Why I’m Returning to Salamanca this Summer
By: Hannah Steinthal — Summer Camp Alumna 2015, 16 years old from New York
Last summer, I went on Greenheart Travel’s Teen Language Camp to Salamanca, Spain and absolutely loved it, which is why I will be returning this summer. The main reason why I am returning is to get better at Spanish!
Last summer, I noticed how much my Spanish and confidence in speaking Spanish improved thanks to a few weeks in Salamanca. I learned so much in class, but I also learned so much from having to use Spanish in real life situations, and to be able to communicate with other students from different countries. My goal for this year is to speak in Spanish as much as possible, and not shy away from native speakers or during class. I was nervous last year, but this year I feel more confident!
Another reason I am going back is because I met so many incredible people from all over the world, both similar and different than me. Just by being around new people I learned a lot about different countries (and even the occasional new vocab word!) which was really cool to me. In fact, I have some friends returning this summer too, one from New York, like me, and another from Paris, my roommate from last summer.
Having experiences from last year will definitely be helpful this year. Here are a few lessons that I am taking with me this year:
- I know, from experience, that I absolutely do not need to pack so much! Just enough for one week, because laundry is done once weekly, and too much more is unnecessary and not fun to carry around the airport, or from the bus stop to your homestay when you arrive in Salamanca.
- There was a lot of talk about culture shock before I left, but I didn’t really think it would happen to me. I was wrong. Now I know for this year that it might take a couple days of readjusting, but everything will be just fine.
- I better understand the accent now and how people in Spain speak because I have experience from speaking with my host family, teachers and others. This will be very helpful this year, because I remember having to ask my host mom to repeat herself all the time, until I finally understood what she was saying.
I am so excited for another summer in Salamanca and would encourage everyone reading this blog to take any chance they have to study a language abroad!
