I've been back in the States for over a month now and so much has changed. I was just talking to Mom about how it feels like I wasn't ever in Spain. I'm so integrated back already, that that was just an experience that has shaped me and I've taken it in stride.
Because I received several scholarships from the university, I've had some requirements to fulfill since I've been back. One of them was to write an article for them to use in promoting the programs. I thought you would all like to read it as a final salute to my wonderful journey. Thank you all for your love and support. You don't know how much each of you mean to me. I love you so!
Studying abroad is something that I have
always known I would do and in my 4 years at Western Michigan University, I
have been fortunate enough to be able to study abroad twice. After my freshman
year at Western I went to China for a few weeks and had an amazing experience. This
pushed me even harder to study somewhere for a longer period of time and really
soak up the culture and experience. Santander seemed the perfect opportunity to
live with a host family, experience the Spanish lifestyle, and travel.
Living with my host family proved to
be one of the most beneficial parts of my study abroad experience. My host mom
has had many host kids, so she knew the right balance of spoiling me and
pushing me to be independent. The first day of school, I had only been in
Santander for about 6 hours before getting up and heading out to find the
school. Before leaving I had these visions of my host mom walking me to school
or taking the bus with me, but that was all wrong. She told me which bus I
should take and that I would be able to see the university when I got there.
When I asked if I would have enough time to get there, she said “I hope so,”
and I left. Of course I got there with the help of a Spanish friend I met on
the way. I think that was her intention all along. The whole time I was there
she challenged me to use my Spanish and work on making it better.
Another great thing about living
with my host family was that I was able to experience the wonderful food in a
real context. It may seem like a small thing, but I truly believe that the food
helped me understand Spanish culture so much better. My host mom cooked so well
and so diversely. There were a few things that she wouldn’t tell me what I was
eating until after I had eaten them. One of those was morcillo which means “pig’s blood.” She cooked rice in pig’s blood
and added sausage. At first I was horrified that anyone would eat an animal’s
blood. It just didn’t seem right, but then she explained it. Not many years
ago, Spain was an extremely poor country and that was the best way to store meat
and then not be wasteful. Food turned out to be a great way to learn about
Spain’s history and culture.
Finally, not only did I live with my
host mom in Spain, she also has a granddaughter that lives with her. This was
one of my favorite parts about my entire time in Spain. Daniela taught me more
than any of my classes or any of my Spanish friends. When I spent time with her
I didn’t worry about being judged or corrected, I just spoke. She and I both
received a grammar lesson at the dinner one night and I don’t think I’ll ever
forget how to use the imperfect past tense! Daniela and I developed a great
relationship by experiencing the world of native and nonnative speakers
together. Her intuitions in Spanish far surpass mine because it’s her native
tongue, but I’ve been speaking the language for longer than she’s been alive so
I was able to teach her new words and fun things to say. We also bonded over
the small amounts of English vocabulary she has learned. It was truly a
beautiful experience.
Traveling with our group throughout
Spain, and learning about the famous areas was another really great aspect. We had
a culture class that taught us the basics of Spanish history and art, but
deeply focused on the places we were going to travel. There was something about
learning about something and seeing pictures, and then going and experiencing
it in real life that made me truly appreciate not only the sights, but also our
classes and teachers.
Overall the experience really
benefited me in many ways. I learned so much about who I am and my potential,
as well as a new culture and a different lifestyle. After all of that, however,
I really did improve my language skills. Our classes were actually pretty low
level classes, which surprised me and frustrated me at first. I had taken
classes for native speakers before going to Spain; I didn’t think that I
deserved to be in grammar classes now. I quickly learned, though, that I did
need to be in those classes. Though my comprehension of spoken Spanish was
excellent after several years of being lectured completely in Spanish, my
written and spoken Spanish still weren’t up to par. It is amazing how much I
still have to learn; the trip to Spain taught me a good lesson in humility. I
think this is the first and foremost reason that study abroad should be
mandatory for all language majors.
Besos y abrazos, todos!
