Thinking about taking part in a study abroad program? Three GA students went to Spain this past year through SYA (School Year Abroad)– a program that offers Spanish cultural immersion in the city of Zaragoza! Taite Harman went during the second semester of her sophomore year, whereas Chloe Huh and myself took part in the five-week summer immersion program. We all briefly answered a few questions about our experience below:.
Favorite food you tried?
Taite: Tortilla de Patata (with onions), and Basque Cheesecake.
Chloe H: Paella and Huevos Rotos
Chloe C: Paella with chicken. But only good paella. Bad paella is yuck.
Favorite word/phrase you learned?
Taite: Pecas… freckles in Spanish
Chloe H: ¡Qué chulo! It’s a common phrase in Spain and means “how cool”.
Chloe C: Chicle! It means “gum” in Spanish.
Favorite place you visited?
Taite: San Sebastian! I love food and it’s considered one of the food capitals of the world.
Chloe H: San Sebastien! The beach was my favorite part.
Chloe C: Tarragona. Beach town. On the Mediterranean.
Most embarrassing moment?
Taite: When I accidentally told the grandma that her hair looked bad because my spanish was so bad that first week. (I was trying to give her a compliment)—she never liked me after. The Spanish hold crazy grudges.
Chloe H: I kept accidentally using the phrase es bien instead of está bien, and finally my host mom’s friend corrected me…
Chloe C: One time my host dad texted me “Relax. The world is not ending.” in Spanish because I could not understand him. I was humbled and also sad.
Favorite memory?
Taite: Academic Travel to Galicia (northern Spain) we took a week off of school and walked part of the Camino de Santiago, explored the new region, and ate TONS of good food.
Chloe H: When Spain won the 2024 Euro! My host family and I watched the final (Spain vs. England) on a big screen along with other locals. After the win, everyone went to the main street to celebrate. People were waving giant Spanish flags, lighting fireworks, and singing “La Roja Baila”. Definitely a night I will never forget!
Chloe C: Visiting another Spanish camp with kids our age in the tiny town of Anso (nestled in the Pyrenees mountains). We spent the day at the river and then, when the sun set, we played this giant game of manhunt throughout the streets and alleys of the town. Ended the night with a guitar, singing songs together. Best day out of the whole trip.
Advice for someone considering SYA?
Taite: Don’t be stressed out about your level of spanish—your host family has tons of experience with Americans who are super bad at Spanish and will help you out. After two weeks you’ll be able to see an improvement. Also, come talk to me! I have so much more to say (:
Chloe H: Do it! It was by far the best experience of my life! If you feel intimidated at first, that is completely normal and all of your American peers are in the same boat as you. You are there to improve and learn, and everyone in the SYA program is extremely supportive of that…so do it!
Chloe C: Do it! Do it! Do it! Was super scary and uncomfortable at first, but I learned soooo much about myself. I also just feel like a more interesting person. If you don’t want to lose a whole semester of your school experience, consider the summer program! Five weeks was the perfect amount of time and I got so much out of it.
Advice for someone going abroad in general?
Taite: Try not to feel overwhelmed and like you have to accomplish everything, you can only do so much and have to prioritize yourself when you’re in this sort of situation and not push yourself too hard.
Chloe H: Communicate with locals and your host family as much as possible and trust the process! Don’t let a fear of making mistakes deter you from communicating, because even holding a short conversation or simply ordering food is the most rewarding feeling.
Chloe C: Prepare for the most intense bittersweet-ness you will ever feel in your life. I have never missed America so much as when I was in Spain, but I also went into a week-long depression before leaving. And I cry thinking about it because I miss literally everything.
Saddest object you lost?
Taite: Not something I lost but all my clothes got DESTROYED and discolored because the laundry is different in Spain.
Chloe H: Surprisingly, I don’t think I lost anything while I was in Spain.
Chloe C: First day in Spain I lost my favorite UVA crewneck in the Madrid airport. I’m still upset about this.
Something you miss?
Taite: The independence of being with your friends traveling around Spain.
Chloe H: The tradition of eating lunch with my host grandma every Wednesday.
Chloe C: Walking around the city or parks by myself for hours and feeling at peace with being super independent.
Have any more questions? Email us!
