During the last decades, Madrid has surfaced as the heartbeat of modern business, art, technology, and fashion. Traveling to Spain on a tourist travel will only show me a glimpse of what Spain’s history treasures are, but this program will unveil many aspects of the Spanish culture that are unique and exclusive to the country. In addition, it will be a great opportunity to learn about my own culture a little better. As we already know, Spain conquered a vast majority of what is now the American continent. While in Madrid, and since I will be only a few hours from Seville, Spain; I would love to be able to visit the General Archive of the Indies which holds the records and complete documentation of the historical administration and discoveries made by the Spaniards in the New World during its prominent years in exploration. As a native Guatemalan, it would be fascinating to learn about my own roots from the accounts of the Spaniards who set foot on my country and many of the other American countries that were conquered by Spain. Sometimes, we get a better appreciation of history when it is viewed from both perspectives. It’s not the same to learn history of a country based on the narratives of a textbook, than to be actually experience it from its culture and people. The study abroad program will consist of a total of ninety classroom hours of interaction with native Spanish students and professors. In addition, one of the courses will be taught fully in Spanish, which will benefit me greatly by strengthening my Spanish speaking, reading, and writing skills. While in Spain, I hope to be able to interact with Spaniards and exchange information in order to compare and contrast their culture from my own. I’d also like to explore the city of Madrid,
When a citizen from another country wants to enter the United States, they have to obtain a U. S. visa. A person from a foreign country can request to enter the country for business, pleasure or visiting or a combination of both categories.
Having the opportunity to engage in a variety of courses and being able to explore beyond the classroom, is surreal. I would too, enjoy visiting Santa Fe after being in a linguist anthropology class to apply the material I learned into real life. Taking a class in linguists fascinates me as I intend in majoring in political science and minoring in anthropology. Going through the list of the courses offered at Colorado College, I became
There are places that could take you back in time and the Mayas Ruins is one of those in which time look like it has stopped. The Maya civilization was one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica (History.com). Even though I lived in Cancun for about seven years and worked in a travel agency, the decision of visiting any of the Mayan ruins never passed my mind. It was a vacation trip from Unites States, while one of my children had about nine and the other one six, when we took the resolution to sightseeing the Mayan Ruins in Mexico. Visiting the Mayan ruin of Chichen Itza was a great decision and a pleasant experience since the time spent with the children as a family was joyful, we admired the spectacular view of the pyramid and we got delighted
I was thrust into an entirely new world when I was just six years old. Growing up I was a normal kid learning to read, write, add, and subtract just like every other typical American boy. Little did I know my entire life was about to be changed. Around 2004 my parents informed me that my family would be moving from the chilly Northern air of Kenosha, Wisconsin to the dry Southern heat of Querétaro, Mexico. Never have I experienced something so life changing as I did then. From meeting new people, to learning a new language and gaining new experiences, living in Mexico has shaped me into who I am.
After graduating, I desire to go into the research and developmental field of medications or work as a clinical pharmacist in a hospital. Being in this field would allow me to make an impact in other families’ lives like how the doctors were able to make an impact in my family’s. I also plan to minor in Spanish. Minoring in Spanish would allow me to communicate with more people and grant me access to additional opportunities. This means knowing Spanish would be a great skill. I would be able to maintain my language skills with daily use, communicating with a wider spectrum of people. This would allow me to reach a greater number of patients and overcome the language barrier. It would also allow me to have a deeper sense of culture and diversity. Although I am continuing to develop my Spanish language skills, I am still able to effectively communicate with Spanish-speaking patients. This makes it easier to assist them and provide the best care for them. Because the U.S. is rapidly becoming bilingual, I would have more job opportunities. Spanish has grown to be the second language of the United States. Many companies are looking to hire bilingual individuals, especially since most are expanding internationally. Being bilingual is not only beneficial to the business world. It opens the social doors of
As a first generation American with parents from Mexico City’s eclectic Jewish community, I am eager to join Brandeis and contribute with my bilingual and bicultural perspectives, especially as they fit into the university’s community service-driven mission. I’ve participated in several community service opportunities with children, locally and in Mexico. All have reinforced my interest in education and underscored the importance of the perspective that a student like me can bring.
