I am Dayli Satterfield, a junior Communication Sciences and Disorders major with a minor in Spanish. This past summer, I decided to study abroad in Spain to work on my Spanish language comprehension and to dive into the culture. I had always planned to study abroad and thankfully got the opportunity to do so for 6 weeks in Granada, Spain. Since I had never been out of the United States, I had no idea what to expect. I knew language would be a great barrier to overcome during my stay, but there were also many other obstacles on the horizon.
I had never flown by myself or had to navigate an airport alone. Once my parents walked me in, helped me check into my flight and receive my tickets, I had to say goodbye. Security wasn’t so bad, but waiting almost two more hours until my departure was a very difficult time. It reminded me of being a little girl at the doctor’s office, knowing I had to get a shot, and having to wait for it anyway. I was fighting back tears of already feeling homesick, and I kept blowing up my friends’ and families’ phones, needing reassurance because I wasn’t sure I could do it. I tried reading a book at one point, which didn’t even help to calm my nerves. The time had finally come to board my flight, and that was when the true anxiety set in. I had always wanted to travel the world, and I was getting my chance, but I felt like I needed a familiar face to travel with me. It’s one thing to dream about something for years, and quite another to actually experience it.
For good luck or superstition, I always touch the outside of the plane before entering and getting seated. I made sure I touched this one, especially since I was going to be on an eleven-hour flight by myself to a strange, new country! I placed my carry-on on the shelf above me, plugged my headphones in, and started watching any movie that caught my attention to ward off bad thoughts and nervous feelings. After the longest flight I’ve ever experienced, with no sleep, I finally landed in London.
2. Meeting Complete Strangers and Becoming Friends
Once the plane landed, I was directed to find my luggage and look for a tall man holding a sign with my program’s name on it. I was nervous, had just regained Wi-Fi, and was searching for a needle in a haystack. Luckily, I found the man and joined a circle of strangers meeting for the first time. We exchanged names, where we were from, and shared our nerves and feeling so out of place. After waiting for a few more people to land, we headed to the bus that would take us to a hotel about an hour away.
Looking out the window, I felt like I was in a dream. “Am I really in London?” It was a place I had only seen on TV and in pictures, and now I was sitting on a bus with strangers, ready to experience it! With two days to spend in London, our tour guide took us on a bus tour of the city to see Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Gardens, and the London Bridge. I had made some friends and was starting to feel more comfortable navigating this foreign area, and then it was time to leave. At least there was no huge language barrier in London; a fact I realized later that I had taken for granted.
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| (A picture I took of a telephone booth near my hotel in London) |
3. Traveling to a New Country All Over Again
The London tour came to an end, and it was time for the reality to set in that I was going to be spending 5 weeks in Spain. The flight wouldn’t be so long this time, but the culture and language were about to change completely. I slept on the three-hour plane ride and was able to navigate the airport and find the meeting place for my program. At least this time I had a few familiar faces—the ones that I had met in London who were in the same program. We all met the woman that would be guiding us for the next few weeks and followed her around like lost ducklings. She guided us to our bus and filled us with information on the hour-long ride to Granada.
Once in Granada, some of us were separated based on homestay, apartment, or dorm living. My roommates and I followed another program leader to our apartment, and he showed us around the 5 bedrooms, living room, and kitchen that we would be sharing for the next 6 weeks. While there was no air conditioning, I did have the bedroom with a balcony, and there was Wi-Fi so I could call my parents to let them know I had made it. I felt stressed and quite scared. I had gone through so much in just a few hours and had already started to feel homesick, but I knew I had to power through.
