is actually a much more efficient way to communicate and I learned to love and appreciate it. This was especially helpful in the workplace and I was able to see the benefits of this type of communication during my internship. I didn’t have to guess what my boss was thinking or wonder if I was doing a good job at work. He did not hesitate to let me know if I needed to change or improve anything and also made sure I knew when I was doing a good job. From observation and experience, I was able to see the benefit of communicating this way and have since implemented it into my personal and professional life. Now, I am much more open and honest and have learned to tell people how it is without beating around the bush. This is a lesson I will forever be grateful for. 

 

My time in Spain had such a positive impact on my academic experience. By taking advanced Spanish language and culture classes, I was able to expand upon my knowledge of the culture and got the opportunity to improve my speaking skills as well. My learning in the classroom was crucial in my growth as a Spanish speaker, but it was the learning that happened outside of the classroom that helped me the most. For many of my classes, we participated in what was called “Active Learning Activities” where we explored the city and got the chance to speak to locals. Not only did this allow me to dive deeper into the culture of the city, but I was able to work on my conversational skills with the people around me. I can honestly say that my classes abroad helped me develop my language skills and gave me valuable global insight that I will take with me in all my future endeavors.