Linda Shi visits the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence, Italy while traveling solo after her study abroad term ended.

When Forty Acres Scholar Linda Shi walked into her Spanish Civilization class last spring, she had no intention of studying abroad in Barcelona. But that quickly changed.

“After that class, I fell in love with this idea of Spain,” says Shi, a recipient of the Ray and Denise Nixon Forty Acres Scholarship.  “It was something I wanted to explore more.”

Shi's four—yes, four—majors in business honors, finance, Plan II honors, and Spanish made it tough to find a study abroad program that would let her earn needed credit toward her degree. But with help from the Forty Acres Scholars Program staff, Shi ended up at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Language & Culture, taking a class on the history of Catalonia and another on Spanish post-modernism. But classroom knowledge wasn’t all she gained.

“I realized during my trip that it's difficult to have a good experience while traveling with people you already know, because you're speaking English,” Shi says. “But when traveling by yourself, you have to meet natives and you can immerse self in the culture much better.”

The experience, Shi says, put her language skills on the fast track to being highly proficient and pushed her to meet people from all over the world. Apart from meeting people, the most educational activity Shi did was simply walk.

“It took about 50 minutes to get to my school,” Shi says. “Barcelona’s public transit is fantastic, but I thought it was better to walk. There’s something calming and educational about walking, so I didn't bother to figure how public transit worked.”

Not bothering to learn the ins and outs of European public transit caught up with her in Italy. One of Shi’s rare public transportation escapades taught her quite a bit about keeping calm in a crisis. While traveling through Italy after her program ended, Shi bought a train ticket and boarded. She learned later that you must validate tickets at a machine in the train station or face fines. It was a learning experience, she says.

“I really panicked because of that,” Shi says. “I learned the importance of reacting quickly when you don't speak a language or understand norms. If this doesn't work out, that's fine. Something else will work out. Let strange things happen.”

Shi’s ability to go with the flow led her to many solo trips all over Spain, Morocco, and Italy. But she hardly plans on stopping there.

“[Study abroad] has made me thirstier,” Shi said. “It’s made me want to travel more. For me, it’s not about how much of the world I haven't seen- but about how many people I haven't met.”

The Forty Acres Scholars Program served as more than monetary support for Shi’s summer. The program’s encouragement and emphasis on international experiences served her well, she says.

“Study abroad has been a cornerstone of my college experience,” Shi says. “The [Forty Acres Scholars Program] encourages that. College should prepare you for the adult world, and studying abroad is instrumental to that.”

Linda Shi is a recipient of the Ray and Denise Nixon Forty Acres Scholarship.

Photo courtesy Linda Shi.