Honors Student Spotlight : Nadyah Spahn’s Study Abroad Experience
When and where did you study abroad?
I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain this summer for a month.
Why did you choose this place?
I chose Salamanca because it has one of the oldest universities in the world (it turned 800 this year!) which I wanted to be a part of and because it was small enough to walk everywhere.
What were your initial expectations? Were any of these confirmed or changed once you were actually there?
My initial expectations were that I would hate it and that my Spanish would turn out to be horrible and I wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone. Needless to say, both of those were completely false. I loved every second in Spain and was really surprised how much Spanish I knew, and how much I learned.
What was your biggest takeaway?
My biggest takeaway was that I could do so much more than I thought I could and just needed the confidence to do wonderful things, like spontaneously plan a trip to Portugal.
Favorite memory while abroad?
My favorite memory is sitting in Chocolatería San Ginés, the oldest chocolatería in Spain, dipping churros in chocolate with my sister as we talked about anything and everything. It was such a beautiful moment and now when I’m stressing about midterms, I think back to it and wish I was still there.
Do you have any advice to give on the study abroad experience? Anything you wish you knew before?
The advice I would give is to go abroad! I know it’s expensive but there are cheaper programs and scholarships, and it truly is an incredible experience that is definitely worth it. I would also urge students who go abroad to only speak the language they’re studying, even though it’s so easy to revert back to English with other English speakers. However, if they do only speak the language they’re learning, their knowledge will increase rapidly.
Nadyah Spahn is a sophomore studying International Affairs, with minors in Leadership Studies and Sociology and a certificate in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. She also works at Health Promotion as a Peer Wellness Coach, creating wellness plans with students. In her free time, Nadyah loves to read historical fiction, letter, and spend time with her mean cat, Princess.
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