Lilian’s Semester Overseas at LCI Barcelona
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Wanting to step into the footsteps of a faculty pupil who’s experiencing life in Spain? We just lately caught up with AIFS Overseas pupil Lilian from the College of Tennessee at Chattanooga who’s spending her spring semester finding out overseas in Barcelona on our Visible Arts and Design program at LCI Barcelona. She is a recipient of the Russel R. Taylor Basis Scholarship.
Learn on to be taught extra about her examine overseas expertise with AIFS Overseas and the impression of being a world pupil at LCI Barcelona.
Lilian was pushed to check overseas by the need to discover a brand new tradition, problem herself, and develop her educational horizons past the consolation zone of her life in the US.
“School is a spot the place college students go to check and additional their training, via the assistance of studying assets, numerous experiences, and studying via a structured atmosphere that permits them to succeed in their future profession objectives. Nonetheless, throughout my first semester in school, I knew I needed to have a change in my educational life-style so I made a decision that I might make the choice to check overseas. I needed to pursue my training in a unique nation, that approach I may acquire an entire set of various experiences and problem myself to step out of my consolation zone.
With AIFS, I selected Barcelona, as a result of I’ve at all times been within the tradition and Spanish life-style. Nonetheless, I knew that it will take time for me to adapt into the brand new nation due to the educational life-style, tradition, and challenges.”
Pre-Departure Jitters
Like most college students embarking on a examine overseas expertise, Lilian initially felt somewhat anxious. Earlier than lengthy, her worries subsided.
“Earlier than arriving in Barcelona, I used to be tremendous nervous about the whole lot. I used to be even nervous about talking in Spanish, though I converse the language. Nonetheless, I can say after residing right here for somewhat over a month now, that I don’t remorse my determination to check overseas. I’ve had the chance to beat educational challenges, be taught from totally different cultures, acquire publicity to totally different work environments, and see from totally different cultural views to be able to grasp the significance of variety and fairness.”
The Adjustment Section
Adjusting to life as a examine overseas pupil can take time — and the method is totally different for everybody! It’s not unusual for college students to expertise tradition shock upon arrival or to wish a while to get used to teachers and social norms of their host metropolis. Lilian shares her expertise:
“After I first arrived in Barcelona, I knew that it will take loads of adjusting and balancing when it got here to teachers. Each tradition is totally different, subsequently I knew that it will be fairly difficult to adapt, contemplating that there could be many variations corresponding to professors educating in a different way, totally different expectations, and tradition variations.
At first of the semester, I discovered it fairly troublesome to maintain monitor of my programs, and was beginning to get overwhelmed with assignments. Most of the professors at my college nevertheless, are very understanding and know that transitioning into a brand new educational life-style might be fairly troublesome. There are additionally many assets as nicely corresponding to reaching out to somebody, or asking for tutor classes to assist college students adapt. In some unspecified time in the future, I needed to ask my professor for assistance on a sure project, and he or she was keen to reinterpret and train one-on-one to succeed in my wants.
Speaking to different college students additionally helped me overcome sure educational challenges, even when it was simply conversing with friends. Many people are on the identical boat, so all of us have comparable feelings and generally it’s higher to know that you simply aren’t at all times alone.”
Cultural Range and Shifting Views
Interacting with friends from numerous backgrounds might be each difficult and rewarding, educating invaluable classes in openness and communication. These exchanges whereas finding out overseas deepen your understanding of your self and others round you. From overcoming language limitations to embracing totally different views, every dialog can gas private development. Lilian shares how her numerous educational research and peer teams in Barcelona impacted her:
“Throughout my time in Barcelona, I’ve been uncovered to so many alternative cultures via so many people. Via my college, I’ve bought the chance to fulfill new folks and have been capable of join with lots of my friends due to many similarities I share with them. Nonetheless, since many people are from totally different cultures, I can’t assist however to at all times marvel what sort of individual they honestly are. Subsequently, I challenged myself to be open and welcoming to most of the folks I’ve met right here in my college.
Having the ability to work together with college students from quite a few cultures has made my studying expertise fairly informative. I’ve been capable of be taught and acquire insights from many alternative views, in addition to gaining a deeper understanding of 1’s tradition. I’ve additionally bought the chance to work with my friends via collaboration. In my Intercultural Communications class for example, we share totally different facets of ourselves via numerous group actions, in addition to sharing perception of who we’re, and the way tradition is vital to understanding folks and their identification.
