Description:
Un Paseo Encantado, an enchanted walk, is a collection of my observations and experiences in a study abroad program in Oviedo, Spain. My commentary on Spanish culture is based on reading I did prior my departure, in combination with my observations while in Spain. In six chapters, I explore the relative effect of small events on the overall experience, how preconceptions can influence an experience, and how these preconceptions are altered or dispelled. I describe the Spanish paseo, a bullfight, and the weekend market in Oviedo. There is an element of self-discovery in Un Paseo Encantado, as I make the transition from newly-wed, to student, to wife in the summer of 2005.
My perspectives in all parts of Un Paseo Encantado are influenced by my upbringing in a small, tight-knit community, and in a household which emphasized appreciation for other cultures. Although my thesis is not in my major area or related to my intended career in veterinary medicine, it is the culmination of a long-standing desire to travel and live outside of the United States.