It’s week 6 and most of us are finally seeing (or starting to) see the light at the end of the tunnel after the dark, sleepless nights of midterms swept over us. Surprisingly enough, this quarter has been really difficult for me. As if reverse culture shock wasn’t real enough, my academic life has spiraled a whole 360 as well.

Being abroad for the past semester was quite different then the pioneer lifestyle I was adjusted to. I went to the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO) in Sevilla, España and needless to say school was quite different over there. For starters, I was able to stack my classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, with a short cooking class on Tuesdays that ended about halfway through the semester. Coming back to DU, I was facing a schedule with four classes and two labs taking up all of my week, Mondays through Fridays; Fridays being my heavy days.

Homework was really slow, which I loved because it gave me a chance to relax and take random strolls through the plazas. The big projects I had to do were mostly in groups, so I would meet my classmates at different cafes until we found the one with the best Wi-Fi connection or the best tapas; which brings me to the topic of my favorite class: The tapas cooking class! Every week we created different dishes with different variations of the dish. For example, if the dish for the week was paella, between our four different groups in class, we made chicken paella, shrimp paella, pork, etc. We also made two different dishes each class, since in Spain they eat two different course, kind of like your appetizer and then your entree. At the end we would all try everyone’s dishes and eat together like a family. This was probably one of my favorite things I did in Spain because I was able to fully emerge myself in their culture in the kitchen and I loved trying all the different dishes and drinks!

Being back at DU has been a love hate relationship really. I have a busier schedule now and even though I feel more productive, it can be a bit overwhelming. Readjusting after a much more relaxed semester abroad has been a challenge, especially when I’m not taking a cooking class to de-stress, but at least I was able to get a taste of both academic worlds. Studying abroad taught me so much more than international finance and management, it taught me a different skill set; a new way to retain information in a different language, how to commute on the metro, how to make some delicious tortilla Española and how to enjoy all that life has to offer from a new-found perspective from across the world.

Gladys Juarez, Study Abroad Assistant