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In this weekly podcast, follow us as we go more in-depth with the students, faculty, and staff who are behind the different organizations and programs featured in our Instagram video series Try @ TXST, and see what makes Texas State University so unique.
Part of the TXST Podcast Network: https://www.txst.edu/podcast-network.html
Giselle Kowalski:
Hi, everybody. My name is Giselle Kowalski and I'm the podcast producer here at Texas State University. You're watching Try @ TXST, and this is our study abroad edition with Nora Parkhurst. Hi, Nora.
Nora Parkhurst:
Hello.
Giselle Kowalski:
How are you today?
Nora Parkhurst:
I'm good. How are you doing?
Giselle Kowalski:
I'm great. So Nora is actually one of our digital marketing, digital media and podcast interns here in the Division of Marketing and Communications, but you're also a transfer student, right?
Nora Parkhurst:
Mm-hmm.
Giselle Kowalski:
And you just went abroad this summer.
Nora Parkhurst:
I did. I went to Spain. I went to Cuenca, Spain.
Giselle Kowalski:
Oh, that sounds so beautiful and amazing. So I want to talk all about it. I want to hear all about your experience, but let's start from the beginning. What made you want to study abroad and why Spain?
Nora Parkhurst:
So I picked Spain because I needed two of my Spanish credits done in order to graduate on time. And going abroad offered me the opportunity to get two classes done in four weeks.
Giselle Kowalski:
Wow.
Nora Parkhurst:
And then I wanted to do it because I had the opportunity to. And then also I've never ever been abroad before. So I really wanted to go abroad. And I picked Spain because my professor, Dr. Susi Ledesma, she told me about it and she had been on that study abroad trip before. So she showed me photos and convinced me.
Giselle Kowalski:
So what was it like traveling outside the US for the first time?
Nora Parkhurst:
I should have Googled it because I didn't realize how long the flight would be. And I've never really been on plane. I've been on a plane, but not very often. So I wasn't prepped at all for what that experience would be like. But it was fine. It wasn't too bad.
Giselle Kowalski:
How did it feel when you got there?
Nora Parkhurst:
It was crazy. So the process was once we got off the plane, we all met up at a cafe and we had to wait for all of the students to get there. I think in total it was probably like 32 of us. So it was just really crazy because I remember meeting everybody individually. And then at the very end of the trip, I remember looking back on our first interactions and just thinking how crazy it was, how much has changed in just a month.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. And you expedited your process of learning Spanish within four weeks. So can you describe the little town of Cuenca to me and what life was like there?
Nora Parkhurst:
We would wake up for class around 7:00 in the morning. So we would have class from 8:00 to 1:00, and then we would have a siesta from 3:00 to 5:00. And then after that, the way that the classes were structured, we would have class, the siesta, and then we would go with the entire study abroad program and we would just have different events each night. So every Thursday we would have parties and then we just did different events. But the actual town itself was beautiful. It had a lot of more influence. So they had castles and some of the castles there were from the 13th, 14th century. And yeah, it was beautiful. I can't really describe it. All of the buildings were painted very vibrant colors and there were cobblestone sidewalks. It was amazing.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. It sounds like a dream, something out of a movie.
Nora Parkhurst:
Yeah, it was really cool.
Giselle Kowalski:
Were you staying with a host family or were you staying in a group of ... Were you in a hostel? What's that situation like?
Nora Parkhurst:
So 15 of us stayed in a hostel, and then I stayed with three other girls at a host family. And the setup for that was we had a bottom floor and then our host family lived on the top floor. So it was kind of like an apartment almost. Other host families, they lived with the actual host family, but-
Giselle Kowalski:
Other host families or other students?
Nora Parkhurst:
Other students lived with the host families. But it was incredible because we would spend lunch and dinner together and they had three kids, two little girls, and then a son. So we got to really know them. And they didn't speak any English and we were learning Spanish. So it was really cool learning from the kids. And I remember one of the little girls, she taught me a song in Spanish and we would have dance parties.
Giselle Kowalski:
Do you remember the song?
