I made it about a month abroad without Starbucks. It’s not like I’m an addict, but considering there are at least four within half a mile of Seville’s most important plaza, it was no easy feat. It was during my first transgression that I made a not-so-shocking discovery: Spaniards drink Starbucks too.

I have to hand it to Georgetown for at least one thing: Taking four or five lecture courses at the University of Seville could have been traumatizing if it weren’t for the preparation we got on the Hilltop. The 12 of us here are actually confident for that hour or two we’re behind a desk every day.

There is a bizarre phenomenon occurring among American students in Seville. Suddenly some of us are dropping S’s off the ends of plurals, skipping over certain consonants and developing momentary lisps. We may have taken years of Spanish, but it feels like we’re just now learning to talk.

My first two weeks of living and studying abroad can be summed up in one pesky Spanish verb: conocer. Depending on tense and context, it can mean anything from “to meet” to “to get to know” to “to be familiar with.” The 30 students in my program in Seville, Spain, were immediately faced with all of the above.