I remember listening to the speakers at orientation and them saying, "This is going to be an experience of a lifetime, studying abroad is the greatest thing possible, this experience will change you, you are so lucky that you get to do this!" and I was thinking that I just want to get my language requirement out of the way in a place where I can legally buy alcohol. I had never been outside the country before, and I was excited to take a "vacation", but I was not expecting to be changed by the experience. Now, I am one of the speakers who is going to say that "this experience will be the experience of your life, you will become a better person" because these last six weeks have truly been the greatest of my life.
I think that my biggest take away from this experience will be my new perspective on "space". Growing up in America, I am use to large streets, large backyards, large cars, etc. In Spain, everything is smaller, and for the first couple weeks I really missed having open spaces. I felt very "claustrophobic" walking through the city. After six weeks, I have gotten use to the size of things here, but when I do return to America I am definitely going to appreciate the size of everything more, because you really don't need a lot of space to live. Also, another big take away for me is going to be the culture, in general, from Spain. It is very cliche, but I do think I will have a part of "Spain" in me for the rest of my life. For six weeks I have tried to live the life of a Spaniard, and I hope to be able to incorporate siestas, tappas, and the love of futbol back in my American life.
For those students taking Spanish 230 in Granada next year, here is my advice for you.
DO: take advantage of every weekend here. Unforatenly, there is a lot of work during the week and the attendance policy doesn't allow students to travel during the week. CEA provides a few weekend trips, but that leaves about 4 weekends for you to travel- I suggest you travel at least three of those weekends and save at least one weekend for going to discotecas in Granada! I went to Madrid one weekend and Morocco another weekend, along with the CEA weekends at Sevilla and Cordoba. I am very glad I did this, and I only regret not trying to plan one more vacation because the six weeks really go by fast!
DO: Hang out with the people in your class before you come here! I only knew one person coming into the program, and therefore the first couple weeks were still dedicated to learning about the other people in my class. I now have friends for life from this class, but if I had known them better before the program we may have been able to organize more trips together and planned things in advance.
DO: Try to hang out with Spaniards! I think some of my favorite memories will be from hanging out with Carlos, the host brother of Barrett. I did not have any host siblings, but hanging out with Carlos and his friends was really fun because that is a great way to learn about the "actual" culture of kids our age. Also, this allows you to practice conversational strategies with people your age, and forces you out of your "comfort" zone.
DO: Order lots of cubalibres!
DON'T: forget about your homework! The workload is real, and now as I am writing this blog I am regretting not studying for the final exam sooner. I do think this class is easier here in Spain than it would be in Ann Arbor because you are forced to use Spanish everyday, but that does no make the class a piece of cake!
DON'T: go to the same places every day! I think we had a few tappa places that we went to a lot more than we should have, and we weren't able to experience all of the places in Granada. It is good to have a favorite spot to meet which is close to lots of peoples houses, but then I suggest you just go on adventures with no place in mind and just try new tappa places.
DON'T: don't bring two suitcases! You won't need that many clothes, and I remember my abuela was very flustered when she saw me with many bags when I met her. I think it is very guiri to bring lots of things here, and you should pack light.
DON'T: be a guiri all the time! That being said, I was probably the biggest guiri in the class, but I still made sure there were times where I left all my American in my apartment and left trying to be a Spaniard.
I am extremely grateful for this experience, and I am sure when I get home my friends will notice something different about me. I have made many friends here, and I am extremely grateful for them also because without them and Carla this experience would not have been as influential as it was to me. We may never all be in Granada again, but Granada will always be with us!
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