Meeting Spaniards

One of the questions we are asked most frequently is how to go about meeting Spanish students. Your predecessors who have been successful in this respect would say that the best approach is to find a group activity that includes Spaniards: choral singing, hiking or sports, volunteer work, language exchanges, or internships — anything that gives you an interest or a structure in common. The office has resources that include Spaniards interested in participating in an intercambio with English-speaking students.  For more information about options in Madrid, contact the School in Spain’s Cultural Coordinator, Cristina Gómez Carmona (gomez@middlebury.edu). For options in Córdoba, contact the Director in Córdoba, Kim Griffin (kgriffin@middlebury.edu). You will need some courage and a good deal of initiative; results may not live up to your expectations, especially not right away, but be patient. Keep in mind the strategies you would use at home to meet people: you try to be where they are, you try to share an interest or an activity that will put you in contact with them, you get to know people who know them. It goes without saying, if you have one or two Spanish acquaintances to start, it will only make things easier. Conversely, if you speak English in public, spend a lot of time with other Americans, or travel outside of Spain on weekends, it will make developing new friendships more difficult. 

Here is a video about making friends abroad, produced by returned study abroad students.