Spanish@UTA

Hola! My name is Michelle Leiby. I am a senior at UTArlington - majoring in Spanish with a minor in Mexican American studies. I had the pleasure of going to Cuernavaca for the 2007 Summer ll semester and had a wonderful time. I learned so much… here’s my top ten list.

1. I learned to wear comfortable shoes. It makes walking around the City of Eternal Spring all that MORE enjoyable

2. There are so many fabulous excursions, so make sure you bring your camera!

3. Class sizes are small - and the professors at SLI are friendly and approachable.

4. In the Cortez Palace there is a spectacular Diego Rivera Mural right in the center of town!

5. The town is full of internet cafes and you can keep in touch with family and friends!

6. Cuernavaca has a great open market and a great Wal-Mart too!

7. Peacocks abound at the Dolores Olmeda Estate/ Museum!

8. Long lasting friendships can develop with students, teachers, locals and house parents!

9. Every comida provided by mi familia was like Thanksgiving! (ps. my house parents were the best)

10.¡Gocé el ir a las fiestas en el Mambo Café con el Dr. Elliott! What happens in Cuernavaca stays in Cuernavaca!

Hi Spanish students! My name is Dr. Sonia Kania and I am the faculty sponsor of our Study Abroad Program in Valladolid, Spain. Click here for full program details. In the Summer of 2007, we had a great session in Valladolid—we worked hard, but also had plenty of time for fun. UTA students took a wide variety of courses: options ranged from Advanced Conversation and Grammar, to Spanish Culture and Hispanic Literature. This year we are adding SPAN4335: Business Spanish to the course offerings, which will be a great opportunity for Spanish students!

We also had some memorable excursions, to both Segovia and to Salamanca. Segovia is famous for its Roman aqueduct, which is over 2000 years old, and for the Alcázar, which served at the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle. Salamanca is a beautiful university town with lots of cultural attractions, and perhaps more importantly, shopping. Students also had free time during our weeks in Spain to explore on their own. Some popular weekend trips include destinations such as the beach in Santander, which is only three hours away, or world cities like Barcelona, Paris, London, and Lisbon. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

For more insights on the program, I’d like to share an article by Neal Etzler, who participated in our program this past summer. –Dr. Sonia Kania.

Photo of Summer 2006 Valladolid Program participants by Dr. Sonia Kania.

My name is Neal Etzler and I am an International Business/Spanish senior, and this past summer I participated in the summer in Valladolid program. Being in Valladolid has been one of the best experiences in my life and I would love for others to share in the same joy. To start off I was able to take classes and gain credit for them at the Universitas Castellae with professors from Spain. The class sizes were small and we were really able to build a great foundation and relationship with our professors. Not only did they have a great passion for teaching the other students and myself about the language and culture, but they also built a lasting relationship with the students. I am currently in contact with two of my professors from the university in Spain. These classes greatly helped to improve my skills but most importantly I felt at ease in regards to speaking and practicing the language.

The learning did not stop once we left the classroom. Everyday activities required us to use our skills in Spanish and helped us to improve and become more confident in ourselves when it came to speaking Spanish. I lived with a host family and will not lie and say I did not have my doubts about it. Even the first week living with them I felt out of place. I soon realized this was natural because I was out of my normal place, and as soon as I opened up I felt that I was part of the family in Spain. At first I was hesitant to speak and meet new people but after I moved past those fears I was able to put a great deal into this trip and the investment paid off for me. Living with a family we were able to practice our Spanish during the day and experience the diverse culture of Spain first hand. In the house I was able to try some of the traditional Spanish food, listen to the music, and meet the people that live day to day in Spain. The families really do embrace the students as part of their family and made us feel welcomed. I also still remain in contact with my host family in Spain and hope to one-day return to visit them.

On the weekends we had the opportunity to go on weekend excursions to different cities in Spain. We traveled to many cultural, historical, and beautiful cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Salamanca, Segovia, and Santander. With each city we were able to meet new people and learn new interesting things about the cities and cultures. Many of the people in Spain were very accepting of us and were more than hospitable to us. Even though our Spanish was not perfect and we may have looked out of place to them, they still took great interest in us and wanted to help us further our knowledge of Spain. Just talking to the ordinary people are probably some of my favorite memories from the trip. Being able to sit down in a street café and talk to the local people really made the trip worth while. The diverse culture and lifestyle of Spain was great to experience and being able to improve my Spanish skills further than I thought possible made this trip one that I will never forget.

Traveling to Spain has been the greatest experience of my life so far and looking back on it I would do it again in a heartbeat. To be honest when I left for the trip I was more excited about the sites and attractions than about learning. I never thought that I would be able to travel to another country and learn so much and make lasting relationships that I will keep with me for my entire life. This not only affected my Spanish skills but it also affected me as a person. I definitely encourage anybody interested in traveling to any country to do so and take full advantage of the opportunities to grow, learn, and meet new people. See how this has changed me I would be pleased to see others have the same or even better experience than I did.

