As you probably know, I spent this summer studying abroad in London and San Sebastián, Spain. I’ve already done an overview of my time in London, so I thought it was about time I did one for my trip to Spain. I spent four weeks in San Sebastián, with the last couple of days in the fourth week being in Barcelona, and I spent a fifth week in Madrid. I got to travel all over the Basque Country (where San Sebastián is located), and I definitely fell in love with it! The Basque Country is so beautiful, and is a very charming part of Spain. Here’s some photos!
My time in San Sebastián was so much fun – we went to cooking classes, ate at a Michelin Star restaurant (oh la la), went on a boat tour, saw amazing fireworks from a boat during la Semana Grande (a week long party in the city, basically), tanned at the beach almost every day, ate amazing gelato, learned about Spanish culture, got to practice our Spanish, and just generally had tons of fun. It was actually surprisingly a lot of schoolwork, but I can’t complain because I got to do a lot of it at the beach 😉
After our four weeks in SS, we headed to Barcelona!
Even though I spent the majority of my time in San Sebastián, and only about four days in Barcelona, I quickly fell in love with Barcelona. The atmosphere was so fun, the streets weren’t too crowded, the food was wonderful, and the beach was beautiful and warm. Some places you just instantly feel a connection to, and that was Barcelona for me. I can’t wait to go back one day!
After Barcelona was Madrid for about five days!
I’m going to be doing another post that’s a reflection on the whole study abroad experience, as well as some tips, so be ready for that!
Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to see other places. I knew coming into college that I wanted to study abroad sometime during the four years, but I didn’t know when. This past fall quarter, back in 2015, a representative from a study abroad program in San Sebastián came into my Spanish class to let us know about the program. I was instantly interested, and decided to apply. Fast forward a couple of months to winter quarter, I heard about another summer program in London from the English department, that is conveniently taking place right before the San Sebastián program. I decided to apply to that program as well, thinking I would at least get into one program.
Well, I ended up getting into both programs, and thought at first that I would have to decide between the two. After talking with my parents about it, they asked me, “Why not do both?” Great question, mom and dad. Through a lot of consideration, and a very stressful week of deciding before the deadlines, I have decided that I am going to do both programs this summer. The London program starts just two weeks after spring quarter ends, and goes from June 19th to July 23rd, and the San Sebastián one starts literally one day after, and ends August 24th.
I cannot explain how excited I am to be going to Europe this summer. I have only ever been out of the country once when I was five years old, to volunteer in Mexico. London and Spain are a huge step up from that, since they are on a whole other continent. Both programs are homestays, meaning I will be living with two families, one in London, and one in San Sebastián, which I think will be so fun and a great cultural experience. I have always dreamed of going to both countries – England and Spain – since a huge part of my family is English, and I have been studying Spanish for about six years now. I am also majoring in International Studies and English, with a minor in Spanish, so these programs are the perfect fit for me.
Since I was wondering when I was going to fit in studying abroad, here are a couple of reasons why I decided to do it during the summer.
It would be extremely hard to try and fit in a study abroad program, since I have to be consciencious of all the classes I am taking, and how to fit in all of my major(s) requirements. Dedicating a whole quarter to a study abroad program that only satisfies one of my majors or minors would be very challenging, and not the best in terms of time management.
This summer, I will be getting 30 extra credits essentially, which will make me a senior by next year, my junior year. While this won’t really allow me to graduate early since I have to get through all of my major requirements, I won’t be scrambling to get all of my credits done by the end of my senior year.
College isn’t only about the academics – they are very important – but it is also about extracurricular activities. I am a part of three different clubs, I have a job, and a very big class load, so it would be really hard to take off for a whole quarter, and drop everything, essentially. It’s not that it wouldn’t be doable, it would just be very hard, and not something I want to take on. I am already stressed out enough during the year, and missing a whole quarter would not be the best for my anxiety.
I have looked up so much about the places I will be going, and have talked to natives from the area, and they all agree that summers are gorgeous in England and Spain. Summers can be kind of lackluster here in the Pacific Northwest, so I am especially excited to spend a month in San Sebastián, where I will basically be living on the beach.
When I was in the third grade, we had an exchange student from Spain who is now like family. He lives in Madrid with his girlfriend (they are adorable), and they offered to let me stay with them for a couple of days. I’m super excited to see the capital of Spain, and see what the city is like! Since it’s during the summer, I’ll have plenty of time to stay with them for a little bit.
I am so stoked for this summer, and I can’t wait to not only learn about the class subjects, but more about myself as well! I don’t want to have too high of expectations, but I’m hoping that both programs will be a lot of fun, and that’ll I’ll be able to meet some great people. I’ll be posting all about my experiences abroad this summer, and also tips for studying abroad once I get back, so make sure to check back with my blog!