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Home > Students study and serve in Spain

St udent s st udy and serve in Spain

September 24, 2012
When Anderso n University students Mary McDo no ugh and Brielle Bengtso n cho se to study abro ad in Spain, bo th were lo o king fo r different types o f experiences. McDo no ugh, a seco ndary Spanish majo r, cho se to stay in Seville, o ne o f the larger cities in Spain. Bio lo gy and Spanish majo r Bengtso n, o n the o ther hand, ho ped to see the rural side o f Spain. After weeks o f research she cho se Granada, a to wn surro unded by beautiful features. I wo ke up every mo rning to the Sierra Nevadas, said Bengtso n. They were right o utside my windo w. Ive never seen anything so beautiful. Bo th students have taken mo re than five years o f Spanish classes, so they did no t see co mmunicatio n as a huge co ncern. Ho wever, o nce they arrived, they quickly learned that, in Spain, the language is spo ken much differently than in Latin America. Mo st o f their everyday language is acco rding to regio n, much like o ur accents o r slang, said Bengtso n. Altho ugh co mmunicatio n was so metimes difficult, smiles and kind eyes translate in every language. [Pho to : AU students Mary McDo no ugh and Brielle Bengsto n meet up in Sevilla, Spain, during their semester abro ad.] Bo th McDo no ugh and Bengtso n to o k a full semester o f classes at the lo cal co lleges in their to wns. Fo r Spanish majo rs, it is required to study abro ad in a Spanish-speaking co untry. Altho ugh taking the trip was a requirement fo r McDo no ugh and Bengtso n, they went abo ve and beyo nd by getting invo lved in their co mmunities. Bengtso n cho se to spend her free days assisting the mentally and physically handicapped at the lo cal ho spital in Granada. Twice a week she to o k her two patients, Mustafa and Amelia, fo r paseo s walks to keep them active and mo ving. The vo lunteer gro up she wo rked with fo cused o n keeping the elderly patients active. Every weekend a trip o r activity was planned in o ne o f the cities surro unding Granada. On o ne o ccasio n, the patients and vo lunteers went to a flamenco co ncert in Seville. Im no t sure who enjo yed it mo re, the patients o r us, said Bengtso n.

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McDo no ugh also develo ped a lo ve fo r her co mmunity. She began teaching English to fo ur neighbo rho o d children. Twice a week she met with the children. In a way, we were all learning, said McDo no ugh. Bengtso ns biggest co ncern o f the trip was the fo o d. Her ho st family prepared and cho se all meals, which pushed her to experience typical Spanish cuisine. Her ho st family, in particular, was especially fo nd o f Mediterranean fo o d, which she develo ped an appreciatio n fo r o ver time. Altho ugh there are so me meals that she lo ved, there was o ne in particular Bengtso n was no t fo nd o f. One afterno o n, my ho st family made fried minno ws, said Bengtso n. It bro ught me back to the summer memo ries I have with my family. We used minno ws as bait when we went fishing. I never tho ught that I wo uld eat so mething like that, eyes and all. One o f McDo no ughs mo st impo rtant cultural immersio n experiences was the challenge o f being aro und religio ns unlike her o wn. The majo rity o f peo ple here are no t Christians, unlike AU, where Im surro unded with peo ple who ho ld the same beliefs as me, McDo no ugh said. Being in Spain stretched and tested my faith. As well as testing her beliefs, her time in Spain tested her sense o f independence. I never tho ught Id be able to walk aro und the city by myself. But I walked aro und all o f the time, just explo ring. My sense o f independence greatly impro ved by being there, McDo no ugh said. Bo th wo men enco urage their peers to study abro ad. What it co mes do wn to is that yo u make yo ur experience abro ad, said Bengtso n. Ho w much yo u invest in yo ur experience will make o r break ho w much yo u get o ut o f it. In o rder to fully benefit fro m the trip, yo u have to be willing to meet new peo ple, make mistakes, and put yo urself o ut there. Yo u have to try things that yo u never dreamed o f. Studying abro ad is the do o r, and o ppo rtunity is calling. It truly is an experience o f a lifetime. Kristen Schaap is a senio r fro m Chicago , Ill., majo ring in co mmunicatio n arts. Schaap is an asso ciate with Fifth Street Co mmunicatio ns, writing o n behalf o f the Anderso n University Office o f University Co mmunicatio ns. Ande rso n Unive rsit y is a private Christ ian unive rsit y o f 2,6 0 0 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderso n University co ntinues to be reco gnized as o ne o f America's to p co lleges by U.S. News and Wo rld Repo rt, The Princeto n Review, and Fo rbes. Established in 19 17 by the Church o f Go d , Anderso n University o ffers mo re than 6 5 undergraduate majo rs and graduate pro grams in business, music, nursing, and theo lo gy.

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