As soon as people find out I studied abroad, they immediately ask “How was is?”, “What was it like?” “Did you love it?”, expecting a quick and simple response.

I’ve come to dread these questions, hating the fact that I’m expected to sum up my entire 10 months abroad of innumerable experiences, both positive and negative, full of every emotion under the sun, into a few words or a few sentences. Maybe some people are able to do this successfully; I, however, am not.

I have been back in the U.S. for over 5 months now, and I am still unable to summarize my abroad experience. I actually avoid talking about it. Although I give the typical answer of “Amazing!” or “Incredible!”, a more accurate description would involve the words challenging, rewarding, difficult, and eye-opening. I still am in the process of reflecting on my study abroad experience, on what I’ve learned, and on how I changed. It was a year of incredible growth and countless learning opportunities, pushing me out of my comfort zone to take risks and encouraging me to open my mind to see the world through a different lens.

I’m hoping that someday I’ll be able to summarize it well in an efficient way. Since I am not there yet, I am going to share some of what I learned abroad by introducing you to a few of the people I met in Spain who impacted me greatly and what I learned from each of them.

Rocío, my host mom

My host mom was a special person. I’ve never met anyone like her, and I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone like her again. Heads turned everywhere she went, not just for her physical beauty but for the way she carried herself, her self-confidence. She was opinionated and had a different philosophy on life than anyone I’ve ever met. It was very different than my own, as were many of her opinions and ideas, but I respected her very much. Her outgoingness and openness gave me ample opportunities to engage in conversation, and she taught me so much about life in Spain, politics, history, etc. She made me feel like part of the family, and not only at home. She brought me with her to pick up the kids from school, to birthday parties, to meet friends at a bar, to dinner parties and country clubs… everything! It was an invaluable experience to have the type of cultural immersion she gave me. During Semana Santa and Feria, she brought me with her to the various festivities, parties, casetas, etc., all the while teaching me about the various traditions. She played a huge role in my life in Seville.

Carolina, my host sister

Carolina was possibly the greatest blessing of my study abroad experience. My 10-year-old host sister was the first person I felt completely at ease talking to with my terrible Spanish. Her patience with me and willingness to repeat herself and define words for me was invaluable to my learning of Spanish. She was truly like a little sister to me. We spent several hours every day together, baking, doing arts and crafts, braiding hair, walking the dog around the city, helping her with homework, etc. I’ve always loved spending time with kids and I am so grateful that I got placed in a host family with children. I’m grateful for her outgoing, playful personality and her love and friendship as a sister.

Lucía, Alberto, and María

These three children hold a very special place in my heart. Their parents hired me to play with their kids in English, wanting them to learn that language is something useful and fun and doesn’t only mean sitting in a classroom doing worksheets and taking tests. I always looked forward to Thursday nights which were full of games, competitions, and pretend play with Lucía, Alberto, and María. They taught me many board games, beat me repeatedly at foosball, and begged me to perform songs on the guitar for them. These three siblings were some of the most genuinely kind children I’ve ever met, and they quickly stole my heart.

Laoma

A crazy series of coincidences led to me living 30 seconds away from Laoma and her family. Laoma was a friend of a friend of my dad, who was from the U.S. but was living in Seville for a year with her husband and their two children. It was a blessing to have them in my life that year. Although we had never met, they immediately felt like family. I watched her two young children go from not speaking any Spanish to being fluent. I was so jealous! By the end of the year, they spoke better Spanish than I did! Laoma and I took a dance class together to learn the Sevillanas for Feria. When my parents visited me over Thanksgiving break, Laoma and family hosted Thanksgiving dinner, and it was incredibly special to see my two families meet. She was someone I connected to and felt at home with and her children were absolutely precious. I was grateful to have a “home away from home” in Seville. I hold my memories with them close to my heart.

Me

I learned so much about myself during my year in Seville. In some ways life in Spain was easier, simpler, and less stressful than my life in the US, but it was accompanied by many challenges and periods of difficulty. But that is how we learn and grow. To never be challenged would be a boring and meaningless life. I know I’ve described only positive aspects of my experience abroad but I hope you don’t think there weren’t any negatives. I faced challenges every day from struggling with communication to dealing with unpleasant situations to battling homesickness and everything in between. I’m grateful for everything and everyone in Seville who made me smile and made my days enjoyable, but I’m even more grateful for the people and situations that pushed me to grow, that challenged me to overcome obstacles I’d never confronted before, that made me feel angry, upset, heartbroken or confused, because without those challenges, I would not be where I am today nor would I be the person I am today. All aspects of my study abroad experiences, good and bad, have shaped me as a person and have influenced not only where I am in life now, but also where I hope to go and where I will go. I am grateful for my crazy, challenging, incredible, rewarding, exciting, relaxing, difficult, emotional, indescribable year in Seville…I only wish I could better describe to you all that it was and all that it meant to me.