Category Archives: Study abroad

Studying Abroad in Barcelona

I always knew that I wanted to study abroad because I had a desire to travel but my parents did not. I had heard great things about it from family members and other students who had done it. It would be my first time leaving the country and I’d be doing it alone. The process of choosing a place to go was difficult for me because I had a wedding in the beginning of May, so I had to find a program that ended early enough for me to return and attend it. I knew that I wanted to go to Europe and improve my Spanish, so I wanted to go to Spain. Barcelona had the only program that ended before May so that’s where I ended up. Continue reading →

Working at a health clinic with ISA Cusco, Perú

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I volunteered in a health clinic, Santa Rosa, which targeted poorer populations. Here I aided the community through folding gauze (depicted above), rolling cotton balls, recording patients’ information, and communicating with patients. This experience humbled me in teaching me how to work with such few resources while also meeting each person’s medical and emotional needs. I was able to ask questions, form relationships with doctors and nurses, learn about the Peruvian culture, medical system and medical views, all the while practicing my Spanish speaking skills. This program was perfect on many levels. I recommend living with a host family, here you will learn about culture, eat amazing home cooked meals, and learn about Cusco from true Peruvians. In addition, I only volunteered on weekdays, leaving the weekends free to travel. Cusco is the heart of Peru. There is so much Incan history and incredible landscapes to visit. I have never felt more connected to the environment and myself. Every weekend I was there, I traveled to a new tourist attraction. Overall, this experience was like no other. I was able to submerge myself in the culture, learn so much about Spanish and myself, and strengthen my Spanish speaking both in everyday life and in medical settings. After this experience, I am more confident in my cultural competence, my abilities to help a Latinx patient feel comfortable an understood. Continue reading →

What I wish I knew before applying for abroad: tips, tricks, and advice

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I always knew I wanted to study abroad in college, that was never a question. However, the entire process of applying was a struggle. Finding out what exact city I wanted to be in, and then what specific program, AND THEN all the steps that came in with your applications… it was a nightmare. Let’s just say October was not a fun month when it came to this. I wish I had some advice as to what it would actually be like, but that is why I am here writing this blog, in hopes of making your application process go smoother with less tears. I am coming from my experience as a junior applying to go abroad my second semester, during the spring. Continue reading →

Service-Learning in Cusco, Perú

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When I went abroad to Cusco, Perú, my program offered a service-learning component. The service-learning component acted as a deciding factor for me to go through the program. The program offered several options for service-learning placements including at an alpaca farm, afterschool programs, kindergartens, medical centers, and a human rights organization. They conducted phone interviews the winter before I left with those who signed up for service-learning. During the phone interview, they took note of my level of Spanish fluency. We had a basic conversation, asking where I was from, where I went to school, and what I enjoy doing. This conversation mattered because some positions, like the human rights organization, required higher levels of fluency whereas the alpaca farm did not require these levels of Spanish. They also asked what I was looking for in a position. I told them that when I went abroad, my main goal was to gain Spanish fluency, and I viewed service-learning as an opportunity to speak more Spanish with the local community. I ranked working with children and the human rights organizations as my top two choices. They gave me options on the same call, saying I could do either. They recommended that if my goal was indeed to practice Spanish, working with children would be my best bet. The other position revolved around administrative tasks and Microsoft Excel which would have also been a great opportunity, but I figured I could develop these skills just as easily with an English-speaking position in the United States. I confirmed being placed with children. Continue reading →

Choosing Perú

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When I started touring universities in high school, I had no idea what I was looking for. I had yet to reflect on what I wanted out of my college experience. Even the thought of addressing my future scared me. As a result, I did not know what to look for in colleges. However, the one thing I remained decisive about was that I wanted to study abroad in college. This did not narrow down my decision since most universities I considered had study abroad programs, but I clung to it. In the end, my decision came down to money. The school that offered me the most financial aid turned out to be Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.

At Providence, nearly all study abroad students spend the fall semester of their junior year in Barcelona. I am sure that if I had stayed at Providence, I would have followed this path most travelled. However, I did not stay at Providence. I had to learn what I wanted out of my college experience the hard way, and as soon as I got to Providence I realized I needed a less homogenous campus culture. So after a year there, I transferred to UMass. Continue reading →

Hay más tiempo que vida

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When I think about the idea of “culture shock”, the first thing that comes to mind is an uncomfortable experience related to a difference between my culture and another one. In Luis’ IE class this semester, we read the essay “You Have Left Your Lotus Pods on the Bus”. In that essay, the author told a story about being on a bus in Thailand and there being a person at the back of the bus yelling out instructions to the driver as a “back seat driver” would here in the U.S. The narrator feels tense and worried about the situation, and eventually realizes that this is a customary practice in Thailand, that this person’s job is to shout directions at the driver. The tension of the essay quickly resolves.

The tensions of culture shock are usually resolved in this way—sometimes quickly and other times slowly. Over time, one becomes accustomed to their new environment, and hopefully stops comparing the culture they are visiting to their home culture. But the theme of culture shock that I’m interested in exploring in this blog post is the idea that sometimes by adjusting to a new culture, we learn about our own temperaments. Specifically, I want to explore my experience of time while I was in Costa Rica and think about how my relationship to time has changed since I went to Costa Rica and came back. Continue reading →

A Case for Why Native (and Heritage) Students Should Study Abroad

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I believe this is a question that some natives/heritage speakers hardly think about. Generally, most of us want to study abroad before we even arrive on campus. We’ve either heard great things from family members or friends who have studied abroad, or an advisor somewhere in the world strongly recommended doing so before graduating.

However, many native speakers often come to UMass from other countries, or at least once in their life have the opportunity to visit the country from which their heritage originates. So, is there really a need to study abroad? Continue reading →

Being Asian-American in Spain

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Before studying abroad in Madrid, I’ve always had the feeling of discomfort and fear about how my ethnic background would be perceived in a cross-cultural context. When I decided to study abroad, I spent a significant of time reading through forums and blogs from other Asian-Americans who had studied abroad in Spain to learn about how their experience was. Especially in Madrid, I found out that there was an Asian presence, particular Chinese, due to the increased immigration in the 80s. Amongst my research, I learned that Spaniards called convenient stores el chino and that there was a disconnect between the harmonies of both populations. Ever since I started the Spanish major, I was generally a minority amongst the white and Latino students that dominate the classes, so I had already prepared myself for this reality when I went abroad. Continue reading →

Ask a Question or Two

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I thought that I was incredibly unqualified for writing a blog post because I am a sophomore with no concrete study abroad, internship, or career plans. Nor do I have plans really beyond the next few months. And I realize that statement might induce a heart attack for UMass professors, advisors, and any other faculty members. That is not to say I do not think about the future at all, because I do constantly. I just hate deciding on one life path, and I frequently get antsy and need to change my environment, which leads my life to be semi-unpredictable. Perhaps that is just my excuse for lacking in preparing myself for the future, but it is true. It is also true that I am pretty clueless about what I want to do, where I want to live, and who I want to be in life. But, I am slowly learning it, as well as what I do not want to do, where I do not want to live, and who I do not want to be. Continue reading →