Choosing Wisely! Excitement from Granada

Everyone is always telling me they wish they could go back to college! Now that I’m going abroad, everyone is also telling me they wish they could live through their abroad experience again. How lucky am I to know such supportive people who want me to feel confident going into this experience? Or maybe they are all lying to me. It’s very hard to say, but I had time to think on this dilemma as I sat on the train from Madrid to Granada. 

At my core, I’m excited for this semester abroad. Maybe it’s the words of encouragement or the buzz of adventure, but I know that going abroad is something I’ve thought about since high school. When looking at colleges, I was always interested to hear about their study abroad options, only to find that many universities have similar offerings with outside programs. It’s really up to the student to dive in and find the best fits for them. 

I chose Granada through a process of narrowing that began with no clarity. I had no idea where I wanted to go, and no real list of things that could help me decide. So I took it step by step, and made it up as I went.

• Language

I was first looking at a bunch of English-speaking countries before consulting with the study away office at my school. They brought up that I spoke a good amount of Spanish and could continue to study it further in a Spanish speaking country. I was afraid to look at those options first, but after seeing the variety of language levels that could participate, I was definitely encouraged.

• Interests

I am double majoring in English and Environmental Studies, maybe with a Hispanic Studies minor now. Classes were pretty important to me, because I needed to earn credits while abroad. Many of the South American programs I initially looked at were too focused on science-related field work for my taste, so I began to look at Spain.

• Landscape! Pictures! Silly stuff!

Being from New York City, I didn’t want to be in a big city. I thought it would be beneficial to try something new, or whatever it is they say. But my college town in Maine is quite small, so I looked for something in the middle. I also wanted to be close to nature, so Granada it was! And I absolutely fell in love with the city, even just from photos. 

I’m certainly not saying this three-step approach is the certified solution for indecision, but I think mapping out my choices early on really helped me get excited for studying abroad. Once I had the logistics laid out, I could focus on the fun stuff. Now, hopefully the fun stuff comes, if I chose wisely. And if everyone was not, in fact, lying to me. 

¡Hasta luego!

Lily Echeverria