Final Reflection
As I write this in the airport waiting for my flight back home, it’s difficult to even begin to summarize the impacts of this experience on me. I finally looked back on my initial reflection post today to see if I met those first goals that I set, and I easily surpassed them. In fact, I would say that I completely underestimated how much I would grow and learn from the experience of studying abroad in Madrid.
It felt like school here could not be any more different than Michigan. UC3M’s instruction was a lot worse and I struggled with the way courses were structured. However, school was also a lot more social and laid back. It was nice to be in an environment where there was less overall emphasis on school.
One of the primary reasons I chose to study abroad in Madrid was to increase my exposure to Spanish and grow in my Spanish language skills. This undoubtedly occurred, especially in my listening comprehension, and was supplemented by the Spanish course I took at UC3M. I still have a long way to go, but I was thrilled by the amount of the language that I learned. At the very least, I became significantly more comfortable with not understanding or speaking the language of the country I traveled to.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to travel almost every weekend during my semester. I received so much cultural exposure through this. Doing this especially helped with understanding how my own previous values and lifestyle were guided by being an American.
On that same path of thinking, the most impactful lesson of the entire experience was specifically through my immersion in Spanish culture. Spaniards have a relaxed attitude towards life. They value social interaction and enjoyment of life over productivity and output. I found this to be entirely counter to American ideals. Although I still possess many American tendencies, my time studying abroad taught me how to truly live life more. I began prioritizing socializing, spending time with friends, traveling, and gaining experiences rather than my scores on my exam or my running times. I became more focused on what was happening right in front of me rather than worrying about the future. I truly focused this semester on living life for my own enjoyment instead of achieving some goal. From it, I genuinely became a happier person. This is the one thing I hope to take away from this experience back to my life in the states. There is no better time to live than the present.
None of this would’ve been possible to learn without the people I met during my time here. I didn’t expect to meet such an amazing group that became some of my closest friends. These were all people who were similar to me in that they wanted to travel, explore, and immerse themselves in a different culture, but came from different places and had unique experiences. They taught me a lot about the way I want to live my life back home, and I’ll miss them more than the city itself.
I fly back very soon, and only have a week in Michigan before I move to Atlanta for my summer internship. hope my life there is guided by the lessons I learned here. If you are ever thinking about studying abroad, I cannot recommend it more. It is such a fun and educational experience, and I know it will impact me for the rest of my life.
Alyssa Cheslek
Aerospace Engineering
IPE Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Madrid, Spain