During my first few weeks in Granada, I came across a piece of art that said “Los ojos que no han visto Granada no han visto nada”. I knew at that very moment that I had chosen to study abroad in one of the most unique and historical cities in the world. Upon arriving in Granada, the anxiety that I had felt entirely disappeared as I was greeted by my señora. Her and twenty-two others opened their doors to my classmates and me, fed us more than we asked for, and taught us more about the culture and language than we ever could have learned in a traditional classroom setting. I got the opportunity to explore villages outside of Granada with my host family, eat delicious home cooked meals everyday, and learn my señora’s secret recipes.
Taking five classes in Granada was an entirely new experience because I learned about the culture, art history, and political aspects of Spain, which I was then able to experience first-hand. In my political science class, I learned about Spain’s financial crisis and their high unemployment rates. While living in this beautiful country for four months, I witnessed homelessness and poverty daily. In my art history class, I learned about every artistic detail and symbolic meaning that Antonio Gaudí invested in La Sagrada Familia. Visiting Barcelona on an excursion trip was one of my most memorable days in Spain because I was able to stare in awe at Gaudí’s incredible artwork that I had learned about all semester. It is the most incredible feeling to have had invested myself in this language since my preschool years and then experience the beauty of this incredible country first-hand. Living in Granada and visiting thirteen other cities throughout Spain opened my eyes to a valuable experience that I would have never had without the opportunity to study abroad.
Kara Casale (pictured here in the Sacromonte neighborhood of Granada) is a junior from West Long Branch, NJ, double-majoring in Spanish and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Following graduation in May 2017, Kara plans to attend graduate school in order to pursue a career as a Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist.