Proctor en Segovia Fall 2022 program participants have completed their first full week of living and learning abroad in Segovia, Spain. As they acclimate to new classes and life with a Spanish host family, students learn to suspend judgment and through observation and experience. They also build new connections with each other, their teachers, and their host family, often over a shared meal. In this post, students write about their first twenty-four hours in Spain, communication in a foreign language, and food and cultural differences.

As their trimester-long linguistic and cultural immersion program comes to a close, three students reflect on the Proctor en Segovia experience and describe this longstanding off-campus program in their own words.

Our last full week in Aix started out with a typical day of classes and some free time in town, accompanied with the final to-do’s and a dressed-up Saturday night dinner. 

To break things up a bit, this is a group blog, and being visual artists, we'll let the images, and drawing, for the most part, speak for themselves. The vast majority of photos are taken by Thomas.

Proctor en Segovia students travel south today to begin their second week-long excursion of their term abroad. They traversed the meseta of Castilla La Mancha and the Sierra Morena mountain range before arriving in Córdoba in the region of Andalucía. There they will study Andalucian culture and history firsthand.

Before leaving Segovia, instead of a traditional written reflection, students recorded this seven-minute video reflection on student life outside of the classroom in Segovia and living with a Spanish host family. They also take us on a quick tour of the Plaza Mayor and the Proctor en Segovia academic center.

Despite living a minimally structured lifestyle, my days have been packed with new experiences. Between resolving tensions in my social world and struggling to paint the ripples of the Mediterranean Sea, there are always challenges to be overcome.

While Segovia is the home base for Proctor’s linguistic and cultural program in Spain, students travel on week-long excursions to at least two of Spain’s distinct regions. On the road, classroom learning about history, art history, and culture is made visible. Enjoy these student reflections their recent excursion to País Vasco (The Basque Country).

Four weeks in and I can tell you France is nothing like South Dakota. Having the opportunity to travel, experience new foods and take part in a completely different culture has been both eye opening and inspiring.