My integrative experience involved studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain, where I took three Spanish classes at the University of Salamanca. When I think back to my time here, it doesn’t seem real. It seems like a dream, like I lived another life. It seems like I was placed into another world with a completely different culture, but somehow it became normal to me, until I was routinely living as though this was home to me. I miss the commotion at night in the Plaza Mayor, the home cooked meals by my host mother, and the way the sun glistens on the buildings of gold. There was so much beauty all around me, I hope others will take the opportunity to experience this as well.

I traveled here without knowing anybody and without a high level of Spanish, but I found it wasn’t hard to find great friends and to engage in conversations. The workers such as the cashiers and the waiters weren’t particularly patient or friendly, but the families, other international students, and teachers were understanding and a great help. One of the best parts was gathering with my host family for meals, talking about our lives, and learning about the differences. It was a fun challenge to describe American concepts in Spanish.

I was placed into a Spanish language class that was perfect for me- I was able to have meaningful interactions with the teachers and the other students. The other students were also English speakers, but the teacher didn’t know English at all. This class structure was useful for me, although people with a higher level of Spanish would probably benefit more from classes with native students. The culture class was great as well because it gave us an opportunity to discuss the new things that we were experiencing in our day to day lives there, and learn about the unfamiliarities we had with the culture. Overall, navigating through this journey was made easy by the teachers, the TAs, my host family, my new friends, and especially the API program.

For future students considering this trip, I would advise you to go for it! I had never traveled so far before or for so long, naturally I was nervous. However, I knew I wanted to improve my Spanish, so I took a chance. This was one of the best decisions I ever made! It’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in a community where the language is all around you. I hope to visit the city again some day.