Looking back at the possible ups and downs that occur during a study abroad experience, my program in Spain has brought some of its own challenges that relate to these ups and downs through cultural and language differences. The most prominent confrontation I have faced through my first month here has been the language barrier. In Oviedo, most people do not speak English, and although it is very intimidating and my Spanish skills are not great yet, people are very open and patient if you try to speak Spanish with them. This takes the intimidating factor out of the picture and really helps me practice my Spanish. Also, just being around native speakers every day along with staying with a host mom that only speaks Spanish, I have already seen so much growth in my understanding of the language and even in my speaking skills. Although that was never my strong suit, I feel a lot more confident speaking Spanish now than I did before.
It can still be very frustrating if I cannot think of the correct word or tense in Spanish, but everyone has been very open to helping me and understand that I am still learning and are just appreciative that I am trying rather than just speaking English. For the group of us that are a part of this program, we are all different levels when it comes to our understanding and speech in Spanish, but all of us have bonded over having similar experiences and frustrations with the language barrier. Even a student that speaks more fluently has had the same difficulties as well, which has helped ease the frustration for myself and the other students. We have been able to become closer by being able to laugh at these interactions with native speakers and joke about our mistakes. We have also helped each other if someone forgets a word or does not understand something in Spanish, which has helped tremendously and has really created a community with one another with the reminder that we are in this together.