Staying in a new country for a long period of time can be a daunting experience for anybody. In my case, I was more excited than nervous when I first arrived. After about a week, however, I started to feel a little homesick, but I found that being as adventurous as I possibly could and seeking out other people was the best way to make myself more comfortable. 

For example, when I first arrived, one of my professors told our class about an “intercambio” option at our university. This is an arrangement where she would put us in touch with a Spanish student from our university so that we could practice our Spanish and these native students could practice their English. I ended up being paired with an adult student who had gone back to school after working for a little while. She took me under her wing and became like a second mom to me while I was there. She was an English major, and when I told her I was from Massachusetts, she was so excited to talk to me about native american and colonial literature. She showed me around the city and gave me information about all of the holidays and festivals that took place in Sevilla while I shared what living near Boston was like. 

One of the biggest differences to which I had a hard time adjusting while I was in Spain was my living environment. I was living in a “residencia,” so my host parents didn’t live in our apartment, but they came over everyday to cook lunch and dinner for us, clean our rooms, and do our laundry. During meal times, they never ate with us; they would cook by themselves, set the food down for all 16 of us, and clean up by themselves. I offered to help them clean several times, but they always turned me down. I had a hard time adjusting to this type of environment because I felt like a constant inconvenience to them. They were always doing so much for us, and I felt like I wasn’t doing anything in return. Even the people in my program that stayed in a dorm had a cleaning service that came to their room every two weeks. Obviously, this is not true in the United States. I wouldn’t even expect my own parents to cook and clean up after me. Having other Americans in my apartment that were feeling the same way made this adjustment a little easier. We all knew that we felt the same way, and although there was little that they would let us help with, knowing that there were other people there who were experiencing and feeling the same things that I was made me feel better. 

These little details can make all the difference in a new country. They may seem like obvious and insignificant pieces of information, but for me, they were elements that helped me to create a home away from home.