by: Nicoline Hansen
Savannah Weishaar is a student at Parkland College majoring in Journalism and minoring in Spanish. After Parkland, Weishaar hopes to attend Illinois State University in order to obtain her bachelor’s degree. This will, hopefully, lead to a career in writing various pieces for either a magazine or a newspaper. Weishaar does not only have her career in mind when thinking about the future. She also hopes to travel the world some more.
Traveling is currently something that is a big part of Weishaar’s life as she is spending the semester studying in Seville, Spain through the Parkland Study Abroad Program. Weishaar explains that Seville is a large city located in the southwestern part of Spain.
Weishaar’s love for traveling resulted in her always thinking about possibly studying abroad. However, it was due to her minoring in Spanish and wanting to improve her skills in the language, this specific destination was chosen. “What better place to do that than in Spain!” Weishaar says. “Parkland made it [traveling abroad] possible by having an affordable and reliable program easily available”.
There are many benefits when traveling abroad through Parkland College. “The largest benefits I see myself getting out of study abroad are improving my Spanish, traveling in Europa and immersing myself in a completely new and different culture,” Weishaar says.
The list of benefits does not end there, Weishaar explains. Overall, Weishaar describes her experience with study abroad as amazing, as it has allowed her to go to and discover several cool places both within and outside Seville.
Weishaar finds it difficult to describe her favorite thing about the semester abroad so far. She explains that the entire experience itself has been like no other. However, one experience stands out to her, which was when she was able to visit the Alcazar in Seville. “It is a fortress that was mainly built in the 14th century” Weishaar says. “If there are any Game of Thrones fans – the Alcazar is where several important scenes were shot!”
However, there has also been more difficult elements of traveling abroad, especially when it comes to adjusting to a new lifestyle and the different mannerisms of Spaniards. “What Americans consider to be common courtesy is simply not really a thing here,” Weishaar says. “At first, I was irritated because I thought people were being rude, but now it is kind of refreshing not having to say ‘ope sorry’ or ‘excuse me’ all the time.”
Weishaar shares that she had spent a lot of time researching Spain and its culture before leaving for the semester, which she advises other people who plan to travel abroad do, as well. “Keep in mind when studying abroad… that you are a visitor and you have to adapt to the culture and way of life – not the other way around,” Weishaar says. Weishaar also explains that this this is important in order to avoid offending or disrespecting the locals of the country you are traveling to.
For any students who are considering whether to study abroad or not, Weishaar says to, “Just do it… take the opportunity while you have it.”
