Today I will be flying to Oviedo, Spain where I will be spending this fall semester! I can\u2019t even try to explain the thoughts that are running through my head at the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a first-generation student in the United States, I\u2019ve always played it safe. Taking risks is difficult when your parents can\u2019t relate to your college experience, having studied in Cuba. When I began to think about studying abroad, it took me weeks before I even looked at the application. I felt like I needed guidance and reassurance. After asking some of my friends and family for advice, I decided it was time for a change. This entire summer, I knew I would be leaving the country, but it only started to feel like I was, about a week ago. Since I was raised in Orlando and now study at Rollins, I have never been away from my family. For this reason, I think everybody was shocked when I didn\u2019t back out at the last minute, like I tend to do. I spent the past week saying my goodbyes, packing my belongings, and praying for the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While sitting at the airport right now, I can\u2019t help but wonder how my experience abroad will be. I chose Oviedo because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, while also making my transition as easy as possible. I knew that being familiar with the language in Spain would help me feel more comfortable, as well as having similar foods available. Cuba\u2019s history was influenced a ton by Spaniards, so the countries share some cultural aspects. At the same time, they\u2019re different enough to ensure that I will have the opportunity to learn and grow as an individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am the kind of person who needs to remain busy constantly, otherwise I feel like I\u2019m wasting time. Although this may sound negative, I don\u2019t necessarily thing that it\u2019s a bad trait. In Oviedo, I\u2019ll keep myself busy by making new friends, traveling to locations that interest me, and learning new customs and traditions. I\u2019m not too worried about experiencing cultural shock or feeling out of place, since I enjoy traveling and learning. I know I\u2019ve emphasized the fact that I will be learning, but it\u2019s just really important to me. I realize that my parents had very limited opportunities when they were young, and made huge sacrifices so that I could be here, go abroad, and do so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking at the bigger picture, spending a semester abroad will help me acquire new ways of thinking for me to succeed in my field of study. I hope that this experience will be a positive one, and I\u2019m excited to see where it takes me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today I will be flying to Oviedo, Spain where I will be spending this fall semester! I can\u2019t even try to explain the thoughts that are running through my head at the moment. As a first-generation student in the United States, I\u2019ve always played it safe. Taking risks is difficult when your parents can\u2019t relate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":577,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-oviedo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/577"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18619,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18618\/revisions\/18619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}