Trip of a Lifetime: An Unforgettable Two-Week Journey to Spain with AFS

You don’t need to go abroad for an entire year to be impacted by international exchange. In this episode, we explore the transformative power of short-term study abroad programs for high school students via 3 interviews with former participants to Spain in 2019.

They share their memories and insights on living with host families, learning Spanish, and exploring the culture and history of Valladolid. Through their stories, we discover how just two weeks outside of the U.S. can broaden one's perspective, spark a lifelong passion for language and culture, and inspire future academic and career goals. Tune in to hear about the impact of short-term study abroad and learn about scholarship opportunities for AFS programs.

Guests:
Amanah Qureshi
Ryan Rodriguez
Taylor Tendall

Study Abroad with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/study-abroad
Volunteer with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/volunteer
Host with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/host
Educator Resources: www.afsusa.org/educators
Contact us: podcast@afsusa.org

Transcript

Kate M.
Hello and welcome to The AFS Exchange. I’m Kate Mulvihill. The AFS Exchange is a podcast by AFS-USA where we open the door to hear from members of our AFS family. This is a place to have conversations, or exchanges, with AFS host families, students, volunteers, and educators.

Kate M.
So this episode is one that I have been hoping to do for a while. In addition to having been a participant on study abroad programs myself, I have also helped lead a couple of programs with U.S. students abroad. Including, in 2019, an AFS-USA summer program to Spain. 23 high schoolers from the U.S. 2 weeks in Spain. We stayed with host families in an historic city called Valladolid about 2 hours northwest of Madrid.

For this episode, I wanted to check in with a few of those participants and hear about their recollections of the trip. Also their thoughts about Spain, and the Spanish people, and getting to know their host families. And now nearly 4 years later, I wanted to hear what they gained from the program, and what they have been up to since. What effect did a short program over the summer have on their lives?

For a little background on AFS-USA’s summer programs… there are a number of opportunities out there and each is slightly different. They are between 2-8 weeks long. They are open to high schoolers, and the requirements (age, language ability, GPA, etc) vary by program.

This summer, 2023, AFS-USA is offering experiences abroad in Argentina, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, and Spain. We are all full up for this summer, but 2024 isn’t too far away. It’s also a good time to start thinking about scholarships… I will include some info at the end of the episode about scholarship opportunities for AFS programs.

To be clear, while we are going to be talking about this specific program to Spain, these takeaways can apply to any of AFS-USA’s short programs. These students left the program with new feelings of independence, cultural awareness about their own U.S. identities and the way of life in Spain, and a broader view of the world… all after just 2 weeks outside of the U.S. Two of these students have gone on to be language majors in college, and one is studying social work with the goal of working for an international NGO.

I hope that these stories help our listeners understand the benefit that short exchange programs- even 2 weeks- can have on the life of a teenager. Let’s get started!

[Music]

Kate M.
So first, a little bit about this specific program. AFS-USA partners with a local language school called Baker Street International to organize 2 weeks of a homestay, as well as Spanish language classes and excursions. In the afternoons we had activities usually around the city, and we also visited Salamanca, Segovia, and Madrid.
Most of the U.S. students were placed with families who had teenagers, and who would take English classes while they were in Spanish classes. We then all did the activities together, which was actually a really cool part of the program. The group was about half U.S. teenagers, half Spanish teenagers.
In this podcast, we will hear from three of those U.S. teenagers who are now in their early 20s: Amanah Qureshi, Ryan Rodriguez, and Taylor Tendall. While they were interviewed separately, we will combine their perspectives for the purpose of this episode.

Kate M.
To start, Amanah from New Jersey.

Amanah Q. 
Okay. My name is Amanah Qureshi. I'm 21 years old. I'm from a little town in New Jersey called Highland Park.  A little about me, I love to travel.
I'm a social work major at Monmouth University. So I'm hoping to go into Global Community Practice when pursuing my masters, and kind of getting my foot in the door with what's going on with the world. And I really want to work for a program like UNICEF. That just attracts me. So that's kind of a little bit about me.

Kate M. 
That's great. And where is Monmouth University?

Amanah Q. 
So Monmouth University is in New Jersey. It's on the Jersey Shore. It's literally five minutes from the shore. It's amazing. I came to Monmouth because of the small environment, the small university, you know, being able to become personable with my professors.

Kate M.
And we have Ryan from Pennsylvania.