Having the ability to be taught from others has made my studying expertise wonderful, since I be taught extra about myself and the significance of studying from others’ distinctive insights.”
This extends past the educational realm and into her social atmosphere overseas, together with at house along with her host household.
“Being concerned in Spanish and Catalan tradition has additionally taught me to be open to issues I’m not acquainted with. I’ve had the chance to be taught from my friends, my instructors, from locals, and from my host mother. Being able to be taught from folks from totally different cultures has enhanced my understanding of variety and fairness.”
Profession Aspirations and Targets
However finding out overseas isn’t nearly educational or private development — you additionally develop professionally! Lilian, whose chosen profession path is within the area of Pictures, was tremendously impacted by her experiences in Barcelona.
“Since I’ve been uncovered to varied work cultures right here in Barcelona, it has influenced my profession aspirations in images. Being in a brand new nation, in addition to touring, has given me the prospect to start out a images journey on social media. Having a platform is vital, and with the ability to share my experiences and creativity via a photographic lens, tremendously influences my profession aspirations. By receiving publicity, it provides me the prospect to fulfill different photographers which may then result in enlargement in my images whether or not that be in vogue, avenue, portrait, and even industrial images for my profession aspirations.”
Influences Overseas
Being in Barcelona permits Lilian to immerse herself into a brand new images scene. She bought to commonly see and recognize the fantastic thing about Spain, capturing it on digicam. Her images course has uncovered her to different artistic people and created new networking alternatives with fellow photographers.
“I’ve been in Spain for a couple of month now, and one factor I’ve executed to indicate my appreciation of the nation and its magnificence is thru taking photos with my images digicam. Being in a brand new nation has additionally sparked my creativity and since I’m additionally taking a images course, I’m surrounded by many artistic people as nicely. For almost all of my time in my images class, we exit within the metropolis and take photos of native areas, however there have been cases the place we’ve visited exhibitions and related with worldwide college students who’ve extra expertise in images. I’ve bought the prospect to community with my classmates, in addition to my professor and we’ve been capable of collaborate on totally different concepts via tasks.
There are additionally many photographers all through town taking photos of locals, structure, and total the tradition right here, so bumping right into a photographer is sort of widespread. I’ve gotten the prospect to fulfill a fellow photographer named Caban, who really took my photograph whereas I used to be exploring the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. He’s primarily based in Barcelona and enjoys taking portrait images and assembly new folks, which I discovered thrilling. We chatted for a bit after which exchanged one another’s socials, and I discovered that with the ability to join and community with different photographers, particularly in a brand new metropolis, has allowed me to achieve insights and numerous connections for my very own private {and professional} development.”
Inclusivity and Range via AIFS
Do you know? At AIFS Overseas, we embrace social and cultural actions — in addition to numerous excursions — on all of our packages! These enable our college students to get to know each other via experiential studying and cultural immersion alternatives. They are often extremely useful for the various college students, like Lilian, who select to check overseas on a program with out figuring out anybody else upfront.
“My examine overseas program has at all times supplied many assets for inclusive variety throughout my time right here. [It] provides many cultural actions, day journeys, excursions journeys, and even hosts native occasions for college students to get an opportunity to fulfill new folks and acquire new experiences.
The primary weekend I used to be right here, I went on a weekend tour journey to Tarragona, and went alongside with out figuring out anybody. I used to be tremendous nervous nevertheless it fully disappeared after I met two wonderful associates there. We immediately related as a result of we shared comparable cultural experiences, corresponding to residing in a homestay, and briefly shared our experiences of the nation. I assumed I might have been alone for the journey as a result of I knew nobody, however assembly new folks permits college students, like myself, to actually be taught extra about themselves by stepping out of their consolation zone.”
Are you a pupil who’s able to take the leap and examine overseas in Barcelona like Lilian did with AIFS Overseas at LCI? We’d love that can assist you begin your journey!
Right here at AIFS Overseas, we all know a factor or two about serving to school college students and pre-professionals examine and intern overseas. Our packages are extremely inclusive, which takes loads of the stress out of planning. From coordinating your housing to offering issues like cultural and social actions, excursions, complete insurance coverage, 24/7 emergency assist, on-site employees, and extra, you’ll take consolation in figuring out you’ll have assist all through your whole expertise overseas.
