This summer I am very excited to say that I will be studying abroad in Madrid, Spain with the Viterbi Overseas Program! I will spend 7 weeks in this amazing Spanish city taking classes with Viterbi faculty and roughly 30 fellow Viterbi students, including fellow VSA Gavin. I’ve only been overseas once before, and that was a school trip to Southern Spain; I am very excited to take wonderful classes this summer and explore more of Europe!
Madrid
The two classes I’ll be taking are WRIT 340, the second undergraduate writing course required of all USC students, and HIST 195, a special topics course on cultural globalization and contemporary Spain. The writing course also counts towards my graduation requirement, which will free up more room in my schedule to take other interesting courses at USC.
Outside of classes, I can’t wait to practice my Spanish, explore Madrid and the surrounding cities, and learn more about the Spanish culture, not to mention eat lots of amazing food! The group has a couple of weekend trips planned, including to Andalucia and Salamanca, plus day trips to Segovia and Toledo. With the few free weekends we have, the group has talked about taking a trip to Barcelona, Paris, or Ibiza, but we’ll wait and figure out those details once we get to Spain. I also have friends studying abroad in Rome, Paris, and Belgium, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to catch up with them.
Here are some pictures from my last visit to Southern Spain with an exchange program through my high school:
After the trip, a big group of us are planning to go to Pamplona for the annual Running of the Bulls, as a part of the San Fermin Festival. We planned this trip as soon as we were admitted to the program, so this is definitely going to be one of the highlights of my summer. After that, my parents are joining me and we are going to Barcelona and Paris, before heading back home to San Diego.
Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
San Diego
Once I’m home, I plan on catching up on sleep and rest in the month that I have before returning to school for the fall semester of my junior year. It’s hard to believe that I’m already halfway through with college, but I can’t wait for this year to end so I can go to Madrid!
Have a wonderful summer everyone! See you in the fall.
