This is my third time participating on the SPC Spanish Immersion Study Abroad program to Spain which means that it is the third time that I have never wanted to go home. I guess you could say at this point that I am addicted to Spain. I don’t think that there’s a patch though for this type of illness, nor that I would want the cure. If you read about travel and/or about linguistics you have probably heard that when you speak another language that you get to live another life and, that you get to know more about yourself in a way that is impossible in your home country.

Learning Spanish has been a journey in my life that until I started I didn’t even know I wanted. Spanish has been the tool of preparing myself for the future. Once again, a future that I didn’t know I wanted until I began. I was content with completing a degree and going on to work a normal 9-5 job in the states, not that there is anything wrong with that. I was content on never venturing far from home, though I suppose that is a lie.  Something in my soul had been itching to come out. Something inside me wanted more. Now I have it. Gracias a España y especialmente gracias a señora Levin.

Now with over 2 years of studying Spanish I am poised to do one of three things, in this order:

1. Teach natural sciences in Panama  with the Peace Corps (Approval Pending Physical & Background Check).
2. Master’s degree in Spanish Florida History at USF with a concentration in Spanish Paleography.
3. Teach English in España next school year in an exchange program that exists between the United States and España.

I don’t know what the future has in store for me for certain, but I know that whatever road I go down I am going to learn to more, become a better person, and forever be a Spaniard en mi Corazon.

Click here to learn how you can take part in the 2018 SPC Spanish Immersion Study Abroad program.

A lot of people spend a lifetime searching for a place to feel at home. Many people find that place, and many others can feel at home wherever they go. For me, that place is Spain.

Last year’s study abroad program to Spain was my first time outside of the United States. In fact it was my first time off the East coast in general. I’m entertained by the fact that I have visited more places in Spain, and seen more cities in Europe than I have in the United States. You can spend a lifetime searching for a place to fit in, and I’m relieved to have found my place so soon.

This summer I’m living with the same family I lived with last year. My mama Ana and I immediately picked up where we left off last year. It hardly felt like a year had passed. The only advantage to so much time passing between visits is that now I speak more Spanish and understand WAY more of what she says to me. Coming back is like a personal test that I wanted to take. Did I improve my Spanish over the year? Do I feel like I’m really capable of making a life for myself abroad? Luckily the answers have all been yes.

Some people wondered why I would take the same exact trip two years in a row. They were perplexed by the notion, and didn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to explore other places besides Spain. For me the answer is clear. I wanted to come home.