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The best way I can describe the discomfort of ending my study abroad experience is to compare it to finishing a good TV show. Going in, I felt that everything I wanted to accomplish would have to be done within the confines of this short time, within a season. My experience included characters, people I met here, that I feel connected to. When things wrap up—when the show ends—I search everywhere, craving some way to keep experiencing the story, to keep learning about the characters, and ultimately to deny the fact that the show has ended. After all, this is a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Maintaining connections

Yet, the amazing thing about life is that everything I have to learn continues. And everyone I’ve met, all the lessons I’ve learned from them, stay present.

I was having brunch with my mom, her godmother, and her godmother’s daughter, who live in Yucatán. My grandmother and my mom’s godmother were friends who lived in the same neighborhood in Los Angeles when my mom was growing up. My mom’s godmother said that our family is always welcome in Mérida, and that she will visit us in California when my grandmother turns 100 this upcoming year, si dios quiere (God willing). This showed me that although I was a visitor, I had a part in strengthening an already close bond. I could always retain this tie to Mexico.

Furthermore, a key reason I chose to go abroad was to perfect my Spanish language skills. Throughout my time here, I faced disappointment when I struggled to reach the level I wanted. Though I’ve realized that learning a new language is a lifetime endeavor, I’ve come to see this as a leap of progress in an ongoing attempt to communicate with others in my Spanish-speaking communities in California.

Making lasting contributions

Beyond this, I had the opportunity to perform directed research, studying how positive family dynamics can promote agency in maintaining health. I pursued this question as part of an ongoing project with the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán and Universidad Modelo that aims to create an intervention that will benefit community members in a local high school.I value this experience for allowing me to make a lasting contribution to literature and knowledge, and for the opportunity to do work that helps give people agency to work through community struggles.

Finally, even if I don’t see the friends I made here often, I’ll carry what I learned from them: the value of prioritizing connections. Instead of letting my obligations consume me, I said yes to Oxxo runs, late-night conversations, puzzle days, dancing, and dinners on random Wednesday nights after ceramics class.

In the end, studying abroad was not a collection of temporary connections or a season where I had to bring things to an end. It was my motivation to continue working on myself and carry new passions with me into the future.

Marina S. | Pomona College | IFSA Mérida Universities program, México | Spring 2025