Two weeks ago, I arrived in Seville late at night, tired, but safe. I took the taxi directly to my host family's home where my host mom greeted me. My host family do not speak English very well, but nevertheless welcoming and we try our best to understand each other. I also met my roommate who is from another university; her level of speaking and understanding the Spanish language is greater than mine, which is helpful to me and my host mom.
The next day, was International College of Seville's (ICS) first orientation day where we were given general information about housing, school events, and how to get around Seville. Finally, my classmates and I met with the ICS Academic Advisor individually to discuss and register for our courses. The next few days of the week-long orientation consisted of visits to some of Seville's most famous restaurants, sights, and shows. The remaining of the week was definitely an amazing experience filled with beautiful sceneries, amazing shows (e.g. Flamenco, Belly Dancing), and delicious tapas. The orientation definitely stayed true to its purpose of preventing a student from ever being homesick on the first week of study abroad because it definitely made me more excited about what the semester had to offer studying here in Seville.
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Woke up early yesterday to finalize everything I needed before I boarded the plane to Seville. I went to the bank to pick up the Euros I will be needing for the taxi and made sure everything I needed is packed.
Packing: Packing is probably one of the hardest things to do especially if you are restricted to one check-in luggage, one carry-on, and one personal item. However, thanks to my Resident Director, I was able to minimize my packing list and only packed the things I really need. Before packing, I made sure I had a list and set everything down. It was really tiring to roll all my clothes and pack it all in a luggage, but after about three hours, I was able to close my luggage. Tip: Spain is quite cold from January to around March so it is important to bring warm clothes and at least one warm coat. Also, it is common for students to lose their luggage and not be able to receive it until 24 hours later so it is important to pack a set of clothes in your carry-on in the event that your luggage gets lost. Another important thing is to bring an adapter because most countries do not have the same plug as we do here in the states. Most computers and phones, especially Apple products, can be plugged in any country even with the difference in voltage so you do not need to buy a converter. You can buy an adapter from Walmart, Best Buy, or Don Quijote. Finally, one important thing to do before leaving is to take down all the information you will be needing when you arrive in Seville (e.g. host family's address, Resident Directors' contact information). The Seville, Spain study abroad program is quite different because unless you will be flying with the accommodations the program offers, you will have to do everything yourself. This includes getting on a taxi and heading to your host family. Therefore, it is highly efficient to have your address ready on hand when you get a taxi. Overall, I will be flying four times with three layovers. I anticipate this to be a long and tiresome flight to Seville, but I am also extremely excited to meet my host family and school mates. I am set to leave for Seville on January 30th, but there are still many things to be done. However, I am fortunate enough to have finished all the big things I need to study abroad (e.g. visa, plane ticket, housing, etc.). I am very excited to start the Spring semester at the International College of Seville (ICS).
Visa: The Seville, Spain program through the Study Abroad Center (SAC) helped us with applying for our visa. My peers and I filled out the appropriate forms (with notarizations) and submitted them to our Study Abroad Advisor along with our payments and the SAC Director took care of the rest (e.g. submitting the forms to the Spanish Consulate). This is a huge help because there is no Spanish Consulate in Hawaii. To apply for a visa, one must go to San Francisco. Finally, our visa has been processed and approved and were given to us a month later (December). Tip: A decent amount of forms for study abroad require notarization, specifically the visa forms. If you ever study abroad, one advice would be to fill-out the forms early to have time to contact a notary public to notarize the forms and to avoid unfinished forms. Plane ticket: The study abroad program provides students with International Student Identification Cards (ISIC). With this I was able to receive a great discount for my plane ticket which cost much less than expected. However, upon booking my ticket, I dismissed the arrival time, which is later at night. This is not as efficient because, the Seville, Spain program has an orientation the day after I arrive. Tip: Book your plane ticket in advance, and think thoroughly about your arrival time in order to have time to rest. Also, arriving early in the day is more efficient for your host family who expects your arrival. Housing: The International College of Seville (ICS) provides you with a host family that they choose for you based on the answers you entered on the housing survey/form. We received our housing assignment a few weeks back and I am very excited to meet my host family. I will be living with a family of five along with a roommate from a university in the U.S. mainland who will also be part of the program. We will be living in an apartment with close proximity to ICS. What to bring: As I prepare for Seville, I will be needing many things, thus making a list is important. One of the most important things, specifically for the Seville, Spain program, is to have at least 30 Euros for the taxi to take you to your host family's home. Therefore, I will be ordering Euros from one of the banks here in Hawaii. Also, I called my bank to inform them of my travel and that I will be using my card in Europe. This will prevent the bank from freezing my account due to suspicious spending. Overall, I am feeling both nervous and excited for the program and I am beyond thrilled to go to Seville, Spain. I would like to thank the Johnson Study Abroad Scholarship, especially Mr. William Johnson, for their continued support for Shidler College of Business students who aspire to study abroad. Studying abroad in Spain has been a longtime dream, and this scholarship is an essential part of making this dream come true. Receiving this scholarship has taken a huge load off my shoulder as it is a tremendous help of financing this trip. I am very grateful for this scholarship as it will enable me to study in a country I have long admired and will allow me to immerse myself in its culture while enhancing my personal growth. Through this scholarship, I will be able to have a better understanding of the world and meet new people with different passions and livelihoods. Finally, this opportunity will expose me to various experiences that will allow me to enhance my Spanish speaking abilities as well as learn about the country’s history and culture whilst accomplishing my academic goals as a Finance major.
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