Tufts Blogs

Bueno regresamos (and we’re back)! My time abroad in Madrid has been such an incredible life-changing experience. From meeting amazing people, exploring a new culture, and traveling to see such incredible places, it was an unforgettable experience that I miss so much! And now we are back in Medford, Massachusetts. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy to be back at Tufts with friends who I’ve missed and be back in an environment I am used to, but I didn’t think it was going to take me so long to readjust to being back. While abroad, I immersed myself in the arts and dance, and it allowed me to expand upon my creative mind, but coming back to Tufts and sitting in a Physics 2 class was insane (what even is velocity???). 

I would try and tackle my physics problem sets, and just from one problem I would be so drained, that I would have to take a nap! It has become a very big adjustment to return to the Medford academic environment. Madrid was such an escape, that now returning to STEM classes, MCAT prep, and applying to jobs as graduation approaches in 3 months, it's draining. However, there was also a very big language shift that took a toll I wasn’t expecting. Since Spanish is my first language, it wasn’t very difficult to get used to speaking and thinking in Spanish while in Madrid I would even talk to myself in Spanish, which you might not have needed to know, but it’s true. Sitting now in classes where peers are talking in English and listening to a professor, really made me feel like I didn’t even know English. I am sitting in my Child Study class, and I fully wasn’t comprehending a word the professor was saying because my brain changed to focus and actively listening to Spanish. However, we have been making progress. It has become easier to finish problem sets, listen to lectures, and think in English while in the English academic environment. 

However, one feeling I didn’t think I was going to experience, let a loan take so long to overcome, was feeling out of place or left out. Walking around campus with an entirely new freshmen class, friends talking about the memories that took place the semester before, even the friendships that revolved so much around the running into on campus that obviously didn’t happen the semester before being thousands of miles away. It has become a very big adjustment that I didn’t expect to have to go through, but through it, you find your own way of coping. Allowing yourself to take the time to adjust again because not everyone can bounce back the first week back from a new country. You’ll find yourself again at Tufts, just keep on doing the things you are interested in, and hanging out with the people you care about, and you will be back to your Medford self, but now with a new cultural experience and new friends whom you’ve experienced such an amazing time with abroad! I'll keep you updated on my final semester at Tufts, as I try to make it the best it can be, despite the unexpected changes that are yet to come! 

Hasta la proxima!