Lauren Lamberson

As a part of my curriculum for my degree, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Sevilla, Spain, during the spring 2023 semester. Seville is a smaller city in the southern Andalusian region of Spain. I went with a third-party program called CEA. I took classes at the CEA center and participated in their internship program. My semester abroad taught me so many things about myself and my view of the world. It was my favorite semester while in college. I have always loved learning about other cultures, so being able to immerse myself in Spanish culture for four months was an incredible experience. I created many goals for myself before leaving the United States, and I believe I met them and made the best experience possible. I met people I would not have met otherwise and made memories I will never forget. I traveled to other cities in Spain and other countries in Europe; I even made it to Morocco for a weekend, which was incredible. I hope to immerse myself in other cultures again in the future because it was more educational than any other experience I have had. 

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One of the main goals I created for myself was to better my Spanish speaking, listening, and writing skills. One of the main ways I was able to do this was by speaking in Spanish wherever I could, even if I was nervous about making a mistake or if I knew the other person could speak English. This was the best way to gain confidence in my skills and not always resort to using English. I noticed a big difference in my speaking and listening skills by the end of the semester. I received an A on my end-of-year presentation in my Spanish Business class because I didn’t make many grammatical mistakes in my speaking. In addition, my writing and reading skills improved significantly. I found myself reading all signs and billboards with ease, and I was able to write essays and reflections without having to use a dictionary. It was so rewarding to be understanding the language of the place I was living, and it helped make my experience better than I could have imagined. I am proud of myself for meeting this goal, and I hope to continue using my Spanish skills in my future career. 

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When I first arrived in Spain, I was overwhelmed with the cultural differences that I would have to figure out to immerse myself successfully. I quickly felt like an outsider, and I knew I needed to learn the cultural differences in order to adapt. For example, the later meal times, especially for dinner, and how being on time is not emphasized like it is here. Here in the US, I am very punctual, and I hate to be late. However, in Spain, their time management is much more relaxed. My teachers would often arrive a few minutes late for classes, and my boss would usually show up late to open the office at my internship. At first, I was a little surprised by this, and I still wasn’t able to change my ways of being on time. But I got used to the fact that others would most likely be a little late. In addition, people were never in a rush to get somewhere; the streets filled with people moved slower than they do here. It was refreshing to live a slower, more relaxed lifestyle for a few months, and returning to the US, where we live in a fast-paced environment, was difficult. Fully immersing myself in the culture made me realize that I definitely chose the right major, and I love learning about what life is like for those who live outside the US. 

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Some of my most memorable experiences happened during my travels on the weekends with my roommates, who quickly became my best friends. I was lucky enough to travel to eight countries and many more cities. We also explored all that Sevilla had to offer; it was truly the best place to call home for a semester. We decided to take a cooking class one evening to learn how to make Paella. This was one of my favorite experiences because we had a ton of fun and learned about what goes into one of the best dishes in Spain. I will always remember this night as one of my favorites. 

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During my time abroad, I was able to take a lot of time to reflect on how this experience changed me as a person. I have expanded my cultural knowledge of the world, which I believe is more educational than anything. I have used many of my experiences in my classes here at Clemson, and it has led to me receiving a lot of high grades on assignments. Additionally, I believe that people now view me as an independent individual, and it is apparent that I have more knowledge of the world, especially in Spain. I know and understand things I never would have otherwise. When people ask me how my time abroad was, I know my face lights up with a smile, and I could talk for hours about it. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity, and it is one I wish I could do all over again.