Studying in Madrid was an experience I will never forget! As I boarded my flight, I was worried about the language barrier. The only words I knew in Spanish were the numbers and generic colors. Most of the people on my program knew a lot more Spanish than I did. Initially, I would go into coffee shops and grocery stores and fret about what they may ask me in Spanish.

What if they asked me if I wanted a bag? I had no idea how to say “bag” in Spanish! However, as the program progressed, I realized this was not a big issue. Sometimes a lot of hand movements and pointing was used to communicate, but the message was always received. At one grocery store, my friends and I could not understand what the cashier was saying, so she had the guy behind us translate for her. The guy thought it was so funny and said that it made his whole day!

After using the hand movements and gestures, I slowly began to pick up on a few common words. My friends also taught me a few phrases over the course of the program. I was always so excited to use it in conversation with the natives! They were always really friendly as I stuttered my way through the sentences. They even helped one of my friends with her sentence structure at one café! At another place, the cashier spoke English but encouraged us to speak Spanish so we could practice. I have heard that in some places, it is hard to learn the language because they will speak in English. That destroys any possibility of learning the native language. I was glad this was not the case in Spain! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do a study abroad, especially in a place with a language that I did not know beforehand. Studying abroad is an experience I would recommend for everyone, whether you know the language or not!

Name: Katherine Diederich
Status: Junior
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Hometown: Troy, Michigan
Program: Summer Engineering in Madrid