Sophia Sirois ’24

Sophia attended Arcadia University in Granada, Spain for the Spring 2023 semester. While abroad, Sophia took Spanish Language courses including a Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Spain Course.

Why Sophia Chose Arcadia University

Sophia chose Granada, Spain for two main reasons: the language, and the location. Her goal for her study abroad experience was to improve her secondary language skills while also utilizing her time to help her decide the next steps to take after Providence College. Sophia knew that she wanted to go to Spain for study abroad since declaring her minor (Spanish), but why Granada and not Madrid or Barcelona?  She wanted to go to a city in Spain, yes, but one that she would be able to fully integrate into the culture and the day to day lifestyle. For her personally, that meant going to a more medium-sized city and Granada had a little bit of everything; history, language, culture, a walkable city, convenient public transportation, and much more.

Best Experiences Abroad

Sophia’s favorite part about her time abroad was being able to meet and interact with so many new people and learn about their diverse world perspectives. Whether it be the Granada locals, fellow study abroad students, or people she encountered while traveling – there is nothing like the people you meet, the stories you share, and the experiences you live together while abroad.

Biggest Challenge

One challenge that everyone talks about, but you can only prepare so much for while abroad is the change in language. Studying abroad in Granada Spain, the default became Spanish, which was a new experience for Sophia. She entered the country at a conversational level, but that didn’t change the fact that she was alone and there was a pressure to be able to communicate. New country, new language, new accent. The accent for her was the part that took a little extra time to get used to. But Sophia slowly gained more confidence in her language skills by going to language exchange events sponsored by the university, continuously working on her grammar, and ensuring that she always just said what she needed to rather than not talking because she didn’t want to say something wrong. One of the best lessons Sophia’s teachers taught her abroad is that she learned what it is to take to heart is: it doesn’t need to be perfect, you just need to learn from it.

Advice to Future Students

The advice that Sophia would like to give to any student studying abroad is to live out the experience that is best for you, prioritize your goals and just to enjoy. There is no wrong way to study abroad because the only right way is whatever that experience means to you. That means to remember to not put too much pressure on yourself for one semester or year abroad in college. It’s an experience meant for you to individually learn from and inform yourself on what you get to choose next.  Enjoy it in any way that you can that will be special to you because it truly makes studying abroad that much better.