My semester in Spain was fantastic. It was my first time leaving the US and I was very nervous at first. I chose the SIT program, Spain: Policy, Law, and Regional Autonomy in Europe because I thought it would serve as an interesting and challenging political

program. I was not wrong. The program was incredibly well organized and the director was always on hand to help out and lead students in the right direction. The classes were really interesting, and often taught by new professors each week, brought in because they are current specialists or experts in their fields. This was information I couldn't have gotten elsewhere. The excursions were a big part of the program, and possibly my favorite part. We traveled to Scotland to connect political movements happening in Spain to those happening in other parts of Europe, IE: comparing Catalonia to Scottish independence movements. I really felt as though I was learning about things as they were happening, from people who were making it happen, and that was awesome. Bilbao is an amazing city, and I loved living there with my host family. My Spanish improved drastically and the people were always kind and open to conversation. I learned a lot of from my host family, and was able to talk to them about what I had learned in class and hear their perspective. I would definitely recommend this program to students seeking a hands-on, current course in international relations, policy, politics, or even journalism. I used my final ISP paper to write about journalism and photography, and I was happy that I could craft it toward my interests. Overall, it was an incredible and unique experience that genuinely helped to inform my academic and professional interests, as well as being a lot of fun! Not to mention the unique culture in the Basque Country, the futbol games, and the food!