It’s always scary to leave a place of comfort, but sometimes it will help you grow. When I graduated from high school, I moved twelve hours away from home. The transition from living in New York to living in South Carolina was more difficult than I could have imagined. In many ways, I missed the brash nature of New Yorkers, the privacy that was never being approached by strangers, the laziness of staying inside because of the cold weather. In other ways, I loved how friendly southern people were, the passion they poured into their football, and the fact that they were not afraid of food that could detrimentally, irreversibly damage one’s arteries. I grew to love the two very different cultures that I was a part of. That experience only helped to solidify my belief in studying abroad in Seville. I knew that although it would probably take some time, I could adjust and learn to love any environment that I was placed into.
I probably should have been more scared about moving to a different country, but to be honest, I don’t think the actual reality of leaving my home for four months hit me until a few days after I arrived in Spain. All of my friends at home were heading back to school, and all of my friends at school were already a couple weeks into their classes. I was certainly on a different route, but the process of leaving my family to go to school had become so familiar that it didn’t feel as big as it should probably have.
When I was looking into different third party programs, I had a few things that I was looking for. Firstly, I wanted to go to a place where I could improve my ability to speak another language. The ability to speak another language is so incredibly valuable. Secondly, I hoped to live somewhere with a rich, traditional culture that would be entirely new for me. Lastly, I needed a program that would fulfill my educational requirements. As a communication and marketing double major, I either needed to be in a program where I could take an array of business classes or a program where I could take entirely upper level communication classes.
Since arriving in Seville, my reasons for coming here have been reinforced time and again. The streets are lined with orange trees and the buildings are painted pastel colors. The people eat and laugh at tables on the streets and an older woman with a dog plays the accordion as you walk down the road to get tapas. You are surrounded by the beauty that is the Spanish language and the Spanish people and the Spanish way of life. I feel so incredibly lucky to be here.
Kelly M. is the Spring 2018 CEA MOJO Blogger in Seville, Spain. She is currently a sophomore studying communication and marketin at [insert your university name].