Category Archives: Study abroad

Learning about Myself and the Spanish Major through SPAN 394PI

While reading through this blog, searching for ideas to write my post on, I came across a post that I felt really applied to me, titled “How the Spanish Major Has Prepared Me for the Future.” I wholeheartedly agree with the statement in the title of this post, and wanted to share my own story with my major and why I am passionate about Spanish.

I have always loved learning about Spanish. I took my first Spanish class in sixth grade, and I was always eager to learn more. In high school, my Spanish and Film classes were always my favorite, needless to say that I am currently double majoring in Spanish and Film Studies here at UMass. Even though my passion for Film Studies only started around my junior year of high school, my career aspirations have always included some form of Spanish component. From wanting to work in a government role using Spanish and now leaning towards international documentary filmmaking, Spanish is a large part of my career goals.

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Becoming More Confident Using Spanish

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My time in Barcelona was one of the most informative experiences of my life. I knew from the time that I learned about what studying abroad was, that I wanted to do it at some point in my college career. Upon deciding where I wanted to spend my semester, I did lots of research about the different location options and discovered that Barcelona was a tri-lingual city. It appealed to me that I would be able to speak Spanish, while learning Catalan, and would be able to use English if necessary.

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Injured abroad

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What is a parent’s biggest fear when sending their child off to school or on a trip? Most would say having the kid getting hurt or sick and being too far away to help. Well my parents had to live through that.

They were having a casual Thursday night watching Game of Thrones on the couch when suddenly my mom’s phone started ringing. When she picked it up she was greeted by me sobbing so hard I was barely able to speak. I kept repeating “I hurt my knee” and “I can’t walk”. Of course, they went into a panic. I was 3,600 miles away from them and claimed to be seriously injured. A parent’s worst nightmare.

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Fit, fun, and abroad.

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Ever since my first trip to Spain in 2017 with my high school exchange program, I knew I would do whatever it took to be able to return. Four years later as I began to pack my bags for my semester abroad, I was filled with anxiety. There were many factors contributing to that feeling. I was nervous about being in a new place, my Spanish not being strong enough, making friends, and being thousands of miles away from my home. But at the forefront of my mind, was how/if I was going to be able to maintain my health and fitness.

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A Summer Abroad in Salamanca 2022

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Ever since I was a little kid, I had always wanted to travel around the world. In high school, I had the opportunity to go on a trip during spring break to Costa Rica. I was extremely excited and thought that this was something I could not pass up. As my first time abroad in a Spanish-speaking country was wrapping up, I knew I wanted more. I had indeed gotten the travel bug, and I knew for sure that my next stop abroad would be Spain.

Fast forward to Summer 2022, and my dream was finally coming true. during the Spring semester I attended an information session for the UMass Salamanca Summer Program and knew that this was the program for me. Originally when I was searching for an abroad program to do for my Spanish major, I wanted to do a program that was not too long, and if I ended up enjoying it, I would potentially do another program for a longer duration, like a semester long program. Since the Salamanca program is only 1 month, it was an ideal choice for me and what I wanted at the time.

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Why study a foreign language?

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Many people are confused when I tell them that I chose to study Spanish as my primary major at UMass. The majority of my peers question what successful careers I could possibly qualify for through a degree in a foreign language. The answer? In comparison to some of the experiences I have heard about from my friends in other majors, the bonds that a foreign language concentration allows you to make in both academic and personal realms of life are limitless and bounding. Throughout my time studying Spanish at UMass, I have accumulated several high-demand certifications, resume-building life experiences, strong academic and personal relationships, and have been fortunate enough to travel the world.

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A Month Abroad Amidst a Pandemic

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Going into UMass as a freshman, I saw myself taking a semester abroad at some point; hopefully in Central or South America. I saw myself doing a lot of things actually… then Covid. My Sophomore year was remote, and the summer before going back to campus as a junior was when I finally had the chance to study abroad. I chose to go to Salamanca because the program was brief and I wouldn’t miss an entire semester at UMass. This would be my first time traveling since the lockdown began.

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Why I Went Abroad in the Summer

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The covid pandemic hit during the end of my freshman year where we were quickly rushed home. The following two semesters of my sophomore year were completely virtual, causing me to lose a full school year of being on campus. Studying abroad was always a dream of mine since high school, I love to travel and under normal circumstances I would’ve loved to have done a full semester abroad with my original plan being in Granada, Spain. The fall of my junior year was the first semester I was on campus since two years ago. I was creating so many new friendships and I was finally able to experience Umass. I was having such a fun semester that I decided to search for programs in the summer rather than the spring semester where I stumbled across the Study in Portugal Network.

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Semana Santa in Jaén, Spain

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My “spring break” abroad started in a BlaBlaCar with my Andaluz roommate and two strangers seated in front of us. I remember their conversation being simple such as asking where they were from and what they were doing for work/school. After some time went by, the man in the passenger seat turned around and asked me why I was so quiet. My roommate immediately shouted that I am “estadounidense” and the expression on the men’s faces was one I will never forget. Throughout the rest of the ride from Madrid, my roommate and I played cards over the rear center console. At this moment, I had a feeling my roommate was regretting bringing me because I learned that the translation for “ace” is “as.” I couldn’t stop laughing.

Our first stop on our Semana Santa getaway was Jaén, Spain. I was obsessed with this small city and all of the locals thought I was “graciosa” for my admiration.

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Making the Decision to go Abroad for an Academic Year

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It’s possible! I never met anybody who had gone away for two consecutive semesters, but it was the best decision I have ever made. Leaving my UMass identity for my entire junior year was intimidating and I even had friends and family tell me that it wasn’t a good idea. They told me that I would be missing out on the Amherst nightlife, lose my friends, and go broke. None of that was true.

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