Asturias Fall 2019

I had always known that I wanted to study abroad, but I was never very picky about which program I went with. But I distinctly remember Thomas's presentation about IFE in my Spanish class because, from that point on, I had it planned that I would apply to IFE. I liked that they veered off the traditional path of study abroad programs. Instead of structuring it as a sort of semester long "experience" (vacation, essentially), IFE is clear that their program is not catering exclusively to the student, but instead is offering the student a chance to step out of their comfort zone, be an outsider, and have the privileged experience of being able to immerse yourself completely in another way of life. While intensely rewarding, this experience can also present difficulties which is why I differentiate it from traditional study abroad programs where the student more or less is vacationing in another country, for example not speaking the native language, having classes in English, living in a dorm with other English speakers, etc. It was important to me that I did a program where I had a host family, spent all or most of the day speaking Spanish, and actually learned about the culture and society of the place I was in. My goals aligned exactly with what IFE offered.

I did my internship at the People's Museum of Asturias, where I worked principally with the documentalist who archives everything that the museum collects, and also does work with the exhibitions the museum creates. I'm a History and Spanish joint major at my school, so I learned further about the regional history of Asturias and was able to further my knowledge of Spanish history. I'm also interested in working in museums when I'm older, so I was able to explore that career path further with this internship.

The classes were a really great way to get comfortable speaking with native speakers, and especially the history class we took gave me a great base of knowledge to then go into the museum and learn further. There is an eclectic mix of teachers who all have their unique qualities and bring great energy to the classes. The comfortable setting of a classroom and going to school was also particularly helpful when in a completely new place.

I was very lucky to connect incredibly well with my host family. We were very similar and shared many interests. I enjoyed spending time with them and it also helped me learn and immerse myself further than students who were not as close with their families. I also got to see the "traditional" family life in Spain and see how it compared and contrasted with family life in the US. Going out on the weekends with the other students allowed us to meet other people near our age and we made a few friends as well!

The most important thing I learned is that I should never regret anything. Which may sound weird, but at the end of my program we had a brunch where one of my teachers asked us: if we could change anything about the program, what would it be? And it dawned on me I wouldn't want to change anything. Every mistake, slip up, bad day, good day, every moment was crucial to where I had gotten to at the end of the program and I wouldn't trade that for the world. I also learned that while other countries and places may seem strikingly different than ours, there are actually MANY more similarities than we think. We are connected more than we are separated. Furthermore, valuing our differences without judgment or shame also connects people even more.