Notes from Abroad is my column that was published through the Arrow about my experience studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. Click the image to be taken to the Arrow website to read the full article.
Notes from Abroad: Embracing your fear of the New Year
The beginning of a new year … students are adjusting to new class schedules, reuniting with friends, and pursuing — or, most likely, breaking — those new year’s resolutions that look exactly the same as last year’s.
With a new year and new semester, there always comes change, whether it’s adapting to harder classes, different teachers, new roommates, etc.
But how often do we give attention to the internal changes? The changes that develop with each and every new obstacle? Those that submerge from our subconscious routines and thought patterns? Those that are not anticipated?
These are our most developmental years. This is the stage of life where we are coming into our own unique identity. It’s the time when we are most unstable, forcing us to find stability in the chaos of our college years.
Change equals growth.
While I watch all of my friends beam and chirp about their exciting plans for this semester, I am cheering from the sidelines while also trying to prepare for the biggest change of my life.
In less than two weeks, I will be flying into Barcelona, Spain, to study abroad for the next five months — alone.
Yes, I know! That is so exciting!
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Notes from Abroad: Fruits of my labor
Here I am, sitting on my first connecting flight to Barcelona.
It is all very bittersweet. My goodbyes were full of teary eyes and long embraces. Those last hugs and kisses remind me just how truly grateful I am to have so much love and support in my corner.
While tossing and turning in bed last night, I thought back to my first time considering the study abroad program. I have been telling my friends and family that I would be studying abroad since my freshman year of high school. In fact, the study abroad program was my deciding factor in choosing to attend SEMO.
I was born and raised in the small town of Cape Girardeau, and I’ve been dreaming about the day I would leave this place for longer than I can even remember.
The anticipation has been unbearable. The months leading up to this day were littered with obstacles that felt never ending.
When you hear or think about studying abroad, it’s mostly about the time spent in another country. However, it didn’t hit me until about three months ago that the preparation for this kind of life-changing experience takes much more than I could have ever expected.
Have you ever heard of an international voltage converter? Or a TIE card? Or a nota simple? Me neither! At least not until I started preparing to move to another country.
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Notes from Abroad: Beauty in the struggle
As of yesterday, I have been in Barcelona as a Spanish resident for one full week. Let me tell ya, it is everything I did not imagine and more!
I knew this experience would be an entire learning process in itself — even outside of my schooling here. After only a few days living in the center of the city, I realized that I would be learning how to live all over again, and quite differently this time.
Barcelona is a very international city, meaning I have met more people that are not from here than people that are actual locals. In fact, I don’t think I have met one true local at all. Many of the people here are traveling through, relocating for work or studying abroad through internships or universities.
The culture shock has set in, and it’s been a doozy. This is a very fast-paced city, where people very much mind their own business. Conversation and interaction has been hard to initiate, especially since I am very obviously not from here. I’m beginning to find that there are many small, like-minded communities throughout the city; you just really have to go digging for them.
For example, I was walking through the beautiful Ciutadella Park, and a small group of women, tucked back in a corner of the park, barely caught my eye. I saw a big shiny hula hoop flying through the air, and I instantly knew exactly what they were doing, as my friend group from home danced and did tricks with hoops.
“Nice!” I thought, “Finally, some people with similar interests!”
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Notes from Abroad: Wish you were here
My original purpose of this weekly column was to give other students an understanding of what the study abroad experience is really like. I’m doing my best to not stray away from that purpose, but it is hard to keep from writing about all the pretty views and good foods.
I think the biggest struggle of this entire experience so far is the loneliness that seeps into every moment. The distance between me and the people I love so dearly feels like it lengthens each day.
The internet is a wonderful thing, and it allows us to keep in contact with our friends and family through video and text — even weekly columns! However, it is a struggle to ignore the fact that, for three weeks now, I haven’t heard the footsteps of my mom walking around upstairs, or seen the smile creases of my closest friends, or felt the soft ears of my sweet dog.
I am meeting diverse groups of people and making lovely friends, which is something that I am grateful for. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful beaches and unique architecture, but I am experiencing all of this alone.
I find myself “wishing people were here” a lot. Every time I find a cute, romantic spot to enjoy the day, I think, “I can’t wait to bring my boyfriend here.” Or, every time I find an eccentric restaurant, “I want my mom to try this amazing meal.” Or, when I meet a new person that reminds me of my friends back home, “I wish I could introduce them.” Or, sitting in a ramen restaurant on my street, watching groups of girls giggle together, while thinking “I wish you were here...”