Ryan R. 
So hi, my name is Ryan Rodriguez. I'm currently a junior studying at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I'm a first generation low income student who studied abroad in Spain through AFS USA, back in my junior year of high school during the summer. And since then, I've been studying French as a third language. I've since also studied abroad in southern France and Provence. And so I'm really excited to engage with these questions in a really retrospective way, which kind of correlates with my most recent experience living abroad for a much longer period of time.
I'm a French and Francophone studies major, which encompasses art history, literature, general history and language acquisition. And I have a minor in art history with an emphasis on Contemporary Studies.

Kate M.
Great. Can you explain kind of what French and Francophone studies are so Francophone, we're not talking just about France, right?

Ryan R.
Oh, no, we're talking about all French related sort of territories, all colonized lands, cultures and important sort of dialects of French and how they all relate to each other.

Kate M.
And Taylor from Iowa.

Taylor T.
Yeah, so my name is Taylor. And I'm from a small town in northern Iowa. And I'm currently a student at the University of Northern Iowa. I'm studying Spanish teaching. And then I have a minor in translation. And then I also have two certificates on top of that.

Kate M.
Wow, what are those certificates?

Taylor T.
They're French and I have linguistics studies.

Kate M.
In speaking with these three, they all had in common that they chose to study abroad because they wanted to discover new places. They had all been studying Spanish in school, and took advantage of a summer program to expand upon their language skills and travel before finishing high school.

Taylor T. 
Yeah, I think I've always just been interested in like, studying abroad. And just like, I don't know, reading people and discovering new cultures. And we have a pretty big, especially for our area, a pretty big AFS chapter where I'm from. And every year they try to send a couple of students on like the Global Preps. And we're given kind of like a list of what we can kind of choose from within there. And one of them was Spanish, Spain, and I think the main reason I chose it is because I really wanted to be able to practice Spanish. At the time I was sure what I was going to study in college, but that’s what I was leaning towards.

Ryan R. 
Yeah, so for me, I have come from a small town in Pennsylvania, and I had never left sort of the tri state area. And for me AFS was an opportunity to continue learning into the summer at a time of which I wasn't normally doing much as a high schooler, and take advantage of that free time to sort of explore the world. And I was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship. So with that experience, I was able to, as a first generation low income student, see the world and learn the language that I had been studying for so long at that point.

Kate M.
And when did you start? When did you start studying Spanish?

Ryan R. 
So I started studying Spanish in the eighth grade. So I have only spent on probably what, three or four years, a couple years studying Spanish leading up to my trip. But I definitely think that the trip solidified my sort of language learning experience with Spanish. It was like a capstone for me.
 
Amanah Q.   
Well, a couple of things. I was doing a bunch of research in the beginning. On the different programs that would allow me to study abroad because my school was a smaller school and it didn't, you know, offer study abroad opportunities. And again, like, like I said in the beginning, I love to travel, I love to explore, I love to learn about new cultures, I love to eat new food, I love food. And I don't know, I just like to kind of see what's going on in the rest of the world. Like I'm very in tune and understanding of what's going on in my surroundings. I kind of want to get that different perspective.

So I studied abroad and I found AFS, which, I mean, Kate. I don't even know how to explain that you guys were so awesome. Like, all of the like, the preparation for the sessions for like, everything. Like I think it really did prepare me to the best of my ability when going abroad because it was my first time traveling alone, traveling out of the country by myself, and traveling with strangers that I like, I didn't know I had no clue about anything. So yeah, I studied abroad because I love to travel. And I wanted to see what you know, the rest of the world looks like.

And then why Spain? I don't know, I've always wanted to go to Europe. I didn't really do enough research on my own. Because I didn't know Spain was like, huge meat eater seafood like. And I didn't really eat seafood. I didn't really, you know, eat meat. But my host family was super accommodating. And when I got there, I decided to eat meat, and kind of really, you know, indulge myself in the culture. So I wanted to go somewhere in Europe. And I was like, Ooh, like I speak Spanish or somewhat speak Spanish. I love Spanish culture. I love Spanish music. So that's kind of why I picked Spain.

[Airport sounds]

Kate M.
So the trip started in early July. Our flight to Spain was in the evening out of JFK airport in New York City.
A few students were local and were dropped off at the airport, but most of them flew in earlier that day. We had students from 12 different states, and pretty much everyone was coming in on separate flights.
We spent most of the late morning and afternoon hanging out in T4 at JFK, waiting for everyone to get in. Once everyone was there, we headed through security. Fortunately, there were no super delayed flights, and everyone was able to get to JFK in time for our departure to Madrid. We got… very lucky there.

Kate M. 
When you think back to July 2019, and flying to JFK, and then meeting the group and going over to Spain, what do you remember about that? The beginning of the trip.

