Coming Home

When I was selecting where to study abroad for the spring semester of 2015, I had not no idea what to expect when I got to Seville. All I knew what was that I needed to study somewhere and that it was better for it to be a place which was not English but not too challenging an environment, so I picked Spain. Now that everything is done, I am supremely confident that I could not have chosen a better city in which to complete my study abroad. The program which arranged for my studies here (Spanish Studies Abroad) as well as my university (Pablo de Olavide) were a good set of institutions which led me to consistently examine my experience in the context of the whole process of study abroad and cultural awareness

All of my courses in some way or another were designed to help me appreciate the cultural diversity of the world in the political economic and cultural spheres with subjects ranging from the global economy to medical anthropology to pragmatics of the Spanish language. Within in all of these courses were various elements of human society and how people interact with a key element being the question of how to create a harmonious environment where one could be understood and respected for their ideas while working with others who want the same thing. I believe this falls in line with the statement on academic content from the article "Globalization of Higher Education", speaking for how course content has become more about educating the student as to their place in an increasingly interconnected world.

I suppose my experience at my student residence also gave me some aid in the immersion process, perhaps not as much as living with a family could have provided could have shown but the lessons were still valid. As I had done at Allegheny during my freshman year, I shared a room with Jose, a student who was from Ronda and due to this, we principally communicated in Spanish and we managed to get along without any major incidents aside from the minor gripes associated with sharing a small space. That certainly was an interesting dynamic  which I had to get used to and was a bit of a challenge. However, going through it, I always say the value in bringing people from different countries together because so much of our perspective is tied to where we are born for it informs our attitudes, behaviors, and customs. I will say that I was not as fully immersed in the Spanish culture as I could of been but I can say for sure that I am at least more practiced in my Spanish which I hope to use to great effect as part of my senior composition.

My bed is on the left. It was actually pretty comfortable.

I will say that after doing a bit of traveling to places such as London and  Paris, very recently, I believe I have much more to learn as to how people arrange their lives today and how such cities can be very diverse in their own right, becoming microcosms of tradition and modernity which is one reason I chose Spain and Seville in particular for its diverse past. Going from this back to the United States will hopefully make me appreciate the diversity in the U.S as new cultures arrive almost daily. I will also say that I think this experience I have had with studying abroad can give me at least a small window into how it might feel to be an international student coming to Allegheny from across the world and being in a new place and culture. Indeed it can be jarring and really how one handles it is very much a personal process and a helping hand or even a simple "Hello" is always appreciated. What I think helps is knowing that Allegheny is committed to all of its students no matter where they come from, bringing about the "unusual combinations" held so dear to the Allegheny community.  

Perspective is a funny thing.