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Kalleah Morseth
Kalleah Morseth is an Ambassador who studied abroad in Spain
Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression.
Lucia is eight going on twenty-one. She is the daughter to one of the professors in Spain that had accompanied us on all of our overnight excursions. Lucia and I had a bond that I don't think anyone truly understood. She is so bright, witty, and intuitive. She is definitely her mother's daughter and has the social grace of someone three times her age. Her fingers were always interlocked between mine. As we strolled through the Prado, down Las Ramblas, and even sat in the hot Toledo sun, she was my little Spainard sister. I wasn't a foreigner to her, I was her best friend. I adorned her wrist with a bracelet and a week later there was a matching one on mine. Even in a different language, country, and age bracket, I have never felt so loved.
Why did you choose the program in which you participated?
Studying Abroad was never a question for me. I chose St. Ben's because of their nationally ranked study abroad programs. I am, and will continue to be a person that thrives when challenged and craves new knowledge, people, and a greater understanding of the world around me. I am very passionate about cultures, language, and the differences in perception and study abroad is an experience that encompasses all of these interests. I didn't choose Spain, Spain chose me. As soon as I read the program description, I knew that Spain was the program for me. Because of my previous travel to Central and South America, Spain was a great mystery to me. I was lucky enough to be accepted, and it was the right choice for me.
Describe your overall study abroad experience.
The hardest, craziest, scariest, most wonderful, life-changing opportunity that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. There were tears and laughs, and stumbles, and triumphs but I will never forget any part of my time in Spain. For five months I lived with a no regrets attitude that helped me unlock the best version of myself.
How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience?
There isn't a part of my being that my experience in Spain has left unaffected. I think differently about myself, the world, and my place in it. I feel differently about my past, my present, and the rest of my journey. I hold a greater responsibility towards international life, and global focus. I now desire a life where I am a small fish in a big pond, rather than the opposite. My five months in Spain was a great adventure that has ignited a flame within me that I didn't know existed. I am more attune with myself that I have ever been. A country of siestas, wine, and bullfighting has guided me towards to the woman I want to be. I want more out of life, and now know that I deserve it.
What advice do you have for future Study Abroad Students?
Do not ever compare your feelings, experiences, stories with anyone else. Because those are yours and only yours. Those are the things that set us all apart and give us our individuality. Those are what make us powerful, those are what make us, us.
Do you have questions about studying abroad in Spain? Email Kalleah at kmmorseth@csbsju.edu