In this blog post, we aim to share our unique experiences of studying abroad in the same program, while also being placed in the same living situations. Our goal is to share about how we both ended up choosing the program (API Seville) as well as some of our highlights and advice for others considering many different programs for studying abroad. Although we both chose the same program, our day to day life in Spain looked different from each other, but we also shared a lot of the same experiences!

Carly’s Experience: 

Choosing my study abroad program was not an easy decision, in my experience. I remember spending lots of time during the summer looking through the different programs that were available for me to choose from. As a Spanish major, who can essentially study anywhere in the world that speaks mainly Spanish, there were hundreds of options. The three last choices I had narrowed down to were programs in Alicante, Madrid, and Seville. I tried writing pros and cons lists to each program, taking into consideration location, cost, residential options, etc., but they all had some pros and some cons. So how did I make my final decision to go to Seville? For starters, I liked the fact that this program was the best financial option for me. Since it was cheaper than most of the other programs, it would give me the flexibility and opportunity to spend more time traveling while I was abroad, which was super important to me. Also, the classes that I could take there all seemed interesting and pertained to the Spanish major. While I was there, I took 12 credits total, 3 of which counted solely towards graduation requirements, and the rest fulfilled Spanish requirements. I took a painting course, a teaching course, a history of wine course, and a course on Spanish gastronomy. I had a great experience with all of my classes and would highly recommend this API Seville to any Spanish major who wants to take some interesting courses while abroad. Some of my favorite parts about studying abroad in Seville were:

• Walkable, smaller city
• Lots of practice speaking Spanish with locals
• Warm weather
• I had already been to Seville and had a sense of comfort knowing a little bit about the city I would be living in
• Andalusian culture 

My week was not very busy with school, as I took all of my classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I had only two days per week where I was in classes. I spent the other weekdays exploring Seville and even taking other day trips to nearby cities which were less than two hours away by train. I loved having a flexible schedule while abroad because it allowed me to spend more time exploring the city. The API Seville program did not offer any classes on Fridays which was great for students who are interested in traveling to other countries/cities on the weekends. 

I highly recommend API Seville if you want to feel like you are receiving an authentic experience and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to live in this city with such a rich culture!

Ailish’s Experience:

Before I even went on the study abroad website, I decided that my best course of action would be to set a list of goals for myself to make the research process easier. I determined that the two  most important things that I wanted to be able to accomplish while I was in Spain were: to practice my speaking skills as much as possible and to take classes that were both interesting and challenging. I narrowed down my search to two cities: Granada and Sevilla, mainly because I knew that these areas were less “touristy,” so there wouldn’t be as many people in these cities that spoke English. I knew that if I was offered the chance to speak English on a regular basis, I might have leaned into it a little too much and neglected my opportunities to speak Spanish. I decided that the best way to avoid this would be to eliminate this “safety net” all together. 

Once I looked over the course offerings for each program, I decided that API Sevilla was the best fit for me because they offered a wide range of courses that included history, cooking, teaching, literature, grammar, phonology, speaking, and art. There were so many courses that catered to all different levels/abilities, and I felt comfortable knowing that I would be able to take a mix of classes that fulfilled my upper level requirements, remained manageable, and provided me with new experiences. I ended up taking 4 classes that covered contemporary history, teaching & methodology, literature & cooking, and wine & culture. 

My favorite parts of the semester were getting to experience the festivals and events that happened in Sevilla and the trips that we took. During Holy Week, I saw a number of silent processions in the street. For la Feria de Abril, I watched thousands of people line the streets in flamenco dresses and dance in ‘casetas.’ I was able to travel to different parts of Spain with my program and on my own; I went hiking in Extremadura, stayed with a friend in Barcelona, and visited the Alhambra in Granada. There were many natives from other regions of Spain that would often ask us why we decided to study in Andalucía when their accent was “difficult to understand.”  I wasn’t accustomed to the Andalusian accent before I traveled here, but I am very grateful that I understand it better now. Being in this region made my experience more authentic and fun, and I think being exposed to a new accent was an excellent learning experience. It was a little difficult to understand some words when I first arrived, but by the end of the trip, I had no trouble with it. I was aspirating my ‘s’s by the end of the semester, and my experience with it has proved to be beneficial when talking to people with similar accents here in the U.S. 

Going abroad is all about what you make of it. The best advice that I can give to any student who is trying to decide where to go is to decide what you want to accomplish while you’re there and take advantage of every opportunity that you can, no matter how uncomfortable it may be at first!

As you can see, although we both chose the same program, each of our experiences was personal and unique to us. When choosing a study abroad program, keep in mind that you have complete control over your trip. There may be some programs that appeal to you more than others, but in the end, you design your own experience.