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News
MYM Intern Tours Spain, Earns Feature on UGAs Grady College Website
Date: 09-05-2006
Contact: Molly McFerran - 706.549.2119
 I've had many new experiences during my time at UGA, but the greatest by far was my study abroad in Spain during Spring semester 2006. I was part of the UGA en Espa�a program that went to Valencia, the third largest city in Spain on the east coast. Our group of 42 students attended the University of Valencia and took classes that were all in Spanish and taught by University of Valencia professors. We lived in a dorm in the Barrio del Carmen, one of the oldest Valencian neighborhoods, with 150 Spanish students. When the time came to leave in April, I was ready to get back to the United States, see my friends and family, and have conveniences like free ice water refills in restaurants, driving and salad dressing other than just oil and vinegar. However, once I got back home, it did not take long for me to miss my Spanish lifestyle.
During my semester in Spain, I learned so much more than just the Spanish language. I became part of a completely different culture, one in which businesses close for three hours in the afternoon for naptime, dinner starts at 9 p.m. and people walk everywhere. I went to Madrid and saw famous works of art in the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums, including Picasso's Guernica. I climbed more than 320 steps up a spiral tower to reach the top of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral and sat on the world's largest bench in Gaudi's Parque Guell in Barcelona. On a weekend trip to Sevilla, I ate paella that took an hour to make but was the best I had ever eaten and saw a special musical performance in the world's largest Gothic cathedral. In Granada, I got stuck in a snowstorm while visiting the Alhambra, the largest Moorish castle in the world. I also tasted the most amazing waffles and took my picture by the Mannekin Pis in Brussels, as well as sunbathed on the exotic beaches of Ibiza and toured Dublin for six days after leaving Spain.
While I did a good amount of weekend traveling, my time in Valencia was unparalleled. We were in town for the Fallas festival, celebrating the beginning of Spring. During this festival, the population of Valencia triples, and people celebrate throughout the night. The city puts on massive firework displays at 1 a.m., and entire families watch the magic. Over 300 massive papier-mache statues are built throughout the year and put on display during this week and then burned at midnight on the last night. Musicians, magicians and other street performers are everywhere. I also went to my first bullfight, where I saw four of six bulls killed.
When our plane landed in Madrid, I thought it would take forever for April to come. However, when April 14 finally arrived, and we left Valencia , it seemed like the adventure had just begun. If I had the chance to study abroad again, I would go in a heartbeat. I learned so much about other cultures, got an outsider perspective on American culture and learned a lot about myself and the type of life I want to live.
URL: http://www.grady.uga.edu
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