Vocation

I think that I will be able to improve myself in different ways while I am studying abroad in Puerto Rico for the fall semester. One of the big ways is that I can try to make as many connections as possible for my career path of business. That way, if I ever wanted to do business outside of the United States, that could be a possible way to start. I think that this will be a great experience of getting to know new people and the different ways they handle their businesses. I also think I will be able to better myself personally also. I have never been outside of the United States so this will be a first time for me, even though Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. This will be a great time to make myself  have an open mind with everything and try new things that I wouldn't get to do here in the U.S. I feel as if I will get a lot out of this trip, and I am very exited to see what it has in store for me.

Intercultural Competency

"Living like a local" means to me that you learn the different culture that you are in and try to live it to the best of your ability. I feel as if living like a local can help many aspects of your experience abroad. When I go abroad in Puerto Rico, I want to try to see all of the different culture points on the island and learn about their history. I think that learning a different culture starts off with learning a little bit about the country's history. Then later, you can start to learn about more modern culture and how they live their lives on an every day basis. While I am abroad, I also want to be in more rural areas where the culture is rich instead of places where there are tons of tourists and resorts. Those types of places seem to be a lot more Americanized and that is not want I want to experience while I am abroad. I want to get the full experience of the Puerto Rican culture. I want to immerse myself into the every day culture of Puerto Rico and live like I am originally from there. I think that this would be the only way to fully understand how these people live on a daily basis.

Academic Differences

The things that I have heard about academics in Puerto Rico seem to be a little more laid back than here at Maryville College. Being on "island time," seems that it would be a little more laid back anyways. I have heard that the classes are not as rigorous as they are here at the College. The credit hours are pretty much the same as they are here. For example 3 hours there = 3 hours here. With that said, I will definitely not be able to have the same relationships that I have with professors here, which in my opinion kind of stinks, but I will get used to it. My expectations of other students, I feel as if they will be a lot like here in America. Nice, helping, fun, etc. While I am abroad I will have to take 12 credit hours a week of the classes of my choosing being taught in the Spanish language, which will be one of my biggest changes. Overall, it will be a good experience to have to do things differently than what I am used to and learning in a different language.

An American Abroad

This fall semester I will be an American abroad in Puerto Rico. Even though Puerto Rico is part of the United States, I will still face adversity while I am there. Puerto Rico is a mix of American and Latin American cultures. I have never been out of the country before, so this will be a very different experience for me. I think that I will really enjoy being there for a few reasons. One of the biggest reasons I will like it is because I love learning about other cultures (especially Latin American cultures). I am excited to learn about the Puerto Rican culture and better my Spanish language skills. While doing this, I will face some adversity such as being immersed in the Spanish language when I am not used to that. Another might be the classroom setting. The classes might be different than what I am used to here at Maryville college. Another might be the size of the school which I am not used to. There are a lot more students at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez than there are here at Maryville. I have been trying to think of different ways to help myself get through the hard times that I will face. Overall, I think that I will really enjoy this experience while I am abroad and will get through what I need to when it happens.

Goals

I have quite a few goals that I want to share with everyone and maybe some of them are the same.

First off, I am a Spanish major and I am going to study abroad in Puerto Rico for my semester abroad. One of the biggest goals that I have is to become fully fluent in the Spanish language. I have always said that I wanted to become fluent in Spanish before I graduated college. Therefore, I will be fulfilling a life goal and a study abroad goal with that.

Another goal that I would like to achieve is to do well in all of my classes. Since I will be studying in a different language, I know that my classes will be tough for a little while until I get fully comfortable with speaking in another language all the time. This is definitely my biggest goal.

I want to be a great student while I am there, but I also want to be a tourist. I want to see all that I am able while I am there. Whether that be the capital city, mountains, beaches, etc. One thing that I think would be really cool while I am there is to go to another country in the Caribbean.

I think that another big goal of mine would to become fully immersed into the Puerto Rican culture. This might be a tough goal at first because it will be different than what I am used to being in. I want to try a lot of new things while I am there such as foods, friends, families, and pretty much just do whatever they do on a daily basis. I think this will be a very cool experience and I am very excited to go to Puerto Rico for the fall semester.