El Castell de Guadalest
Author: Megan Sattler | Major: Mathematics
On the night of December 31st, 2021 at 23:59:84, four chimes sounded across Alicante’s Town Hall Square. Full of excitement and anxiousness to successfully carry out Spain’s New Year’s Eve tradition, my friends and I each held 12 grapes. After the final chime, sharper bells rang counting down the last 12 seconds of 2021, and we popped the grapes into our mouths in time with the bells. Cheeks stuffed and hearts full, my friends and I exclaimed “¡Feliz años nuevo!” alongside locals of all ages who had also frantically fed themselves grapes in hopes of receiving a full year of good luck. The energy at the square was incredible, and I greatly enjoyed conversing with the friendly locals about their dreams for the year to come.
The strong sense of community I felt that night did not falter after the festivity ended. Walking the streets of the plaza where I resided for three weeks, every restaurant and shop had their doors wide open, musicians and vendors lined the streets, and children played on playgrounds all day. My absolute favorite insight into Spanish culture was attending a fútbol game. A couple friends and I took the train to Elche to watch Elche CF play against Granada CF. It was evident just how passionate the fans were for the sport even before the whistle blew to begin the game. Elche fans were given red pieces of paper upon entering the stadium in preparation to protest against the referee if he made bad calls against Elche. The game was quite eventful, so the red papers were thrown up often to card the referee for his incompetence. Elche’s goal was taken away due to a so-called foul committed on Granada’s goalkeeper, their coach was kicked off the field, and they played a man down at the end of the game when their defender received a red card. I was able to pick up on some of Elche’s cheers and chants, and my existing love for the sport was further deepened as I joined Elche’s enthusiastic fan base.
During my time abroad, I studied Economic and Political Institutions of the European Union at the University of Alicante. I mainly chose this study abroad program because this course was being offered, and I was interested in applying my macroeconomics knowledge from the University of Arkansas. Also, I am considering adding on a business minor at the U of A, so I believed this course would grant me a unique primer to those courses. I had class three hours a day, and much of the instruction was in the form of PowerPoints, informational videos, and texts from the European Union. There was a heavy emphasis on participation in class discussions, though this was easy to accomplish as me and my five other American classmates did not have much previous knowledge about the European Union. We debated the pros and cons of the European Union and came to the conclusion that it is beneficial to become an EU member, especially considering it has successfully kept peace in Europe for over 70 years. I wrote a research paper on the thorough and complex accession process to the EU and explored its potential candidates.
My professor was raised in Spain but attended graduate school and taught in America, so she had a general understanding of the United States’ political and economic systems. With this knowledge, she was able to relate concepts about the European Union to ideas that were familiar to me and my classmates. My professor was very interested in the topic, so if we were to ask questions about the EU beyond the scope of the lesson plan, she would prepare class time the next day to inform us what her research presented. She was extremely considerate of our short time here in Spain, so she granted us a lot of class time to complete our homework and review for our exams.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to study abroad given the state of the world. Because of this, I took advantage of every opportunity I had to immerse myself in Spanish culture, like visiting the castillos, celebrating los reyes magos, and eating paella and turrón. My program included many field trips for us such as visits to Guadalest, Altea, and Valencia, and the program advisor was super helpful in safely guiding us during our time in Spain. I would highly recommend studying abroad with USAC as they will ensure you have the most fulfilling time abroad. I would also recommend learning some common, everyday phrases in the native language where you are visiting. I was pleasantly surprised how much Spanish I had retained from my freshman year Spanish course, and I felt greatly appreciated and encouraged when I spoke to others in Spanish. There really is no better way to learn about new cultures than immersing yourself into one, so take advantage of any opportunity to (safely) go out and see the world!