After years of waiting, University of Rhode Island students have returned to Salamanca.
PHOTO CREDIT: Maddie Bataille | Photo Editor
For more than 40 years, URI students have traveled to Salamanca, Spain as a part of a study abroad program, according to program director and Spanish professor Susana de Los Heros.
For de Los Heros, traveling to Salamanca is an important part of her job at URI.
“There are many reasons why I do this, you know, one of them is to see them grow, I want them to be independent,” she said. “I’m going to provide them with the tools to, you know, learn the language with the best teachers, the culture, but also let them explore.”
This year, 28 students from URI went on the trip, along with seven students from Louisiana State University and three students from the University of Connecticut, according to de Los Heros.
During the five weeks abroad, students attended classes, explored major cities and connected with locals. One student, third year nursing and Spanish double major Victoria Johnson, explained her experience on the trip.
“I met some amazing people who I never would have crossed paths with otherwise,” Johnson said. “Going abroad, I learned a lot from everyone.”
Johnson also noted the importance of international learning and exploration. She said that the experience was difficult but it taught her things she couldn’t learn just in Kingston.
The trip required adjustments from all involved, including Elmer Vargas, assistant director of the Salamanca trip and Spanish instructor at La Salle Academy in Providence.
“You’re not only going to classes to, you know, learn the language, but you have to — you’re forced to communicate when you go to the market, and basically anywhere that you go to you have to use the language there,” Vargas said.
Vargas participated in a study abroad trip as a student while getting his master’s degree at URI and compared his experiences.
“Being in the background was just different, it was a different experience for me,” Vargas said. “I took great pride in that and helping other students and I always encourage them to just, like, get out of their comfort zone.”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for the trip, according to both de Los Heros and Vargas. The trip had to coordinate with local and international guidelines, including masking indoors.
“We knew that we were going to get students that were going to get COVID, I got COVID the first week there, so that was a big setback,” Vargas said.
Along with COVID, the trip experienced some other issues, including finding adequate housing, dining options and extreme temperatures, according to de Los Heros.
De Los Heros said that she observes the importance of international education throughout the bonds and lifelong friendships made between students while abroad.
Vargas shared his thoughts on the importance of international learning as well.
“Whenever you travel, whenever you go to places, you come back and you’re a different person,” Vargas said. “And I truly believe that you’re a different person for the better.”