Student Blogs

End of Semester Reflection

January 24th, 2016 akolso17

Hello Everyone

It’s hard to believe: but I am done with my first semester in Spain! Yesterday was August 10, right? Feels like it sometimes. The past few months have been a lot of fun and an absolutely incredible learning experience. I’ve met people from dozens of different countries, visited 10 new countries, and have significantly increased my Spanish skills.

There were difficult moments where I missed my family and my mom’s cooking. At times it was frustrating not being able to express myself well in Spanish. Other moments I longed to be at Holy Cross where many of my friends are having a great junior year. Studying abroad isn’t easy, but it is 100% worth it because the difficult moments forced me to expand my comfort zone and truly rely on myself.

While I can now talk about the Olmeca culture, hold a discussion on “Gilgamesh” and describe the use of cylinder-seals of Ancient Egypt, most of what I have learned this year was outside of the classroom. I am much more comfortable planning trips, traveling to other countries, and ordering food without the slightest idea of what it could be. I’ve learned to adapt to a different university culture and adjusted to a family dynamic distinct from my own.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
Ali

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Leon, Spain, Spanish, Spanish Major, Study Abroad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Ali Olson '17

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