My parents and I have been going to Mexico every year during the summer since I was “6” years old. The first time I visited, I learned to appreciate my culture and heritage by living the same lifestyle that people in Mexico live. I had to get accustomed to their lifestyle, what they eat, and many other things that play into factor for the time that I spent my summer over there. For example, I was always so used to just hopping into the shower and the water would be warm, but people like my family in Mexico have to use boilers, put in wood, and heat up the water. Or how my grandmother would send me to the tortilla factory and make me pick up 10 “pesos” worth of tortillas every morning. These were many of the wonderfully unique differences Mexico had compared to the US, but I also saw the problems that Mexico faces.
Spain has amazing universities that are some of the best in the world, and any student could gain a lot from studying at any of the universities, even for only a semester or so. Although the education system is wonderful in Spain, I could see myself gaining even more knowledge from the cultural emersion. I’m a strong believer that learning is not just something done in the classroom, although traditional education is vital to learning, In Spain, I wouldn’t just learn in school. I would learn from the people around me, the historic sites, the traditions and the values of the people there. Regretfully, Spanish culture is something I have not had very much first hand experience with. I’ve learned all that I can from books and television, but the amount of information I could learn from being enveloped in Spanish culture is
The last time I visited Mexico, it was almost exactly as I remembered it. The culture, starry night skies, and the generous and sincere humble people. I felt as if I had found a part of me that I had once lost. I felt safeness and joy.
I have lived in Arlington since elementary all the way to college. Every day surrounded by the same faces, same languages, and the same friends, I feel trapped in a world that only revolves around Texas. In the past summer, I lived the in Italy. This cultural experience opened my boarders on how I perceived the world, attempted to learn a new language, and learned about a culture’s history. However, a summer in Italy is not enough for me. I yearn to return. This time, I want to continue my studies abroad to form business connections with other business majors around
I will also receive an un-forgettable interactive cultural understanding that I can never receive by just studying about Brazil. Receiving this cultural immersive experience will truly help me in my academic and future career. During my high school career I was fortunate enough to be able to take college classes. Therefore I was able to graduate in 3 years at the top ten of my class with my associate’s degree. Though I have yet to receive any academic awards at UTD, I have done several community service assignments. I helped raise money in a Military Heroes Campaign Fundraiser, which raises money for homeless veterans, by contributing more than 30 hours in asking for donations. I also took part in volunteering for a military showcase on Veterans Day. I am also actively involved in school affairs, since I have recently joined a fraternity. The faculty trip will certainly benefit the University of Texas at Dallas, since it will assist students in not only achieving their academic goals, but also in providing students opportunities to actually experience their field in the real-world. In assisting me to pay for this trip, the University is essentially providing a better quality of education for me, which will then allow me to in turn become successful once I
I want students to be able to learn about Latin America like they do Europe and Asia, and I want the Latin American perspective to have a larger role in a traditionally United States’ dominated historical narrative. This trip will allow me to do just that, albeit to a smaller degree. I’ll be able to present my paper to an audience, to gauge their interest in the material, and to begin working towards my dream of educating people on Latin America. Best of all, I will be able to enter Latin America into a historical narrative that has traditionally ignored it. In addition, I will get to learn about a variety of topics from incredible students all around the country. I hope to learn more about everything from African history, a topic that I know close to nothing about, to the various discoveries that my more science-focused peers are making. NCUR is a wonderful opportunity to both give information, and to gain it. If I’m allowed to attend, I believe I will benefit greatly from
I think it is important to note the relevance of this study abroad program to my academic endeavors. First and foremost, it gets me to graduation quickest. However, with a trip like this I might put that on hold. If the feeling is right, and it inspires me enough, I have thought about staying at WMU longer to double major in Spanish next to my GIST degree. I am nearly done with my GIST degree, so it wouldn’t be an unreasonable task to take on. Rather then that I am
People enjoy traveling the world because they are able to explore new things. Each country in the world has many different things that they can offer to tourists such as vacationing experiences and good eats. Each visit to every different country will be a unique adventure because of the different aspects of the various countries. Traveling to Mexico would be a great pick for a future vacation. Mexico offers a variety of opportunities to tourists such as beaches, famous landmarks, and exotic foods. Visiting Mexico would allow people to have a relaxing getaway while also enjoying your stay and discovering what the country has to offer.