Madrid (EFE).- Thousands of young Spaniards take a break at the end of their university or baccalaureate degree, a gap year, to study a language, gain independence and think about their personal and professional future, a good option that is not within reach of most domestic economies in the country.
Ana Núñez finished her high school at the age of 17 and felt “very lost”. She decided to take some time off and after her “Gap” Year, she knew that she wanted to study Interpretation in front of the camera, to be an actress, she explains in an interview with EFE.
After passing the university entrance exam, he went to San Diego (California, United States) to improve his English and face everyday problems away from the family home for the first time, explains Núñez, who he chose to organize his trip to the company EF Education First.
“When I returned to Spain, a totally different person arrived. I knew nothing about life and in San Diego I met many people who have helped me on a personal level, I have a more open mind and I am a completely new person,” adds Núñez, who acknowledges that he lived through “hard days” even though they were ” punctual moments”.
Thanks to this experience, she adds, “I have gained independence and security, you learn to manage your money and do everything alone.”
australia as choice
The case of Mariana Stolo was something different. She decided to take a gap year after finishing her degree in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication and chose Australia, a country where she combined studying the language with small odd jobs, since she only had a student visa.
I had never gone on Erasmus nor had I been away from home, so it was “a challenge that made me mature a lot, I had to make my own decisions on the other side of the world and manage my money in a rather expensive country. I also discovered another culture and learned from friends from other countries. I shared a room with a French woman, a Dutch woman and a Japanese woman”, explains Stolo.
Mariana admits that her nine months in Australia have helped her to get to know herself, because “I spent time with myself and was able to think a lot, what things I wanted for my future, if I was happy… In that short period of time I grew more than in years in Madrid”.
There are many companies in Spain that offer this possibility of a gap year, translated into Spanish as a sabbatical year, although it does not exactly fit our concept, since in this case the young person spends a lot of time studying the language or other types of education focused on the world. professional/work.
In Spain, the director of the Gap Year! from EF, Laura Osuna, explains to Efe that the majority profile is young people between the ages of 19 and 24, from families with a good economic level.
In recent years, Pacific destinations such as New Zealand, Singapore, China and Australia have grown a lot, while the United Kingdom has registered a large decline after Brexit. Although there are young people who combine this experience with volunteering and work, “the focus is the language, in addition to obtaining a life experience that teaches you to live independently abroad”, concludes Osuna.
Since this company launched this program in Spain in 2016, some 3,000 students have taken part in it, although in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, trips had to be suspended due to the closure of borders worldwide.