Amanah Q. 
The anticipation was crazy. I think like, when we got to JFK, I remember, like, I have my picture. And like my shirt, and my white pants, I still remember that time. I think I was more nervous about going abroad by myself, but also going abroad with strangers. Like when we got to JFK, I really wanted to try and, like, connect with the other students and the other, you know, my other peers. So that it could be a good trip, because if, you know, my host family was not the best than I at least had my, the other Americans that I could bond with and whatever the situation was, but um, it was, I mean, it was a long trip. We were sitting in a big plane. And we were sitting in the middle aisle of the plane, I remember. And it was like I was sitting in the middle seat, I think.  And it was really uncomfy. But I was so excited to go when I got to the Madrid airport. Loved it. It was really nice. The weather was really nice when we got there. So the anticipation was high, but then we got there. I was like, wow, this is nice. Like, I just, I was in awe, I really couldn't like I was like, oh my goodness, like, I can't believe I'm here. Can’t believe we went all the way across the world in less than 24 hours. That was the thing that shocked me the most.

Taylor T. 
Um, I just remember being really nervous, because I had never really left the Midwest before. And I was happy. My mom flew with me to JFK. So we went there together. But I remember after her leaving, I was like, so terrified. I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do. But then like, once getting to like Spain, and we were all like our little bus ride to Valladolid. I remember just like watching the countryside as we're driving. And I thought it was like, Oh, this is gonna be really cool.

Kate M.
That's great. Yeah, it was a long day. It was yeah, it was. It was a long trip. I mean, it was long for me and I was coming from New York, you were coming from Iowa, so. It was quite a trip. So, what were your first impressions of the country?

Taylor T.
Yeah, so like the like the main first thing that I remember is being on the bus and I remember because I've never really been in like a big city before and We hadn't we weren't going to like look around Madrid yet we just like driving through it. But I remember seeing all of the graffiti. We were driving through. I remember thinking that was really cool because I'd never liked besides like, on trains, I'd never seen graffiti before. I was like, Oh, this is real.

Kate M.
After that long trip, Ryan was feeling kind of out of it. This is pretty understandable, after taking a red eye flight to a different country…

Ryan R. 
So I always tell this story about how when I first got off the bus, I was so jet lagged and I was so overwhelmed. I felt like I was in an action movie being placed with my host family, and I didn't, I couldn't quite place where I was how I was feeling. It was just the sort of overwhelming sensation of this is a very, very new place. And, and sort of that awkward half hour, where you had just met your host family and you're in a car in this tiny little European automatic sort of car. And it was my first impressions were I didn't I was just overwhelmed. And I think it was, I wasn't sure what to expect for the next two weeks. That was for sure.

Kate M.
These host families were selected by AFS-USA’s partner Baker Street International. Students were matched with host families based on information they provided in their application. In most cases, the students were in a family that also had a teenager.

Taylor T. 
So I was staying with a host family. And there was like the mom and the dad. And then there was a younger sister. And then there was like, the sister that was like my age, just kind of like my assigned partner. And her name was Reena. And then there was an older brother as well.

Ryan R.
Yeah, so I stayed with a couple and their two sons in a residential area in Valladolid, Spain. And it was sort of a large communal house, you know, everything was kind of shared equally. We had family meals together, once or twice a day. We spent a lot of free time together, especially with the activities that were pre-programmed by AFS to sort of engage all of the host families with the host students and other host students, etc etc.
So I think I definitely remember spending a large majority of my time with them when I was with them. Rather than like friends or other people I'd met in Spain, which was sort of my experience recently in France was I spent less time with my host family, more time with other people. But for the like, through AFS, I think this program was definitely a nice, like, intro level, host family experience. And I think they did a really good job at choosing the families. I don't think anyone had a bad experience.
Something I learned later in life is not always the case with studying abroad. And having host families, it can be very tricky to find proper fits for students of all types and backgrounds. But I think overall, the experience living with my host family was very pleasant. I sort of felt like I had slowly but surely gotten a lot closer than expected to this family in those two weeks. And I actually still speak to them to this day. On occasion, I'd say once every six months, I get a text message. And we just catch up. It's really nice.

Kate M.
Can you talk a little bit about your host family?

Amanah Q.   
Yeah. So my family was awesome. I really liked them. They were very sweet. There was a little brother and then it was my host sister. She was like, four years younger or no three years you're gonna be because I was 17 and she was 14. So um, she was really weird because she was like my younger sister. So they were really nice. They were really kind. They introduced me to a lot of things. They took me to the beach one time. It was like a two hour drive Kate, it was really far, but it was so nice and so awesome.

