Why Should You Study Abroad

Why Study Abroad in Barcelona?

Ellen Kay

I can’t think of any reason to not study abroad. I made the decision to study abroad when I realized I had absolutely nothing to lose from the experience. If anything I have gained so much more than I had ever anticipated. Experiencing a different country has helped me to view other cultures in a way that avoids assumptions and rather has challenged me to understand why and how their culture is different/the same as mine. You get to know new art, food, traditions, history, and experience the culture in a way you will never get in a classroom. (plus there is a beach)

 As a communications major, the benefits of recognizing differences between the cultures will help me to better reach my future audiences and only make me better at what I wish to do with my future. For now and in the future, I feel that studying in Spain has taught me a lot about how things are and more importantly I have been able to understand why they are that way, this is a skill that will follow me and will be put to use in many different ways. There is a lot to be learned and communicating in a different culture and building relationships is a difficult yet rewarding experience. One of the most wonderful parts of the program is that though it is very much an independent experience, you’re not in it alone. You can take the time to get to know the members in your group and while trying to embrace and experience a new culture, there are bound to be events that will speed up the process of establishing a friendship with one another. While studying in Spain, there is so much more to learn than the course materials we studied in class. There is a lot to learn about your self as well. There are stressful situations, communication issues that don’t only include the language barrier, and downright a lot of confusion. There is a certain amount of tolerance and adaptability you either will have or learn. All of these skills are life skills you will need some day and help you in the long run for future successes.  I believe that there is no better time to study abroad than in your college years. If I were any younger, I’m not sure I would have appreciated the experience nearly as much.

In Spain, there is a sense of relaxation in the culture. Leisure and indulgence are a way of life, this is my favorite part of Barcelona specifically because it has allowed me to grow the most. This way of life is much different from the United States and was quite a shock to get used to. Life seemed to be in so much less of a hurry. In the states, there is constant pressure for creating success in the future. We are so rarely worried about the “now,” we sometimes can get so caught up in worrying about what’s to come instead of enjoying life. This is something that I’ve learned from Spain and will always be able to take away with me. I found this to be a very rewarding mind-set because when in college so much stress and anxiety stems from worrying about our future. Being able to immerse myself in their celebrations like Sant Joan and live in the moment has been so rewarding to me, I can put my phone down, enjoy a conversation, and really embrace the moment. I am very thankful to have had this experience and to have grown so much from it.

How Studying Abroad Has Changed Me

How Barcelona Has Changed Me

By: Ellen Kay

As I am walking through the streets on one of my last few days here in Barcelona, I can’t help but think about how much this trip has done for me. To give a small amount of background to this growth process, I have came a long way from where I was last summer. I was in a stage of depression, which I can say without shame anymore because of how much I have grown from that process. Fast forward a little bit from last summer and I took on a lot of independent roles during the school year, in friendships, school, work, and so on. I took a lot of steps to ensure that my happiness was coming from myself and not depending on anything other than that. Because of my newfound love for straying away, living for myself, and doing what makes me happy not others, I made the decision to study abroad. I haven’t traveled much at all so the idea of it was kind of nerve racking but I will say that I have great adaptability skills so the idea of a whole new place to me was something I knew I could get used to easily, I wouldn’t exactly consider myself to be high maintenance. I also knew that every moment of this trip was going to be a learning process. One of my favorite initial struggles (or blessings in disguise) was the fact that my phone really didn’t work without wifi, and wifi was very sparse. I love my friends and family from home and school don’t get me wrong, but it was so amazing to get to know the people I was with just because we were forced to put our phones away and talk to each other. I’m not even a person that I would consider to be too attached to a phone but it sped up the process of getting to know the people in my group and somewhat forced me to distance myself from getting constant updates of what my friends are always doing. I feel like if its something that is important enough for me to know about, they can tell me and I shouldn’t have to stare at my phone to know their every move. It has allowed me to live more in the moment rather than post the moment, which I love. Plus, who wouldn’t want to live in the moment in Barcelona?? It’s amazing.

This trip seemed to not only boost my independent happiness, but also it solidified it. It’s not a daily thought you have when you sit in a class room in Indiana and think about the many different kinds of people, beliefs, and cultures all over the world. There is happiness for everyone and the happiness you have is the one you create. Barcelona is such a live in the moment, live for now, and do what makes you happy kind of culture that I know I will take home with me at least to some extent. I think that being in my early 20’s it is important that I experience more than worry. This program has allowed me to put my life into perspective a little bit differently. I do worry about things like my future life and career, but being opened to an entire new world has allowed me to realize if something doesn’t work out I have so many options and that I would rather judge my successes in life on my happiness rather than my current professional/financial status or situation. I'm not constantly worried about what will happen but rather what is happening.

Specifically in Barcelona, my religious beliefs have grown as well. I am Catholic, which is a part of Christianity and a lot of Christians seem to consider it to be too “rule oriented”. Catholicism is very well represented in Barcelona and I feel like seeing a lot of historical appreciation is nice, reassuring, and refreshing. I can be a little bit more proud to call myself a catholic and I will be. Catholicism is one of the many heavily debated religions in politics in America despite our “freedom of religion”. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to see my faith celebrated and not hated.

