The Time of My Life #HogsAbroad in Spain

Hi everyone! My name is Madeline Harrington. I am in the College of the Health Professions studying Communication Disorders with a minor in Spanish. This July (2018) I went to Madrid, Spain for one month.

I had the time of my life this summer in Spain! To get ready, I was given packing lists from the meetings prior to the trip that helped a lot. Packing is always a source of stress for me, especially on long trips like this one! I paid close attention to those lists and made sure to go through every possible item I might need that I would not be able to get abroad. 

Familiarize yourself with the culture and prepare for culture shock. The meetings prior to Spain gave me more than enough information I needed for this. It took me about a week and a half to get adjusted and for my homesickness to settle down. 

I wish I would have known that if you have English-speaking roommates, you WILL speak English in the house unless you force yourself to speak Spanish in-house. This is very hard to do. I had two fantastic roommates that also went to the U of A, so we spoke English much of the time. We lived with a lovely housekeeper that we talked to once or so a day. 

The University of Nebrija is absolutely fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about it. The professors are incredible; they truly care about their students. I did not expect to make quite so many friends. I made friends with the people from U of A of course, but I made so many friends at school. This was a highlight of the trip because it was so unexpected and so much fun! The people of Madrid were so kind to us. In general, they are patient with those learning Spanish and some will even correct/help you along while speaking with them. All in all, I had the time of my life in Madrid. I already miss it, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

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Madeline spent the Summer 2018 term in Spain with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish in Madrid program, with the help of our our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

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