By Sophia Dunstan

¡Feliz año nuevo a todos! Since my last blog post, the seasons have changed (but don’t be fooled, Spanish winter certainly isn’t cold!), and everyone has settled into the exam period. Studying for finals has actually been really exciting because it’s in a completely different environment compared to my past 5 semesters that have all been in Hamilton. The semester is 15 weeks of non-stop classes, so by the time it got to the Christmas break, being able to properly travel again was super exciting! I was able to spend a week over New Years in Barcelona, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. This was actually my first experience of solo travelling, which in itself was such an awesome experience that I would recommend to anyone. Though it was weird spending Christmas without my family and in winter, being able to learn about and live through the Spanish holiday traditions was a particularly cool experience. However, it’s certainly been a somewhat lonely experience celebrating Christmas, New Years and (next week) my birthday alone. I luckily didn’t really get homesick until December, so this was the perfect time to wrap up and watch Christmas movies!

I think this exchange has taught me a lot, but I think the most important lesson I’ve learnt is that trying new things is never as scary as it seems. Even though I already spoke Spanish before coming here, speaking it to locals in another language can feel intimidating, but even when I have been the only non-Spaniard in a room full, they have all been really encouraging and have helped me learn and improve a lot. I would suggest introducing yourself to your lecturers at the start of the semester so they know who you are and understand that you might need extra help, especially if you’re doing classes in another language. Another thing I learnt while here is to fully embrace whatever culture you’re surrounded by. For me, even the small parts of the Spanish culture like their late meal times, talking to literally everyone, and daily siestas have slowly become integrated into my life here. One of the exciting parts of living in Alicante is that Catalan is spoken here alongside Spanish, so you will often hear both being used.

Solo travelling was something else I expected to be overwhelming, but it was much easier than I had anticipated. I think travelling for 2 months with my mum before the semester started definitely helped with this, because through that time I figured out the travelling essentials that I probably wouldn’t have put much thought into. I’d say before leaving NZ, figure out which eSIM/data plan will work best for you, and whether it’s worth it for you to start a bank account. I have used Wise while abroad as I find it really quick and easy adding and converting currencies.

I think having had this experience will make my journey of continuing to learn Spanish so much easier, because I’ve been able to experience what actual conversations are like, and because my confidence with speaking the language has definitely improved. I definitely feel like having now lived on the other side of the world, my independence and confidence in exploring new places and trying new things will also improve.