Kent State Study Abroad Student: Kari Evans
Kent State Study Abroad Student: Kari Evans
Kari Evans is in her third year as a Kent State student majoring in Spanish with a minor in Education. She has always wanted to study in Spain because of her aspiration to visit a Spanish-speaking country and travel around Europe. Thanks to Kent State’s 2022 Simon Award-Winning Office of Global Education, she is studying in Murcia, Spain, for the Spring 2022 semester.
Despite her excitement to study abroad, Kari had a rocky experience with her arrival. Due to all the snowstorms that afflicted Northeast Ohio in January, her flight out of Cleveland kept getting delayed, and consequently, she missed her connecting flight. When she finally got to Spain, she was already exhausted and jet-lagged while navigating a brand-new airport and unfamiliar cultural norms. “In the states, when they want you to go straight they put an arrow [facing] up, and in Spain, it’s an arrow facing down.”
After many interferences, Kari finally arrived in Murcia. She has been there for a little over a month and describes it as a “college town in a big city” that also has really good food. However, the arrival was not the only obstacle. As with moving to any new country, Kari has needed to make a few adjustments to her daily life. “Everything is different,” she said before describing how public transportation has been a major change. “I took the PARTA bus when I was a freshman because I parked my car on campus, but that is the only public transportation that I have taken in my life.” Kari has had to figure out the bus system in case she cannot walk to her destination.
Once she graduates from Kent State, Kari hopes to teach Spanish. While in Murcia she is taking education classes that are taught entirely in Spanish. She enjoys studying in Spain and says there is a major difference in the classroom culture that is “life first, school second.”
Kari will be in Spain for the remainder of the semester and looks forward to her family visiting and developing her Spanish skills. “It’s been a month since I have been here and my Spanish has improved ten-fold, from pronunciation to picking up words in slang.” After final exams, she plans to take advantage of her being in Spain and travel around the rest of Europe.
Written by Arden Miller, Kent State Department of English and OGE Spring Intern