Leaving behind friends, family, swimming, hobbies, and essentially all things comfortable in my life was a significant challenge. Nonetheless, I can say that my off-campus experience was a productive and enlightening one. My first two years at Wabash taught me to think critically. This last semester in Segovia, Spain provided me with a rich social and cultural experience.

Segovia, Spain is a small medieval town of about 50,000 people. It is located 30 minutes (by bullet train) to the northwest of Madrid. Romans built the town originally. It is full of historic buildings and fascinating sites. The aqueducts that run through the center of the city were built over 2,000 years ago. The Alcazar Castle was Walt Disney’s inspiration for the Disney Castle and the Cathedral is perhaps the most beautiful in all of Spain. It was a bizarre feeling to sit in class knowing the building you are in is 500 years old. The history and mere beauty of the town is almost overwhelming at times.

Fortunately, I had the time to travel to many different places in Europe while abroad. It was also nice to have met good friends to travel with. I took a long trip over fall break to Italy and visited Rome, Siena, Florence, and Venice. On weekends I visited Lisbon, Munich, and Paris. I also visited many cities and towns within Spain including Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and Barcelona. These trips helped me to realize and appreciate the vast cultural differences between these European countries.

My time spent in Spain has helped me improve my Spanish Speaking skills. They truly have come a long way. When I first arrived, even general conversation and small talk with my host family was difficult. The differences in our accents and word choice made it nearly impossible to get simple messages across. Living with a Spanish family day by day for three months though allowed me to improve my ear for the language and more importantly, pick up on slang and phrases unique to Spain.

Despite all the travel and very busy class schedule, I made it to the pool several times this semester. Unfortunately the only time I was able to swim for more than an hour was after classes in the afternoon. This was the busiest time of the day at the pool. A single six lane 25 meter pool served a town of 50,000. Imagine trying to do a set with 7- 10 non competitive swimmers in your lane. This was not ideal for someone trying to get in serious yardage in a small amount of time. It made for some comical workouts. I also became friends with some of the lifeguards and regulars at the pool. Michael or “Miguel” Phelps was a common topic of conversation.

I had a memorable experience while abroad that I will remember forever. It is still very nice to be home. I look forward to catching up with teammates and swimming fast the rest of the season.

Pete Hewitt
Wabash College '10