Claire Pond

Studying abroad is an invaluable experience that I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in. I studied abroad in Seville, Spain in Spring 2023, and it has been the best decision I have ever made. I learned more about the world, and about myself, over those four months than ever. I will never forget my time in Spain, or the people I met along the way. Heading into the program, my main goals while abroad included becoming fluent in Spanish, learning about the Spanish culture, meeting a lot of new people, and traveling all over Europe. 

During my study abroad, I attended classes and worked an internship. The classes included Wine in Spain: History and Culture, Spanish for Business, and Spanish Cinema. My internship took place at a yoga studio called Lemon Yoga. In this internship, I was responsible for the reception desk, where I answered any questions students or potential students had about memberships, classes, etc. I also helped translate the studio website and with creating flyers and other marketing materials for upcoming events. I was very excited about the opportunity to work abroad, as I have learned a lot in the classroom about the professional world in Spanish speaking countries, but I had yet to have hands-on experience with it. My experience in the workplace and the classroom allowed me to work towards my goal of becoming fluent in Spanish. While I would not consider myself fluent, I would consider myself conversational in the language. Of course, there is always room to improve, however, I was effectively able to communicate, even if it was done a bit slowly. 

As for my second goal of learning about Spanish culture, I was extremely blessed to live with an angel of a host mother. Her name is Teresa, and she made me feel at home even though I was thousands of miles away from home. Teresa was extremely patient with us while we were learning the language, and when there were miscommunications because of our cultural differences. Additionally, my internship played a big role in learning about the country. I worked three days a week in the studio, during which time I spent chatting with locals and working with the owners. One owner of the studio was American, while the other two were Spanish. One huge cultural difference I noticed was in the way they worked together. Corrie, the American, was very similar to me in the way that we are very type A people, constantly running around to make sure everything gets done. Fátima and Roberto, the Spanish owners, were noticeably more relaxed and working at a much slower pace at all times. For example, when I worked with Corrie, she and I were constantly working on a flyer for an upcoming event, cleaning up, or whatever other task was necessary. When I worked with Fátima, she and I would chat a lot, and Fátima would attend a yoga class while I handled the reception desk. However, the success of the studio is due to the healthy mix of the two cultures. Corrie may have more to do with the behind the scenes work, but Fátima and Roberto play a huge role in maintaining relationships with students and bringing a calming presence, which is very important in a yoga studio. A second cultural difference that I noticed was that the studio was very flexible on their payment schedule. While in the US gyms typically automatically withdraw payments from your card at the same time each month, it was an honor system in Lemon Yoga that students would pay each month in person by either cash or card. I think this system goes back to those close relationships between the students and the owners of the studio, which is really wonderful.

Finally, I had the opportunity to travel all throughout Europe! The photos on the study abroad page of my eDossier show my time in France, Italy, and Morocco.  Studying abroad enriched my academic experience, as it opened my lens to a new perspective. It is a lot easier to learn about historical things such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Coloseum in Rome when you are actually looking at them in real time. Oftentimes, Americans get stuck in their own bubble, and living in another country for 4 months allowed me to expand my horizons in a way that would not otherwise be possible. I am forever grateful that I had the chance to live in Seville, Spain, and the city will always hold a special place in my heart.