At the Danish Royal Family’s summer palace in Aarhus, Denmark!
Author: Daisy Rehbock | Major: International & Global Studies | Semester: Spring 2023
Hey there! My name is Daisy Rehbock and I’m currently writing this from Madrid, Spain, where I’ve been studying for the Spring, 2023 semester. I’m an International and Global Studies major with minors in Spanish and Gender Studies in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences but I have the privilege to be at Universidad Nebrija studying Hispanic Studies at the moment. My program at Nebrija was an incredible choice for me as I have quite a few years of Spanish classes under my belt but have never quite gotten the hang of speaking Spanish fully conversationally without needing to think about what to say next. Because Nebrija caters to each student’s level of Spanish and offer classes fully in Spanish at each level, I’ve been completely comfortable speaking more Spanish both within and outside the classroom. My professors both push me with new vocabulary and cater to my learning process by speaking slower than the average Spaniard and explaining new words and concepts as they come up. A major difference I’ve noticed between Nebrija and the University of Arkansas is the emphasis Nebrija puts on groups projects and other opportunities for students to learn from each other, instead of just having students learn from their professors within class. Many times, I’ve had professors choose students to explain certain concepts to other students or lead a review session on the whiteboard in front of the class, which further strengthens our Spanish conversational skills and creates a comfortable and cooperative environment within the classroom. The frequent presentations assigned by my professors has also highly improved my public speaking skills in Spanish and has made me immensely more comfortable speaking Spanish off the cuff rather than having my entire presentation written out and recited. Overall, the professors and staff at Nebrija are committed to helping international students improve their Spanish in a comfortable and collective environment and I would recommend this program for anyone looking to improve their Spanish in a more immersive setting.
During April, I spent a lot of time travelling outside of Spain due to Semana Santa, or Holy Week, giving us ten days off school alongside our regular four day weekends due to having no class on Friday’s. In April alone I was able to visit Denmark, France, Portugal, and Germany which is something I never thought I would be able to say. Travelling Europe is cheap and usually quite painless due to the European Union’s communal currency and eased customs process. This myriad of countries that I visited gave me cultural experiences that I couldn’t have found in the United States or even Spain, despite being mere hours away from Madrid by Train or Plane. I indulged in a lot of different cuisines during my travels that I had never had the opportunity to try before alongside some dishes I had tried but never in the country that it originated from. In Lisbon, Portugal I had an entire octopus tentacle, which is a common dish usually served alongside new potatoes. In Paris, France I enjoyed escargot, crème brulee, crepes, and a pain de chocolate. Even in Madrid I had the opportuntiy to try Korean BBQ and hot pot for the first time, which admittedly aren’t traditional Spanish cuisines, but were still quite authentic according to my friends from Thailand and China. Overall, I believe a lot about a culture can be seen within its cuisine and eating habits and the opportunity to enjoy a plethora of cuisines with people from around the world has been one of my favorite parts of studying abroad.
As I mentioned earlier, my program at Nebrija is an excellent choice for any student looking to improve their Spanish abilities with an emphasis on speaking. This immersive setting is incomparable to any program in the United States and comes with many lessons about Spanish history, literature, culture, society, and practically anything else you could ever want to know about Spain. This also is an incredible opportunity to make cross-cultural connections not only with Spaniards, but with people from all around the world. I’ve learned so much from this experience both inside and outside of the classroom and it’s even influenced my post-graduate plans and pushed me towards joining the Peace Corps instead of heading straight to law school. While I’m immensly excited to get home and see family and friends, the months I’ve spent in Madrid have truly been the best months of my life and I could not recommend this experience more for other Arkansas students.