Neal Etzler with his Castellae diploma. Photo by Dr. Sonia Kania.

Hi, I’m Dr. Elliott, Director of the Summer Study Abroad Program in Mexico. Last summer 17 UT-Arlington students and I went to the Spanish Language Institute located in Cuernavaca, a beautiful colonial city in the heart of Mexico known for its eternal spring-like weather. Studying abroad is a great way for you to experience Mexican culture firsthand in the classroom, on the cobblestone streets or in the market. You, too, can live, learn and interact with native Spanish speakers on a daily basis while you attend classes, improve your Spanish and learn about Mexican culture. Heritage and native speakers of Spanish can benefit from this program as well! This coming summer, students will be able to take classes at the 2000, 3000 and 4000 levels. For more information about the program, go to our website. There you can get more information about the program, download applications, and access last year’s website. So pack your bags and come to Mexico for an experience that will certainly have a positive impact on your life and will change the way you view the world! Now, I’m happy to present the following article by Sherry Brouillard on her experiences studying abroad. Enjoy!–Dr. Ray Elliott

My Life in Cuernavaca by Sherry Brouillard

Choosing a major can be difficult and about three years ago, I decided to double major in Spanish and English so that after graduation, I could move abroad. I planned to go to some mysterious and tropical country in South America and use my love of language to help others in need, children and adults alike. There was just one problem. My Spanish was terrible! For that reason, as well as my extreme desire to experience the life and culture of another country, I decided to participate in a study abroad program. I chose Cuernavaca because of the proximity to the United States, the program cost and the dates that best met my needs last summer. And, for my first experience, I thought that it might be better to go somewhere that I can still get home in two hours if I find that the life of a world traveler is not for me. Besides, Mexico couldn’t be THAT much different than the United States, could it?

The answer to that last question is yes, Mexico, contrary to popular belief because of our living in Texas, is absolutely, unmistakably, another country where life is worlds away from life in the United States. And that’s a good thing! Living in another country for over a month reminded me about what is amazing and glorious in the world. I took advantage of most of the excursions offered by the Spanish Language Institute and they led me to adventures at a fresh water spring ecological park (with a natural lazy river!), to ancient ruins and pyramids that we simply don’t have in our young country, and of course, beautiful Acapulco, among many others. All these excursions were inexpensive, which made them even more appealing when I think of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities at mere pennies of what they would have cost if I had booked a special trip from home. Living in the United States, it is very easy to misunderstand the historical wonders that the world has to offer and study abroad programs provide a glimpse into the magnificent world outside our borders that existed, and thrived, long before Columbus, in 1492, ever sailed the ocean blue.

One of the most memorable excursions was to Teotihuacán, one of the major pyramid sites in Mexico. There we met a guide who taught us about the cities that had lived centuries ago and the people who built and lived in them. We saw the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, both of which we were able to climb. In 800, the Aztecs arrived at Teotihuacán to find it empty, which means that it had been built by people before the Aztecs. I didn’t even know there WERE people in the Americas before the Aztecs! And for one, all too brief moment, I was able to be there, to stand in a place that is so magnificent and full of history, and know that mine was only one of a million moments that the place had seen. The experience was absolutely unforgettable.

Also during my time in Cuernavaca, I participated in the home-stay program. My roommate and I lived in a bungalow style room above a garage and shared our meals with our Mexican Mama, Ana. Each day, Ana prepared tasty meals to introduce us to Mexican cuisine before taking us to school in the morning and after picking us up in the afternoon. During our meals, we talked about cultural differences between the U.S. and Mexico, about our Spanish language questions, where to go while in Cuernavaca, as well as Ana’s many experiences in the world. One Saturday, she even took us to a local market and introduced us to foods and vendors that we’d never before experienced (or perhaps even heard of). In fact, we built such a great relationship, that when Ana visited Dallas in September, we were able to have dinner together and catch up. And, whenever I visit Mexico, I always have a friend to call on while I’m there.

I could go on for days about the amazing people that I met, the food that I ate and the places I went. The experience made that much of an impact on me! The people at the Spanish Language Institute were so interested in helping students learn that my speaking improved so much that a professor I knew from last year mentioned how much more comfortable I am with the language now. So I earned college credit, I immersed myself in a foreign culture, I visited places I’d only read about in books and I came back speaking Spanish so much better than when I left. I no longer get that feeling of panic when a professor makes eye contact! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to study abroad and thinking about it now make me miss my little neighborhood of Vista Hermosa. Well, it’s almost graduation – I guess I’d better dust off that passport and see what’s next. ¡Buen viaje!

Photo credits: top photo is of Acapulco, which Sherry visited while studying abroad; bottom photo is of Teotihuacán, also by Sherry.