Crazy. It is crazy that these six weeks have flown by. I remember the plane ride over here I was thinking six weeks is a long time to be away from home. But at the same time I knew that in the moment it might not feel like it , but those 6 weeks are going to fly. And now here I am, in the final week, wondering where did the time go.
I think at this point people have one of two realizations. One is that they realize how much they miss their own home and that they don't think there capable of being away from home any longer. They realize it’s a great experience but they can't see themselves doing this often during their life. Then there's the other realization. You still miss your family and friends but you don't have this feeling of you need to go back. You realize you can live a life away from you're home and you're content and happy. It's a nice feeling to go home, but yet you would be happy to stay. This is the realization I have ending this trip.
I love traveling. I love it. I don't like touristy traveling, I love exotic unknown territory type of traveling. In comparison to most people I have traveled a good deal. I have gone to both developed and developing countries. My love for seeing new things sparked my interest in the career I want to go into.I've done a decent amount of volunteer work in other countries, but never for that long (usually for about a week). Through my experiences and my interests I've always known j wanted to be a doctor, but through other experiences I realized I wanted to work in developing and underdeveloped countries. So my dream has always been to do something like or similar to doctors without borders. However you never really know if that's what you want to do until you do it. Like I said other programs I have done have been for only a week. But in reality if that's you're career you're going to have to be gone for a lot longer. Granada has been the longest time I've been away from home. I'm so grateful to have come here because it gave me the opportunity to realize I could be away from home for a long period of time without completely committing myself to something super important. I was able to discover part of my limits and know more about what I want to be able to accomplish in the future. I'm not only more sure I want to be apart of helping poorer areas medically now but I also have a passion to keep learning Spanish. Not only do I love the language but I feel that my future career would really benefit by knowing it because many of the counties speak it. I know now that I can leave home in the future, and be ok.
Now specifically in this program I learned a lot about Spanish and general life. One thing I can say is that I've met people here, that I'm happy to say, I can see years of friendship here. I could have not asked for a better group of people to go on this trip with. Each person on this trip was unique and brought something new to the group. I love everything about this group and our professor. I hope our memories here made a positive impact on everyone involved.
Another thing I loved about this program I not only learned Spanish, I feel like I learned so much about the world. I've learned so much about Spain and its history that I can't believe I've never heard. Not only that but in class we've even learned the struggles in South American countries and culture that I have never known.
To future students (From my experiences)-
DO's:
try everything. Even if you don't want to. Everything is a bit different here, and you never know if you're going to like it. You're only studying abroad in Spain once (for most people). Don't regret not trying something when you get back.
Pack light. I honestly over packed. Don't think you'll need a lot because your don't. If your forget something there are stores everywhere in Granda. It's better to pack light, but while packing pack more formally!
Teach your family how to cook something American. I baked cookies and made pancakes and it was one of the most fun things I've done here. I loved seeing how much they enjoyed them and gave them the recipe.
DON’T
Procrastinate you're homework. In my opinion this will make this experience less fun because at times you will be super stressed and not be able to do well if you get behind.
Wear flip flops. In my opinion I think wearing flip flops attracts s lot of attention that you are not from Spain. Flip flops is a a big no here in public and sweatpants as well.
Speak as much English. I think you gain a lot more from this experience when you spend more time with your Spanish family and try speaking more Spanish and try to completely immerse yourself in the culture.
All in all this was an unforgettable experience and I'm truly blessed to have had this opportunity.
Hasta Luego Espana
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