Hola from Sevilla, España! Although I do miss Colby and the States, I can’t say that I’m jealous of all of the snow you’re getting over there. It’s been 60 degree weather here and I couldn’t be happier about that!
It’s hard not to fall in love with Sevilla, what with the culture, traveling, and food. While I am definitely having an incredible time here it’s also been an adjustment for me, perhaps more than I expected. So, from one HCCer to another (especially if you’re thinking about studying abroad), here are some pieces of advice that I hope will help you on your journey.
1. It’s not happy and fun all the time. Study abroad is marketed to us as “the best semester of our lives,” and for the most part, it is. So far, I’m having an amazing experience. I love the city of Sevilla, I’ve met some awesome people, and the traveling isn’t too shabby. But something I’ve had to learn is that every second here isn’t jam-packed with fun and excitement. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself alone or bored. Your friends might be in class when you’re not or they’re traveling on a weekend when you’re staying home. So, you might find yourself alone in your apartment or home with nothing to do. This has certainly happened to me a bunch of times, and at first, it freaked me out. I immediately got homesick and wondered if I was “doing it right.” What I’ve learned is that sometimes I’m going to be bored or lonely. I’ve learned to force myself to leave my apartment and read at a café or something along those lines so that I don’t stay at home all day and get homesick, because it’s so easy to do that (especially once I got Netflix working on my computer). But Friends will always be there for me (pun intended), and I have to do something besides spending time with Ross, Rachel, and the gang to keep myself busy. Something else I’ll point out now is that even though going out to bars and discotecas (clubs) is a part of most study abroad experiences, I’m going out less than I thought, and that seems to be a pretty common thought amongst my friends here and abroad in other places. There are just some nights that are mellower than others, and I’ve had to learn to be okay with that and find other ways to entertain myself and have fun, either by myself or with other people.
2. There is no “doing it right.” Like I said, at the beginning of my trip – and I’m not ashamed to admit, one time last week – I expressed tearfully to my older sister that I was afraid I wasn’t doing study abroad right. She wisely pointed out that while a valid worry, it’s something I need to get off of my mind because, as she explained, no one has the same experience. Since that talk, I’ve gotten to thinking, and here’s what I’ll say: no one can “do it right.” There isn’t one standard to meet that suddenly means you’re doing study abroad right. What’s right for one person may be completely wrong for someone else. Some people, like me, need to keep busy all the time, preferably with people, while others are perfectly content with being alone and reading in their room. Both of these options (and everything in between) are completely acceptable, normal, and “right.” Part of being abroad is learning how you function best, both alone and with other people, and if you start to figure that out, then maybe that’s what you can call “doing abroad right.”
3. It’s okay to be alone. At Colby, I was constantly surrounded by people: in class, in my extracurriculars, in my room (I had friends in my single CONSTANTLY). It’s likely that if you saw me around campus, I was with at least one other person. Something that’s been tough for me to learn here (and I’m still learning) is that sometimes I’m going to be alone, and that’s okay. I think that one of the most important lessons I’ve learned here so far is that I need to enjoy my own company and appreciate being alone more than I have been. It’s easy to surround yourself with people and get sucked into the whirlwind of everyone else’s problems, thoughts, etc. But sometimes, as hard as it might be, you need to force yourself to be alone with your own thoughts and really get to know yourself in another setting, as cheesy as that may sound. Someone once told me that you’ll never be a better, truer version of yourself than when you’re abroad, and I’m slowly starting to believe that that’s true. However, it’s taken a lot of alone time, thought, and self-exploration to come to that conclusion, and it’s going to take a lot more to fully believe it.
4. You’re actually here to study. I know, I know- this is what no one wants to hear. Study abroad is supposed to be all about fun, traveling, eating, drinking… but re-read the title: STUDY abroad. You’re in a foreign country, sure, but you’re STUDYING in a foreign country. For me, while the coursework has been lighter than it is at Colby, I definitely have work, and the adjustment to having all of my classes in Spanish has added a whole other level of stress. We have midterms, finals, papers, presentations, you name it—just like at Colby or any other school, and they don’t grade on a curve or inflate grades in Spain. Getting a “C” is considered a good grade here, and I don’t know about anyone else, but my parents aren’t going to be pleased if I come home with five “C”s on my transcript. While I’m lucky that the grades I get here don’t impact my GPA, they still show up on my transcript, and it’s very possible that jobs or grad schools will want to see the grades I got while studying abroad. So, while it’s super easy to spend all day getting sun by the river or exploring adorable little streets with friends, I have to make myself sit down and do at least three-four hours of work everyday. Depending on your study abroad program, your grades might factor into your GPA, which will make the studying and work pretty intense. So don’t forget that in between nights out and getting lost in the best way, homework is also a part of your study abroad experience.
5. But, you’re also here to explore. Yes, we’re here to study. But another HUGE part of studying abroad is exploring, both in the city you’re based in and around the country/continent near your home base. I’ve already traveled to Madrid, and I plan on traveling to Dublin, London, Córdoba, Granada, Morocco, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Oslo, Portugal, and possibly Budapest, Prague, Italy, and Ibiza. While most of these trips take place on the weekends, for a couple of these trips, I’m going to have to miss a class or two. Even though it’s not an ideal situation, traveling and experiencing new cultures is one of the main reasons I went abroad, and in order to have the full experience and see all of the places that I want to see, I’m going to have to sacrifice something. While I’m not encouraging skipping a ton of classes to travel (more than five probably isn’t great) or just not going to class for no reason (you can fail for lack of attendance, just like at Colby), I would say that if there’s a place you really want to go and the flights don’t work out perfectly, go on the trip and worry about class later. Sometimes I think you’ll learn just as much (if not more) when traveling on your own or with friends than you would in the classroom.
So, there you have it: a few things I hope to share with the HCC community at home and away. Remember that everyone has a different experience, so what may have helped me may not impact you at all, and vice versa. All I can say is: stay safe, be responsible, explore as much as you can, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Happy traveling!