Article by Becca Munroe, current BIC student
As I arrived in Denia, Spain my stomach danced with butterflies over my roommates and classes the next day, yet I was enthralled by the view in front of me. From our upstairs balcony of Alpha y Omega where the Baylor in Denia program stays one can see the Mediterranean, the Castle of Denia, and the city. I had no idea at the time what adventures and lessons this city would allow me, but I knew that I was lucky to be there. My roommates Nichole and Andrea were some of the best roommates a girl could have, and I was so lucky to be their friend. The bonds we formed will hopefully last a lifetime as we recollect on late nights studying, goofy jokes, trips to the beach, playing at the pool, and drinking chocolate milk to celebrate our success. Our group as a whole was extraordinarily well suited, almost everyone getting along well, allowing us to share our experiences and practice our Spanish.
The first week in Denia the students participate in Kids Camp, where we are supposed to be teaching the kids English and playing with them for two hours every day. However, I think that the kids taught me more Spanish than I taught them. My four year olds would run up to me and say “Becca! Sabes que…..” meaning “you know what?” and tell me all about their days before. These kids did not care if I messed up my conjugations or if I did not understand every word they spoke, but allowed me to practice Spanish uninhibited and taught me new phrases. Although most people in Spain speak some English, it was challenging and fun to be able to go into town and practice what we were learning in class in a real life application. We were capable of talking to store clerks, restaurant servers, and general inhabitants of the city in Spanish, accurately communicating our desires and wishes. After struggling with Spanish at Baylor in my spring semester I was not sure that I would ever be conversational in Spanish. Through living in Spain for five weeks I was able to develop my skills more than I thought possible and in the end even talk to a Spanish friend for an hour about futbol- soccer.
More than anything the people in Spain were amazing. Every Spaniard I met was super friendly. They would patiently wait while we talked in Spanish, they would tell us about different events and other places they thought we would like to try, and they were generally kind. I am so grateful that I had the chance to study abroad.
Becca Munroe is a senior BIC student studying biology.
