Studying Abroad: A Risk Worth Taking
Junior Anna Robbins shares about her eye-opening study abroad experience in Salamanca, Spain.
Mississippi College offers a variety of unique experiences that set it apart from other universities, from lively competitions like Follies and Swerve to beloved traditions like Lighting of the Quad. While it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of campus life, college also presents the perfect opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and take some risks. Anna Robbins is one student who embraced the adventure of studying abroad.
Robbins, a junior international studies major, desired to strengthen her Spanish and to immerse herself in a new culture.
“I was just kind of hoping to have a lot of new experiences and to meet a lot of new people,” Robbins said. “It was just something so different from anything I had ever done and that was really appealing to me.”
For three months, Robbins lived in Salamanca, Spain, a city located approximately three hours from Madrid by bus. Though the international studies major attended classes just like her friends in Clinton, she experienced the new day-to-day rhythms of a local.
A local business woman, Yolanda, and her mother hosted Robbins, along with another MC student, Livi Cate Osborne, and a myriad of other students from around the world. In the mornings, the hostess cooked breakfast for her guests and sent them on their way to school. The students went to grammar and conversation classes in the morning for four hours before experiencing a daily practice of the Spaniards: the daily siesta. For two hours a day, the entire city shuts down to rest and to avoid the heat of the day, even during the cooler months.
“There's nothing really to do except go home and rest,” Robbins said. The midday siesta prompted Robbins to reflect on her own life and how hurried she can feel.
“They live life a little bit slower,” Robbins said. “That's something our host mom would always tell us. She'd be like, ‘Why are you back so quickly? What were you doing?’ and we're like, ‘oh, we went to get an ice cream.’ And she's like, ‘Yeah, why were you only gone for 20 minutes?’ I think that it made me more conscious of how fast I moved through my everyday life, and I would like to kind of slow it down a little.”
When the period of rest ended, Robbins and Osborne would explore the city, which they temporarily called home. Salamanca boasted many unique thrift stores, cozy coffee shops and sites to explore.
“We lived about 10 minutes from the [Salamanca] Cathedral, and so you could just walk down to the cathedral after dinner,” Robbins said. “It was beautiful at night.”
The adventure junky did not wish to waste any opportunity. Robbins and her roommate traveled to other countries throughout the semester. Robbins visited Florence, Italy, knocking off a bucket list item to see Michelangelo’s David. She also traveled to Portugal and Scotland for weekend trips, using all the available time to see the world while also building a resume of fascinating experiences.
“I think [studying abroad] is just good for your brain,” Robbins said. “It's good for your mind and for your worldview, because you get to learn so much about other people and maybe adjust your perspective on the world. You just absorb so much, so much knowledge and so many good, interesting things about the world. I think studying abroad can help any student to become much more well-rounded.”
Despite homesickness, missing the MC traditions, and minor discouragement in her studies, studying abroad in Salamanca was worth all of what Robbins sacrificed.
“I would say studying abroad, more than anything, I feel like, made me so much braver, because I was always in these situations that I could either do the thing that was super comfortable and boring, or I could go have fun and learn something new," Robbins said. “The more that you train yourself to take risks in a situation where you're going to learn something and you're going to have fun, the braver you're going to get as a person… I learned that hard situations are still part of the experience, and that it's okay if something bad happens.”
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