What were some of your biggest takeaways from your international experience?
“Overall, study abroad taught me a lot and has helped frame my future travel adventures, giving me many lessons, insights, and feelings to chase.”
– Brandon Beyler, API Barcelona Fall 2022
- First, I found that traveling with friends is the best way to go as opposed to traveling solo. Traveling solo can be fun for smaller trips when I needed a tranquil break, but overall, for me, traveling with friends makes it much more enjoyable and worthwhile for a variety of reasons. In general, having friends makes it more fun because you are with the people you get along with, be yourself with and those that you can share all the experiences you encounter with. Also, I found that traveling with friends is always safer because you have people to look out for you and help you if something happens and groups are generally less vulnerable than solo individuals. I found that I encountered more opportunities with friends, and also have more abilities because we were pooling people’s resources, knowledge, and connections. Lastly, being in a group I found that we were more spontaneous and can engage in more adventures and, in the end, make more memories!
- I learned that it is important to engage myself in the coursework and classes, because there is great information and new understandings there, not the mention the flat-out fun I had in these courses. I learned how important an international respective in academics is. My colleagues and I only having been taught in the US, for the most part, only get the US perspective and it was very refreshing and informative to hear how other countries felt about the US, to hear about the problems that other countries, like Spain, have that we may not be aware of and how their ideas of things like marriage, globalization, capitalism, welfare and the internet are different than ours. Also, I thought professor-student interactions were much very enjoyable and casual during my causes in Spain and created for a fun and engaging atmosphere.
- I learned that to stay safe while abroad I just have to not be stupid and also be aware of my surroundings. In my experience, I found that the only time when I was a risk of having something stolen from me was when I was stupid or not aware for whatever reason. So, my takeaway is to always be smart and to not do things that I think could put me in a bad or vulnerable situation and be aware of what going on around me.
- I learned that people are very nice everywhere and that being a white English-speaking American does not really carry any stigma while other countries, although people often tell you it does. I found that if I just put in effort to be respectful generally and respect their language and culture I was not treated differently.
- I also learned that it is important to manage my money while abroad. Most importantly in this, I realized I need to better financially plan for my weekend and day trips because the train/plane, hotel, and food can add up and it put me in a tight situation later on during my time abroad, so I takeaway that I need to plan better specifical for my out of city trips.
What advice would you pass along to other interested students considering studying abroad?
- Foremost, study abroad is a great opportunity to try new things and meet new people, so I would tell people to take initiative, try new things and go with the flow, because there is always something happening in the flow.
- I would suggest making friends early on because it gives you a base friend group that you can do things with. In study abroad you will naturally meet lots of people at the beginning of the semester through your program so make an effort to hang out with them and find the people you like, because this will give you opportunities to explore a lot of new things around the city with them and have a solid group from the rest of the semester, and for life!
- Make the most of your time because it flies by. It is important to do everything you can because time will seem to move fast during study abroad, and you don’t want to try to cram too much stuff in at the end. You will be busier than you think we all the classes, homework, hanging out with friends and going out, exploring, and all the other stuff like buying stuff you need, making food and eating, and laundry. I would suggest slating out a couple of things you want to try to do outside of the stuff that you are going to do inevitably, like see a park or go to a coastal city an hour away, so that you stay on top of your bucket and to-do list. This doesn’t however mean that you should be going 24/7, let yourself rest and relax so that you feel good but motivate so you don’t sulk in your resting…. that can be done back in the US.
- Make an effort to speak the native language, even when people respond to you in English. Like I have said earlier it will often happen that when you try to use your Spanish, the Spanish speaker who can speak English will choose to speak in English because they think it will be easier to communicate, but as long as your Spanish ability is functional, try to continue to use it even if they respond in English, its great practice!
- I would also say try to get involved in different activities that are offered or not offered to you and engage with your classes. For example, my study abroad soccer league was super fun, and I met a lot of people through that. Early on try to sign up for things that will get you out there doing stuff and meeting new people.
Is there anything you would do or plan differently based on your experience?
- I would try to better plan trips to other places in Europe because it gets expensive when you plan last minute and the planning itself can be taxing when you are busy during study abroad. I didn’t get to travel out of city as much as I wanted to and had I planned a little bit better I could have gone on one or two more trips.
- If I did study abroad again, I would choose a homestay again, but I would like to be closer to the action. My homestay being far away from the main student apartment and club area made my commute difficult and it made it harder to go out, so I would try to find a homestay that was closer to my friends and the nightlife.
- I would have tried to learn more Catalan; even though I was thoroughly prepared with my Spanish I wish I learned a little more Catalan because there were people who spoke it in their daily lives in Barcelona that I couldn’t communicate in their borne tung.
Have you considered going abroad again or researching international internships and careers?
- I have considered going abroad again, and next time I think I would try a different and colder country like Germany or Sweden. I have also thought about trying to find an internship abroad as I think it would be a great opportunity to get some work experience in a different country, which would further broaden my perspectives, especially in the professional sphere.
How do you plan to “pay it forward” to the greater local community?
- Since Spain has given me such a great international experience, I feel the need to repay them and let them know I apricated my stay.
