¡Viajando la vida es más rica!
Welcome to Thoughts from Sevilla, a blog I'll be writing during my semester long study abroad program in Sevilla, Spain. Although I assume most of the people reading this are my friends and family, I'll give a little introduction for those that are new to the party.
My name is Elisa, and I'm a junior at the University of Wisconsin Madison, although I'm originally from Denver, Colorado. I study environmental studies and sociology, which basically means that I'm interested in how people form communities, what problems face those communities, and then how the environment and sustainability tie into it all. Like many students at my university, I'm study abroad this coming semester through CIEE and UW Madison. I'll be living with a host family and taking classes related to history, cultural relations, and service learning all in Spanish.
I'm no stranger to living internationally; after graduating high school I spent a year living in Ecuador through AFS Intercultural Programs (You can check out my blog from Ecuador here). My interest in exploring cultures unfamiliar to me didn't start with living in Ecuador, I'm lucky to come from a family and schools that encouraged me to look further than my own experiences, but it was certainly solidified there. The title of this post is a phrase that is written on the bathroom wall in my favorite cafe in the city in Ecuador where I lived. It translates to "Life is richer when you travel." To me this means that when you travel, especially when it is culturally immersive travel, you gain insight into the complexities of other people and cultures. You learn about different food and dress, about systems of education and transportation, but most importantly you learn about different values and perspectives. That's the kind of understanding I gained while in Ecuador, and it's the kind of learning I'm striving for in Sevilla.
I'm trying to reflect on my own goals for the program. Improving my Spanish, especially in an academic context, is one, as is exploring the city that'll be my home for four months. I want to push myself to step outside of my comfort zone more often than I did in Ecuador, which means not being afraid to do things on my own, and to create meaningful relationships with the Spaniards I meet. I want to spend time reflecting on the things that I notice about Spanish culture, specifically those cultural traits that aren't immediately apparent.
It feels surreal to be leaving in less than 24 hours. My bags are (mostly) packed, I've crossed just about everything off my to-do-before-you-leave list, I've reassured both myself and my friends that four and a half months is not that long, and at this point getting to my flight is the next big hurdle. I'll post again once I've arrived in Spain and settled in a bit, probably at some ungodly hour of the morning because of jetlag.
Hasta luego,
Elisa
My name is Elisa, and I'm a junior at the University of Wisconsin Madison, although I'm originally from Denver, Colorado. I study environmental studies and sociology, which basically means that I'm interested in how people form communities, what problems face those communities, and then how the environment and sustainability tie into it all. Like many students at my university, I'm study abroad this coming semester through CIEE and UW Madison. I'll be living with a host family and taking classes related to history, cultural relations, and service learning all in Spanish.
I'm no stranger to living internationally; after graduating high school I spent a year living in Ecuador through AFS Intercultural Programs (You can check out my blog from Ecuador here). My interest in exploring cultures unfamiliar to me didn't start with living in Ecuador, I'm lucky to come from a family and schools that encouraged me to look further than my own experiences, but it was certainly solidified there. The title of this post is a phrase that is written on the bathroom wall in my favorite cafe in the city in Ecuador where I lived. It translates to "Life is richer when you travel." To me this means that when you travel, especially when it is culturally immersive travel, you gain insight into the complexities of other people and cultures. You learn about different food and dress, about systems of education and transportation, but most importantly you learn about different values and perspectives. That's the kind of understanding I gained while in Ecuador, and it's the kind of learning I'm striving for in Sevilla.
I'm trying to reflect on my own goals for the program. Improving my Spanish, especially in an academic context, is one, as is exploring the city that'll be my home for four months. I want to push myself to step outside of my comfort zone more often than I did in Ecuador, which means not being afraid to do things on my own, and to create meaningful relationships with the Spaniards I meet. I want to spend time reflecting on the things that I notice about Spanish culture, specifically those cultural traits that aren't immediately apparent.
It feels surreal to be leaving in less than 24 hours. My bags are (mostly) packed, I've crossed just about everything off my to-do-before-you-leave list, I've reassured both myself and my friends that four and a half months is not that long, and at this point getting to my flight is the next big hurdle. I'll post again once I've arrived in Spain and settled in a bit, probably at some ungodly hour of the morning because of jetlag.
Hasta luego,
Elisa
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