Farewell to my Experience

My experience this past summer is one that I will reflect on as a formative experience in my academic, personal, and professional development. The opportunity to live in another country and authentically interact with the local community is valuable in many ways. I was able to experience the milestone of moving to a new city without knowing anyone and living by myself. Being in Spain allowed me to practice my Spanish speaking, which was crucial to my development of this skill. I was immersed in a new culture and was able to try new foods, experience Spanish traditions and cultural events, and learn firsthand about the history and personality of a new country. Volunteering at the local school helped me to develop my intercultural competency and communication skills, which will be valuable for my future career. This experience shaped my worldview by opening my mind to new cultures and people. Living and growing through culture shock and the troubles that come with moving to a new country will be useful experience to look back on in my future as I hope to travel and live in other countries and cultures in the future for my career.  

I have narrowed down my CapStone project to a specific topic and I have developed a plan of action. I will be doing my project on the confluence of religion and history in modern Spain and studying this topic through the present education system. I will utilize the observations that I made while volunteering and the information that I learned in my archaeology and Spanish courses that I attended while in Spain. This knowledge will also be supplemented with the daily observations that I made while living and traveling around Spain, as well as using secondary source research.