Pre-Departure

I am leaving for Seville in less than a week and I can’t believe it came around so quickly. Honestly, I am feeling very nervous about the whole trip. I’m worrying about every little thing possible. Will my roommate like me? Will we even get along? Will I make friends with the other students in the group? Will I feel comfortable living with my host family? Will the schoolwork be hard? What if I get homesick? So many what-ifs are going through my mind but I promise you that it doesn’t stop me from being excited.
I love traveling and getting a taste of life in other countries and cultures so I knew I wanted to study abroad at some point in my four years at Northeastern. I think the Dialogue of Civilizations program provides an amazing opportunity to travel for a long enough time where you can really immerse yourself in a certain culture, without having to spend a whole semester overseas. I chose the Spanish Language and Culture Dialogue specifically because I want to speak Spanish fluently. I have taken Spanish classes since first grade but never had the chance to practice speaking it. Since this dialogue allows us to stay with host families, it provides even further opportunities for us to practice. One of my goals for this dialogue is to improve my Spanish skills to the point where I can carry out a conversation with minimal pauses and a decent accent.
Another one of my goals is to really get to know Spanish history as well as current events. I never took a history class that focused on Spain so I know next to nothing about it except for that it’s hot and a lot of people speak Spanish. I’m excited to educate myself more on the ins and outs of Spain and its culture.
My final goal, of course, is to get to know my fellow travelers. I am so looking forward to hearing other people’s experiences and forming friendships with them. I don’t know anyone going on this dialogue so I’m hoping the mutual sense of adventure and struggling through conversations in Spanish will bring us together.
I’m hoping that this dialogue will make me more open minded when it comes to other cultures. I also expect I will have a better sense of empathy for those who come to the United States and don’t speak English. Learning a language is hard but trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you is even harder.