Study Abroad

In the fall semester of my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I was not sure what to expect from my abroad semester. I had high hopes of improving my Spanish abilities, learning about new cultures, and broaden my understanding of parts of the world. I was excited to live with a local family, and hopefully come to feel like I blended in with the other Spanish residents. In the future, I am hoping to attend physical therapy school and become a physical therapist. I wanted to use my semester abroad to accomplish both of my goals in cultural competency while also incorporating my career goals in the semester.  

During my time in Spain, I encountered numerous new cultural experiences. The biggest adjustment was the unfamiliar schedule. Most businesses take a “siesta” (nap) during the day, and are closed in the middle of the work day. This is a period of relaxation in the middle of the day for employees, so they can be more productive during the hours of work time. This directly influences work schedules in Spain. For example, during my internship in the hospital, healthcare workers were assigned one of two schedules: morning from 7am-3pm or afternoon from 3pm-11pm. Additionally, these schedules do not include a break for eating, but usually do include a thirty minute coffee break. This gave me insight into Spain’s work culture and outlook on productivity. While their business hours are a little shorter than in the United States or contain breaks, they tend to be more productive and hard working during the hours that they are on the job. Additionally, this thirty minute coffee break is very prevalent, because the coffee culture is also very strong. I enjoyed learning about the new schedule type because it opened my eyes on alternative ways things can be done and if I were to run my own practice, I could implement schedules that I think are more beneficial for my own employees and my practice. 

Academically, the abroad experience was extremely beneficial for me. Being in an environment where I could only speak Spanish, I was immersed in an opportunity that I had never been given before in the United States. I had to quickly adapt, learn, and pivot in order to be more successful at communicating. I significantly decreased the amount of time it takes me to understand or process responses in Spanish, while also heavily widening my vocabulary and fluency. I can feel this change the most now during my conversations in Spanish or Spanish presentations. I feel I am more competent when performing these tasks, and I feel confident in my abilities in presenting on a topic matter I am familiar with or holding conversations with other Spanish speakers. I really look forward to utilizing all of these new skills in my future, especially professionally. I hope to travel as a physical therapist, and work in communities where the patients are predominantly Spanish speakers. This is why the semester was so valuable to me. Additionally, the internship is where I progressed the most. Since I was observing the physical therapy floor of the hospital each day, I was able to learn so much new vocabulary in the physical therapy field, while also learning about treatments, exercises, patient care, healthcare systems, and so much more in physical therapy. 

My biggest growth from my semester abroad would be in my confidence and independence. While being in a foreign country, with people I had never met and culture I had never been exposed to, I had to learn quickly and adapt regularly. I was suddenly without the support system I had built for myself at home and at Clemson, and I had to navigate a new world without them. I had never been out of the country before, let alone doing it on my own. I got accustomed to living with a new family, and I built many new relationships. I learned so much about what I can do on my own, how I navigate new situations, and how I fend for myself when there is not someone else to assist me. Alternatively, I built on my self advocacy by needing to ask for more guidance than I normally would at home. Being able to do so many new adventures without the people who usually stand behind me, I grew so much confidence and was assured that I could tackle anything new thrown my way without relying on anyone else. 

After learning so much about Spanish, physical therapy, a whole new culture, and myself, I look forward to utilizing all of these past experiences into my future ones. There is so much I can do with my Spanish skills and physical therapy knowledge in my professional future. I will be carrying my understandings about the Spain healthcare system and physical therapy treatments with me to bring a newer outlook into the American physical therapy methods. I will be using my Spanish skills to widen my scope of patients and find areas that may be in more need than english speaking communities. Furthermore, I will be taking my memories about new cultures and my personal growth in every aspect of my future. Learning so much about new people and new ways to approach things, I will look at every situation through new lenses and be more open to different perspectives. Additionally, I am more equipped to take on new challenges and new experiences because of my personal growth abroad. I am so grateful for the experience I had and everything I can continue to bring with me.