I am studying abroad in Seville, Spain, with CIEE in the Liberal Arts program. It’s been one month since I’ve been here and that feels really weird to say! It’s weird how time moves so fast and I feel like I have no time left (even though I have two months to go). I think I can say I have fully adjusted to life here in Seville. Studying abroad is something I’ve always wanted to do. I chose Spain because of its beautiful architecture, great weather and the depth of its history and culture. However, the language was a main attraction. I’m a native Spanish speaker but over the years I’ve lost some of my native language and I wanted to be somewhere where I could speak it constantly.

Getting here

Full disclosure: This is my first time out of the United States. Some people could probably relate to this and others probably wonder, how could this be? Well, I never really had the opportunity to travel outside of the U.S. mainly because of financial issues, but I was finally able to pursue this goal of mine and I’m so happy that I’m here. But getting here wasn’t easy. Two weeks leading up to my departure, I was uneasy. I didn’t have an appetite because I was so nervous. I had to force myself to eat at times. I was nervous to leave because I never knew what life was like other than what was normal to me. A lot of people hold expectations when they travel due to previous experiences but for me, I had no idea what to expect. How do you prepare for something you don’t know about? This was my inner conflict. So yes, I was scared to leave the U.S. but not because I was scared of what I could find in Sevilla, but scared that I would regret something I’ve wanted to do since I was in high school when I first learned about studying abroad. On top of this, I had only been on a plane once and it was a short trip to Denver for a summer program after graduating high school. I didn’t know how to navigate airports, find and book flights, or know when to check in, etc. All the other travel and airport lingo was so confusing to me and overwhelming and I was nervous about making sure I didn’t miss any of my flights to get to Sevilla, worried about what I would do if I lost my baggage, or if I had to leave something behind due to customs enforcement. Thankfully, none of this happened. I depended a lot on my best friend, who travels a good amount of the time. Every chance I could, I would text her asking her for advice: “Okay, just landed, what now?” or “Are there places to sleep at the airport?” or “what time should I go through TSA?” Looking back at these conversations are funny because you could tell how worried I was but I’m happy I was able to depend on her for situations that were so frantic and chaotic to me.

So, what’s life like?

Well, life’s really good. I am living in a homestay with a family of three: a mom and her two daughters who are older than me but we are close in age. One of them studies at a university in Valencia, another city in Spain, so I haven’t seen her since the first two weeks that I was here. Living with strangers has been an adjustment to say the least. Let me just say that my homestay experience isn’t bad. I enjoy being able to eat food that is authentic and communicate with my family more easily than others. But it’s not always perfect and no homestay will be. So I am taking this as a learning experience. I know for sure that I am an independent person and there are certain things we aren’t allowed to do in the home for ourselves. For example, we aren’t allowed to cook, do our own laundry or keep snacks in our rooms. Situations like this test my boundaries but at the end of the day I can say I’m living comfortably and that’s all that matters. The fact that I know the language helps a lot because it helps me communicate my wants and needs in any situation. I think my Spanish has definitely been getting a lot better. All of my classes here are taught in Spanish. This challenges me to think and speak academically in Spanish, something that I never really learned as a kid. In all, it’s helping me expand my vocabulary, which is something I definitely need.
Overall, I am totally content with where I am at, the places I have seen so far, and all the history of Spain I learned in the first two weeks of being here through my intensive Spanish course. (Yes, it was a lot of information packed in my brain but well worth it). I miss my family, friends and honestly my own culture but I’m happy to be able to experience something that’s once in a lifetime.

Til next time!