Kate M. 
So how was it different from your own family?

Amanah Q.
Um, I would say, just because the lifestyle is different in Spain, like as a woman in the United States, or just in New Jersey, like, my parents are not really too big on me doing things alone, like at that age, right? I was 17. Now, I mean, they're still iffy about me doing things alone, like traveling alone, doing certain things alone, because I'm a woman and there are scary people out there, you know. So, I think one of the biggest things is like, when my host sister wanted to do something with her friends, her mom was super cool about it. She was very good at getting around on her own. So it was just a different lifestyle in Spain, which, you know, opened up a whole new opportunity for her to do things on her own and explore on her own. And yeah, I mean, it wasn't pretty, like pretty much it wasn't different. Like I had a younger sister. And I had an older brother, the little brother. There was a little brother in the home, but he was very quiet. So yeah, I don't think that the family composition was indifferent. But it was just the lifestyle that they lived in Spain that was so different.

Kate M.
What activities did you do with your host family?

Taylor T. 
Whenever we had downtime during the day. I remember I think most of the time, we would go home for lunch. And then a lot of times, like we would if we had downtime at night, too, we would like to do activities. I remember their apartment complex had a pool. So we would go out to the pool, like chill out there. I remember, that's when I learned to play. Like, I just learned that there's like a, there's like a Spanish card deck versus like, what like, we think it's like a traditional Spanish like card deck. So I learned how to play some games with that. And then on the weekend, as well, I remember we did like some excursions, and we would go with some of the other families. And I remember we went to, like, a bunch of castles we went up to, I think it's called Cantabria. And we went to the ocean one day, which was really fun. And we went to the mountains, and we went hiking. So you just do like a whole plethora of things, which is really fun.

[Card sounds]

Kate M.
In case you’re wondering, the Spanish deck of cards has four suits and contains 40 or 48 cards, depending on the game. They are used in Spain, as well as parts of Italy, France, and Latin America. For the pronunciations to follow, I asked my friend Maria Jose from Spain for help.

The four suits are copas (cups), oros (coins), bastos (clubs), and espadas (swords). The cards are numbered from 1 to 9. Then, the face cards 10, 11, and 12 are sota (jack), caballo (horse), and rey (king).

[Card sounds]

Ryan R.
Yes. So I think we visited a castle, pretty standard, the castle trip. We also visited my host grandparents, in the village that they were from. And we took a tour of the winery that my host father owned. What else do we do? We did a lot of things. And I think my favorite trip was when we went to a special organ concert in a tiny pueblo called Rueda. And that was to go visit my host grandparents at the time. I wasn't very religious, I've never been like a very religiously affiliated person, but the organ concert moved me in such a way that I know, I felt like I had a bit of a religious experience. And so that's sort of like a cultural exchange of music was one of my favorite trips that I think I took with my host family.

[Organ music]

Kate M.   
Okay, so we were there for about two weeks. And, you know, there were some days that we kind of had a routine. Could you talk about what a normal day was like for you there in terms of food, classes, activities?

Amanah Q.
Yeah, so I would say like I never been like go go go so much on a trip which I really enjoyed actually, because we didn't waste I feel like we had some downtime to you know, to ourselves, but then you know, there other times where we didn't, but I think a normal day waking up first of all, I in my room, I didn't have AC so I'd wake up because I was sweating. Usually the blinds would be open so like the birds and the chickens would wake me up. I'd get ready to go downstairs and have breakfast with my host family. We'd always packed like a little lunch. Usually baguettes. Some salami was the baguette which was so good all the time. Always have a fresh roll of baguette.
So I was living in the same complex as another host girl. so sometimes we'd carpool together, sometimes we wouldn't. So we usually, she would drive us into the town, we'd go to class.

Kate M.
So for this program, students were in language classes during the morning. They were put into classes depending on their Spanish level.

Amanah Q.
And then after that we would do either it was the siesta, like naptime. Or it was like an activity time.
We'd go to a museum. We'd walk around, maybe we'd go to the plaza.

Taylor T.
And then after that, we would have different excursions that kind of just depended day by day. Sometimes I think we like to go to different cities. Other times we would like, I think we like explore the city one day. And I remember one time we did an obstacle course kind of thing. So it just kind of depends day by day, like what we're doing.

Amanah Q.
And then after activities, we would try and stay out in the city as much as possible, then we'd go home to have dinner. And then either we'd go out again, or a lot of times my host sister would hang out in the neighborhood with her friends. So it was very long days. Very, very busy. And I experienced a lot of jetlag because the time difference was like six hours, and I was like, Whoa, I need to sleep. This is a lot. Yeah, that's kind of what a typical day looks like.

