In July and August, I went to Spain for a short-term language study. Spanish is the official language of 21 countries around the world and is known as the language used widely by various peoples around the world. Because I was fascinated with unique Spanish accents, I started studying Spanish. I applied for Spain as my first preference for short-term language study and it was one month that made an enjoyable experience and unforgettable memories.

I studied at Universidad de Alcala, which is located in the early 16th century's planned city of Alcala de Henares. The classes mainly taught basic grammar with local teachers. All the classes were mostly in Spanish, but sometimes were also taught in English when needed. The good thing was that I enjoyed singing famous Spanish songs together in class or playing games using Spanish words I learned during the class. However, I felt that it would be difficult to follow the class without a basic knowledge of Spanish. There was homework in every class, but it was not burdensome, and more than 50 points could be gained in writing and listening tests by memorizing the things that we learned in class.

During weekend activities and off-class hours, I joined the Madrid City Tour and Toledo Tours program that were provided by the school. With some team members, I watched the Flamenco performance, went to the royal Botánico botanical garden, Retiro park, and Parque Europa which is a theme park. When I used transportations, I saved a lot of money by using my Abono card (Spain's transportation card). I also have been to Cuenca, Segovia, and Porto. What I felt when I came back to Korea was that if I had used my international student ID card well, I could have gotten tourist spot discounts as well as transportation discounts. And it was very hot in Spain in July, reaching 40 degrees, but I didn’t feel much inconvenience because it rarely rained and was not humid.

After learning Spanish every day for four weeks, and using it there, I improved my confidence in the language. There were big and small problems due to language and communication. But by relying on my team members, one month in an unfamiliar country didn’t feel very long. It was precious time to make plans every day and spend time traveling, studying and doing homework with the team members.