Last summer I made the decision to study abroad in Seville, Spain for two months to practice my Spanish and get credit for my minor. This decision came after having to postpone my plans to go in the spring because of COVID, and, although I was incredibly nervous, I was ready to go for it. I had never traveled abroad before, and I thought this would be a great first-time experience being in a program with other students in a place where I kind of knew the language. And I was right. Being in Spain for two months was one of the best choices I have made in a while, and it was the thing my soul needed after being caught in a never-ending spiral of the same thing happening every day due to being stuck inside throughout the pandemic. All this to say, it was an experience I will never forget.
The lead-up was nerve-wracking. I was scared to leave home, worried about my bags getting lost (they did), stressed that I didn’t know Spanish well enough, and about a million other things. CU and the program I studied abroad through, CIEE, gave me plenty of forms and liability contracts to fill out that really amped up my nerves and made me think about things like what would happen if I got really hurt, or sick, or so homesick that I had to leave the program and come home. While it’s helpful (and necessary) to prepare for the inevitable, it still scared me. But, as soon as I knew it I was saying goodbye to my family and was on my way to the airport. I cried, of course, and it wasn’t until I got on the plane and was leaving Colorado that I settled into reality. I was going to Spain.
I had a layover in Portugal that connected me to a few other students in my program which made me feel more excited and less alone. We all landed in Spain together and my bags were gone. Here I was in a place where almost nobody spoke my language, jetlagged from flying for over 14 hours, and my bags were missing. I managed to find my way to the luggage desk, and luckily someone spoke English who could help me out. After that was all settled, a few of my program’s on-site staff (who were all the sweetest humans) met me, calmed me down, and got me a cab to take me to my homestay. I found my new home for the summer, met my lovely host mom and sister, and tried to get settled in with the very few belongings I had.
From then on, it was relatively smooth sailing. It did take almost a week to get all my luggage back, so I had to make a few shopping trips for clothes, but once I had all my things I finally felt (mostly) at home. One of the hardest challenges at first was navigating how to communicate with my host family who only spoke Spanish. Luckily, I came in with some Spanish classes under my belt, but classroom Spanish and real-world Spanish are completely different. It was difficult but became something I was grateful for in the end because I was able to practice speaking the language every day, and the most practice I got was with my host family. If you’re planning to study abroad or already have it in your future, I would definitely take the opportunity to do a homestay! It’s scary at first moving into someone else’s home and adopting their customs, but this was the main way I practiced my Spanish and I learned so much about the culture just through watching and living with them. You also get home-cooked meals and traditional food, like croquetas and paella, which was a huge plus.
Now, even though I was in Spain and I felt like I was on vacation, I did still have classes. I took two classes over the two months I was there, which were held Monday through Friday from 9 am to 12 pm. These classes were based around studying the culture, and, honestly, it didn’t really feel like class. We did have homework and exams, but what was interesting was we would often take field trips during class to walk around the city and learn about the history of Seville. We were outside of the classroom so often, and it made the learning experience not feel as stressful as a normal college class. I felt like I left with so much knowledge of the city and its history because of these classes.
One of my other worries was the friend situation. I didn’t know who else was going on the program, and I was stressed that I wouldn’t connect with anyone and would be lonely. As soon as I met the other students I would be studying with, that worry went away. CIEE was so great about organizing plenty of activities and weekend trips so I could meet people as well as see amazing, new things. I was lucky and had a small program, so it was easy to meet everyone and build bonds with them, and by the end of the first week, we were sitting out at cafés together or cheering on the España fútbol team at a local bar. Our group did everything together and I made lifelong friends that I would never have met had I not gone abroad. I was so worried I wouldn’t connect with anyone, but the beautiful thing is that you’re all going through such a bold and unique experience together that you all just relate on that level and bond so quickly. We shared horror stories of our travel plans getting ruined on the way there and funny stories from our host families. I still keep in touch with the friends I met abroad and hope to have a reunion sometime in the future.
Navigating Seville was difficult, and I don’t even think I got it down perfectly after the two months I was there. I definitely relied on my GPS the first few weeks because Seville is filled with tons of small streets and shops, it felt like a maze. You also walk everywhere. And I mean everywhere; I was racking up miles a day. But even if I was hopelessly lost after going out to the bars one night with friends, I got to walk through streets lined with beautiful, historic buildings and I had plenty to look at. I never got tired of looking at the city and sights around me the whole time I was there. It truly makes you realize how much more of the world there is outside of the U.S.
While CIEE put together some planned weekend trips for us, like day trips to the beach or going to a nearby town for a wine tasting, we also took plenty of weekend trips on our own, which is how I made some of my most memorable memories. We went to beaches nearby and stayed for the weekend in hostels, took a train to Gránada, Spain to see the Alhambra, flew to Mallorca (an island off the coast of Spain) to stay in an Airbnb by the beach and go kayaking off the coast, went to Barcelona for a day before my flight home, and I even took my own solo trip to Córdoba, Spain. I had never traveled to so many places in such a short amount of time, and it was incredible how easy it was in Europe. Flights were cheap (partly because of COVID) and both the train and bus stations were a walk away from my homestay. I think in the whole two months I was there I spent one weekend in Seville. The rest I was out and about seeing the world.
I also came home with a love for Spanish culture, and have tried my best to bring pieces of it into my own life here. They value time with their family, as well as time for themselves. In the U.S. it’s easy to feel lazy or guilty if we’re not being productive, but over in Seville they literally will shut down their businesses for a few hours every day for the reason of it being too hot outside. And after having a big lunch with your family it’s normal to settle down for a siesta (a nap) to rest before going back to work. They value rest which is so important for our mental and physical health, and I have been trying my best to make time for myself each day and find those times to rest because it made me so much happier while I was there. I wanted to bring that mindset home with me.
While all of the experiences I had were special and I hold them close to my heart, I learned a lot about myself and what I’m capable of too. I came back to the U.S. with not only so many stories to share but a newfound sense of confidence and independence. It’s a huge step to go all the way across the ocean to stay with people you’ve never met and who don’t speak your language. You don’t have your family a car or plane ride away, and you’re in a new culture in a completely new city; You feel like a tiny fish in a huge ocean. But, after the adjustment period of being in a foreign world, you blossom into a beautiful version of yourself. Learning how to navigate the city barely knowing the language, making new friends, trying new foods, and even just ordering my meals in Spanish at a local restaurant showed me what I was capable of. And that I am a smart human being who can do a lot more than I once thought I could. If someone had told me I would take a solo trip while I was there I would have thought they were crazy, and now after doing it, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
If you’re thinking about studying abroad, I highly recommend going. All of the nerves I was having leading up to my trip went away once I got there and I left feeling like a new person. I got home a little over two months ago and I’m still riding off the good vibes of being there. I won’t lie, there were times when I was homesick and ready to go home, but you move through those emotions and they offer plenty of support through your on-site program and CU. You also have your friends there to lift you up because you’re all going through it together. After going to Spain I truly think that anyone who has the resources and ability to travel abroad in school or at some other point in life should go. I learned so much about myself and what I want to value in my life, and it really was a life-changing, unforgettable experience.