Reflection

Now that I have finished with both the Spring and Summer portions of this program, I think I can offer new insight on how I am viewing both my experience and how I can connect it to my capstone project. At the beginning of my experience, I was honestly pretty overwhelmed with the fact that I would be spending an extended amount of time away from home. I did not know what to expect with the different interactions I was going to have with different cultures, or if I was going to be taken in a positive or negative manner. However, once I was abroad, I realized that despite the many differences between my culture and Spain’s there are still many common aspects that made my experience so enjoyable.

One of these main aspects that I had in common with Valencians, and something that I think has changed in regards to my Capstone project is the emphasis on “third spaces,” and why they are important. Valencia with its Turia Riverbed has prioritized creating a third space for its citizens, which is not something I have experienced in the United State, but after experiencing it in Valencia, it has changed my perspective. I was planning on just looking at sort of the economic and environmental impacts of greenspaces in urban areas, but now I want to shift it to both environemental and emotional/mental impact a greenspace can have. (Will post my Capstone Outline in Canvas).