My first impression of Spain was that it was a lucky place to be. When I looked out the plane window upon arrival, I saw a double rainbow encompassing the beautiful mountains and valleys— but the luckiness didn’t last long due to a little mishap with my luggage. On the bright side, they were very good about shipping my luggage to the host location within a day or two, so it all worked out. I am staying at an ancient university in the middle of the mountains called María Cristina in San Lorenzo, so we are able to go hiking and spend a lot of time outdoors. One of my classes, “Artes y Museos”, is a class taught by a monk and is based on exploring the Monastery de San Lorenzo and enjoying all the surprises and hidden treasures. My other class is “Spanish Literature” which takes place a typical classroom setting with a Spanish professor. My classmates are other Alabama students partaking in UA in Spain, which really helps bring a sense of unity when trying to only talk in Spanish because we are all on the same level. All of our excursions were a planned part of the program; we went to Toledo, Segovia, and Salamanca so far and are going to go to a couple more in the next week. Each of these cities is ancient with fascinating architecture, of which the most impressive is the aqueduct in Segovia. The time that I have been here has flown by and I can’t believe that trip is coming to end. I am in a frenzy trying to find different tapas and other food to try before I go. This has been an incredible trip, and I just want to take advantage of all that Spain has to offer me.
