Joe Palamides, ISA: Granada Spring 2024
Very simply put, studying abroad in Granada has changed my entire life. I was exposed to so much new history and culture. My entire perspective of the world has been changed, and with that so have some of my goals. Before studying abroad in Spain, I had my career and academic goals set. I had made my decisions of where I wanted to go to college (Pitt), what I wanted to major in, etc. from a very young age and I had never really considered any alternatives to that pathway. My plan before studying abroad was to advance through my academic career as quickly as possible. My career goal was to be a physical therapist, so my plan was to finish my undergraduate degree and then immediately apply to Physical Therapy school. While my ultimate goal is still to be a physical therapist, after studying abroad I’m now considering taking a gap year before starting physical therapy school.
Why would someone decide to take a gap year? The most common reasons are to either earn additional money or field experience before applying to graduate school. However my reasoning for potentially taking a gap year has nothing to do with my future field of physical therapy. After studying in Spain for almost five months I was exposed to a completely new country and way of life. I may be exaggerating but I think I learned and saw more in my five months in Spain than I did in my last five years in the United States. Despite that feeling of immense growth, I feel as if I missed out on a lot of experiences and still have a lot that I could learn in Spain. First and foremost, I want to achieve true mastery of the Spanish language. My Spanish improved significantly after studying abroad, but I still feel there is room for improvement. This metric of mastery is somewhat subjective, but mastery of Spanish is a personal goal of mine that I know I’ll be more likely to achieve by more immersion in Spain. Additionally, I would like to make more connections with native Spanish speakers, not only to facilitate my language learning but also because it serves to have connections all around the world. One of the few things I regret about my time studying abroad in Spain was the lack of relationships I formed with Spaniards. Spending a gap year in Spain would allow me to achieve these personal goals, which will also be useful for me in my future career endeavors as a physical therapist.
*The Alhambra, an Islamic palace and fortress built between the 13th and 14th centuries, as seen around sunset. It is the most famous attraction in Granada and one of the most famous in all of Spain.
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