Submitted by Samantha Leonard on the 2017 winter session program in Spain and Rome sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Relations…
It’s week two of this magnificent adventure termed “studying abroad” and my confidence is high after mastering Madrid in a week. I had no troubles getting around with my class on programmed day trips and mini local outings with new-found friends. I was fascinated to learn the country of Spain is made up of 46 million residents and attracts 70 million tourists every year. That being said, in the capital city of Madrid it was a safe bet the people I bumped into on the street were just as familiar with the city as I was. The same goes in Granada and now Seville. Although,I was made aware of it in my head, this statistic became a reality on the group’s first free day in Granada.
Being the Adventurous college students that we are, a group of us dared to explore the nearby mountain, the Sierra Nevada, on our own. Back in the States, it would be a simple task to catch a couple of buses and head on up to the mountains and back in a few hours time. However, braving the public transportation system in a foreign country proved to be harder than one would imagine. To get us headed in the right direction, the front desk at the hotel was the place to start. They pointed us towards the bus stop and wrote down the correct route.
Piece of cake, right? So, we thought. Us youthful and excited twenty-somethings set out that morning to catch a 10:00 am bus up to the mountains. Naturally, we scurried off to our first bus stop with no time to spare after waiting around to gather the troops. Together, we follow the hotel’s directions. “Go to the bus stop past the cathedral” Check! We walked past the cathedral. Where is the bus stop? A group member turns to a local, asking the simple question. “No ingles” was their response.
This is when it hits me that I am in a foreign country, I don’t speak the native language and, most importantly, I am without WiFi or data! What is a girl to do? How will I find the nearest Starbucks or even my way home?
Luckily, one glorious group member knows Spanish and gets directions leading us to the correct location. Okay, great, we are at the bus stop. At this point, I uncomfortably succumb to being a follower of the group and trusting my friends with data and Spanish speaking skills to get me to Sierra Nevada. We are looking for route SN1 as directed by the hotel. But, next obstacle, buses are coming from both directions. Do we take the north route or the south route? And which is which? Again, our saving grace Spanish speaking friend is able to save the day by asking for help and deciphering the Spanish bus map. At this point, we are all looking at our watches, thanking goodness that we were able to buy tickets on the bus and praying we will make the 10:00 am bus that leaves in 10 minutes.
When we arrive at the stop to catch the next bus, our friend the translator lets us know we’ve reached the destination and we scamper down towards the buses scanning the signs for Sierra Nevada. Luckily, the mountain has the same name in Spanish and English. We walk up to a bus with the correct sign and are immediately stopped by a driver who shooed us away. Without our translator, this would have sent me home! But, because she understood him we were able to find another bus going to the Sierra Nevada with more room and run on before it pulled away.
By the time I sit down on the bus, I feel hurried, rushed and very confused. My ego is set back a notch as I realize that I cannot travel alone without resources. What was supposed to be a quick and easy day trip into the Sierra Nevada ended up being a beautiful day and loads of fun, but also a reminder that it is important to not take things like speaking the native language or having constant access to internet for granted. For me, it is scary knowing that I would not have been prepared to have gone on the trip alone without someone to translate with a local or have someone with a data plan google directions.
Even in Spain as a nineteen year old college student taking 400 level classes abroad, the most profound and humbling lesson I have learned on this program so far is one I learned back in kindergarten. This is the importance in working together, asking for help and appreciation. In the end, traveling around a foreign country is not impossible to do alone, it just takes proper preparation and may not be a simple task! The next time, we decided to go out and travel as a group, we actually had the hotel draw us a map and give us detailed instructions to get us the Granada futbol (soccer) game. (Which was a blast!) This way, we were able to be more self-sufficient and to not be asking the other clueless tourists on the streets what bus stop to get off at.
Ultimately, this incredible adventure of study abroad has been an incredibly humbling experience thus far. I can only hope to be less ignorant on how to travel around these cities by the time I return and gain a new sense of independence. Step one: find the nearest chocolate con churros cafe in Seville.