One of the most important things that I’ve taken away from our readings and discussions is the importance of being proactive in engaging with others’ culture. For example, the Berg reading outlines the three master narratives, which are ways to engages with another culture. It’s important that I try to expose myself to experiences that may be intimidated with abroad in Spain like trying to make Spanish friends. Building relationships with people from that country is important because those personal relationships will give you access to culture in a different way.

Additionally, we’ve talked about the expectation that your study abroad experience “transforms” you. I don’t think that transformation needs to be a goal because it’s unrealistic and places pressure on students. Before taking this class, one of the things I was worried about was that I won’t get enough out of my experience, that I’ll do it wrong and the opportunity to transform will slip away. Our discussion in class alleviated that concern for me. I don’t feel like I need to transform; I just need to be proactive in making connections.