Its Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

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.

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