Tannner Voliva
UVA Valencia
Valencia, Spain
Fall 2021

Buenos días from Valencia!

As my study abroad experience closes in on the remaining few weeks, I’ve begun to reflect on what all has occurred during my time in Spain. Over the course of just a couple of months, I have had the chance to grow as a person. I feel as though this opportunity has – and still is – giving me the chance to find myself and find my form of authenticity as a human being. I’ve been learning that I am perfectly fine traveling and finding new places to go on my own. In fact, I love being able to explore new places; and by doing this, I’m able to spend more time looking within and understanding the life I want to live and create for myself.

Not only am I able to travel alone, but I’ve also met some wonderful new friends during this adventure! The UVA in Valencia program has about 40 students this semester and I’ve made some great friends out of this group of students. We’ve traveled to many new sites with the program and on our own group excursions. But H-SC reaches far and wide! Jalynn Camp and I were able to grab lunch with Pieter Green, another Spanish Major from H-SC studying in Madrid, Spain.

One new thing that I’ve found is that not only do I love the beautiful geography of the country, but now I love learning the history that goes along with it. Whereas before coming to Spain, I wouldn’t have considered myself a history buff in the slightest. You always learn in school that America was discovered in 1492…but I don’t think the facts are ever truly put into perspective. Learning the history, architecture, art, and music that was developed long before the expeditions to America. It’s come to be an insane experience being able to walk the same paths as those before and touch the same walls or pillars that supported the castles of nobles.