As a rising senior in the Pitt Nursing program planning on a minor in Spanish language, my academic and career goals (I thought) were pretty set in stone. However, after my experience abroad, these goals have changed ever so slightly. Upon nearing the end of my study abroad experience, I got pretty sick and decided to use my resources and visit the local hospital to see if they could give me anything to relieve my symptoms.
Despite having visited the country prior to my study abroad experience, there were still many things that surprised me about my global adventure. The weeks leading up to my departure, I was very anxious as I would be traveling alone for the first time without any friends or people that I knew of. I did not meet many people during any of the orientation days, which in hindsight would have definitely eased my nerves a little. However, a few of the girls from my program made a group chat through GroupMe.
As a participant of the Pitt in Spain Study Abroad Program, I have been selected to stay in the dorms at La Universidad de Alcalá in the city of Alcalá de Henares. Before arriving, I wasn’t sure what to think of the smaller city located on the outskirts of Madrid, however upon arrival I could see that it was filled with plenty of history and culture. This was especially apparent after taking a tour of the city with the rest of the students in the program and learning all about the historical monuments in the area.