During my first two years of college, I didn't really have academic direction. I switched majors quite a few times and then at the end of my freshmen year randomly I decided to look into study abroad. At first, my choices were between Sweden, Ghana, Africa and Spain. People always ask me why I chose to go to Spain, and I honestly never have a straight answer to give. I decided on Spain on a hunch. All I know is that I wanted to learn about a different culture, and I just knew studying abroad was something I had to do, and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
As for the Spanish language, I always had problems with being forced to learn another language in a classroom, ever since high school. To go to Spain, we were required to take four semesters of Spanish. Soon after I met with the study abroad adviser I enrolled in a Spanish summer class to get a start.
Right when I arrived to Spain, although scary at first, I realized I love traveling and being abroad, outside of my comfort zone. Learning how to deal with culture shock on my own really helped me develop as a person. I love absorbing everything around me and being able to travel to neighboring countries, to me it was cheaper than driving a car to a neighboring state.
I felt that I really began to pick up Spanish during my last semester in Spain.While abroad I tried learning Spanish in every way I could. If I wasn't out with friends or in school, I would rent Spanish movies, taking note of words I didn't know. I would also go on "intercambios" which were language exchanges. I met many Spanish people who were as eager to learn English as I was to learn Spanish, therefore we would meet up and practice with each other. I am proud of myself for going above and beyond in trying to learn Spanish, because I felt like I was at level zero in the language when I began my journey in Spain.
When I got back from Spain I was still an HCOM major, but I realized I still wanted to take courses in Spanish. Over that summer I visited the Spanish department to see if I would fit in the program, and they welcomed me with open arms. I was very happy to change my major to Spanish and all of the professors I had were great.
What I would like to do with my Spanish BA is eventually go back to a Spanish speaking country and perfect my language skills. I would like to learn even more languages if I go abroad again, and to come back with an even more well rounded cultural background. In the future I would like to get into translation and interpretation as a profession.
As for the Spanish language, I always had problems with being forced to learn another language in a classroom, ever since high school. To go to Spain, we were required to take four semesters of Spanish. Soon after I met with the study abroad adviser I enrolled in a Spanish summer class to get a start.
Right when I arrived to Spain, although scary at first, I realized I love traveling and being abroad, outside of my comfort zone. Learning how to deal with culture shock on my own really helped me develop as a person. I love absorbing everything around me and being able to travel to neighboring countries, to me it was cheaper than driving a car to a neighboring state.
I felt that I really began to pick up Spanish during my last semester in Spain.While abroad I tried learning Spanish in every way I could. If I wasn't out with friends or in school, I would rent Spanish movies, taking note of words I didn't know. I would also go on "intercambios" which were language exchanges. I met many Spanish people who were as eager to learn English as I was to learn Spanish, therefore we would meet up and practice with each other. I am proud of myself for going above and beyond in trying to learn Spanish, because I felt like I was at level zero in the language when I began my journey in Spain.
When I got back from Spain I was still an HCOM major, but I realized I still wanted to take courses in Spanish. Over that summer I visited the Spanish department to see if I would fit in the program, and they welcomed me with open arms. I was very happy to change my major to Spanish and all of the professors I had were great.
What I would like to do with my Spanish BA is eventually go back to a Spanish speaking country and perfect my language skills. I would like to learn even more languages if I go abroad again, and to come back with an even more well rounded cultural background. In the future I would like to get into translation and interpretation as a profession.