Truly a win-win!

May 23, 2017

I’ve always had an interest in traveling and exploring new places since I started going on family vacations when I was little. When I went to Spain my senior year I was so in love with the country and knew I wanted to come back for longer next time. The dialogue program allowed me to visit this amazing country, while getting credits for courses that I needed to complete my Spanish minor. Truly a win-win!

I expect my experience abroad to have a lifelong impact on myself and my perspective in general. I hope to gain confidence in myself as a person as I navigate a new country with a group of people I have just met, and try to succeed in classes at the same time. Being abroad will lead me to experience new people and new situations, and I think that will give me a chance to broaden my perspective and open mindedness.

While in Spain, I want to improve my conversational abilities in Spanish so that I can more effectively use the language in my future career and daily life at home. I want to try the local foods and restaurants and interact with the people that live in Pamplona to see what their daily lives are like. These goals are very important to me and I plan on accomplishing them through listening carefully in my language immersion class and forcing myself to really use my Spanish interacting with others (even when I know they speak English!)

I do not have many fears or apprehensions going into this trip other than the possible language barrier. Hopefully my Spanish skills will carry me through my time there and if there is ever an emergency or a time where I really need to get my message across, I know I can rely on my peers and the people around me. I am very comfortable with change and new surroundings, so I am so excited to live in a new place with new people and basically know nothing about what it will look like until I get there.

I am most looking forward to being in a completely new environment that I have never seen before. I love looking at and exploring new places and I think Pamplona will be a beauty to explore!

Written By

Danielle Staelen

I'm so excited to be going to Spain! I went there my senior year of high school and knew I wanted to go back, and now I finally am. I'm hoping my time there helps me improve my Spanish and gain fluency so I can use it in my future career. I've always wanted to study abroad because I think there will never be a better time in my life to get to experience different countries, and doing so through the university helps me get the most out of my travels! I cannot wait to explore the ancient kingdoms of Spain on this dialogue, and visit the castle that the Disney Cinderella Castle is based off of! (This is especially interesting to me since I am a HUGE Disney fan!) This journey is an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to see where my travels take me! On to Spain!