Nora Parkhurst:
I don't remember.
Giselle Kowalski:
I was going to ask you to do it.
Nora Parkhurst:
It involves hand clapping and it's a lot, but it was really cool.
Giselle Kowalski:
But did you have any culture shock experiences while you were there or within the first couple of weeks?
Nora Parkhurst:
The people there were very friendly and very relaxed. So the culture shock was probably just the way things ran. It was much slower paced and everything would shut down at one and then open up again around four or five. So the town was very quiet during that time. But yeah, culturally it was just very different. It was much slower paced than it is here. The siestas I was not used to, and we would go out to lunch with our professors a lot.
Giselle Kowalski:
So that sounds like a really community-based situation whenever you're on a study abroad program. Did you continue taking siestas when you got back to Texas?
Nora Parkhurst:
It was harder because it wasn't built in. And also the sun didn't set at 10:30 here, so I didn't really have time to do that, but I have started taking more siestas, but I do miss that a lot.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. And is Cuenca, where is it located within the country of Spain? Is it south, north? Are you near sea? What is it like there?
Nora Parkhurst:
So Cuenca is right in the middle of Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona.
Giselle Kowalski:
Oh, wow. So it's in the epicenter basically.
Nora Parkhurst:
Yes.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. Did you get to go to those other cities as well?
Nora Parkhurst:
We went to Madrid and we went to Valencia, and Valencia was on the sea, so that was really nice.
Giselle Kowalski:
You were taking Spanish Three and Four. You took it in a month. What was that like?
Nora Parkhurst:
It was a lot. It was a lot of studying. It was a lot of memorization, but living with the host family was really helpful because they only spoke Spanish to us. Sometimes they would speak in English if we really couldn't understand them. But I think honestly, being with the host family was what made me pick up Spanish as fast as I did.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. I can imagine because you're hearing it, you're fully immersed in it in comparison to when you're here. Not as many people speak the language consistently. Was there a moment where you realized that you were starting to actually think in Spanish?
Nora Parkhurst:
I remember I had a dream in Spanish, and I woke up and I don't think all of it was actually Spanish. I think I was just kind of picking up on the rhythm and the sound of Spanish, but then that was in the first week because that entire week, our host mom was really focused on us learning Spanish, and she would talk for hours to us in Spanish. So that was whenever I kind of realized, okay, it's helping. I'm picking up some Spanish.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. Are you still in contact with your host family? Could you go back and maybe visit them?
Nora Parkhurst:
Yes. So my host family, it was Ana and Jorge and I text Ana sometimes on WhatsApp and they said whenever we left that we could come back anytime we wanted to. And she was lovely. I loved Ana. She was so sweet. I remember the first week on Thursday, we had an inauguration for the entire study abroad program and in secret, she wrote a speech and she did a speech about us and about her participation in the study abroad program. And I remember crying because it was just really sweet.
Giselle Kowalski:
That's beautiful. So now that we're talking kind of about your experience as a whole and that you met beautiful people, you were with Texas State students out there too. What's your favorite memory from this trip or do you have a couple that you could share with us?
Nora Parkhurst:
I think every single day was very different and every single day I remember just being so grateful to be there and having a favorite memory from each day. I think what I think back on the most isn't even necessarily a specific memory, but it's how I felt there. Everybody was going through the same situation and experiencing the same things and it was just incredibly warm and inviting. And I remember being so confident and comfortable there with everybody. But actually, I think my favorite memories were every time we would have a dance party. Every Thursday, the university held fiestas for us. And then the last day that we were there, we did an award ceremony and I remember I got Mujer de la Fiesta because I was always dancing. So I loved dancing with all the professors and the students.
Giselle Kowalski:
That's awesome. And so you did say that the university held them. What university were y'all doing this in partnership with?
Nora Parkhurst:
It was the University of Cuenca, but there weren't really any classes in session. It was mainly just us. And the study abroad program, there were 32 students from Texas State. There were people from Thailand, from many different universities in Thailand, and then there were people from a university in Georgia. So it was mainly just us in that university.
