I have to say that studying abroad in Sevilla, through GlobalEd was the best experience of my life. From the moment I started the program, I knew that I was in good hands. I met with both program creators and directors of GlobalEd, Steven Davis and Rosa Moreno. They guided me through what was to come in the next 6 weeks and helped me to set goals for myself in what I wanted to achieve during this time. My goals included speaking fluently Spanish, adjusting to the work environment in Sevilla, and immersing myself in Sevilla's culture as much as possible. By the end of the summer, I had almost been fluent in Spanish, I had an amazing marketing internship and had become extremely close with my host family and other people in my program.
In the program, we had certain nights of the week where Nicole, the program director, would take us to unique Sevilla restaurants and give us a quick history lesson about tapas. My host mom was truly amazing. She would teach me new words in Spanish every night, cook authentic Sevilla dinners, and made me feel like I was part of the family. I met all of her family and friends - every single one of them was extremely welcoming. I felt like I was really a part of something bigger than myself. Along the way, Steven and Rosa were great mentors. As much as I learned and grew from this experience, I definitely had moments that were difficult. I become frustrated at times with not being able to speak any English, which in the long run made me improve that much faster and grow as an individual. However, at the time both Steven and Rosa comforted me that this was a normal feeling while assimilating into a new culture. They assured me that my Spanish would improve in time if I just stuck to it, and they were right! I learned more than I ever thought possible in this one summer. Overall, my experience was outstanding and I have never forgotten it! I think about this experience and Sevilla all the time, and I believe it has truly had a large impact on my life. I am inspired to continue traveling and return back to Sevilla soon. A huge thank you to Steven, Rosa and Nicole for an experience of a lifetime!
