API: Experience Seville, Spain (Scholarships Available)

I like to think pieces of my heart are sprinkled throughout Sevilla. A little with my host family, my professors at school, the sweet lady I’d see at church, my API coordinators. There’s a bit of me on the rooftop of my host home apartment complex, along the river where we’d picnic, at the bike rack where our group met, in the beautiful plaza, in the heart of downtown with my friends. The night before I left for my semester in Spain, our kitchen table was covered with my suitcases, carry-on bags, passport, snacks, books, and a printed copy of the layout of the airport where my layover would be. I was as prepared as possible; this was my first time flying solo, and it was to a foreign country to live with a new family who didn’t speak English and hopefully to make a few friends from a group of strangers I would be meeting. What I experienced was more than anything I could have ever hoped for or anticipated. The following four months brought innumerable incredible memories and experiences, but it also brought plenty of challenges and opportunities to step outside of my comfort zone, even right from the beginning. But I can guarantee that every minute of it was worth it, I wouldn’t change a single moment of it, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without that experience. There isn’t enough time in the world to recount every incredible experience, but so many of those memories are due to the amazing preparation and planning that went into our excursion trips through API. We experienced weekends in Granada, Cádiz, Ronda, and Lisbon. We stayed in castles, toured marketplaces, and even attended a flamenco show tucked away in a cave in the hills. With each trip was a new opportunity to encounter new people, practice the language, and just be in awe of the vast world that I felt like I was seeing for the first time. I practiced Spanish daily at home with my host mom, laughing together at each of our mispronunciations as she learned a few English words from me too. I said good morning to the woman at the grocery store I passed every morning on my way to the metro stop before school. I exchanged a new vocab word with the security guard I became friends with on the university’s campus before heading into class. Every little piece of my day became extraordinary even in the simplest ways; whether it was attending a fútbol match with seats right next to the pitch, or paying for groceries for the first time on my own, each little moment held an important value in my experience of living life in my new home. It’s hard to believe there was a time in my life before living with daily memories of Spain. Whether it’s in seeing the framed pictures in my room, going to Spanish classes, or talking to friends from my Spain program, not a day passes by without a memory crossing with it. It’s shifted over time in a natural progression. I vividly remember the first few weeks after coming back- a confusing mix of heartbreak, frustration, sadness, uncertainty, everything a human could feel at once. I remember thinking many times during my semester abroad that I figured I felt just about every emotion humanly possible throughout those months. A lot of the time, I couldn’t even figure out how to put into words all of the emotions I was feeling. The most reassuring part was having friends experiencing similar feelings who I could talk to about it as it all happened. No one had all the answers, but we were all in it together, and we continue to carry our inseparable bond from that semester. I’ve found solace in conversations and reminiscing with friends, putting together videos of life abroad, rereading journals or vlogs of moments as they happened, looking through photos, listening to music, talking to other people, keeping in touch with my host family, and continuing to write and process everything. It’s been over a year since moving to Spain, and I’m still trying to reflect and unpack it all. And truthfully, I don’t think I’ll ever fully comprehend everything from that semester. I know I’ll be recognizing and realizing lessons I’ve learned from my time abroad for months and years to come, both life lessons and just ways of understanding myself better. I’m forever grateful for all the people I encountered who made my time abroad exactly as it needed to be. I’m grateful for every ‘yes’ that led to the opportunity to study abroad, and for every ‘yes’ of all the people I came to know and love.

I first heard of Seville in my high school Spanish class and it never left my mind! That is why I was beyond excited (to say the least) when I found out that API offers an experience in Seville. This program led to a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish every moment and memory from. Originally, I had only planned to go abroad for the spring semester of my junior year but then I discovered that not only does API offer a program in Seville - they offer one for the academic year and this is what I found myself doing! I will say it was an intimidating experience because not only was I leaving my life at home for a long time, I was one of the few year long students! But in the fall when I first arrived, API made sure that I got to experience the orientation just like all the other students. Orientation was really exciting because we got to fly into Madrid and spend a few days there! This gave me the opportunity to meet the other students on the program, including my future roommate. I have a fond memory of the whole group going together to explore the city and finding this awesome food market! API immediately had activities planned for us to orient to the abroad experience and get to know each other. These included a guided tour of a palace in Madrid and a group dinner. The special activities did not just end at orientation, they were extensive for the rest of my whole year-long experience! Some of my favorite memories from abroad come from the excursions we took like making homemade bread in a small village outside the city, staying the night in a monastery, flying to Barcelona, going on a walking tour in Cádiz, and so much more! Not only were these excursions a great way to explore Spain and the culture, they gave me a chance to become even closer friends with the students on my program. The friends I got to meet abroad are still some of my best friends today and even though we live in different parts of the country, we still stay in touch! I even got to meet up with one of then in Boston! Overall, choosing to study in Seville for a year was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I am already planning to take a return trip! API created an inclusive environment where it was easy to meet other students and the program leaders were always available to answer any questions. I appreciated their knowledge of the city and suggestions for restaurants and places to visit. The office has open hours where students can come in for support and email responses are fast. The program offered many housing options ranging from host families to apartments. I am so happy with the apartment I stayed in because I had my own room, a shared kitchen and living room, and the location was fabulous. (the rooftop pool was also a plus!) If you are deciding where to go, I highly suggest checking out the Seville program offered by Academics Program International because you will have the best time of your life and never want to leave the beautiful city!

During my time in Seville, Spain I learned a lot about a new culture, country, and myself. The university courses were incredibly interesting and informative and were all taught in Spanish. These courses along with my living with a Spanish family and interacting with the people in the Seville community made me a better Spanish speaker and really allowed me to grow as a person. I was living with a wonderful host family and roommate while also navigating living in a city on my own for the first time as an adult. The API staff on site in Seville were very interactive and supportive and made all of the many excursions even more interesting. Seville is an incredible city with a perfect mixture of beautiful history and modern city life. We were also able to explore other areas of Spain as well with API including Barecelona, Granada, Cadiz and so many others. I met so many new people and had so many new and fun experiences with them. I learned so much about myself and my passions while abroad in Spain and I have definitely become a different and more mature version of myself after returning from this experience. I grew a lot as a person and it is all thanks to this incredible immersive experience I had with API Abroad in Seville, Spain.