ETSU’s John David Discusses Vigo, Spain, Traveling Throughout Europe, and Galician

“We’re really fortunate to live in a time where it’s so easy to keep in contact with everyone. I feel like 20 years ago that wouldn’t have been possible.” — John David (@johndavidmullins)

John David, a pre-med student, was the first person I’ve had on the show that studied abroad in Vigo, Spain. In this interview he  introduces us to a language that most people don’t know about called Galician.

Galician is an Indo-European language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, according to Wikipedia. What that means is that it is a mix of Portuguese and Spanish, according to John.

This interview is packed with stories, recommendations, and information. If you’re thinking about Spain, living with a host family, or learning Spanish, this interview is definitely for you.

SHOW NOTES

• The process that led John to study abroad [00:27]
• Why John decided to study abroad in Spain [1:02]
• The pros and cons of studying abroad for 6 months [2:21]
• Scholarships and honors programs [3:11]
• John’s first time out of the country [4:48]
• Feeling nervous going solo [5:57]
• “A good general understanding of Spanish, but just not the practice” [7:11]
  • Crabs 🦀😂
• Vigo, Spain [8:55]
• The intricacies of John’s program [10:53]
  • The main source of John’s language learning
    • What Galician is
• Other places John saw while abroad [15:24]
  • Prague, Grenada, Madrid, Barcelona, Porto, Lisbon, Braga, Lyon, Brussels,
    Amsterdam, Casablanca, Berlin, Leipzig, Malta, Milan, Crema, Geneva, Bern, Ourense,
    Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, and Spain’s golden coast
• John explains Eurail [16:45]
  • Interrail
• Adjusting to the exchange in Switzerland [21:50]
  • Couch Surfing
  • Swiss Fondu
• Staying in hostels while traveling [23:42]
• Estrella Galicia – “I think all Europeans will tell you American beer is terrible” [26:15]
• Staying in touch with friends he made abroad [29:45]
• Speaking Spanish with his friends [31:56]
  • Why John doesn’t like the word fluency 
  • A romantic way to learn languages
• East Tennessee State University and John’s future plans [36:35]
  • Setting up a clinical rotation abroad
  • “Getting down and dirty with health”
• Recommendations
  • The Catcher in The Rye 
  • Skyscanner
  • Omio
  • WhatsApp
• John’s advice to someone who is on the fence about studying abroad [44:09]

“I’m in love, I’m alive, oh, I’m burning” — Maggie Rogers