{"id":1344,"date":"2019-08-15T13:08:25","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T17:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2019-08-15T13:08:25","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T17:08:25","slug":"para-continuar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/2019\/08\/15\/para-continuar\/","title":{"rendered":"Para Continuar&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The greatest advancement I gained in my language skills in my time in Madrid was an increase in comfort with the language.\u00a0 My confidence in Spanish was actually very high as I boarded the plane headed to Europe, but plummeted once I landed. I realized that even though I could write a ten page essay on Spanish poetry and film, I had no idea how to respond to the cashier at the grocery store when asked \u201c\u00bfQuieres bolsa?\u201d.\u00a0 Through accumulating daily interactions with people on subways, asking for directions, complimenting outfits, and speaking in class, I was able to finally accumulate enough off-the-cuff conversation to finally consider myself \u201ccolloquial\u201d. I am also surprised at how much peninsular \u201clingo\u201d I gained during my time in Spain\u2026 I am constantly saying phrases only utilized in Spain, such as \u201ctranquila\u201d, \u201cno pasa nada\u201d and \u201c\u00bfQue tal, chica?\u201d.\u00a0 I am looking forward to learning more subtle differences between regions in Latin America as I pursue my goal of working in American international aid to Latin American countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The SLA gave me the gift of independence for the first time.\u00a0 Though I technically live \u201cby myself\u201d in college, I am still in a strong and structured community of track practice, dorm events, and dining halls.\u00a0 In Madrid, I was truly by myself for the first time. Knowing that I can not only operate on my own, but do it in a foreign country, gives me a new sense of agency that helps me to hold my head higher today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Culturally, I have been made aware for the first time of the extreme depth of variation between cultures, customs, and ways of the world.\u00a0 Whereas before my experience in the SLA, I thought that culture stopped at religion, politics, and language, I now realize that it extends into how the waiter gives you your check, how to locate a street sign, and whether or not to greet someone on a metro or a street corner.\u00a0 I am thankful to acknowledge early on that there is so much, in fact, that I do NOT know. As I pursue a career abroad, this humility will ensure that I listen more than I suggest as I aim to be a voice for the underrepresented.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To someone pursuing an SLA program in the summer of 2020, I would suggest to find a program that is well reviewed by students.\u00a0 My study program in Madrid was definitely unorganized, and that made it difficult for credits to transfer and for my classes to be scheduled accordingly.\u00a0 I would also suggest staying somewhere where you feel free and safe to travel, since some of the highlights of my summer lay in weekend trips across the country to get to know the region more as a whole instead of just one city.\u00a0 Be fearless in what you pursue, but do so with awareness and new friends by your side!<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1345\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Madrid-241x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"241\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Madrid-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Madrid.jpg 549w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1346\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/barcelona-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/barcelona-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/barcelona-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/barcelona.jpg 684w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1347\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/San-Seb-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/San-Seb-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/San-Seb-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/San-Seb.jpg 912w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1348\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Sara-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Sara-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Sara-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/files\/2019\/08\/Sara.jpg 684w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The greatest advancement I gained in my language skills in my time in Madrid was an increase in comfort with the language.\u00a0 My confidence in Spanish was actually very high as I boarded the plane headed to Europe, but plummeted once I landed. I realized that even though I could write a ten page essay &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/2019\/08\/15\/para-continuar\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Para Continuar&#8230;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63994],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1349,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions\/1349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}