Bienvenidos, Columbia Collegiettes™! My name is Kate Estabrook and I’m a junior at Barnard majoring in sociology, with a minor in Spanish. I’m originally from New York City, but have spent most of my life in the suburbs of Connecticut. Despite being raised in the ‘burbs, I’m a city girl at heart and have absolutely no intention of living anywhere else, well, maybe except where I am right now. This fall I am not in Morningside Heights; instead, I’m playing expat at the Syracuse University Center in Madrid, Spain.
As I begin my story about my semester in Spain, there is something that comes to mind: one of my favorite Pedro Almodóvar movies, Volver, which has been in my thoughts very much for the past four years. You’re probably wondering, first, why, and second, you have not been abroad for four years, so how do four years come into the equation?
Let me explain: Volver means “to return” or “to come back” in Spanish. My first trip to Spain was four years ago, as part of a month-long high school program through The Experiment in International Living. I fell in love with everything about Spain. From the moment I returned to the United States, I knew that I would go back to Spain.
Fast-forward four years and one month later and I was getting my passport stamped in Immigration at Barajas Airport in Madrid. A few days after settling in with my host family, Volver was playing on TVE, the national Spanish television station, and I knew it was fate.
As excited as I was to study in Spain this semester, I still fell victim to the jittery anticipation and endless games of “What if…?” So much preparation goes into traveling abroad – from the initial academic application, to obtaining your visa, to renewing your passport, to packing four months of your life into two suitcases.
Though I am fiercely independent, I couldn’t help but wonder about the uncertainty of my trip and worry about being so far from everything familiar to me. I was nervous about balancing adventure with schoolwork, nervous about forming relationships with other students on my program, nervous about whether my señora (host mother) would like me, and nervous about finding time for an internship. My first nugget of advice for prospective abroad students is not to fret when feeling anxious; those worries will go away within the first few days.
As incredible as my study abroad experience already is already and will be in the upcoming months, nothing comes without a little bit of stress, because without small hints of adversity, we would not grow. Hopefully this blog will show you the good, the bad, and the fun of being an expat in her 20s.
¡Hasta la próxima!