Kate M.
So you all had the opportunity to get to know some of the Spanish teenagers in the class during activities and excursions and such. Was there anything that… surprised you? Or anything that stood out as similar or different?

Taylor T. 
I feel like they like dressed a lot better than us, if that makes sense. Like, I think like, we dress more lax, and they just like they were going out for the day. That's like, the biggest thing I remember being different. And I also remember them. I remember being a little intimidated, because they were also very straightforward about what they're thinking and feeling. So they like, let you know what was going on.

Ryan R.
My goodness, I'll never forget my first sort of like, well, these kids are so cool. So I had solidified a few friends that have happened to be the host siblings of other American friends of mine in the group going abroad. And so through those sorts of relationships, I was able to solidify some good friendships with Spanish teenagers. And I think the first thing I noticed was just how welcoming and how accepting they were. They had little to no idea who most of us were, where we were coming from, or even while we were in Spain, they were just happy that we were there. And I felt honestly celebrated by the host siblings, specifically the local teenagers in Valladolid, they did a really good job of making sure we all sort of acclimated well to our short trip. Nonetheless, we all, I think, made some good connections.

Amanah Q.
I would say they were very sweet. I've noticed that when I like a lot of the women in the US, and like girls in general, are very catty, and very, like, judgmental and very, like, it's always a competition. So everybody was really kind. And what I really liked was that nobody really stuck to their host, like, family, you know what I'm saying? Like, we all mingled within one another, right? Yes, we would have our host siblings, but it was really nice mingling with one another. And I really enjoyed that. Because I got to know everybody else's hosts, like, you know, sisters, brothers, whatever. And it was a really great opportunity to kind of just like, you know, see how other people lived and see what other people did.

Kate M. 
It seems like at least a number of them in Valladolid were a bit more independent than you were used to in the states talking about how people would let kids go out late and by themselves.

Amanah Q.
Yeah, I thought they were so much more independent. And I thought it was really interesting, because like, you know, some of them would have been like the only child or not the only child. So it was, yeah, I would say independence was a little bit more emphasized, which is crazy because I think that we live in a very independent society. Right. And yeah, I don't know. I think that there's a lot of trust within. It seemed like there was a lot of trust within the parents and their children.

Kate M.
We had students from all over the U.S. in the group. It is also worth acknowledging that everyone is approaching this same program with their own unique perspective. Thanks to… the part of the country they’re from, city or small town, their level of independence at 15, 16, 17. So as a reminder, Amanah is from New Jersey, Ryan is from Pennsylvania, and Taylor is from Iowa.
I asked the three what their impressions were about Spain and the Spanish people.

Amanah Q. 
Compared to the United States and where I came from, I noticed that everybody was so friendly. And one of the biggest things that shocked me to this day is, the way of life in America and the way of life in places like Europe is so different. I remember my host sister was telling me like everybody, there's like a little bar slash restaurant in there, like a gated neighborhood. And kids are running around like 10 o'clock at night. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like, this is amazing. So I think my biggest first impression was like the way of life and lifestyle was so different.
People were very sweet, very kind. Also, everybody was a lot lighter skin tone than I thought. Yeah, I don't know why I thought people were gonna be a little darker, more caramely I guess. But everybody was more on the lighter complexion. And I was like, Oh, wow. So like me being there and being a little darker. I stood out a little bit. You know what I'm saying? But yeah, I remember just walking the streets. And when we were driving on the bus, like, everything was so I don't know, just beautiful. Like, I don't know Kate. Like I said, the people were so nice. The food was so good that I liked the food. I've always noticed when I travel abroad, the food is so much fresher, and so much more delicious. And it's not as processed. I remember when I got a chicken sandwich. I have a picture of me eating a fried chicken sandwich. And, yeah, I mean, my first impressions were really good. And you know, they stayed the same as the trip went on, you know, I had really good things to say about Spain.

Taylor T. 
I think honestly, in general it is just like the culture of being more straightforward that and then also, they like, their I feel like their day is shifted versus ours. And like, we would have lunch at like, because they have a siesta like the Spanish, you know, but like, that was like a real thing. Like they would come home from work for like an hour or two, we'd have lunch rest, they'd go back to work and then we would have supper at like 11pm. Like that was like a normal thing to do. So I think those are the two biggest things I remember, like them being there that much more straightforward than us. And then also like, having a day kind of like shifted versus ours.