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Notes from Abroad: Don't take it personal
Whewww… let’s talk about culture shock and its effects on your self confidence!
Self confidence was not something I had ever considered when preparing for this experience. Of course I knew there would be a huge culture shock for me, but every day I’m finding that it comes in waves — and in many different forms.
I think we all know that America has a reputation. Whether you love our country or not, you have to understand that other cultures in this world have been affected by our political and social actions.
Sitting in a classroom full of students when you are the only American can be very intimidating. There are many preconceived judgments about what the average “American” is like. Not all are negative, but I have definitely heard the terms “entitled,” “self-centered,” and last but not least… “lazy.”
Not to mention, the first class I attended in Spain was my International Negotiation class. On the first day, we spoke about culture in other countries and how they differ from your own. For some reason, Americans were the butt of most jokes throughout the entire class period.
I think one of the biggest takeaways when studying or living abroad is to understand that you cannot take things personally. At first, it was hard for me to adjust to the fact that American mannerisms and behaviors do not necessarily have the same value in other countries, but that comes with any kind of culture change.
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Notes from Abroad: Rolling with the punches
I have heard from many Europeans that Americans are seen as “overly-polite.” I believe this stems from a people-pleasing mindset.
Many people I know — myself included — act in ways that prioritize other people’s comfort. We stray away from making decisions or taking actions that would make others feel uneasy. In this process, we lose sight of our own wants and needs.
It’s easy to get caught up in the expectations of the people in your life and not wanting to disappoint. But how often do the expectations of others actually align with your own individual path?
Last month, I dropped out of the school that had originally brought me to Barcelona and transferred to a different school, instead.
It was extremely uncomfortable to be alone in another country and have absolutely no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wasn’t following my truest purpose, and I needed to make a decision — one that may have worried my people back at home.
During my last few months in Cape before moving, I received many reassuring and motivating words from my friends and family. The phrase I heard the most had to be, “You are going to grow and change so much during this experience.”
I find myself overanalyzing what this growth may look like and how it will manifest into my own life. My perspective of this changes everyday, but as of now, I believe my most prominent growing point during this experience was actually the opposite of what I was “expected” to do.
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Notes from Abroad: How an astrology meme predicted my future
I think we all know that sometimes the astrology memes and weirdly detailed descriptions of zodiac signs can be a little far reaching at times, but 14 year old me would strongly disagree.
When I first started discovering astrology, I was so delighted with the characteristics and behaviors of my sign, the Sagittarius, because I felt I really could relate. One of the most consistent descriptions of Sagittarius is that we love to travel.
The summer before high school started, I remember seeing a post on an astrology Instagram account that gave future predictions for each sign, and under Sagittarius it said, “Study abroad in Spain and travel Europe.”
Now I’m not one to conspiricize, but I’d say that sure is one weird coincidence.
I’ve dreamed of traveling Europe for many years, and now it’s as close away as a $25 flight. Within the past few weeks, I traveled to Valencia, Spain for the Las Fallas Festival. There, the people of Valencia build beautiful art sculptures and unironically burn them all down at the end of the week. I also visited Lisbon and Sintra in Portugal and made a pitstop in Madrid, Spain on the way back.
The memories I made and the people I met on those trips were nothing short of special. Feeling immersed in a different culture through celebration and art is an eye-opening experience. You see that there is so much more to life than what we are exposed to and desensitized to on a daily basis.
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Notes from Abroad: The sweet smell of orange trees
It’s a struggle trying not to view my time in Barcelona as a long-term vacation, where I just sit on the beach, eat tapas and go shopping all day. Learning to balance work and play is key to a meaningful study abroad experience.
In the months leading up to my last day at home, I did hours of reflecting and setting intentions for my time abroad. I wrote lists of all the different goals I had and things I wanted to do during my time here. Many of my goals aimed towards self-betterment, such as meditating, cooking and picking up new, productive hobbies.
The day I touched down in Barcelona, I came face to face with a whole new world of possibilities and adventures. It did take me a few weeks to settle in, but once I became more comfortable with the city, I couldn’t help but want to leap at every opportunity.
I made my group of friends through language exchange parties, school, and even the local grocery stores. In Europe, they love their WhatsApp groups, and I was quickly added to many groups for meetup events, parties and ticket deals for exchange students.
Having all of this in the palm of my hand plus friends who are down to do everything under the sun made it very tempting to not want to abandon all responsibilities to spend my days exploring the city and spending all my money.
I learned very quickly that self discipline was essential to making my time here worthwhile. I’m not only in 20 hours of classes a week, but I also have personal goals, articles to write and money to save — since I don’t have any active income.
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