Alumni Spotlight: Angela Scorese

I chose Middlebury Schools Abroad because I wanted a Spanish language immersion program in Europe that also allowed me to continue my study of music. This brought my choices down to Logroño or Córdoba, and given my huge aversion to the cold, Córdoba in the warm south was the logical choice. Plus, Middlebury's program was already "pre-approved" by Barnard, so I wouldn't have to jump through any hoops to get the credits transferred.

Middlebury sponsored our orientation program in Madrid, a day trip to Málaga and an overnight trip to Cuenca, and a few celebratory meals with the program organizers throughout the semester. They also had a contact in Córdoba who met us when we arrived and helped us find housing (including accompanying us on visits to potential apartments).

Pretty much everything else (rent payments, meals--no meal plan!--, class registration, trips, transportation, etc.) was on our own.

DON'T be afraid to mess up when speaking the local language! If you allow the fear of locals judging your mistakes to hold you back from doing social things, you'll never grow--and in the case of most language immersion programs, that's why you came in the first place!

Take every opportunity to do activities with local people (whether that's bar trivia, watching a movie, or an activity you do back home) and you'll not only drastically improve your language proficiency but also likely make a lot of new friends!

I'd make my own meals in my shared apartment kitchen, run around the multiple parks in the area to exercise, walk to class at the University, study in between classes, and end my day with an evening activity that depended on the day of the week.

Monday/Wednesday it was rehearsals with the University choir; Tuesday/Thursday was trivia/language exchange nights at my favorite bar, and my weekends were spent taking lessons at the local music school (and practicing), as well as singing with the Cathedral Choir at Mass.

My biggest fear was that the locals (Andalusians speak FAST, and tend to leave off intervocalic/terminal consonants) would become frustrated with my comparatively slow/imperfect Spanish and refuse to interact with me and/or dislike me. I overcame this through my joining the University choir and participating in language exchange nights at the local bar.

It's a widely accepted fact that music is a universal language, and thanks to my extensive prior choir experience, I was able to follow along in rehearsal even if I didn't initially understand every word the conductor spoke and was able to connect over a shared interest (music). The language exchange nights were designed for the locals to practice their English (which of course was far from perfect!) and helped me be less afraid to make mistakes when speaking--and eventually, the more I spoke and got used to using the language 24/7, the better my Spanish got!

I got to sing in a 1000-year-old mosque-cathedral--just by asking (and mentioning my music experience/training, of course)! I also managed to fit all of my (important) stuff (that hadn't already been shipped back home) in a carry-on bag when the baggage handlers went on strike the day before I left the country--INVEST IN VACUUM SEAL BAGS, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER.

Also, I tried blood sausage (YUM), snails (overrated), white wine mixed with Sprite AKA rebujito (surprisingly good), fried eggplant dipped in honey (YUM, as odd as the combination sounds), and a ton of other foods (many of which I taught myself to recreate back home).