My Journey to Spain

This semester I will be going on an international exchange through the University of Victoria to the Madrid, Spain where I will attend the University of Alcalá. I will live in the municipality of Alcalá de Henares for five months while I am attending school. I am so excited to embark on this amazing journey where I will experience a new culture, language and way of living. With this incredible opportunity I have been given I hope to be able to immerse myself in Spanish culture and also be able to explore other parts of Europe. I am also looking forward to creating a network of international and local friends while I am on my exchange in Madrid. On my journey I will meet so many other students coming from other parts of the world as well as the local Spanish students. I look forward to expanding my cultural knowledge and hopefully breaking down the language and cultural barriers I might face. This is my first international trip that I am going on by myself and also the longest time I have been away from my home on Vancouver Island. Although I am excited to start my journey in Spain, I am also incredibly nervous and anxious about what to expect when I arrive in my host country. A new and unfamiliar place can be very scary at first, but I have confidence that I will be able to successfully navigate and orientate myself to my new home for five months. I hope to inspire and give confidence to other students who are considering going on an international exchange but may be unsure or scared of what to expect. This is just the beginning of my adventure, and I look forward to sharing many more exciting stories and moments on my exchange semester.

Adiós for now BC. Next stop: Madrid!

By: Andrea de Bruyns, winner of the Remes Family Study Abroad Scholarship