6/14/17:
This trip to Spain has truly been one for the books. As the trip comes to a close, I reflect on how this trip has changed me. For starters, my Spanish speaking skills have improved tremendously. Our facilitators implicated a “Spanish only policy” on us at the beginning of the trip. While almost all of us loathed this new rule, I came to realize that it was exactly what we needed to improve our speaking and comprehension of the language. This was not a rule on my previous trip to Nicaragua and I now wish it was. Though it has been very difficult over these last couple weeks to only speak Spanish, I cannot stress how much I feel that my Spanish has improved.
Moreover, this trip has shown me so much of Spain and, for that, I am forever grateful. Every weekend during this trip, we have made excursions to different cities or parts of the country. For example, the first weekend of the trip we traveled to Toledo and Segovia. In Toledo, we toured the city and its cathedrals. In Segovia, we saw the magnificent aqueducts built by the romans almost 2000 years ago. The following week, we visited Salamanca and its university and we went to Córdoba. In Córdoba, we had a classy dinner, saw an authentic flamenco show, and toured the Mezquita de Córdoba. All of these trips were absolutely amazing. The final weekend that we had during the program was a designated free weekend for the students. Some of us traveled to Mallorca, Lisbon, or France. As for me, I went to Barcelona with four friends that I have made during this trip. We had a blast! We saw all of the incredible monuments of the city and explored it all on our own.
This program has changed me as a person quite significantly. I feel as if I have a better comprehension of the language and culture, as I have learned from my classes over the last couple weeks. While it was tough at times, I am sad that the program is coming to an end. However, this does not mean that my travels are coming to a complete end. My family is coming to visit me for a week here and I am extremely excited to show them everything I have learned about this country.