Kate M. 
Yeah, the dinner at like, 10, 11pm that was an adjustment. I mean, I love the break in the middle of the day, but normally by 11 I'm ready to go to bed, personally. Okay, so you say Spanish are a bit more straightforward and direct. As a Midwesterner do you think that influences your perception? Just out of curiosity?

Taylor T.   
Definitely, for sure.

Kate M.   
I mean, that's generalized, but…

Taylor T.   
No, no. Yeah, it's true. I would say, I think about especially being from Iowa, I think that influence because I think we're quicker here to maybe sugarcoat things or talk around the bush not to hurt people's feelings or be very protective, I guess. But they just let you know what they're thinking. And I appreciate that honesty.

Kate M.   
Right. They're both totally valid ways of conducting business. But especially when I've traveled with students in the past, students from the Midwest or the South, they are kind of sometimes startled by the lack of sugarcoating that other people use when they're talking.

Kate M.
I asked Taylor, Ryan, and Amanah what skills they gained while on program.

Taylor T. 
Yeah, I feel like one of the things I like improved on most for myself, is I feel like I became a lot more independent, because like I said, it was my first time really traveling outside of the Midwest, and especially with a group of people that I've never met before. And I think that gave me a lot of newfound independence and self confidence. And then to go along with that, I think I became a lot more culturally aware, especially, I mean, with Spain on that aspect. But it was also really my first time interacting with a culture, like on a big scale, outside of my own culture.

Ryan R.
For the first time in my life, this trip gave me a sense of autonomy, despite being 17. Even though I probably inside I felt like I was 15. Now I'm 21, for context. And so it's been some time and I think that was the first time in my life where I was like, Oh, wow, I can just sort of do the things I love and sort of engage with the world in the way that I seek out to engage with the world.  And it was a moment of freedom. And I think that shaped my character a lot moving forward, especially considering I was applying for college. And when I got accepted to Swarthmore, I was like, Alright, here's a new experience and I've tackled greater feats going to Spain as a young person, sort of on my own. So I think it set me up for that sense of autonomy I always wanted as a young young student.

Amanah Q. 
Um, I think one of the biggest things that I learned was like just being culturally aware, meaning being polite, right, like, you know, because I didn't eat pork, I wanted to experience that, you know, I wasn't allergic to pork, but I wanted to, you know, be appropriate and brief, be kind and make sure that I was being polite to my host family.

Kate M.
As an aside… yes, if you did not know, Spain loves ham.

Amanah Q.
Ever since that trip, it's just being culturally aware, and just observing. It does make a huge difference, because then you can kind of filter yourself out as either a tourist or kind of just there, blending in. So that's one of the biggest things that I learned was, just being culturally aware, and just having a good time. You know if something doesn't work out, then move on to the next thing, and just enjoy your time there.

Kate M.
If we were talking about your time in Spain, and then your travels, what did that teach you about the United States and your American identity?

Ryan R.
Oh, wow. So wow, my American identity. I think after I went to Spain, I was very, like, I sort of fell into this habit of like, I want to be part of the next Lost Generation, I was like, I'm so ready to like, do it the way Hemingway did it, and I'm ready to become an expat. And then I went to France for about five months. And then I came home, kissing the ground. I was like Newark, Liberty International Airport. Here I come. I was. So I was really excited to be home. And I was sort of, for the first time in my life, really hyper aware of my American sort of identity and the parts of me that exist because of where I come from, and because of my American roots. And I think I was just really grateful to be an American citizen. I mean, I think most people who sort of have a want like wanderlust will experience this at least once in their life, but I didn't think it would come so soon. But I definitely think despite that feeling of I'm glad to be home, like proud to be like an American or whatever. I think I'm still motivated to go back and I would never consider leaving Europe out of the question for my future plans.

Amanah Q.   
As I learned a lot more about the way this society is structured, especially within social work, especially within the systems that are out there. The United States is… I don't want to live here forever. There's a lot that goes on here. Again, there's a lot of just like the basic human rights you know, having access to health care, making sure everybody has access to health care.
The lifestyle, we come from an area where everything is, unless you're out on the farms, everything is so processed. There's a lot that goes on here not saying there isn't a lot that goes on in other countries, but like it just makes me realize a lot more about the United States.
Just starting off with that Spain experience, but then traveling, you know, elsewhere, has made me a lot where I'm very grateful, very, very privileged, very thankful, I can appreciate everything that I have. But I would say it's, I've opened my eyes, my eyes are open, and they're not, they're not gonna close. You know, they're open. And I'm aware, I’m very aware of what's going on as I get older too, learning a lot more about things.

