Lakesiders have a lot to both anticipate and dread come junior year: drivers’ licenses, the start of college counseling, rightful access to the coveted upper floor of the library, and more. But some students entered the year looking forward to something else: Lakeside’s study abroad program.
“We recognize that there’s a subset of students who are eager to explore a different way of learning that is place-based [while] still maintain[ing] the level of academic rigor that they’ve become used to at Lakeside,” Bryan Smith, Director of Experiential Education, explains as he describes the purpose of the program. “The best theme that comes out of all of these experiences is when a student pushes themselves out of their comfort zone to go live in another part of the country or world, and they find out how confident, independent, and self-sufficient they become by having this kind of experience, while they are also building a deep community of classmates who come from all over.”
To learn more about the experience, Tatler interviewed Alexa A. ’27, who is currently attending School Year Abroad (SYA) in Spain.
Q: Why did you choose to study abroad?
Alexa A. ’27 (AA): My main goal was to experience something new. I’ve spent most of my life in Seattle, in a Catholic school, growing up with the same people…I wanted to branch out and immerse myself in a new culture; I love meeting new people, and I love to travel.
Q: What is your favorite class/subject so far?
AA: My favorite class is environmental science. My teacher is the funniest and sweetest person; It’s nice to have a teacher who really cares about his students. I also do volleyball outside of school; I’m currently on one of the club teams for another school and that has been going really well! I have nationals in December, so it’s super fun and the girls are so sweet. SYA offers a bunch of extracurriculars – you can learn how to make Spanish dishes and pastries in their baking class; there’s flamenco, bachata, and so many options.
Q: What surprised you the most about your trip?
AA: I’m most surprised by how fast time went; I can’t believe I’ve been here for 2 months. The days go by so quickly, and it’s amazing how I’m almost halfway through the year. I’m also surprised about how open SYA is to letting students go on trips…We have so many independent trips lined up where we can send in a form of where we want to go within Spain and spend a day there [or] sleep overnight at a hotel. It’s so fun, and they really promote going out and seeing the culture.
Q: What has been the hardest part about studying abroad?
AA: It’s mostly been positive, but for the last few days, I’ve been missing home. It’s not even just family or friends, but more of the other things I have back at home, like my car, my dogs, all of the things I would regularly see every day in Seattle, like walking the track at Lakeside with my friends during my free period. I know some of the students here have been struggling [with homesickness], but GSL really helped me. Had I not done GSL and gone MIA for a month without communication, I would’ve been more sad to be away from family.
It’s gotten easier to adjust to homesickness. We have electronics and ways to talk to family, which makes it easier, but you’re never going to completely escape the feeling of familiarity…You’ll just learn to be content with that feeling.
But overall, I’m so happy that I decided to come. I’ve met so many new people and been to so many places. This past week, I was [on] a school trip, and I got to see so many new sights and interview people on the streets to ask about their lives…it’s really eye-opening to be immersed in a new culture.
Q: What do you wish you knew before you went?
AA: I went into [SYA] without having researched anything. I did all the paperwork, I knew I wanted to go to Spain, and when I got the location of the school, I wanted to go into it surprised…I didn’t want to have a planned-out itinerary, I wanted to take it all in naturally. Over here, I have a host family and two older sisters…and my sisters gave me more niche recommendations than the tourist traps and places that everyone knows…that we see online. I like living with a host family; it reminds me of home, and the home-cooked meals after a long day of school and the sense of being specially connected to people who consider you to be part of their family is very comforting.
Alexa is happy to answer any questions for students interested in studying abroad and can be contacted at her blog account, @alexas.diaryy, on Instagram.
