It’s not adiós; it’s hasta luego
Before the week is over, I will have to hand in a Dialogue reflection paper, one that comprises a significant portion of my grade. Prior to this journey, I probably would have shut myself in my room for the night, escaping only for a 20-minute dining hall break. I would have stressed endlessly about this assignment; the amount of work left before me would weigh heavily on my mind during other activities. But now, I head to a nearby café and eat some gelato. I call my parents. I sit down with my traveling companion and plan to see Michelangelo’s David.
Later, I will write the paper. But right now, I am living, and this is the difference between my pre- and post-Dialogue selves. For me, the Sevillan way of life has snapped everything back into perspective. Whether or not they felt the effects of the country’s widespread unemployment and governmental corruption, every Spaniard I met seemed to radiate happiness. Sevillanos know better than to zoom so far out on the picture of life that the beautiful details are lost. It is the little things in life that are reliable; the big things are constantly in flux. So if you want to be truly ageless and have memories worth looking back on, you need to compartmentalize: Work hard when you are at work, but also learn how to relax and have fun like it’s your job. There will always be things to stress about, and you cannot let them run your life.
I am happy to report that my Dialogue has certainly helped my worldview to become less skewed. Culturally, there may be many differences between Americans and Spaniards, but most of these – mealtimes, styles of dance, and food, for example – are superficial. I walked away from Spain convinced of the universality of human goodness. No matter where you go, there will be a friendly stranger to give you directions, a woman willing to offer her restaurant recommendations, a chatty cabbie with whom to shoot the breeze. Above all other things, I think this commune with strangers – people who are so seemingly different, but so essentially similar – has been my favorite experience.
As a result of these shifts in perspective, my professional and academic goals have also changed. Before, I wanted to take advantage of my next summer off to see a different part of the world, just for the sake of seeing it. However, my experience living in a Spanish-speaking country has been absolutely exhilarating. Whether discussing Spanish politics, life stories, or travel advice, nothing compares to the thrill I get from successfully communicating with someone in my second language. As I reach new heights of proficiency, I feel the rush of so many new doors, so many new people, opening before me. Thus, I think I want my next excursion to be to another Spanish-speaking country – perhaps in South America, but perhaps in Spain once more. I want to focus all my energy on this one goal of striving for and maintaining fluency. This desire goes beyond the professional sphere; it’s a lifelong objective.
As for the things I’ve learned about myself? I have been incredibly surprised by my own resilience. There’s something intoxicating about throwing yourself headlong into an intimidating situation and navigating your own way out. As you stumble through each respective predicament, you will find that you are also steering yourself out of the fog of self-doubt.
Of course I was scared to put myself out of my element like this. For someone who has never been out of the country and has not taken Spanish in nearly two years, a five-week Dialogue to a Spanish-speaking country felt incredibly risky. But truly, the only way to overcome fears like these is to just do it. Apply. If I can do it, so can you. You will walk away with more confidence than you’ve ever had before in your inventiveness and adaptability, and this is the single greatest benefit of studying abroad. The night the cab dropped me off on the wrong street, the time I had to buy medicine from a Spanish pharmacy, the day I vouched for a vegetarian classmate in a restaurant – these are just some of the occasions when I’ve relied heavily on my own common sense and Spanish-speaking abilities. In many of these situations, I’ve had to keep a level head and use my resourcefulness to improvise a solution. I will return to my life in Boston and start my first co-op with a newfound sense of poise.
My advice to you, the potential study abroad student? Go; just go – and when you go, leave not a single stone unturned. It’s the best travel advice I have ever received, and I fully intend to follow it when I return to Spain or travel to South America to finish my journey to Spanish fluency. If you want to talk to people, muster the courage. If you want to explore something, take the time. If you want to do something, do it, regardless of the financial impact. You will not be thinking about the cost once you leave with all these priceless memories.
Que tengas un buen viaje.