Kate M.
I asked these three what they had been up to in the years since our program in Valladolid.

Taylor T. 
So I'm at UNI, and I'm in my third year of Spanish. Next year, I'll be studying abroad in Costa Rica, which I'm really excited for in the fall, and then in the spring, I'll be doing my student teaching and then I'll graduate from college.
Ithink, honestly, it was the deciding factor in deciding to major in Spanish. I knew I wanted to do something. I had the idea of doing something that was Spanish, but I wasn't really set on what and I think after this experience is when I really determined yeah, this is what I want to do with my life.

Kate M. 
That's great. So you're studying Spanish education, what level do you want to teach at?

Taylor T. 
I would prefer to teach like, late middle school, early high school, so like Spanish 1, Spanish 2. Some more early years of Spanish, I think, because I'm more interested in the grammatical side of the language. I think that can be easier incorporated then. But then also focusing on the different cultures as well will be really cool.

Amanah Q. 
But I've traveled since Spain, I've traveled to Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, I went to Hawaii, I’ve been up and down the East Coast of the United States. I don't know if I really, really wanted to do a study abroad program in college. That was, I mean, ever since I traveled in high school, I always wanted to study abroad in college. And I, you know, never say never. But if I do go the Global and Community Practice route, hopefully the university that I you know, go to, like I know, Monmouth and other universities in New Jersey, have, if they're somebody who's going on the Masters route with the Global and Community Practice, they usually send that person abroad, one of the semesters to get that hands on experience in the world. So I'm hoping that if I do go that route, that I do get that opportunity, because that would be amazing. That would be awesome. But I'm still looking to study abroad within my college experience. I know I have like one year left, maybe I will study abroad after my summer after I graduate. I don't know. But again, I love to travel. I've been working, doing internships just kind of keep myself busy. Adulting, paying bills.

Kate M.
So when I met Ryan 4 years ago, as we know, it was on a Spanish language program…

Kate M.
…And then now you're studying French and Francophone studies? How did that trajectory happen?

Ryan R.
I love this question. So I stopped studying Spanish, my senior year of high school. Well, also, I thought at the time, because after my trip, I was like, Okay, I've sort of been to a Spanish speaking country, I've sort of reached a level of spoken fluency that I'm really content with. And I think it's time for a new adventure. So I decided to just sign up for a French class. Some of my friends recommended Swarthmore, they said, had a great French program.
So I started taking French classes started off really intense, five days a week, sort of classes early in the morning. And with spoken workshops, you know, the whole lot. And after, I think just like a couple of weeks, my first semester at college, I was like, I really liked this. And it reminded me sort of how I felt when I was learning Spanish. And I immediately was like this language is I'm going to tackle this language in the same way I tackled Spanish. And my ultimate goal was to go to France. And so I was really glad I was able to achieve that in such a short period of time, considering I started learning French just two years ago. And here I am, like, C1 spoken proficiency. So I'm just, I think the direction was definitely unexpected, and it wasn't planned. But I kind of just picked up a new language and took it to the same places I took Spanish.

Kate M.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering going on an AFS program over the summer?

Amanah Q.
And just be as open as possible to do anything. Now. You know, with that being said, you know, I wouldn't do things that I'm like, Well, I mean, I'm afraid of heights, and I do zip lines, you know, when I'm abroad, which is really, okay. I don't know why, but I don't know what I like to drive. I really like to experience it all. We know, we can't experience everything, but just being patient and just living in the moment and being present.

Taylor T.
I would say honestly, like, it's a leap of faith, and it's really scary. But I feel like you can learn so much from it. And you learn so much about yourself. I think it's just one of those things. You just have to like, take the step. And you have to, like, do it. Because I think it'll really give you newfound confidence and independence in yourself, and you'll also gain a new life experience.

Amanah Q.
Honestly, I would think one of the biggest things is like, Just do it. Honestly, like you, I've had a lot of experiences where I take what I have in life for granted. There were a couple of times where I could have lost my life, right? I was in a car accident last summer, I got hurt in Jamaica, I went to the hospital in Jamaica. So there were a lot of moments where I'm just like, like, maybe I could have been paralyzed at the age of 20. When I fell in Jamaica, right there all these things of like, all these what ifs, what ifs, what ifs? Life is really short.  If you have a passion for learning, and just indulging yourself in different cultures, I would just do it. Don't even like, I mean, yes, think twice about it. But like, you know, there are other obstacles like you could overcome, I would do it.

