Reflections and Advice for Studying Abroad

I was nervous about so many things before studying abroad. Will I make friends? Will my host family be creepy or weird? Will I be robbed? Am I packing enough clothes? Will the Spaniards make fun of my accent?

I wish so badly that someone told me to stop worrying about the future because you have no idea what is going to happen. Just focus on the excitement of a new experience.

I spent so much time worrying and in the end, the worst thing that happened was something I was not even worried about. This experience taught me to try to be in the moment as much as I can be. It also taught me that the future is not guaranteed, so, make the most of every moment.

As for the worrying and nervousness, I felt before going abroad, to anyone feeling this, whatever is going to happen will be okay and it will be part of the experience. Make the best of whatever is thrown your way.

Living with a host family was one of my favorite parts of studying abroad. I learned so much about Andalucian culture and I do not feel I would have learned as much if it were not for them. In addition, coming home continuing to use Spanish helped my speaking skills drastically and also expanded my vocabulary. I truly feel like I have a home in Spain that I can go back to in Granada.

Addressing some of my other fears, the clothes in Spain are way cooler than in America. I wish I had packed less clothes from America. I felt that I wanted to dress like a Spaniard and bought clothes in Boston that I thought Spaniards would be wearing, when in reality, I should have just waited and shopped when I was there.

I made great friends while I was abroad with whom I explored the city and practiced my Spanish. I still missed my UMass friends, but was able to meet many university students and travelers from all over the world.

My friend who got robbed had her phone in the pocket of her backpack in a Zara. I always carried a purse and had it across my chest with my phone and wallet in it. There are ways to avoid being robbed and having your phone out in the open is something to be avoided.

I am so thankful that I decided to study abroad during my sophomore year and am grateful for the amazing memories I made in Spain. I encourage all students to study abroad, more than once if you can. There is such a big world out there and not everything can be learned in Amherst. I highly recommend Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas to anyone with a desire to learn Spanish. All of the staff were so helpful and friendly. The class sizes were very small which allowed me to practice speaking more than I would at UMass. I still day dream about Granada all the time and am thankful for the pictures and memories.