This summer I lived in Spain for two months, and over the course of my time there, I learned a lot of things about myself, life and the world.
These are lessons that I think most people learn while abroad and are important lessons to prosper personal growth.
One big thing I learned very quickly while I was abroad is the feeling of not being able to fluently speak the language.
It’s pretty frustrating not being able to express yourself fully to the people around you. I am generally a very outgoing person, but I think my host family thought that I was very shy.
The lesson I learned from lack of language knowledge is sympathy. Sympathy for all the people in the United States that can’t speak English very well and can’t fully articulate themselves like I couldn’t.
It truly changed my perspective on how I view immigrants in the U.S.
I think in the U.S. we are quick to get frustrated with those who don’t speak English, but when I first arrived in Spain, my Spanish wasn’t at the level it needed to be at either (it still isn’t perfect, although it is better than the beginning).
It made me think that most likely that foreign exchange student that doesn’t speak English very well might be just like me — pretty cool to get to know, but unable to fully express themselves. So maybe take some time to get to know that new foreign exchange student no matter how bad their English is because they are probably a pretty great person.
Another skill I learned while abroad is the ability to practice tolerance. There were times when the Spanish way of life just didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, but since I was living in a home with a Spanish family, it required that I adjust to their way of life — no matter how ridiculous (like eating dinner at 10:30 p.m. every night).
Tolerance is a skill that I can take with me throughout the rest of my life. This is a skill that I will use in the workplace when there’s that one co-worker who grinds my gears and am stuck working with on a big project. I wouldn’t have perfected this skill as well as I did had I not been abroad.
One final important lesson I learned while abroad is how important being flexible is. I can’t explain to you how often my type A personality was tested during my two months. However, when you’re in another country, flexibility is a must.
From figuring out what to do when your bus doesn’t come at the time it’s supposed to take you into the city, to sudden change of plans, flexibility is something I practiced rigorously.
When in another country, you just kind of go along for the ride and see what happens.
I’m so thankful for the times the control freak in me was tested because it taught me that no matter how hard I try, there’s hardly anything in life you can fully control. You just have to sit back and enjoy this crazy ride we call life.
