Maddie Hooper participated in a one-month study abroad program in Segovia, Spain where she took Spanish classes and lived with a host family. The program improved her Spanish fluency through conversation classes and exploring the city independently. Her most significant progress came from daily conversations with her host mother, which increased her comfort speaking Spanish. While the experience broadened her horizons, it also revealed that while she enjoyed communicating with locals, she is more interested in English literature than formally studying Spanish in college.

1. Brown Fellows Summer Enrichment Project – 2011 <br />Maddie Hooper<br />This summer, I traveled to Spain, where I participated in the Kentucky Institute for International Studies Spain I program. The program lasted one month and entailed taking two Spanish classes and living with a host family in Segovia, Castilla y León.<br />I originally chose this program because I wanted to become fluent in Spanish, and I knew that a program offering a home-stay would be the best way to accomplish this. I have many interests and passions, and since I don’t yet know what I want to major in or do when I graduate, learning Spanish seemed like a practical use of my time. Surely speaking a second language will be a useful skill regardless of what I’m doing in ten years. I also love to travel and felt that getting the opportunity to plan trips and venture out on my own in a foreign country would be invaluable for my independence and confidence. <br />Living and learning in Segovia certainly helped my personal development in these ways and many more. I’m sure I will feel the continuing influence of Segovia in ways that haven’t even begun to manifest themselves yet. <br />The most obvious and quantifiable way in which my summer project was enriching was my improved Spanish fluency. I am still not fluent, but I feel much more comfortable in conversation and can communicate almost anything I need to say in an informal setting. The classes I took were challenging and fun; my conversation course culminated in the students guiding our professor through a Spanish tour of Segovia. Not one word of English was spoken the entire time, a true mark of our having improved hugely. My culture abroad course also helped me improve my speaking and writing abilities, but my favorite aspect of it was exploring Segovia outside the classroom and beginning to understand what it means to be Spanish. However, the most crucial part of my progress was my home-stay. My “Señora,” Soledad, invited me to go on a walk with her one morning before classes, and just over the course of that walk I began to feel my inhibitions slipping away. Conversation became more fluid and I was less afraid to ask her to repeat herself or clarify. After that, we talked at lunch and dinner every day, and this is where improvement really occurred. Further, the bond I formed with my host family was, if not the most useful, definitely the most special part of my trip for me. With Soledad’s advice and encouragement, I explored Segovia and Madrid on my own and felt myself melding into my beautiful environment, blending into the culture of Spain.<br />This was a truly beneficial experience because it broadened my horizons and challenged me to confront my own ethnocentrism. Dealing with crises like a bedbug infestation showed me that I am highly adaptable that I can take responsibility for my own problems. This being said, Spain actually helped show me that Spanish is perhaps not an area of study I will pursue formally at college. I loved communicating with locals, but what I really loved about this was the people and personalities, not the grammar and vocabulary. I also missed English books and writing. <br />Now I begin the new school year with a wonderful experience that will always be a part of me but with renewed focus towards my English major.<br />