{"id":13279,"date":"2016-07-06T18:02:33","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T18:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/?p=13279"},"modified":"2024-01-30T11:43:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T16:43:12","slug":"thankful-opportunity-bendecida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/thankful-opportunity-bendecida\/","title":{"rendered":"I am so thankful for this opportunity&#8230; Bendecida!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7709.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13341 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7709-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_7709\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7709-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7709-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7709.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>I couldn&#8217;t know what to expect.<\/p>\n<p>The moment I mentioned I was studying abroad to anyone (which I didn&#8217;t much, because I was in denial for the majority of the preparation stage), I was instantly flooded with travel information and personal experience. Despite the overload (which I loved), I still wasn&#8217;t prepared.<\/p>\n<p>First off, my personal packing list was grossly underestimated. It wasn&#8217;t until I reached Salamanca that I realized I probably should have brought my tennis shoes (but it&#8217;s okay, I have my fancy Tevas). I also underestimated the weight of my backpacking backpack, which I have affectionately called the Big Blue Barry.<\/p>\n<p>But that wasn&#8217;t all. I underestimated the beauty of an ancient town and the history it contained.I couldn&#8217;t picture how the Plaza Mayor would get more beautiful each night. I had no clue of the wonderful roommate I would have who laughs with me, forgets Spanish words with me, and reminds me not to forget my things everywhere. I hadn&#8217;t the faintest idea of all the sweet and lively people I would meet, both in and out of our little group.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7510.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13339 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7510-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_7510\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7510-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2016\/07\/IMG_7510.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>The fierce waves and fabulous lunch in Biarritz, the magical mist and sweeping views of San Sebasti\u00e1n, the illuminated buildings of Salamanca, the tight goodbye hugs from my Spanish mom, a spontaneous photoshoot outside of a cave in Zamora, mischievous smiles from the kids at Piratufos<span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">, our SPC bear mascot (which we have named Santiago Pedro Cruz), manufacturing Spanish guitars and making the business owner&#8217;s day, innumerable of Rummy-<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">-this and so much more will be kept in my heart as a gift.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In each detail, I am so very thankful for the opportunity to learn in and about another culture so thoroughly and with such good company. I am excited to continue to pursue complete fluency in Spanish and hopefully pick up my next language soon! A special thank you to the donors who gave towards my two scholarships and to my fantastic professor, Roxana Levin, for convincing me to go!! I am blessed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I couldn&#8217;t know what to expect. The moment I mentioned I was studying abroad to anyone (which I didn&#8217;t much, because I was in denial for the majority of the preparation stage), I was instantly flooded with travel information and personal experience. Despite the overload (which I loved), I still wasn&#8217;t prepared. First off, my &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/thankful-opportunity-bendecida\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">I am so thankful for this opportunity&#8230; Bendecida!<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":757,"featured_media":13338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[213],"class_list":["post-13279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spain","category-study-abroad"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>I am so thankful for this opportunity... 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