Once I lived in Spain

Two years ago I studied abroad in Spain and I can honestly say it's the best thing I've done so far in my life. I know I've probably written about living there before, but I can't help but think about it a lot. Sometimes when I can't sleep at night I try to remember what the places I visited looked like. I think about the host family and how they were some of the nicest people I've ever met. Angela, my host "Mom" would come in every morning at 7:45 and wake me up. I would get up and get ready and then go sit in the kitchen and talk with her while I ate my breakfast. She fixed hot chocolate, two pieces of toast, and cookies. Every. Morning. Let's just say I wasn't too surprised when the button to my pants burst off one day (I'm not even kidding). By the time I got home all I wanted was a bowl of cereal and some pancakes. Angela's husband, Agustin, was a pretty quiet guy, but one of the kindest, most polite men I know. And man did he love soccer. We watched matches almost every night at the dinner table and he would shoot up out of his chair unexpectedly and yell at the TV. I grew up playing soccer, so I loved every minute of it.

Sometimes when I'm on a trip time flies so fast that suddenly, trip is over without really being able to appreciate it. I didn't let myself do that in Spain though. I would remind myself everyday as I walked to class that I did it. I did what I always said I would do, and I made it to Spain. I went to class with students from all over the world and made some really great friends. And thanks to Facebook I still get to talk to them every once and awhile.

I think the thing I miss most about Spain are the people. I had some of the craziest professors. We had so much fun in class talking about the most random things. Just speaking Spanish was practicing and getting better, so we could talk about whatever we wanted. We talked a lot about movies, food, music, and how they were all different in our countries. By the end of the semester we all thought each others' countries were pretty crazy , but we had a lot fun talking about it. 

 

The best thing about Spaniards is that they're extremely straightforward and blunt. I love it. Most of them don't bother sugar-coating anything and just say exactly what they think. At first it was really hard to get used to how blunt they were. I grew to like it a lot though; it saves time and energy and I think it somehow rubbed off on me because I find myself speaking up and saying things I would have never said before. The best part about it is when a Spaniard complements you, you know they mean it. They wouldn't say it if they didn't. And let me tell you, honestly really is the best policy. Here's a few more pictures.