I didn't know what to expect but I came so eager to find out what living abroad means. The first two weeks weren't as easy as I thought it would be. I had many connections flights and I lost ALL of them due to weather conditions. Finally, after 32 hours of sleep deprivation, I found out ALL my luggage was lost!! Can you really believe that? So I had no clothes to wear, nor laptop to connect with, and no shampoo or basic toiletries. Certainly I didn't have a good start BUT it turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life.
I got to know new people from ALL over the world. I made friends from Italy, Pakistan, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Bolivia, Spain, Colombia, Morocco, Brazil, and France!! I'm really glad I met them because they have broadened my knowledge and perspective about cultures and the world itself. Do you want to know what's the coolest thing about them? All of them they speak at LEAST three languages!!!! I thought I was cultured because I'm bilingual (English and Spanish) but I'm guessing I have to learn another language. So I had no problems at all on communicating with these folks.
I truly enjoyed this study abroad experience. Besides meeting new people, I tried new food which some of them were good, others not so. I listened to different types of music, I laughed, I walked at least 10 miles a day. I saw hundreds of museums, I went to the theater, famous stadiums, I ran, climbed and many other adventurous things! I'm so happy that words cannot explain how much I learned and enjoyed being in Spain. Here's a short video compiling some short trips I did when I was in Spain. I had the chance to visit Portugal, Morocco, Italy, France, and Spain!
Not everything is just trips and parties. I study Marketing and being at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is quite different from home. I have lots of group projects every week and classes are quite different. I don't love their system nor do I hate it. It's just different. Having lots of group projects, I have sharpened my skills on time management and being more cooperative. I definitely loved every single part of study abroad.
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Marketing major Stacy Dheming is spending the fall 2018 semester in Spain with our U of A Exchange Program at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.
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