The Story
Good Time in Sevilla, Spain
For the past three months I have been living and studying in Sevilla, Spain. I’m here with the College’s study abroad program, and so far the experience has been a great one. It has been so interesting to experience another culture first hand, seeing and partaking in things that an average tourist would not do. At times it has been frustrating, and others hilarious, but on a whole I would say the experience has been incredibly rewarding.
Prior to this semester I hadn’t taken a Spanish class in nearly three years, and I had not paid attention in one in close to six. At my university here in Spain, all of my classes are in Spanish, and I am living in an apartment with an older Spanish woman who doesn’t speak a word of English. Luckily for me there are a couple of other American students in the apartment, and on top of that, my charade capabilities are quite impressive. I was initially slow to remember Spanish, but it has been coming back to me, and I’m learning new words and phrases every day. Lately, when writing emails or cover letters in English, I’ve found myself struggling for the right word and making lots of grammatical errors.
At times, the past few months have been difficult, as I’ve dealt with culture shock and adjusting to the distinct patterns of life over here. I sometimes find myself longing for the normalcy of Williamsburg. Other times I think I’m going to have quite a bit of trouble returning to the States this summer. While there are certain things I am dying to get back to (my car, my reliably hot shower, favorite restaurants and the luxuries of stores like Target,) I’m really going to miss this city and the unique lifestyle of southern Spain.