It is often said that who lives sees much, who travels sees
more. Through the first few years of my college career, I have been able to see
and learn many things. I have become independent and organized; I have learned
from great professors about political science and international relations. I
have developed a love for diversity. My dream since age twelve was to study
abroad in Spain, so during these past few years I have prepared myself to
fulfil this dream. I have developed a love for Spanish culture through
literature and film. I have worked at perfecting my Spanish speaking ability,
and I even took some Latin dance classes. This upcoming semester, I will be
able to finally fulfil that dream and ‘see more’.
Learning about another culture will help me better
understand and love people that do not share my same story or background. I
want to get to know the Spanish people and learn about their day to day hopes,
concerns, and dreams. As I begin to understand a new culture, my love with
expand. In addition, I want to deepen my understanding of topics that I have
learned in the classroom. For example, a few semesters ago, I was in a Spanish
course that focused on bilingual and multilingual countries, Spain being one of
them. I am excited to see firsthand how multilingualism has shaped Spanish
culture. This semester I am in an environmental science course and we have
discussed sustainable food sources. I would love to be able to visit the Veta
La Palma fish farm in Spain and see how sustainability is changing the way
Spain thinks about food. I hope that having these experiences with another
culture will make me a better, more open minded person than I am today.
When I return home from my semester abroad, I want to share
what I have learned with others. I do not want to just share how great the food
is, or what the latest fashions are, or all of the pictures I took, (although I
will share that as well). However, I want to share what seeing another culture
has done for me. I want to share the understanding gained, the love expounded,
and the lessons learned. I would like to help others experience a small part of
what I experienced. I plan on sharing my experiences through a blog that I
write: travelingsole-emilee.blogspot.com and also through the education abroad
department at my university. This way I can reach others who are interested in
study abroad and excite them to travel and see more.
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