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By fuentescaro

I am thankful for the community that has welcomed me in Sevilla, Spain. The individuals that I have met have made this experience so far an unforgettable adventure. First, I want to describe how La Giralda is one of my favorite places in Sevilla to sit down and relax. The magnificent structure has so much history hidden within its architecture. When I took an intensive history class in the beginning of the semester, I learned of how much La Giralda has changed, all thanks to the different cultures of its conquerors. My favorite time to visit it is at night. The lights enhance the beauty of La Giralda and the calm breeze always makes me want to sit down and enjoy the view.

My community abroad is Seville, Spain. It is a beautiful community rich in culture, history and delicious tapas.

 

...continue reading "My community: Sevilla Edition! "

By fuentescaro

Before going abroad I had already established that I was not going to be able to eat all the food that I eat at home. I knew that home cooked meals were going to be missed but I was excited to see the differences in food. When my host mom asked me one day if I wanted a tortilla, I was too overjoyed to answer, “sí”. When I went to sit down, I noticed that a Spanish tortilla was made of potato/egg. The Spanish tortilla- was delicious. However, my host mom noticed my confused face. She asked, “what’s wrong?” I laughed and explained that for me, a tortilla was made out of corn flour. She started laughing and said she had never heard about it. We started to talk about what we could make with flour tortilla and the options ranged from pupusas to tacos. The irony of all of this is that a couple of days later I saw corn flour at Corte Inglés, an international supermarket, and I bought the Maseca (corn flour). I brought it home and my host mom, host sister and I spent the next day’s afternoon making tortillas. They loved it and now my host mom is trying new recipes with it! I felt a great sense of pride sharing a little bit of my culture with my host family.

...continue reading "Tortillas, anyone?"

By fuentescaro

Time has sincerely gone too fast. I remember being excited early September about being in Sevilla, a beautiful European city with so much history. Now, I sit at a coffee shop late November while listening to Christmas music because in Spain they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. Looking at all the people here at the coffee shop, I cannot help but feel nostalgic. Nostalgic in the sense that I am going to leave soon a city that has given me so much perspective about my identity.

I still identify as a Latina and first-generation student in the United States. However, I have taken more pride in saying that even though I was not born in the United States, I am still American. A lot of people in Spain have questioned whether I am from the United States as soon as I start speaking. I have to explain my nationality and how growing up in the United States has influenced not only my accent but my Spanglish. It has been a strange feeling when people try to guess where I am from and I think the hardest part of leaving my international community will be not being able to see them and interact with them on a daily basis.

I will miss coming to my host home during lunch time and listen to the stories of an enthusiastic nine-year-old. Most definitely I will miss all the interactions with my CIEE friends, getting churros con chocolate and walking in the streets decorated with Christmas ornaments. For the most part I have been accustomed to communicating in Spanish with my host family and friends. I have had a hard time with some vocabulary but I think my Spanish has increasingly improved.

...continue reading "Al tiempo"

By fuentescaro

The most memorable experience I have is teaching English at a school in Sevilla named Sagrado Corazón. The ages of the students ranged from 15 to 17 years old. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would wake up at 6:30am to eat breakfast, get ready and head to class. I had four classes that I had to prepare lesson plans for. Every day they greeted me with great enthusiasm and laughter.

One of my favorite moments was during my second to last class. A student from cuarto de la ESO (10th grade) approached me and told me that I had made an impact on her. She thanked me because every Tuesday (one hour per week), she looked forward to see me because she always had fun in class. I stood in silence for a couple of minutes not knowing what to say. Those words had meant a lot to me because I had cause a little happiness on a student's life. I told her I was lucky to be able to talk to them and to get to know them.

Further, the students of segundo de bachillerato (seniors), on my very last day were able to show me a little bit of the flamenco culture. They took out their instruments and started to sign typical songs from Andalucía. I was happy to join them and I learned a couple of steps here and there. It were moments like those that reflected a great time as an English student teacher.

...continue reading "Let’s learn together!"

By fuentescaro

Latina. That is the first word that comes to mind when I am asked about my identity. It is a powerful word that depicts the struggles my parents and I faced when coming to the land of the American dream. At the age of eight, I knew multiplication tables, I could read legends and dance to cumbia - all as a native Spanish speaker. As the years passed, I became aware that some of the things I valued the most as a little girl seemed to have been lost in translation.

As the oldest of three children, I did not have the option to put my education on pause after I graduated high school. Since I arrived to the states my main goal has always been to graduate from college. I owe that to my parents, who taught me that being bilingual is not only a matter of knowing two languages. They taught me that being bilingual was cooking pupusas for lunch and getting McDonalds for dinner. Bilingual in the sense that as a first generation student in the United States, I was able to hold my high school diploma from an American school system while that same day attend mass in Spanish to give thanks for my acceptance to college.

I am beyond proud of where I come from. When I was younger my accent could have been distinguished a mile away. Sometimes I still feel subconscious about it, but some people seemed not to notice it. Some act surprise when they hear that most of my childhood I spent in Central America. Others, after hearing my story congratulate me and tell me that because of my background I am fighting the odds of graduating college. To those I say, nothing is impossible. Gracias por leer mi historia.