MY STUDY ABROAD

WHERE:

I did my study abroad in Granada, a beautiful city in the south of Spain. It is home to many amazing attractions such as La Alhambra (an ancient Muslim/Christian Palace), La Capilla Real (the Royal Palace), Albayzín (an ancient Arab district), gypsy caves, and a rich mixture of Spanish and Arab cultures. I studied at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas (Center for Modern Languages) at the University of Granada.

WHEN:

My program lasted for five weeks; I moved in with my host family on May 28, 2015 and left Spain on July 2, 2015. Since this program took place in the middle of summer, the weather in Spain was consistently hot but I had the opportunity to celebrate two major Spanish holidays including La Noche de San Juan (St. John's Eve) and El Festival de Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi Festival).

WHY:

I chose to study abroad in Granada for a multitude of reasons, the most important being that I wanted to take the opportunity to enhance my skills with the Spanish language. I plan to use Spanish in my future career and immersing myself in a Spanish speaking home as well as an intensive set of classes taught in Spanish felt like the perfect fit. I also wanted the chance to experience a culture outside of my own and broaden my understanding of the world around me.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS:

During my time in Spain, I lived with an older woman named Puri with one roommate from SUU. We lived in a small apartment, or "piso" as it is referred to in Spanish, located about a 30 minute walk from the school but only about a 15 minute walk from the center of the city.

I took four intensive courses at the university which included Geography of Spain, Spanish Business, Islamic History and Culture, and Differences in the Language Throughout the World. These classes would all be considered upper division and had a fairly high difficulty level as they were taught entirely in Spanish and all homework and tests were to be completed in Spanish as well.

I had the opportunity to go on many excursions to other parts of Spain including Sevilla, Nerja, Almuñécar, Córdoba, Málaga, and we even took a trip to Morrocco, Africa! It was incredible to learn about the history of Spain and see so many famous attractions. My experience in Morrocco was one that I will especially never forget. Experiencing the culture of a developing third world country with such a rich religious culture was truly life changing.