In Europe, people tend to express emotions so openly. This is something that I can appreciate. In America we are so worried about offending people that we don’t just get to the point of what we like/don’t like, want/don’t want. This drives me nuts, especially in today’s society in America. I am happy to have seen people arguing in the streets or to have seen people loving one another openly. I’m really tired of the way people will beat around the bush because good communication is the best way to accomplish anything. I got to experience struggles with my homestay, locals, roommate, and classmates as far as communication went during this program. I think as far as my future career in communication goes, I will be able to realize when saving face just isn’t important anymore and when expressing how something actually is or how I actually feel will just be more beneficial to me in the long run, while being aware of someone's feelings and boundaries, I may just be able to get more out of life and relationships from it.

Communication With Another Culture

Communicating With Another Culture

By: Ellen Kay

In my experience at my first home-stay, I had the opportunity to converse with the daughter Cora. We had many conversations so its hard to specifically talk about one encounter. Though I chose her for this topic because she and I are pretty close in age and I could get to know her lifestyle a little better and it was interesting to compare our young adult cultures. When I first met her, like many of the people in Spain, I was greeted with a kiss on both sides of the cheek. This was new to me because I'm really much more of a handshake person. She was very open with me in conversations right off the bat, we were able to discuss topics like american politics, boys, and racism with ease even though in America thats not necessarily something so easily talked about. 

In Spain, I have learned that it is common for them to be open on some topics we just don't openly express in America. One of the first conversations that I had with Cora was over dinner when she asked Sarah and I what time we go out at home and what time we come home. She was shocked when we said 9:30 pm and most bars close around 2-3 am. She said they normally don't come home from being out until around 8 am and never leave to go out before 11 pm. She also spoke of the racism she experienced growing up, that kind of helped me to realize that it's not just America with these issues, its the whole world. This was so interesting to me because I was able to then recognize that there was so much to still learn about this culture. 

I didn't only get the chance to have conversations with Cora but also got to talk with her friend and boyfriend as well. They were very friendly people who asked a lot of questions to keep Sarah and I talking the entire time. This seemed a little bit different to me than the United States because most people don't openly ask questions about the personal life of a stranger. I'm not sure if thats just my high school shyness coming back but the many of conversations that we did have felt more like conversations with a good friend. Cora and her friend discussed the dialect of people from south Spain. They said that their accents have changed the language a lot and they have a lot of their own terminology. This was funny to me because of the difference in dialect in American regions and how when I even came to Purdue from Pennsylvania I was a little bit thrown off. I got to learn quite a bit from Cora and a lot about our age group which I am very thankful for.

I have a good amount of advice for anyone conversing with someone from Spain and it goes as follows. Don't fight the space bubble, the people here have no problem showing affection and get much closer to you, you'll probably make them feel awkward if you back away. Be open and honest, if they are asking you questions you wouldn't typically be asked thats probably because those subjects aren't so controversial here and they are genuinely looking for an answer not a motive. Finally, if you are conversing with them in English (like I was) speak slow and try your best to use descriptive words, not everything translates so easily and its important to have patience and you'll both get more out of the conversation.

America in Barcelona

America In Barcelona:

My time in Barcelona has given me the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and many from different European countries. More importantly, I have been able to recognize the way that all travelers in foreign countries somewhat portray their own culture as well. For myself, I have always been taught to grow up as a proud American. In every history class I have ever taken, I was taught that we are such a wonderful country because it is all the cultures represented in one nation. I still consider myself German and Polish all the while knowing almost nothing about those cultures. Though, I love America I don't necessarily think we hold onto specific heritage or cultural representations of where we came from. Being in Spain, I have experienced many more authentic different representations of cultures, which feels a lot more like how the melting pot should feel right before melting. 

I don't believe that here in Barcelona they believe the "America The Great" or "Melting Pot" opinion we have of ourselves. For example, a few of my classmates and I went out for a wine tasting fest where we go tent to tent getting a new glass of wine. A very animated (slightly drunk) woman from Barcelona came up to us and was very friendly, she talked about how great Barcelona is and obviously we agreed. She then said she doesn't like to speak english (only when drinking) and more or less said she hates America. She wasn't being rude and I can't say I wouldn't agree with her. European culture is so much different Americans must seem needy and pushy (ex. "Can I have the wifi", "No hablo espanol", and my favorite "Really no air-conditioning?") 

To be entirely honest, I don't know if Americans have a positive or negative influence on Barcelona. If I had to assume I would say it is positive (even though they all are just as confused as we are about our presidential candidates).  A lot of our fashion and Hollywood trends come here and are well liked. Even my host family's daughter watches Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Orange is the New Black. However, negative connotations are recognizable as well. For instance, while shopping in Girona,  (soon after the Orlando attack) the cashier asked us where we were from. When we said America, he responded with "Oh you guys have problems with guns." I don't necessarily agree or disagree with him but he may just say that because of how much our media hypes up gun control when this stuff happens. In Spain, I have noticed police walking around with machine guns and don't know if I should assume that is because of  their gun violence or for preventions of it here. This makes it hard to tell if its an opinion in comparison to Spain or misinterpretation depicted by our media.

 I think that the opinions that the people here have about Americans might rely more on personal experience and involvement rather than the way their country views us as a whole. I have had mostly positive interactions with locals but I am doing my best to be mindful of their culture and respectful towards the differences. So to all Americans reading this, don't ignorantly attempt to represent your culture and remind yourself to be respectful to the cultures surrounding you because they are what we really came from.