4. Getting Adjusted to the Culture and Language
Before arriving in Spain, I had taken some Spanish courses in high school and three semesters throughout college. Even though I had some knowledge about the language, I was close to an intermediate level when it came to conversation. I thought it would be a breeze, but becoming fully submerged in the Spanish language in Spain was very intimidating. I had to ask my friends constantly how to order my food, find directions, and simply what to say to others to sound polite. My lack of Spanish and strong Southern accent made my friends and me seem out of place, but as the days went by, things progressively got easier. Besides the language barrier, the culture was like nothing I had ever experienced. There was a 7-hour difference in time zones and I quickly learned that Spaniards enjoy late nights and early mornings. Breakfast consisted of coffee and a croissant. They don’t eat an actual meal for lunch, it’s’ more like snacking on bread or toast and coffee in the early evening. Dinner doesn’t begin until around 9 p.m., and that was when all the night-life emerged. Bars, restaurants, and clubs opened and were ready for business. I feel like I never fully adjusted to the eating and napping or siesta times, but they were easy to adapt to for a short time
Culture shock is a real thing that many people think will never happen to them. I was one of those people in the beginning. London’s culture was different from the United States’, but it was easy to adjust to since I was only there for 3 days and felt comfortable because English was the main language. Spain, however, was completely different. A language I had only been somewhat familiar with was now required, and a culture that I had no idea even existed was where I was living. It made me feel discouraged when I could barely order my food at a restaurant or when locals came up to talk to me, and I had to reply, “No hablo bien Español.” I learned what I knew about the Spanish language in the United States from the Mexico point of view, but the Spanish spoken in Spain has many differences. They used a few different words for different items and used phrases differently than everything I had always learned. In the 6 weeks of being in Granada, I was able to learn the cultural differences and became aware of them. The culture and language is what I fell in love with.
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| (Me, standing at the top of a tower at the Alhambra in Granada) |
5. Feeling Like a Second Home
The homesick feeling came often, and I counted the days until my flight home, but the people I was surrounded with everyday made Granada feel like my second home. The more I walked around the city and went on group excursions with my program, I started to understand the history of Granada and my love for it grew. I made a wonderful group of friends that I spent almost every day with. We supported each other when we needed it. We formed an unbreakable bond that began with this shared experience, and we still talk in a group chat today.
I had class 5 days a week for hours on end, and that’s plenty of time to become good friends with classmates. My class contained 9 people, including myself, and we were all from the United States. When you’re out of the country for a while, sometimes that’s all you need to feel close to someone. For my main language class, we had two different teachers for the different sessions, with a 20-minute break in between. My classmates and I would always joke with our teachers and felt so comfortable with them that we were able to build a strong bond. Our teachers would introduce us to cultural norms in Spain, and in return, we talked to them about norms in the United States. Hearing Spanish throughout all times of the day and being forced to speak it helped alleviate some fears of not fitting in and helped me create a special spot in my heart for the city of Granada. The people I met there and locals I got to know shaped my perspective of Spain and sparked my love for the culture and language.
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| (My friends and I after dining at a famous Flamenco Show restaurant) |
6. Time to Pack Up
I was afraid the 6 weeks would drag on, but they ended up going by too fast. Before I knew it, it was my last week in Granada, and I had to start packing my suitcases. I thought it would be impossible to pack up 6 weeks of belongings plus 6 weeks of souvenirs into one, big suitcase and a carry-on, but I somehow managed.
Deciding to study abroad was one of the best decisions of my life. I learned more things about myself than I could ever even imagine. I learned how to overcome my fears, be more outgoing in quiet situations, and to be myself in all situations. Becoming friends with complete strangers and being in a foreign country can add a lot of anxiety to the mix, but I learned to make the best of it. Spain helped me grow as a person, mentally and emotionally. The experience isn’t something I take lightly, because I am aware that not everyone is able to get the opportunity to study abroad. I was lucky to have that chance, and I made the complete best of it. Although it seems scary, it is a chance worth taking. I missed home, but I also didn’t want to leave Spain. It was not easy to feel at home in a foreign place filled with such new experiences, but making new friends made it so much easier. Spain has a piece of my heart. I learned about the country’s language and culture through being immersed completely in it, and the experience positively impacted the way I view my own culture. I am forever a Granadina.
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| (This was painting on a stair step in the city. “Granada, te amo.” ) |
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Communication Disorders major & Spanish minor Dayli Satterfield spent the Summer 2019 term in
Granada, Spain with AIFS, with the help of our
Office of Study Abroad Scholarship and the
Gilman Scholarship.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at
http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/--
About the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (
http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program) offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. Such international study is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.
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