Giselle Kowalski:
Wow. Okay. So you had a full on community. And did you go with anybody that you had known prior to leaving for Europe?
Nora Parkhurst:
The one girl that I knew is now my roommate, but we didn't really talk that much leading up to it. And honestly, whenever we were there, she was in the hostel, so I didn't really talk to her very much while I was there. But now since coming back, I have so many new friends, and one of my friends, Savannah, who you know, she went on that trip with me. I met her there and we worked together every day. We're planning on making our own podcast. Yeah, I love Savannah.
Giselle Kowalski:
That's awesome. So you really got to build connections while you were there. You mentioned how you felt really warm and confident while you were there. Was there a specific moment where you felt confident in yourself or very proud of yourself for doing something?
Nora Parkhurst:
I just remember every time we would have one of the fiestas, I remember the professors would come up to me and say like, "Come on, get everybody dancing." And I remember I would go and kind of be the hype man. And I remember anytime I would come, because in Spain, it's really formal. People like to dress up in Spain, which I miss. So I got all these really beautiful gowns and I remember anytime I would come out on one of the gowns, my friends would be like, "Okay," and hype me up. And I don't know, that plus just feeling really comfortable in my skin. Yeah, it was just a really beautiful environment there.
Giselle Kowalski:
I love that. I didn't know all of that because you were working here at the time and I feel like when you did come back, you were more open and outgoing. And I didn't really realize that it was because you had done kind of like this life-changing experience.
Nora Parkhurst:
Yeah. And it was interesting because I feel like that's how I act a lot with friends and people that I've known for a long time, but I feel like day-to-day I'm kind of a little bit more introverted and a little bit more shy. But yeah, being over there the very first day, I felt welcome there and I felt like I had friends from day one and yeah, I think I carry that with me still. I feel way more confident post study abroad.
Giselle Kowalski:
Wow, I love that. So I feel like this is a great segue to ask. If someone is on the fence about, do I do study abroad while I'm here at Texas State? Do I not? What would you tell them?
Nora Parkhurst:
Do it.
Giselle Kowalski:
Do it.
Nora Parkhurst:
If you can do it, do it. There are a lot of scholarships that you can apply for and resources that you can look into to make it more accessible to you. But if you have the opportunity to do it and you're thinking about it, just do it. I don't think you're going to regret it at all.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. And before we started recording, you had told me that you have dreams to study abroad or actually more like after graduation you want to teach abroad. How did this experience help shape that path for you?
Nora Parkhurst:
A lot of the professors that I had have traveled to different countries and have also taught Spanish abroad. And my professor, Professor David, he wants to come to the United States to teach English here. So I just talked to them about it and talked to them about their experiences and they were also the ones saying, "Yeah, do it." Because I think just traveling and meeting new people really opens up your worldview and yeah, it's just 100% I'm going to go abroad after I graduate.
Giselle Kowalski:
Are you going to go back to Spain or would you like to go somewhere else?
Nora Parkhurst:
I would really love to go back to Spain, but I really want to go to Italy and Portugal and Greece, but I'm definitely going to visit Ana and Jorge again.
Giselle Kowalski:
Yeah. And to all your friends in Spain, what would you tell them if they're watching right now?
Nora Parkhurst:
I miss you guys. I really loved the teaching. I loved my professors there and I really miss all my professors. So I would just say hello. And actually one of my professors, Professor David, he commented on one of the Instagram posts that I was in and he said something like, "Oh, this is great." And it made my day. That was so cute to see him comment that.
Giselle Kowalski:
I love that. Well, this showed me a lot more just about who you are as a person. It seems like study abroad kind of fundamentally changed you in a way that I didn't realize. So I think that's really beautiful. But thank you, Nora.
Nora Parkhurst:
Yes, thank you so much.
Giselle Kowalski:
I really appreciate you talking about studying abroad.
Nora Parkhurst:
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Giselle Kowalski:
Thanks. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Try @ TXST. We'll see y'all next time.