Living life abroad isn’t just about ticking off a new country on your list. It’s about diving into a culture, a language, and a whole way of life that widens your perspective. Valencia, Spain, is the perfect backdrop for this kind of international cultural experience. The city blends history with modern life, has a laid-back Mediterranean vibe, and hosts a buzzing international community. It’s a place with endless chances to learn, connect, and grow.
At Euroace, we’ve seen how stepping outside your comfort zone-whether you’re learning a language, settling into a new city, or swapping stories with people from all over-can be truly transformative. Cultural immersion isn’t just about picking up more Spanish; it’s about personal growth, building lasting friendships, and gaining a deeper understanding of the world around you.
Hi Robert! Could you introduce yourself so our readers can get to know you?
Sure, sure. Well, my name is Robert. I am from the state of Hawaii in the United States. I really like to travel, so whenever I get a chance, a break from work or a personal break, I like to take it and go to new places. So, I’ve been wanting to come to Spain and Portugal for a long time, but I didn’t really have a very good reason or the timing didn’t work out. But it turns out that a very good friend of mine who is German, he was in Berlin, he’s getting married this month here in the north of Spain.
So, about a year ago, I told him I would come to his wedding, and that gave me enough time to plan a trip to Iberia. And so, as it was getting closer, I decided the length of stay would be about two months, and I would travel all around Spain and be able to see Portugal through Lisbon and Porto. And that was the purpose of the trip and the length.
You’ve travelled a lot. Why did you decide to study with Euroace?
Whenever I travel, I like to do something a little special to make the trip a little more unique than just going somewhere and seeing things. So, in the past, I’ve done things like cooking classes or done volunteer experiences in forests or clean up things. It allows me to get to meet people that I normally wouldn’t get to meet and have really cool experiences.
So, when I was thinking about this, the reason why I decided to study Spanish was because my great-grandparents are from Spain. From the Canary Islands, Andalucia, Galicia, Barcelona… And I did not know them, and I didn’t grow up speaking the language. So, I thought learning the language would be a good way for me to get in touch with my background.
Why come to Valencia specifically to learn Spanish?
When I was thinking about where I wanted to go, I didn’t know very much about Spain. So, I started reading online and getting an idea of how different parts of Spain are. And at a certain point, I asked my friend, the one who’s getting married, what he thought about Spain.
Because his partner, the one who he’s going to marry, is from Zaragoza, and really loves Spain. And one of the cities that he said he really loved is Valencia, specifically because the people were really nice. And he liked a lot of architecture in the city.
So, I started looking at it. And then I thought, well, you know, it’s more affordable than Madrid and Barcelona. It’s not as touristy as those cities. Coming from Hawaii, I don’t really like to be around very touristy areas for very long. So, that all made a lot of sense for me.
And I started looking a little more intently at Valencia. And then I started looking at schools and Euroace came up on a few different websites and got really good reviews. And then I started emailing and spoke to Emma. She was so kind and very informative.
Overall, looking at the price of Valencia, how much it cost to stay here, to eat, the school, it all made sense. I heard really good things. The weather was really nice, and it’s supposed to be a really cool place to base yourself to go and take day trips.
How would you describe your experience living in Valencia?
It’s been really nice, you know. I mean, I guess there are two dimensions to answering that question.
One is just the experience that I’ve had here. The people here, in a lot of ways, remind me of the people of my home. People of Hawaii are very warm and welcoming and kind and patient, you know. And as somebody who doesn’t speak Spanish, it’s very easy for me to find people who are not those things.
People here have been very accommodating, most of them, you know. And that’s made me feel really welcomed and comfortable. And it’s given me a very good impression of the Spanish culture.
The other dimension is how I think Valencia is compared to other places I’ve been. And I’ve been to a lot of other places. And the most important things to me, I think, are the people. And the people here have been really, really very nice compared to a lot of other places.
It’s kind of a very silly word to use, but just holy. You know, all those things I mentioned.
And what would you highlight of Spanish culture?
Yeah, I really like history and food. I also worked in the hospitality industry for a long time. So my family did it, my mom, my dad.
I come from the alcohol industry in particular. And so for me, I really enjoy trying and learning about the different alcohols from different places. So here, one weekend we spent out in Utiel Requena and Cuenca. And so that was history and wine and food. And that was wonderful. You know, and we did that in the south too, in Xativa.
Here in Valencia, it’s been the same. So yesterday I went to the archaeology museum. And that was really cool. I learned about the Roman era, the Moor era, the reclamation of the city. So the history of the city is really spectacular. And the day before that, I went to the cathedral, which was beautiful.
I’ve been doing things around food and around history. And it’s been really enlightening.
Have you been doing tourism or cultural activities? What has been your favourite activity?
It was so cool. Because I’ve never seen Flamenco before. I’ve heard the music maybe on the radio. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it on television. I know Flamenco is a type of dance. But I didn’t have any experience with it.So last night’s show was remarkable for me because it was completely new. The dancers, I thought, were so… They expressed sincerity in their emotions.
I found that to be captivating. There was one dancer who almost felt like she was going to cry on stage. Because it seemed like she was so passionate about what she was doing and how she was feeling. And it was just a remarkable experience. So I really enjoyed it.
What advice would you give to a student considering going abroad?
I think two things come to mind.
I think one is… Calibrate your expectations. But I don’t think that’s special in Spain. I think that’s good advice for anywhere. If it’s someplace you’ve never been to, let that place tell you what it is. Don’t come in and expect it to be something.
And I think the second thing I would say is… Be excited to adapt. Leaving and going somewhere else is all about new. So don’t bring the old with you. Be new.
