Kelley Bass
Home Town: Riverside, CA | Major: History
Study Abroad: Sagunto, Spain, 2012-13
“My school, which is only six miles from the Mediterranean, gave me the opportunity to take lots of electives in literature, history, religion, law, cooking, and culture. Every trimester, the school took us on cultural trips all around Spain and Morocco.”
THREE HIGHLIGHTS:
- My dad and little brother’s visit. It was really exciting to play translator for them.
- My roommate’s romance. She met, fell in love with, and got engaged to a Brazilian guy, who even serenaded her at her bedroom window.
- Making new friends from Brazil, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Spain. We used Spanish to communicate, and over the course of many dinner conversations we became a family.
HOW MY YEAR CHANGED ME
I returned much more laid back. The Spanish have a phrase: “no pasa nada” or “no worries.” In other words, things happen when they happen, and there’s no use getting bent out of shape when they don’t. It really put life into perspective for me. Our American culture is go, go, go. The Spanish are busy, but they take time to enjoy life. It became a philosophy I adopted and try to live by.
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