By Katie Hulce
Ellen Crofts is a senior at SNC who has patiently awaited her time to go abroad amongst the havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic. This semester she was finally able to go after waiting all of junior year for her chance to hop on a plane to Spain! The program she is currently enrolled in is specifically for study abroad students. It consists of about forty other peers from the United States and one from Japan. Her university is in the old city, meaning it’s the perfect location to be next to everything in Toledo and explore to her heart’s content!
“Overall, Spain has been amazing so far! I’m studying abroad which is a city full of history, religion, culture, and unique people. I’ve loved being able to practice the language and walk through the ancient streets. Also, there is so much natural beauty here too and I love hiking along the river”, Ellen exclaimed.
It’s understandable to be leery of studying abroad during a pandemic, but according to Ellen her experience has been both safe and manageable. Everyone always wears masks except when outside and they have daily temperature checks whenever they enter campus. The only challenge she’s encountered has been with travel. There is the added hassle of filling out health forms, but aside from that, travel within the European Union has been fairly easy for Ellen. She’s been able to experience above and beyond even what Spain has to offer.
The hardest part of studying abroad for Ellen hasn’t been COVID, but homesickness. While sometimes there are specific things she misses or something that triggers her homesickness, it’s much easier to manage when there’s a support system of other students going through the exact same thing. Missing family is typical even when students go off to college normally, and it’s especially normal to miss family and friends when you’re across the globe. Luckily, new friends and amazing adventures help distract from those hardships.
Ellen’s favorite thing to do is travel, both within Spain– Madrid, Cordoba, Granada where she saw a flamenco show, and Salamanca– and outside Spain– Lisbon with a sunset sailboat tour, Italy with a gondola ride in Venice, and Halloween in Romania. Her amazing adventures do not stop with touring Venice, pasta-making in Florence, or even visiting Rome and The Vatican. Her adventures continue with all the friends she’s bonded with. The easiest part of her experience thus far was meeting new people and making friends quickly. Since it’s a smaller program, everyone knows everyone which she loves, and that aspect of it makes getting to know each other super easy!
Besides traveling across Europe and taking classes, Ellen has kept herself busy with weekly zumba and flamenco classes, visiting an art festival in Toledo, hikes and walks around the city, and trying all the amazing desserts in Spain and Europe!
Interested in studying abroad? Feel free to check out snc.edu/cge/studyabroad/ and sign up for an appointment to talk to staff at the study abroad office. They can answer any questions you may have or even help with figuring out application details. Be sure to check it out!
