University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
‘Studying abroad is an irreplaceable experience’: Dantas Relishes Opportunity in Spain
05.20.2019 | Men's Soccer
Luiz Felipe Dantas has embraced every opportunity afforded him since his arrival at UNC Asheville with the latest being the chance to study abroad in Spain.
The Cuiabá, Brazil native took on the opportunity this semester to move to Valladolid, Spain (just north of Madrid). While there, the rising senior has been in the midst of taking four Management courses in Spanish.
According to Dantas, the immersion has paid off for the Management major at UNC Asheville with the Bulldog forward now fluent in two other languages (English and Spanish) in addition to his native Portuguese.
"Being born in Brazil, studying in the USA for years and now experiencing a semester abroad has allowed me to see the world from several different perspectives," Dantas noted of his experiences. "Living in Europe facilitates this cultural development due to the fact that in just a couple of hours by bus for pretty cheap you can enter another country and be exposed to a very different environment where people speak a completely different language with different traditions."
Dantas, who is also minoring in Spanish and Economics at UNC Asheville and entered the spring semester with a 3.36 grade-point average, has more than taken advantage of his unique opportunity.
"During Easter break I was able to visit six different countries in less than two weeks and the trip was amazing," Dantas said. "At the end of the trip, I've reached a mark of 17 countries visited in my 21 years of existence."
An obvious fan of the beautiful game, Dantas has relished the opportunity to take in high-level soccer in Spain's first-class top league "La Liga."
"Soccer is the main sport of the entire continent and the passion for the game out here is incredible and it makes me remember home (Brazil)," Dantas said. "Soccer here plays an important role in the society and unifying people. Valladolid has a team (Real Valladolid) who plays in the La Liga and plays regularly against big teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid. Just recently the team was fighting to not be relegated and won its match, which put the entire city in a party scene with big concerts and gifts for everyone. This experience was amazing and made me fall deeper in love with the sport."
Dantas has also made sure to take advantage of seeing teams live in the UEFA Champions League.
"I was able to watch a historic match for the Champions League, Real Madrid vs. Ajax (Amsterdam, Netherlands) in the Santiago Bernabéu, where the hometown and favorite was defeated 4-1. Then in the next round I was in Amsterdam to join the celebration of Ajax's fans on their win against Juventus (Turin, Italy). The experience of being surrounded by a culture that loves the game I play is indescribable. Seeing what I believe to be the best player in the world (Ronaldo of Juventus) playing with my bare eyes have definitely helped me grow as a player and understand why I do what I do and love doing that."
Dantas is thankful for the overall experience studying abroad has given him this semester.
"Studying abroad is an irreplaceable experience where student-athletes can grow not only academically, but especially as a person," Dantas remarked. "Being able to adapt to the strange, get used to leaving the comfort zone regularly and, most importantly, realizing that the world may seem enormous, but everywhere and everything is reachable if your dreams are bigger than your commodity."
To learn more about UNC Asheville men's soccer, please visit uncabulldogs.com.
The Cuiabá, Brazil native took on the opportunity this semester to move to Valladolid, Spain (just north of Madrid). While there, the rising senior has been in the midst of taking four Management courses in Spanish.
According to Dantas, the immersion has paid off for the Management major at UNC Asheville with the Bulldog forward now fluent in two other languages (English and Spanish) in addition to his native Portuguese.
"Being born in Brazil, studying in the USA for years and now experiencing a semester abroad has allowed me to see the world from several different perspectives," Dantas noted of his experiences. "Living in Europe facilitates this cultural development due to the fact that in just a couple of hours by bus for pretty cheap you can enter another country and be exposed to a very different environment where people speak a completely different language with different traditions."
Dantas, who is also minoring in Spanish and Economics at UNC Asheville and entered the spring semester with a 3.36 grade-point average, has more than taken advantage of his unique opportunity.
"During Easter break I was able to visit six different countries in less than two weeks and the trip was amazing," Dantas said. "At the end of the trip, I've reached a mark of 17 countries visited in my 21 years of existence."
An obvious fan of the beautiful game, Dantas has relished the opportunity to take in high-level soccer in Spain's first-class top league "La Liga."
"Soccer is the main sport of the entire continent and the passion for the game out here is incredible and it makes me remember home (Brazil)," Dantas said. "Soccer here plays an important role in the society and unifying people. Valladolid has a team (Real Valladolid) who plays in the La Liga and plays regularly against big teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid. Just recently the team was fighting to not be relegated and won its match, which put the entire city in a party scene with big concerts and gifts for everyone. This experience was amazing and made me fall deeper in love with the sport."
Dantas has also made sure to take advantage of seeing teams live in the UEFA Champions League.
"I was able to watch a historic match for the Champions League, Real Madrid vs. Ajax (Amsterdam, Netherlands) in the Santiago Bernabéu, where the hometown and favorite was defeated 4-1. Then in the next round I was in Amsterdam to join the celebration of Ajax's fans on their win against Juventus (Turin, Italy). The experience of being surrounded by a culture that loves the game I play is indescribable. Seeing what I believe to be the best player in the world (Ronaldo of Juventus) playing with my bare eyes have definitely helped me grow as a player and understand why I do what I do and love doing that."
Dantas is thankful for the overall experience studying abroad has given him this semester.
"Studying abroad is an irreplaceable experience where student-athletes can grow not only academically, but especially as a person," Dantas remarked. "Being able to adapt to the strange, get used to leaving the comfort zone regularly and, most importantly, realizing that the world may seem enormous, but everywhere and everything is reachable if your dreams are bigger than your commodity."
To learn more about UNC Asheville men's soccer, please visit uncabulldogs.com.
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