STEP Reflection Valencia, Spain

Haley Jenkins

Education Abroad

For my STEP Signature Project, I participated in an Education Abroad in Valencia, Spain. On this trip, I took Spanish classes that went toward my Spanish minor, and I had the opportunity learn about a different culture and engage in a new learning environment.

Being in a new country with a different language gave me a new perspective and insight to people from different backgrounds. I was also able to greatly improve my Spanish skills, since I was immersed in a Spanish-speaking country for five weeks. Although I am still far from fluent, I was able to work through many challenges I had communicating and gained much more confidence in speaking a foreign language. I also have a better understanding of the hardships people have who come to the United States not knowing English.

One of the key aspects of this trip that gave me this new perspective was living with a homestay. For the duration of my stay in Valencia, I lived with a Spanish mother. This day to day interaction required me to practice Spanish because my host mother didn’t speak English. It was challenging at times, but she was patient, and I was able to improve my Spanish skills as I worked at communicating with the language. I was able to have many conversations with her and learn more about her viewpoints and the Spanish culture. I also shared my thoughts and opinions with her to teach her about life in the United States.

Another important aspect of this trip was navigating through a foreign country. On a daily basis I had to use public transportation to get throughout the city of Valencia. Being able to speak Spanish was helpful when I got lost or when I needed to understand street signs. I was also able to take a trip to the island of Mallorca on our free weekend with some other people in the program. This opportunity gave me more confidence in traveling through foreign countries, and it also required me to use Spanish when I needed help.

During this program I was able to meet a lot of new people. This included other Americans in my program and people from Spain and Europe. I was able to learn about various generalizations people had of Americans and learned about some generalizations of Europeans. Through interacting with each other we were able to realize that generalizations aren’t always valid and that you shouldn’t assume things about people simply based on where they are from. I was able to make a lot of new friends on this trip and make lasting memories with them.

Overall, this trip was very valuable to me because I was able to improve my Spanish skills and gain a new perspective. I hope to be fluent in Spanish one day so that I have more career opportunities and so that I can travel to more places. I also think it is important to know more than one language so that you can communicate with people and break down barriers. The new perspective I gained will help me personally and professionally. I will be able to communicate and work better with people from different backgrounds and have a better understanding of those from another country.

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