It's such a great opportunity. You never know when the next time you're going to go abroad. And you're going abroad with structure, right? You know, you could travel to Europe and spend like a month there, but it's like, okay, what do I want to do? What am I going to do to make the most of my experience? My best advice is Life is short. And if you have that small, you know want and desire, I would go for it. If the obstacles aren't too big, just try your best to get to that point and to just go, that's kind of what I would recommend.

Kate M.
Why is intercultural exchange important?

Taylor T.
Yeah, I think it teaches you a lot about yourself and who you are as a person. And you kind of like to learn to look at things from a new perspective. Meaning like new people who live in a way that's like, could be completely different from you. I think you've learned a lot about yourself. And along with that, I think especially on the language side, I feel like it kind of almost gives you a new sense of identity. Like, I feel like the way that I communicate, like in Spanish, or French versus English are like different between each other. And I think that's something that's cool as well.

Kate M. 
Yeah, I think, also the value of being able to form connections with folks in languages that aren't English. People who don’t speak English, like, your level of Spanish is the reason why you can be friends with a person who otherwise you wouldn't be able to talk to.

Taylor T. 
Yeah, like, it's up to you to like a whole new group of like, people and like perspectives that you'll never be able to experience.

Ryan R. 
So, I think I might have two answers. I have a more sort of broad response, and then I have a more sort of specific and targeted one, I would say, more narrowly speak gain, I think the biggest takeaway I get from cultural sort of Exchange and Study Abroad is the ability and the knowledge base to sort of tackle other types of literature. And when I say that, I mean, that's a very broad sort of term, like you consume different types of media through lenses that you sort of never seen, you had never seen the world before. And I think, for example, I'm in an Afro Caribbean literature class. And I don't think I would be doing as well as I am having not studied abroad in France. And I think having those sorts of exchanges understanding the way that people think once you've mastered their language, and you can see through to sort of the motivations for like, like speech, and the ways in which people carry themselves and the ways in which media sort of produces itself through the, the lens of let's say, a French culture or a francophone sort of culture, or Spanish speaking, when you, you become a lot, you're prepared to tackle a lot.
And you can start to see sort of how ideas take shape over time. And, I think, academically speaking, like it, it serves a great purpose for just sort of consuming knowledge and just being able to tackle the world in different perspectives. And the least cliche way possible, but it's true. It is true.

Amanah Q. 
Well, I think one of the biggest things is as a social work major, I advocate for, you know, just having just making sure everybody has the basic human rights, right, making sure everybody is being taken care of that way. And then that sounds like people are given their rights.
So I think you can explore what the United States is like. And as you get to know, as I get to know, the systems a little bit more, I understand who, you know, where the oppression goes on, and where the discrimination goes on? And then, you know, going to these other countries. I mean, like, in just looking at Europe, Europe has, you know, everybody has health care, right. So like that, in itself is like, Okay, well, it's different all around the world. So just, I think one of the biggest things is that, like, I'm huge for educating yourself and learning just about other cultures and gaining a different perspective. Right, because, you know, I think that we are very privileged, we are very fortunate to live in the United States, you know, a lot of people come here, from other countries to live the American dream, whatever that is. So, I mean, I don't know, I think intercultural exchange is really important, because it gives you a different perspective, and it gives you a different outlook on life, at least, that's what my goal is, when I travel, I gain a lot more perspective. And I'm just, I feel like I'm, I live a happier life, you know, I'm more grateful and more appreciative of what goes on.

Kate M.
That was Amanah Qureshi, Ryan Rodriguez, and Taylor Tendall. All three of these students had transformative experiences during their 2 week summer program in Spain. Often when we hear about international exchange programs, we hear about a full year program. While full year programs are obviously also impactful, we do not want to discount the effect that short programs can have.
Head over to afsusa.org to learn more about the programs that we offer. A number of the students on this program to Spain received scholarships- we have many to offer! Check out afsusa.org/scholarships to learn about available funding. In addition to AFS-USA’s national offerings, there are scholarships sponsored by the U.S. Department of State as well as by community partners across the country. If you go back to the first episode of this season, I discuss AFS-USA’s Faces of America scholarship program. This program provides access to international exchange for students from underrepresented populations in study abroad.

Kate M.
Well, thank you for listening to The AFS Exchange! I’m Kate Mulvihill. Let us know what you thought of this episode by sending a message to podcast@afsusa.org. You can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe there as well so you don’t miss any episodes in this 3rd season.

This podcast was created by Kate Mulvihill. Social media by Julie Ball and Nina Gaulin. Thank you to our guests, as well as María José Hernández Lizán, Parker Allen, and Caitlin Schneider.