Category Archives: Pre-Departure

How to Know What Country to Pick

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Picking what country I would spend about 6 months in was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make. Why? Because of course you never know if you will have another opportunity to go to this country or spend that much time there. One thing I will advise you to do is make a list of goals first, then make a list of places where you think you can achieve these goals best. You have to realize what do you want to take out of this experience. For one if it’s to actually learn the language ensure yourself that you will be somewhere that many people don’t choose for study abroad. The reason being that you will be with many other students who potentially speak English. If that does occur odds are that you will be speaking more English, you may not challenge yourself as much to go out and find locals and make these great connections with new people. Remember that making these connections is key. That’s how you learn about the culture, feel what it’s like to be a local and essential learn things about yourself that you have never known before. Personally, I would do study abroad alone and somewhere not many people I know have chosen to go. That’s exactly what I did. I chose Florianopolis, Brazil. It was honestly one of the best decisions of my life and the happiest life-changing experience ever. Continue reading →

About the Study Abroad Visa Process

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Why Study Abroad?

As a Biochemistry and Spanish dual degree-er, studying abroad was presented to me as an option during my sophomore year when I declared my secondary major/degree. Originally as a biochemistry major, studying abroad was not an option for me as I knew I would not be able to transfer any credits. However, pursing a degree in Spanish opened up more opportunities for me and I knew that studying abroad would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me. After deciding to study abroad, I selected the USAC Madrid program as it offered language classes on top of a service learning and internship component. I decided this sophomore year spring semester and began the process fall semester of my junior year, with the intent of studying abroad in the spring. Continue reading →

Expectation vs. Reality: Managing My Expectations While Abroad

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STUDY ABROAD EXPECTATIONS MAY INCLUDE: becoming fluent in the national language by the time you get back home, only speaking said language, becoming best friends with everyone on the trip, going out almost every night, constant traveling to other countries, unlimited experiences…

STUDYING ABROAD MAY ACTUALLY INCLUDE: being frustrated with how little you can communicate with your host family, always feeling like you aren’t improving your language skills, feeling lonely and knowing absolutely nobody, waking up tired due to lack of sleep, ATM fees and declined debit cards, loud neighbors and uncomfortable situations… Continue reading →

My experience as a Spanish major and future plans

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I chose to major in Spanish because I want to be an elementary school teacher, but to get into the master’s program for elementary education, you have to major in something else first. I was already minoring in Spanish and I’ve always enjoyed my Spanish classes, so I decided to turn it into my major. I was originally an accounting major, but quickly realized that I didn’t enjoy it and I couldn’t see myself doing it as a career. This past summer I worked at a summer camp to prevent summer learning loss and loved it. This led to my decision that I wanted to work with kids and become a teacher. Currently, I am not sure what I expect to do with my Spanish degree. I will be studying abroad in Spain next semester and possibly traveling in the future or working in Spain, so a Spanish degree will be useful. Continue reading →

Following your dreams and avoiding anxiety

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Since I was a little girl I have always loved to travel, the excitement of a new place and new culture always excited me. I have always had a connection with my culture and passion for the language of Portuguese.  I realized this at a very young age. Till this day I remember looking at my dad while we were watching Brazilian novellas and telling him that with or without him I was going to end up in Brazil at some point in my life. Even though I didn’t speak it well, I always tried. It is honestly an unexplainable feeling because I didn’t know why I was so interested, but simply being able to communicate with other people in a different language and create a bond, made me feel as if I was a part of another group. For example, the point of realization for me was when I went to the director of the Portuguese department Luis Amaral, to speak about taking another Portuguese class since the class I was in was too easy. After the conversation with him, I felt relieved and excited to see where this would take me. The following semester I took two Portuguese classes, a morphology course and junior year writing course in Portuguese, where we learned more about the culture. Never in my life did I enjoy a class as much as I did these, not only did I have an interest, but I was more invested and motivated to do my work. I was also able to relate what I was learning back to my own culture and present a project on the similarities and differences. It was simply fascinating to me to realize how similar they are. Continue reading →

Study Abroad and Conquering Fears

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This past spring was my first semester at UMass. I transferred from Greenfield Community College, having previously transferred from Longy School of Music in Cambridge. This semester was my first as an official Spanish major. I have been reflecting throughout the semester on what I want to do next. This is one of the reasons that I am so excited to spend this coming semester abroad in Spain. Obviously I want to increase my fluency, but I could do that in any Spanish-speaking country. But one of the main reasons I want to go to Spain, is because in the future, I am considering moving there permanently. Continue reading →

Advice Every Student Studying Abroad Should Hear

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Studying abroad in Spain has been a dream of mine for many years now. I have always envisioned myself studying abroad, however, I was not quite sure what the process of getting there would entail.  Now that I am a Spanish major here at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I have chosen to study abroad next semester in Madrid. Choosing a city, completing the applications, and meeting deadlines was a very overwhelming and stressful time period for me this past semester. I would like to share my process with anyone who is considering studying abroad, in hopes that my advice may help to ease and simplify their process.

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Mi Intercambio, Paula

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Before heading to Alicante, Spain for a semester, I had been advised by a few classmates and friends that I needed to sign up for un intercambio, or a language partner, while abroad. They all told me that it was the best way to meet locals, especially when going abroad with many other Americans through a third party study abroad program. When my advisors in Alicante announced that we should go to their office to sign up for un intercambio, I went straight to them and put my name on the list. I requested a young woman my age. Shortly thereafter, I was assigned Paula. Continue reading →

Mi casa es tu casa

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There’s no place like home. Nothing can compare to finally opening my front door, taking off my shoes and knowing I can just relax now that I’m home.  Home is where I am most comfortable; I can wear whatever I want (an XXL Patriots sweat shirt and Nike Shorts preferably), eat whatever is in the fridge, and do whatever I want.   I’ll admit it, I love my alone time.  I need time to myself to just decompress and relax without having to talk to anyone.

Who cares if have Chinese left overs for breakfast and spend a day watching Netflix? That’s the most beautiful thing about being home – no one cares.

When I was in Argentina I made the bold decision to live with a host family.  It was a daunting thought not knowing what I would be arriving to once in Buenos Aires since I had relatively no information about my host family.  Until a week before my departure I had no idea who my host family even was or even in what neighborhood I would be in. Continue reading →