By Lauren Mittleman Features Editor
Most students wait until college to study abroad, but Costa junior Ava Elias leaped at the opportunity to study in Spain this school year.
Elias arrived in Spain on Sept. 5 and is currently living with a host family in the city of Zaragoza, located between Madrid and Barcelona. The program that Elias is traveling with is called the School Year Abroad (SYA), where she will attend the American School in Zaragoza in October. In the meantime, Elias will be playing soccer, running track, and will be involved in Model United Nations at her new school. On weekends and days off, she is planning on spending her time traveling around Europe with her host family or going on adventures with her friends to different places in Spain.
“I’m excited to learn about the new culture, meet new people, speak a new language, and get immersed into a completely different place that I’ve never been before,” Elias said. SYA takes students to different countries based on what languages they choose to take in high school. Students can select a study abroad program in France, Spain, Italy or China. “I chose to do it because my dad is originally from Colombia and grew up in Argentina, so I’ve always been around the Spanish culture and wanted to experience something new,” Elias said. “It will also help me to become fluent in Spanish, which is something I’ve always wanted.”
This year’s SYA Spain class consists of 65 students who will all be attending the American School in Zaragoza. The students currently enrolled in the program are entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school. The school only includes students from the United States, but to help them learn their country’s language, every class is taught in Spanish except for English and math. School days are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on the days that they are on independent travels or school trips around Europe.
“I will probably refrain from talking to everyone [back home] everyday until I get used to life in Spain,” Elias said. “Every two weeks I’ll call my friends and family, and then I’ll most likely still Snapchat everyday but not close to as much as I do right now.”
Elias will be in Spain until May of 2020, a total of nine months. She will have an international plan on her phone, but the program does not want students to be calling home or on social media for extended periods of time, since they want the students to be fully immersed in their studies and new lifestyle.
“I’m super scared because I can’t come home at all over the nine months, so I’ll be away from my friends for a really long time and my family which I’ve never done before,” Elias said. “It’s nice, though, because my family is coming down for holidays and breaks and a few of my friends are also going to try and come down.”
Elias says that she plans to study abroad in France or Germany when she is in college. She intends to major in international relations and minor in business so that she can either work in international law or international business. At some point in the future, she plans on moving back to Europe.
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