In my sophomore year at MCLA, I decided a major in Modern Languages was the right choice for me. I wanted to learn Spanish. In terms of learning a new language, experiencing the culture involved with that language is important if not essential. Thus, in the summer of 2010 I spent six weeks in the third-largest city in Spain: Valencia. I took two classes at the University of Valencia: Spanish Literature and Hispanic Civilization. Both classes were taught entirely in Spanish. Spanish Literature was very difficult - we read many older works, such as Don Juan Tenorio, which was written in 1844. As English literary works were more linguistically complex in the past, so were Spanish literary works. Thus, the reading for Spanish Literature was very intensive. More information on the second class, Hispanic Civilization, is included in the pictures' captions.
When I returned to MCLA in the fall after my time in Valencia, I was interviewed and featured in an article about students who had studied abroad at the school recently. It can be found here.
A four hour bus ride after leaving Toledo, we arrived in Valencia! The city was beautiful and I was so excited to meet my host mother and new housemates. Pictured here, in order from left to right, are Martina, my host mom, Sarah, and me. Our apartment was on one floor and had a living/dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, four bedrooms, and a patio area. Sarah and I shared one bedroom as she was a member of my study abroad group. Martina lived down the hall from us and stayed in Valencia for six months. She is originally from Switzerland and knew five languages at that point, which made me extremely jealous. My host mom's name is María Dolores, she is a single grandmother who provides housing for foreign students as her income. Her daughter and granddaughter visited the house often. Her grandaughter was five at the time and loved to watch Bob Esponga, or SpongeBob Squarepants, as we know it.
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