My first few days in Spain have been amazing! I have traveled abroad in Europe before, to Italy and Greece, and so I thought I was somewhat prepared for Spain, and while it does have its similarities, Spain also has a lot of very unique attributes. The jetlag was a little difficult to adjust to, but if you stay awake the first day for as long as you can and then go to sleep that night at a normal time, it will help you get adjusted more quickly! We really enjoyed that we flew in on a weekend and had a few days to get adjusted to our areas and the various methods of public transportation before our first days of class. Google Maps has been extremely helpful in allowing us to figure out how to get around the city and use the metro.
Keeping an open mind has been especially important because it?s so much fun to try new things. One thing that my roommates and I have done to try as much as we can, especially in the food domain, is order completely different dishes, and then each tries a little of everyone?s order. It allows us to try new things while staying on a budget. We have also really enjoyed just wandering around and visiting different shops. We are able to practice our Spanish while visiting many of the coffee shops around the school. The course load is just enough to be engaging and educational while still giving us time to explore the city. We have plenty of optional activities that give us the opportunity for cool things while also granting us the flexibility to participate in other things as well. Overall, I think our program is off to a great start and I am very excited to see what else the program has to offer!