- I plan to tell people how great my experience was in Spain and how wonderful my study abroad experience was in general so that more people visit Spain and also might choose Spain as their study abroad destination. I will suggest to people my favorite restaurants, stores, clubs, and areas in Barcelona so that I can help support the local economy of Barcelona. I will also pay it forward by trying to share some of the language, food, and culture of Spain. One thing I want to do is make some Spanish tapas for my friends like that of Spanish tortillas, bread and Manchego cheese, stuffed peppers, and calamari, along with trying to make the famous patatas bravas. I will continue to speak Spanish with people in my community and while I’m around my friends when if it annoys them. Also, I will try to review some of my favorite places on google so that future travelers can know the best sports. Lastly, I will spread great word of praise for the people of Barcelona, their food and culture, and their nature so that people can know what makes Spain and Barcelona such special places.
In reflection of your experience before, during, and after your program, can you put into words what this experience has meant to you?
- Overall, study abroad was a dream, I got to explore a new and amazing place with wonderful people while making mistakes, moments, and memories.
- It has helped me be extra social and meet a ton of new people, both people with very different lives from mine and those from different countries, and it has helped me to make a ton of new friends that I will truly have for the rest of my life.
- I love knowing that I got to learn about a new culture and actually be able to live in it. I am so fortunate to have been able to live in Spain for 3 fully integrated months rather than something that would equate to more of an extended vacation. Part of this can be attributed to my homestay situation where living in the middle of the city in a very cultural part of Barcelona made me feel like I was living like a Spaniard and also that my homestay mom made me feel like I had a family while in this new and strange place, with her teaching me many things about Barcelona and giving me a taste of Spanish cuisine, activities, and formalities.
- Study abroad also gave me many wonderful opportunities to learn new things about traveling, making mistakes like missing my train stops, using the wrong metro or train lines, ordering the wrong way, or getting sucked into tourist traps, and it has made me a much better traveler.
- After I am so grateful that I got to live in Europe because I know not everyone has the ability or opportunity to do this and it has meant so much to be able to explore Europe, including Spain, France, and Italy, and all the history, landscapes, people, foods, arts & culture and feelings it had to offer.
- Lastly was also super happy that I got to open my wings and fly around, because during study abroad I felt so free, energetic, passionate, and happy to do new things and engage with life which was refreshing!
Describe your experience exploring identity in your host community.
- My citizenship as an American played a part during my time in Spain and my being white. Being American-looking people spoke English to me even when I spoke Spanish to them. Other than that, my identity seemed to thrive in Spain.
Did you study in a host country where you felt or had more or less freedom as a person of your identity/ies? What has this experience been like?
- I felt like I has about the same expression of my identity in this country, my identity is quite easy, but it still seemed to thrive in Barcelona, Spain, and Europe more generally. But for people of more persecuted identities that I knew, I felt that they had great freedom, inclusion, and encouragement in Spain.
If you studied in a country where you reconnected with your heritage, what was that like? Is it what you expected? How were you treated by locals in that country? Do you feel like it was a homecoming or did you feel out of place, or perhaps both?
- In terms of connecting with something similar to heritage, I felt I had allegiance to Don Quixote and Cervantes, and I felt like my love of Don Quixote was received very well by the people of Spain; it felt like I was accepted into a brotherhood of Don Quixote lovers, which is, of course, extensive in Spain. My host mom and teacher were very happy to know that Don Quixote was my favorite book, and even that it was part of the reason I came to Spain. My host mom and I even got to talk about the book a little bit in Spanish, which was very cool. Many people in La Mancha were happy I made it out to The Stain to see the land of Quixote and all its glory.
If you studied abroad and spent time with other US students who were also studying abroad, were you experiencing anything unanticipated related to your identity/ies?
- Many of us were surprised by how many people spoke English to us initially in conversations in public if we were very white looking, even if we spoke Spanish initially. The study abroad students who were fluent in Spanish, because they grew up around it, found that they were very respected when compared to the non-fluent study abroad students, for good reason.
- We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that people were always interested to talk to us even though we were Americans typically asking us what state we were from, why we were in Spain, and how we were liking their home country and/or city and always seemed to like that we tried to speak Spanish with them, so that was cool to see.
How did it feel to be “the foreigner”? If you hold US citizenship, did you observe that your citizenship is treated differently than others?
- Overall, because I believe I dress and look like an American people often knew that I was in fact American, and this is further reinforced by the way I spoke Spanish or English, in that neither was in the Spanish tung. The main thing was that people often spoke English to me either from the beginning of the conversation or during to conversation even if I tried speaking Spanish to them. Other than that, I did feel like I was often a target for tourist scams, including those at restaurants, markets, and street vendors, and even clubs and bars, giving me high prices or lower quality products and such. Lastly, I feel like I was probably judged for not knowing what I was doing in lots of situations in Spain like doing stuff in the grocery stores, using the train, and using school services, but I learned quickly and believe I was more accepted later on. For me being a foreigner was not a problem, it is just part of traveling and often it can get you into some fun and interesting situations as well.