Study Abroad? For sure!

Prior to taking this Fall Spanish 394 course, I honestly was never interested in studying abroad.  Although I am currently only a Spanish major, I transferred to  UMass Amherst with the intention of adding a STEM major and potentially dropping Spanish all together. With the addition of a STEM major, studying abroad was not really going to be an option for me because I would have already completed my lower level courses and transferring upper level courses would be impossible.  After learning that there was a study abroad program in the summer I became more interested in keeping Spanish as a major due to the fact that completing the major finally seemed feasible, but I wasn’t quite ready to make the commitment. Taking this SP394 course and hearing many stories about how people went abroad and learned so much from their experiences allowed me to stop viewing my Spanish courses as requirements on a to-do list and more as an opportunity to experience new, life-changing things , while being able to be immersed in a totally different culture than the ones I have been previously exposed. I decided that regardless of what happens regarding which STEM major I end up in that I will at least complete a minor in Spanish and in order to do so I’ve decided to participate in the Salamanca program this summer. My fall semester was pretty hectic so I haven’t really started my study abroad process besides making sure that I knew where my passport was (which is pretty important) and making sure that I will have enough money to pay for my trip, but as I continue with my the process I will make sure to keep in mind everything that I have read from the blog posts of my peers.