![\"Selfie](\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2023\/02\/Image-3.jpeg\")
<\/a> parents’ place of birth are the islands of Jamaica and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. I am cared for, encouraged, and loved by my family as a daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin. I have visited my parents’ birth places, and I\u2019m introduced to cultures that I hold dear to my heart.<\/p>\nI have lived in three different states. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida and grew up in Tampa, Florida. My home base is now Memphis, Tennessee. I am a friend, mentor, co-worker for many in my home states. As a student, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana. At Butler, I\u2019m many things. I\u2019m a bible study leader, discipler, student, and intern. On top of that, since I was adopted, my identity has always been a struggle for me sense I always felt like I didn’t fit into just one.<\/p>\n
I wonder about what will change as I study abroad. I will be Fast forward to me landing in Almeria, Spain. Almeria is a very interesting city, because not only does it border the coast line, but it also is next to other popular cities, such as Granada, Malaga, Murcia, and those other little cities in between. Regarding culture and identity, to me, my world flipped\u00a0 practically upside down. There\u2019s a lot of things that surprised me because of my assumptions early on.<\/p>\n For example, I know that Spain in general is a Also, my interactions with other people, the same race as me, have been eye-opening in regards to how our identities are different, even though we are the same race. For example, I made a friend at church, and she was a black woman. She spoke little to no English, but she offered to invite me to her house. I practically knowing no one, obliged happily, and she took me over to her house to have a meal and talk a little until the afternoon. She talked about the things that she loved, and where she\u2019s from, Columbia. It was so interesting to hear her story, and how she of all people would come to Almer\u00eda. It seems like with all the people I\u2019ve talked to whether they are local or have for some reason or another end up here. It seems like people don\u2019t choose Almeria, but Almeria chooses them.<\/p>\n The final part of identity in Spain is taking Written by: Taylor George\u00a0 |\u00a0 Spring 2023 ISEP Exchange in Southern Spain – Universidad de Almeria With \u201cidentity,\u201d I wear many different hats. My parents’ place of birth are the islands of Jamaica and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. I … Continue reading <\/a> in a new country, and not around the familiar. I have previously traveled to another part of Spain, so I\u2019m curious to learn about Almeria, Spain. One thing I know won\u2019t change, is my identity as someone who values self-improvement. I\u2019ll continue to grow and work to achieve my personal and professional goals. I will likely gain a new identity as a \u201cstudy abroad\u201d student, and I will have learned how to relate with others who have different identities, learning from them by creating deep and rich relationships.<\/p>\n<\/a>homogenous country, so I wasn\u2019t really expecting anything new from Almeria,\u00a0since it is not a big city like Madrid or Barcelona. I was shocked to find out through operating in daily life and practically becoming like one of the locals that a lot of people here have immigrated from South America and Africa.<\/p>\n<\/a> into account that I am an international student. This has been the first time that I\u2019ve met so many different people and every person is diverse. It\u2019s one thing to be part of a small group that is diverse on your college campus, it\u2019s another thing to be part of hundreds of students that are extremely diverse. Being in the group this big, where diversity is common instead of uncommon, really makes me question a lot of things. I, myself, am a diversity leader at Butler and a Morton Finney scholar. Obviously because of that, my main goal is to make Butler\u2018s campus a more diverse place. Now I\u2019m in a place that has accomplished that goal that I\u2019m striving for in my college in the US. And as I\u2019ve had time to think about it, not a lot of things are different really. Of course, you have different points of view on things as well as different experiences in different cultures that you can learn from or talk about, but I think it\u2019s much more interesting to talk about everything we have in common instead of everything that is different about us. I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s just some food for thought, but I think it\u2019s good to think about these things. You know, university in Spain is so different because they don\u2019t have a lot of homework unlike the US so I\u2019ve had some more time to think about these bigger questions which has really blessed me in a way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"