The End

The greatest change I have seen in myself after this experience is self-confidence. Sometimes it takes a situation of necessity to bring out your best qualities, and this was definitely the truth for me. At home when I’m with friends it’s true that I am fairly confident and don’t mind being the one to call and make dinner reservations, but living in Pamplona forced me out of my comfort zone and into a new cultural community. I had to gain the courage to ask a shopkeeper about more sizes or to make a change in my order at a restaurant, and I had to trust in my Spanish skills and my personal skills to help me do so. The discovery that I had even more self-confidence inside of me that I had imagined surprised me because I had always thought I was pretty high on that personality-trait scale. However when I have to speak in public at home or talk to someone new, it usually is in English and in a somewhat familiar setting. Living and experiencing a new place allowed me to expand my conversational and personal skills as an adult and as a bilingual speaker as well.
Professionally my goals have not changed after this journey, but academically I hope to focus more on my Spanish skills and hone them to be more efficient in the future. I work with many Spanish-speaking women and I plan to use them as a resource in the future to practice my skills and maintain the level of speaking I gained while in Pamplona.
Prior to studying abroad I was apprehensive about my Spanish skills as I did not have the opportunity to take a Spanish course in 2 semesters and had not been speaking it regularly. However, I found that once I got to Spain and continued to hear the language over and over again, my receptive understanding soared and my expressive abilities followed suit. Everyone is going to have fears before going abroad but it is important to remember that as students of a university and especially at NU, we are all well equipped to tackle the world’s challenges and embrace new lifestyles.
Personally I enjoyed very much experiencing a new country and a new region’s specific way of life. I was able to adapt to the later meal times and the more relaxed pace of the day, and adjusting back to American life will definitely be interesting. I had always considered myself an open-minded and accepting person, but I definitely had a bias for the “American way” and my own personal preferences. After this experience I have gained a more open understanding that just because something is my preference or the way I learned it, does not mean it is the “best” for everyone, but just the best for me. I think it is unfair to compare different cultures with each other because each country and community has been formed so differently to create its own little world. The regional pride seen in Spain can be attributed to many separate and strong kingdoms being united under one flag, and the deep patriotism for the red white and blue in American can be attributed to our country being formed “from scratch” from coast to coast. Studying abroad truly did change my perspective on the world and has only encouraged me to experience new countries and cultures to increase my world knowledge and view.
A huge benefit to studying abroad would be having an entire world trip planned for you with excursions and accommodations, with your only job being to soak up some new knowledge and make the most of your free time. Many students choose to go “backpacking through Europe” or go on large trips when they graduate, but studying abroad truly gives you a new perspective that simply vacationing somewhere doesn’t. You learn to live and be a part of a new community as well as receive the most unique and widespread opportunities afforded to you by the university.
One of my favorite experiences was my first day shopping and walking around Pamplona. My roommate and I decided to explore the city and we didn’t have a particular destination in mind, we just kept on walking and walking down whichever street looked most interesting. Granted, Pamplona is a very safe city and we knew there were no especially dangerous parts, so we were able to do this kind of wandering. We ended up finding a beautiful cathedral and a view at the end of an alleyway that I will never forget. It was nice to not have a specific end goal in our journey other than the journey itself, which I think is applicable to travel in general.
To future study abroad goers, I would say that very fear that you have is shared by others in the group and can usually be assuaged by them as well. Try to experience something new everyday and treat each day as “day 1” of your adventure. If I could study abroad again would try to go to a country to place that is remote and I do not have the likelihood of visiting by myself, probably in Asia or Africa. After living in Spain I realized how badly I would like to return and how feasible it would be for me to do so, but other regions in the world might not be so accessible. Seeing a unique location through a study abroad program is ideal for a anyone who wants to explore new places and get the most out of their young years as a university a student.
And that’s a wrap! Thank you to everyone reading and to NU for giving me a platform to share my experience.