Tzipporah Moehringer is a Biopsychology and Spanish double major from UC Santa Barbara who is studying abroad at Complutense University of Madrid for the 2022-23 academic year. Tzipporah grew up in San Diego, California and is eager to exchange the familiar setting of a beach town for the bustling, historic city and its completely different culture and way of life. Tzipporah’s first experience with Spanish in middle school made her passionate about learning the language. She looks forward to returning home from a year abroad not only fluent, but confident in her knowledge of the language and culture. Tzipporah is determined to pursue a career in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and work with Doctors Without Borders, performing cleft palate surgeries on patients in underrepresented Latin American countries. Tzipporah writes, “after my formal education is complete, I plan to establish a private practice in San Diego (where there is a large Hispanic population), so it will be important for me to be able to speak fluently with my Spanish-speaking patients in their native language.” Before traveling to Madrid, Tzipporah was able to connect with recent Borton Scholar Jonathan Sarabia, who gave her tips that helped her immensely with traveling and settling in. During her stay in Madrid, Tzipporah is excited to immerse herself in Spanish culture, build friendships with people she would not have otherwise met, and transform herself into a stronger, more independent young adult.