Breana Watts

Overall Experience
5/5

Major
Spanish & Education

Hometown
Overland Park, KS

Where did you study?
Granada, Spain

Name of program
UMKC Granada

Why did you choose to study there?
I have always dreamed of studying somewhere in Spain. This program was UMKC-faculty led so we had a UMKC support system abroad.

What courses did you choose to enroll in?
Spanish Grammar and Conversation, Spanish Culture & Civilization and Islam Culture.

How did you pay for your study abroad experience?
I worked full-time for a little over a year while I was going to school to save for my study abroad experience.

Did you use some sort of financial aid, scholarship or fellowship?
No

What was your living situation?
I lived with a host family in an apartment in the center of the city. Our host mom was wonderful, she cooked all our meals, did our laundry and cleaned our rooms and bathrooms. She gave us a key and let us come and go as we please. I lived with a roommate, another UMKC student that was on my program.

What did you do for fun?
Walk and around and explore the city, there is a large Arabic influence in Granada. I could walk to La Alhambra every day and walk through the parks surrounding it for free. There was also a ton of shopping, during the time I was studying there it was a big sale season so almost every shop had things on sale for 40-70% off! Also we could go to hookah bars or go get tapas as there was an abundance of both of these types of establishments. This city was a wonderful place to explore.

Favorite aspect of your trip?
The amount of freedom and free time we were allowed outside of classes. It was also nice how easy it was to travel around the city and the country.

Challenges you faced?
At times communication was difficult even with my roommate who was fluent in Spanish. Also it was tough to budget money because there were so many different things I wanted to do.

Advice or helpful tips for future students?
Take more money than you could ever imagine you would need. Don't forget to figure out which banks abroad have an agreement with your bank to avoid service charges, learn the local currency and don't be afraid! Just go out and experience!!

What is one thing (if anything) that you would change about your experience if you could do it over?
Absolutely nothing, honestly.

Email: bwgdc@mail.umkc.edu