Mary Martinez- Blog Abroad

A car to the Austin airport. A plane to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. A shuttle to my terminal. A plane to Madrid. A bus to Cáceres. I spent about 24 hours traveling from my parent’s house to my host family’s house. I was disoriented, tired, and I needed a shower. The last thing I wanted to do was have conversations with three complete strangers. Thankfully, my host family expected this and encouraged me to shower and rest after they served me a tuna salad lunch.

Once I felt better, I knew I had to get closer to my hosts to prevent a torturously awkward month. At first, I just sat in the same room as them and asked questions. I talked about my family, my home town, and what I was studying. Our conversations have grown deeper and we have grown closer. I feel comfortable asking them for help and even celebrating successes together.

While I am excited about the connection I feel to this family, I am more excited about my connections with my fellow students. I don’t have a lot of friends in the states. The friends I do have are all similar to myself. We met through shared interests and stayed close because of shared values. But participating in the Conexiones program has introduced me to people from different backgrounds that are drawn together by one goal: to be immersed in Spanish culture and understand its relationship to the Southern United States.

These past two weeks, I’ve frequently asked myself why it is easier to make friends abroad than it is back home. Is there something special about Cáceres that makes it easier for me to connect to people? Did something change in me when I boarded that first plane that made me better suited to extraverted activities? No. The simple answer is that I have no choice but to make connections here. I can’t spend a month in a foreign country without a support system, so I’ve had to create one.

I am not saying that studying abroad comes with a friendship guarantee. I’ve had to make a conscious effort to change my habits in order to make connections with my host family and my fellow students. That effort is the first thing I’ll be sure to take back home with me. Follow along as I figure out my other mental souvenirs.