Hola a todos!
My name is Katya
Davis, and I’m a junior International & Global Studies major studying in
Cáceres, Spain at The University of Extremadura. Cáceres is located in the
central-western part of Spain, in the province of Extremadura. (We’re super close
to the Portuguese border!) I was lucky enough to have three other girls from
UNCG also studying here with me. We actually met a fifth UNCG student upon
arriving here that we didn’t even know was coming (Hey Zandra!!) We’ve all been
here since late January, and now my semester is almost over; I can’t believe I
only have about another month here! L
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| The most famous plaza in the city, La Plaza Mayor |
Cáceres is a very
typical Spanish city in the way it was built. Most cities were built as
fortresses to protect its citizens from invaders, and over time, modern
buildings were constructed all around these “old cities” to become the modern
cities they are today. “La parte antigua” (the old city) is what we call this
old part of Cáceres. It’s like stepping directly into history thousands of
years ago. The first time I explored “la parte antigua” I wanted to cry tears
of joy. As a history and overall world-lover, I was so excited to see this part
of the city I’d seen so many pictures of before arriving. I had never seen
anything so beautiful. I still think it’s the most beautiful “parte antigua” in
all of Spain. I found uneven streets made of all different kinds of stones,
huge circular and blocky towers and an immense church with a view of the whole
city. This is the most distinctive difference I see between the U.S. and most
of Europe: people are living in thousands
of years of history all over this continent. And somehow, the people of Cáceres
mastered the art of driving their cars down these old cobblestone streets
without even making a scratch.
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| A view of Caceres from the biggest church in the parte antigua |
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| Beautiful Córdoba! |
The first month in
Spain was not at all easy for me. Spanish culture is very different from
American culture—as most cultures are—however, the Spanish tend to be very
relaxed. About everything. As a hyperactive, generally on-time American, this
was extremely hard for me and my fellow UNCG friends to get used to. We didn’t
have wifi in our apartment for a month (the estimate the companies gave us was
“between two weeks and a month”), which ended up being harder for our parents
than us as we took advantage of local cafes around our apartment! It also took
us forever to get signed up for classes; there was a long process of going to
multiple offices to get registered, and nobody seemed to ever be ready when
they said they would be! All the exchange students (we are lumped in with
Erasmus students here) didn’t start classes until about a week or two after all
the Spanish students did!
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| The view of the parte antigua from outside my piso (apartment |
The second most
difficult thing is siesta. I say “is” because we still forget sometimes! Siesta
is such an important part of Spanish culture. During siesta, almost every
business in the city closes between about 2 and 5pm, and everyone goes home and
sleeps. When I asked a Spanish friend if everyone actually goes to sleep, his
eyes widened and he said, “Of course!! I change into my pajamas and sleep the
whole time!” Perhaps this is why the Spanish seem so much healthier and less
stressed than Americans (not taking into account the extremely high
unemployment rate in Spain right nowL)!
So many people told me
“travelling is easy and cheap in Europe!” and I really thought they were right.
Unfortunately it hasn’t been nearly as cheap for me as maybe students studying
in more central places like Germany. Travelling on a budget takes a lot of
patience and planning. It has been more difficult for my friends and I since we
live so out of the way in Spain. The closest international airports are Seville
and Madrid, so a train or bus ticket to and from those cities is about 30 euros
every time. Also, flights in and out of Spain tend to be more expensive than
between other countries. However, I have found ways to make it work! Within
Spain, I have been to Mérida, Badajoz (both in Extremadura), Granada, Córdoba,
Madrid, Toledo, and Valencia. I recently finished my spring break here, called
“Semana Santa,” and was lucky enough to have visited Paris, Amsterdam, and
Berlin. Soon I’ll be heading to Manchester and London as well. I have learned
SO much about travelling from these trips. My biggest problem was that I didn’t
plan ahead far enough. So my biggest piece of advice concerning travelling would
be to do just that; take the time to sit down and figure it all out before you
even go abroad. I wanted to wait and see when I could fit my travels into my
academic schedule, but oftentimes you have more breaks than you think you will!
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| Alhambra in Granada! |
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| Amsterdam, Berlin |
When choosing a study
abroad site, Cáceres was actually my second choice in Spain. When I found out I
was placed here instead of my first choice, I really panicked because I hadn’t
planned too much for this city. If this happens to you, don’t do what I did and
worry. It’ll only make you feel bad about studying abroad. Be open to many
options when making a choice so you’re prepared for anything! If you truly want
to study abroad and see the world, you’ll find that there are tons of places
that will make you happy. Now I absolutely cannot imagine what my experience
would have been like if I hadn’t gone to Cáceres. I have been to so many places
in Spain, yet Cáceres continues to be my favorite city. It’s smaller, but much
more of a “city” than Greensboro in that you can walk everywhere, there are
tons of locally owned businesses, the public transportation is very efficient,
and most importantly, the sense of community is unlike anything I’ve
experienced before.
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| My friends and I during Carnaval in Badajoz. The Erasmus friends I have made here are just amazing; they really are friends for life! |
Time to get down to the “real” study abroad advice. All I can really say is be brave. I had never traveled outside the U.S. before studying abroad, and I had never traveled without my parents either. But I was so excited for this experience that, at the beginning, I was most afraid of flying by myself, not the actual study abroad experience! I have done so many things by myself (or just with friends) than I could have ever imagined. Planning trips without your parents is a very daunting task, but now I’m kind of a pro! Everything comes with experience. I was very nervous about knowing nothing about travelling prior to my experience, but most people don’t know much either! You’re not alone! And the friends you’ll make while abroad are some of the best people you’ll ever meet in your life. There are so, SO many things you’ll never realize about your home country, your destination country, and yourself if you don’t take that chance to go abroad. This is the best time in your life to do it. Be brave, take chances, and become a true global citizen.
As everyone in Cáceres says, ¡Hasta luego!
Katya Davis
