Category Archives: Study abroad

How to get by in Spain

I think a lot of Americans have certain ideas about Spain and Spanish people; that their passionate, flamenco dancing, bull-killing matadors. Or something like that. Surprisingly, Spain is actually a very diverse country, from its rainy northern coast to its sunny, dry Mediterranean beaches. It even has four national languages, not just Spanish. Though I traveled a lot within in the country, I lived in Granada for my year of study abroad. I became aware of a lot of differences between Granada and Western Massachusetts during my time there. I want to share a few tips and observations on the less well-known aspects of the culture of Andalucía (southern Spain). Continue reading →

Why you should study abroad for a year

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Whenever I thought about studying abroad, it had always been the goal to do it for a year. My reasoning was that I wanted to be as fluent as possible in Spanish and to integrate myself as much as I could into a new culture. I think most people decide to just go for a semester of study abroad, which is done for a lot of reasons. First of all, they may only be able to do a semester because they have to fulfill certain requirements at their colleges. Second, people just don’t want to leave their lives at home for too long of a time and that is totally valid. Also, students might have real responsibilities at home that don’t allow them to be gone for a whole academic year.

I think when you are able to go for a year, however, you should do it. Personally I got a much deeper experience of the culture by staying for a year. There were of course difficulties from being there a year. Almost everyone I knew ran out of their savings by the end of the year, even those who thought they were budgeting well. Things happened at home that I missed out on and I was away from most of my family and friends for nine months. But I definitely would stay for a year if I could do it again. 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 →

A Salamanca Adventure

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Since I became a Spanish major I couldn’t wait to study abroad. It was an absolutely terrifying thought to me, a natural homebody, but the thought of traveling to a completely different country was both thrilling and nervewracking at the same time. So, freshman me thought I’d go to some Spanish-speaking country sophomore year. Then, sophomore me thought I would go junior year, and then… it was junior year spring semester. When people tell you that your college years fly by, they are not kidding. So here I am junior year spring semester taking an Integrative Experience course because I wasn’t able to study abroad when the one and only marvelous, Patricia Gubitosi tells our linguistics class about a summer study abroad program to Salamanca. I quickly google Salamanca on a map and see it is practically a desert, surrounded by land, not close to the water at all. Continue reading →

Learning Spanish in Guatemala

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I’ve done a fair amount of traveling since high school, but probably the most life-changing trip for me was the first one I ever did to Guatemala. It definitely wasn’t a country I planned on going to. I had initially wanted to go to Argentina since I was interested in its culture and knew more about it than a country like Guatemala, but in the end it was too expensive and too far away. However, I asked two people that I knew that had gone to Spanish language schools and they both suggested places in Guatemala. One was in Antigua, the most touristy and arguably most beautiful city in Guatemala, and the other was in Quetzaltenango (Xela), the second largest city in the country. I decided on the school in Xela because it looked slightly less touristy than the other one. Otherwise, I didn’t really know anything about them or anything about the country. Continue reading →

Post Study Abroad: My experience living in Granada, Spain

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It is my opinion that every single university student (at the very least) should have the opportunity to study abroad. While learning about a different culture, learning about a new language, a different way of life, is all very admirable in and of itself, what it can teach you about yourself is equally important. An interesting thing to note is that although you will find people representing all the different personalities everywhere, each culture is generally only conducive to a specific few. It is not that one way is superior and another lesser, instead what we should realize is that different people thrive in different environments. Continue reading →

Studying Abroad in this Hemisphere

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As a Spanish Major, I find that the majority of my classmates choose to study abroad in Spain. Spain has a lot to offer in regard to history, culture, food, night life, etc. but I always wonder why more students don’t choose to study abroad in Latin America. There are so many historically and culturally rich cities and countries here in this hemisphere. Also, if you are studying Spanish for your career so that you can communicate with Spanish-speaking people in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them are going to be from countries in Latin America. It will be helpful to know more about the countries and cultures that they come from, and to know how to speak the kind of Spanish they speak. Continue reading →

My Experience Studying Abroad in Madrid

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Having the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid was truly one of the greatest experiences that I will forever cherish. Now that I am back at UMass, finishing my degree in Spanish, I have had so much time to reflect on my experience studying abroad. As I have written in my previous blog post, studying abroad was something that I always envisioned myself taking part in, even prior to coming to UMass and choosing to pursue a degree in Spanish.

It really is hard to believe that my experience studying abroad is simply a memory now. I really mean it when I say that it went by in the blink of an eye. I know that may sound cliché because that is what everyone says. But really, it does. Continue reading →

Trying (and failing) to sum up my study abroad experience

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As soon as people find out I studied abroad, they immediately ask “How was is?”, “What was it like?” “Did you love it?”, expecting a quick and simple response.

I’ve come to dread these questions, hating the fact that I’m expected to sum up my entire 10 months abroad of innumerable experiences, both positive and negative, full of every emotion under the sun, into a few words or a few sentences. Maybe some people are able to do this successfully; I, however, am not.

I have been back in the U.S. for over 5 months now, and I am still unable to summarize my abroad experience. I actually avoid talking about it. Although I give the typical answer of “Amazing!” or “Incredible!”, a more accurate description would involve the words challenging, rewarding, difficult, and eye-opening. I still am in the process of reflecting on my study abroad experience, on what I’ve learned, and on how I changed. It was a year of incredible growth and countless learning opportunities, pushing me out of my comfort zone to take risks and encouraging me to open my mind to see the world through a different lens.

I’m hoping that someday I’ll be able to summarize it well in an efficient way. Since I am not there yet, I am going to share some of what I learned abroad by introducing you to a few of the people I met in Spain who impacted me greatly and what I learned from each of them.

Continue reading →