Author: Alexandria May | Major: International Business and Economics | Semester: Summer 2024
In front of the Guadalquivir River and the Torre del Oro in Sevilla
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to study abroad in Spain. Studying Spanish in high school and in college, I knew Spain would be a perfect place to go to improve my Spanish skills while also getting immersed in a new culture. I also knew that I wanted to go to a city smaller than Madrid or Barcelona with less English speakers and tourists, and that is exactly what I found in Sevilla! Sevilla was the perfect size for me because while still being an exciting city with over one million people and multiple historical landmarks, it was extremely safe, surprisingly laid back, and easygoing.
The program I chose was an external program through ISA. I found this program to meet all of my needs throughout the search process. My program allowed me to take 2 different courses for 6 credit hours in just 4 weeks. So, even though my program was on the shorter side I still had the opportunity to take multiple classes. This program was also perfect for me because they had multiple different subjects to choose from! I knew I wanted to take a Spanish class for my Spanish minor, but I also wanted to take a business class for my major. ISA made this really simple, because they offered business classes taught in English alongside their Spanish classes taught fully in Spanish. My program also offered multiple excursions throughout the south of Spain included in our program cost which I found to be so fun because everyone from the program got to go on these together! We went to a winery in Jeréz and the beach in Cádiz one weekend and to Cordóba and Granada a different weekend. Granada was one of my favorite places we went because we had the opportunity to tour the Alhambra which is a well-known Islamic palace and fortress. Through my program I also decided to live with a host family. My host family consisted of one woman who I ended up growing pretty close with over my 4 weeks living with her. We always ate dinner together, watched the Spanish news, and talked about how our days had been. This was one of the main things that helped me improve my language skills while in Sevilla because my host mom didn’t speak any English!
The experience of studying abroad taught me a lot and gave me a lot of new perspectives to take home with me. Living with a host family, while being a great experience, initially made me feel somewhat disconnected from the other students who lived together in the dorm. This separation taught me to become more independent and showed me that I don’t always need to be with someone else to have a good time. This caused me to often do things alone and these solo memories became some of my best memories during my time in Sevilla! One of these being attending language exchange events every Thursday night. Going to these events by myself every week helped me step out of my comfort zone by making friends with locals and practicing my Spanish at the same time. It was such an eye-opening experience and helped me become more immersed within the local people of the city of Sevilla. The independence I gained and the solo memories I created are something I will carry back with me and continue to practice in Arkansas.
Overall, my time in Sevilla was even more life changing than I expected it to be. It not only improved my Spanish speaking skills; it allowed me to learn more about a different culture and lifestyle while also teaching me things about my own life. Studying abroad in Sevilla was truly a dream come true for me and I can’t wait to go back one day!