I am a Spanish major here at UGA and I knew I wanted to have the experience of learning Spanish through immersion. I took the time to explore the four different UGA in Spain programs and eventually decided that I really wanted to participate in a homestay to have the most immersive experience possible. So, I picked the UGA in Seville program which is a 6 and a half week homestay. I was really nervous going into the trip, and I was really scared that I might not get along with the family I was staying with. I was worried I'd have trouble communicating my needs and having in depth conversations. I did not know exactly what these next few weeks had in store, but I knew that I was excited.
It was definitely an adjustment initially, it took time getting used to living in another family's house and only being able to speak Spanish at home. My roommate Fontana and I agreed that after our first in depth conversation with out host family we felt like our brains were completely fried. But we adjusted quickly. Our family treated us with so much kindness, compassion, and love. The first time we met, we all cried about how much we loved our dogs. Our host mom, Inma, is a very charismatic, lively, and loving person. She told us all about her family, interests, and hobbies. We spent many nights talking about Bridgerton and Jane Austen, her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice or Orgullo y Prejuicio. We absolutely fell in love with the city and quickly began to feel like home. We felt so accomplished when we felt more and more comfortable expressing ourselves in Spanish.
It was just as much of an adjustment coming home from the experience as it was arriving there. It was so nice being in a walkable city, with so many public transportation options. Coming back home to a suburban life felt like a slap in the face. However, I was so excited to see my family and get to fill them in on all the details we hadn't gotten to talk about.
One of the biggest differences I noticed between learning Spanish in the classroom versus practicing Spanish in day to day interactions is that it almost feels like survival trying to say the right things at the right moments. You learn very quickly to act quickly, especially in settings where you are placing an order. Before my classes each day, I would always grab a coffee at the University Cafe. There was only one man working at the counter each day, tending to dozens of students at a time. So, when I walked up to the counter each day, I made sure I knew exactly what I wanted when the barista would ask me "di me" or "tell me."
This was definitely one of the huge benefits of living with a host family. They taught us so many expressions, and we also constantly picked up on things that our family said all the time. For example, when our host mom told us a story from her day, she'd usually end her thoughts with the statements "en fin" or "in the end" and "pero bueno" or "oh well." We started using her expressions in our own speaking and our host mom was always super happy when she heard our attempts at using her lingo. From my experiences learning Spanish in the classroom, it is much harder to learn real colloquial phrases because we are learning a more formal, textbook version of Spanish.
This experience definitely proved the idea that "practice makes perfect" and while our speaking was certainly not perfect, it was really cool to have the opportunity to track our own improvement. Looking back at my experience in the coffee shop at the universtiy, for example, I felt myself growing more and more confident in my ability to proudly say my order "Por favor me puede dar una media de jamón y un café con leche.""
A super special moment from the very end of the trip was having the opportunity to meet up with my Dad in Italy. He was teaching on another study abroad program in Italy and both of our programs ended around the same time. We had a wonderful time together and I was so grateful to have the chance to explore another place. It was the perfect balance between having a little more time abroad while also having the comfort of home.