I had never been to Spain and I wasn’t very good at speaking Spanish. I was very nervous at first, but once I got there, I ended up having the best time! I learned to love Spanish culture—the food, the music, the language, the people, the pace of life. I also learned how brave and strong I was to be able to put myself out there and move to a new country. At the end of my six months, I was so sad I had to leave!
Now, I am living in Leticia, Colombia for 10 months as an English Teaching Assistant through a U.S. government program called the Fulbright Program. Colombia is very different than Spain. Spain is a wealthy country and Madrid was similar to the U.S. in many ways. Colombia, however, is very different. Colombia is a developing country, and within the country, Leticia is not one of the most advanced cities. Because Leticia is very geographically isolated, it is hard to get resources here. That means that we are not able to drink the tap water, there is no Wi-Fi, phone service is pretty spotty, the items in the grocery store are very unpredictable and variable, and despite the hot and humid climate, there is no air conditioning.
Though these living conditions took some time to adjust to, I think it is a good experience for me to see how other people in the world live. While at first these things may sound hard to live with, after three months of living here, I’m realizing they really aren’t that bad, and you learn to adapt. My life in Madrid was great, and my life in Leticia is great, and while the two are extremely different experiences, they are both equally enriching. I’m excited to share my journey with you!
