Greetings from the US!
I’m here at home right now, enjoying the last few days of my break before I head back to Leon. The past two weeks have gone by pretty fast, but I’ve had a great time seeing family and friends. It feels pretty great to sleep in my own bed, drive my car, hear people speak English, go to Dunkin donuts, watch American TV, and spend time with friends and family. I’m so glad that I had the chance to go home for Christmas because I really couldn’t see myself staying away until June. I didn’t do too much during this break; it was just great to spend time with my friends and family from home. It will definitely be bittersweet as I go back to Leon. On one hand, it will be really hard leaving my family since I’ve started to get used to being home. On the other hand, I’ve got so much to look forward to for this semester. I’m really excited to go back because I already know what to expect, I miss my host mom and my friends, and I’m in the process of planning some great trips for the semester (I´ve already got a pretty long list of countries that I would like to visit!). I’m also looking forward to my family visiting me next semester so they can finally see where I’ve been living since September. I can’t believe that I’m going back so soon and I’m so thankful that I have another semester in Leon!

It’s pretty hard for me to believe it, but 8 days from now, I will be home for Christmas! The time really has gone by fast and I am so excited to go home to see my friends and family who I miss a ton!

I just got back from a very busy 9 days of travelling, thanks to the week-long break from classes due to 2 holidays in the past week. I was able to travel to Andalucía, the southernmost region of Spain, as well as Paris, the city of lights. I had an amazing week travelling and I got to see tons of beautiful sights. (I would like to send my regards to everyone at Holy Cross currently taking their final exams).

My trip to Andalucía was one of the trips planned by the university and consisted of one day in Granada, two days in Sevilla, and a day trip to Cadiz. The region was beautiful:  it was completely different from the other Spanish cities that I had seen beforehand.  We even had the chance to spend a day at the beach. It felt pretty great to be able to lay outside on the beach in December.

From Andalucía, I headed to Paris with my friends and we met up with some of the HC kids that are studying in Palma de Mallorca and A Coruña. Paris was absolutely gorgeous! It surpassed all of my expectations and there were so many things to see. Our trip consisted of visits to Versailles, the Louvre, going up the Eiffel Tower, walking around the Christmas market, visiting Notre Dame, taking a boat cruise along the river, and eating as many crepes as possible. Needless to say it was a great few days and Paris quickly became one of my favorite cities!

As fun as it was to travel, it felt great to arrive back “home” in León. I missed spending time with my host madre, my own bed, and the comfort of a familiar city. As the semester comes to an end, I can’t help thinking how happy I am to be here for a whole year. This was something I was very hesitant about in the beginning when first thinking about studying abroad. I almost didn’t consider going to Spain because it meant being there for a whole year. Before this experience, I managed to stay very close to home, so the thought of being so far away was daunting. Ill admit that it has been hard being away from home, especially on Thanksgiving, but I’m so happy to have the chance to study abroad.

Looking back, I am sure that I made the right choice and I am so excited to have another semester here. I’m really getting to know the city and the people here and I truly feel comfortable here. My Spanish is improving, but I know I still have a long way to go. Also, I’m so excited to travel more throughout Europe next semester.  I have so many things to look forward to and I feel so lucky to have this experience.

I’ve been keeping very busy with classes and travelling and Ive been finding it difficult to keep up with my blogging. However, I wanted to share with you a little about my trip to Ireland! Brooke and I decided to go to Ireland for the weekend because we both have friends that are studying in Galway for the year. I have always wanted to visit Ireland because it seems so beautiful and I come from an Irish background. Needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations about my trip, and I was amazed at how beautiful it actually was. I was only able to go for a couple of days for a quick weekend trip, but it was great. I already want to plan another trip to return next semester! The town was really cute with tons of little shops, people walking around the city, and quaint Irish pubs. We heard some live music in one of the pubs and we also took a bus tour of some of the Irish countryside. Never in my life had I seen so many sheep in one place! Overall, it was a really great weekend and I couldn’t have asked for a better time there.

After my great weekend in Ireland, I had to go back to reality and keep busy with my schoolwork. I recently had my first philosophy paper due as well as an oral presentation. I’ve gotta say that philosophy is definitely my hardest class here. I decided to take it to fulfill my common requirement and it has definitely been challenging (to say the least). For me, I’m not sure if I can really understand it in English so I don’t know what I was thinking when I signed up to take it here. However, becoming friends with some of the Spanish students in the class has really been helpful. They’ve even told me that the professor isn’t very clear in her explanations of things and they’ve been really willing to help me out. It made me feel a lot better when they said that they were just as confused about some of the things that we are learning.  For now, I’m just sticking with it, hoping that it’ll be alright in the end.

In terms of my other classes, everything seems to be going pretty well. I’m really interested in the classes that I’m taking and both the professors and the students seem willing to help me out. For example, I was nervous about asking someone to borrow their notes for class one day but I finally managed to get the nerve to do so. I was very surprised the next day when I received 10 pages of typed up notes for the class (it pays to ask!). At this point in the year, it feels really nice to have a few different groups of friends and to feel comfortable with the people around me. Between the Spanish students we have met in the university and the Erasmus students that we have gotten to know on the trips, I have loved getting to know the people here so far!

The first two weeks of classes are over and I’ve begun to get into a regular schedule here. I’m beginning to get a sense of what the classes here are like. It’s a little overwhelming to be with mostly Spanish students in my classes, but my professors are very nice and are making an effort to help me out. Even though I know it will be tough with the language, I´m really interested in my classes. After being here in León for about a month, I thought that I should share a little bit of the daily routine here.

8-9AM- Desayuno, breakfast: breakfast is very light here, coffee and crackers or toast. Its definitely an adjustment to a hearty American breakfast which I have grown so accustomed to.

In the morning I have classes at the university, any time between 9AM and 2PM. After my morning classes, I head back to the apartment for lunch.

2:30PM  Comida, lunch: The largest meal of the day.  It is definitely hard to get used to eating so late in the day for lunch, but it’s really nice that lunch is the largest meal of the day.  There are 3 courses, first course, second, and dessert.

After comida, it is time for a siesta. While its true that not every Spaniard is able to take a daily nap after lunch, Ive grown to take full advantage of it. Between 2pm and 5pm, almost all of the shops are closed and everyone returns to their houses for a family meal.

On some days, I also have afternoon classes between 4PM and 8PM. Cena, Dinner, is traditionally served at around 9 or 930PM. While it seems extremely strange compared to 6pm dinner in the states, dinner here is much lighter because comida is the main meal of the day. Eating this late makes the day feel a lot longer. Since they eat so late, Spaniards generally go to bed later and get less sleep. I guess that’s where a siesta really comes in handy!

In terms of the nightlife, people usually don´t go out to bars until about 1 or 2AM, and then most places close around 5AM. This certainly is a huge difference than the US, but I guess the Spaniards know how to make the most of their day (and night)!

The schedule here has definitely been a large adjustment but I’ve been getting accustomed to it during my time here. Overall, the people seem much more relaxed. A common stereotype of Spaniards is that they are always late and more relaxed when it comes to the timing of things. Even though this isn’t always true in terms of work and important meetings, when it comes to meeting up with friends, I always have to remember the difference in ¨Spanish time¨, aka 5 to 10 minutes late. Also, in our classes, its very rare for a professor to show up exactly on time and class usually starts 5 to 15 minutes later than it is scheduled to. This concept of time can occasionally be frustrating, but I generally like how the people here seem a little more relaxed.

That´s all for now, I´ve got to do some work for my classes.

¡Hasta Pronto!