Wrap-Up

Vie 14 de mayo

Before my parents took off we took a trip to Toledo. It was my second time there but I really liked the city so it was nice to go back. Kind of like the Granada trip, I saw some things I had before but then also did some new stuff.

Then to Madrid. After my parents left for the airport I had some time before I had to be at the train station to go back to Sevilla, so I spent the morning in el parque El Retiro. That park is so amazing!!! It’s, just huge, and gorgeous. Nothing like it in the U.S. At least that I’ve seen.

Not long after that I was off an another trip. Wednesday April 14th I left with Julia to ITALY!!!

Lun 3 de ene., 2011

Well this is a bit embarrassing. It seems I never finished this blog, haha :) Let me just summarize the end of my study abroad and what's happened since then.

Julia and I went to Italy because we had a week off of school for la Feria de Abril. We visited Rome and Florence and then I ventured to Venice by myself. All I have to say is—-Italy is an AMAZING country!!!!!! It was probably my favorite vacation the whole semester. When we returned we jumped right into Feria. I bought a used flamenco dress at a second-hand store that my mom spotted while she was in Sevilla (she has a knack for that) and went full out! The Feria was a huge festival/carnival. It was so awesome!

Also towards the end of the semester I ventured to Málaga and Valencia by myself. The beach in Málaga and the aquarium/Ciudad de Arte y Ciencias in Valencia were definite highlights.

I spent my last weekend in Spain travelling al norte with Julia. We visited Santander, Bilbao (went to the Guggenheim), and San Sebastián. That was probably my other favorite weekend trip! Oh, and if you’re into surfing, San Sebastián is the place to be.

In a crazy rush I finished up finals and left Sevilla (well, after Maribel and Diego helped me haul my luggage across the city… that was kind of hilarious)… It was bittersweet to return to the States.

The semester was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. It inspired me to really keep up with my Spanish. I’ve always had an interest in the language, but this trip increased that tremendously. I was even inspired to apply to be a volunteer in Cusco, Peru over my spring break this year (in late February/early March I’ll be working with children in an orphanage!).

I had a month ish to readjust to U.S. culture and then dove into another season of drum corps and then school and the real world. The semester brought Maria and me to become really good friends. This past fall semester we continued hanging out and even had a Spanish class together. She just graduated but we continue to keep in touch :) I’ve semi kept in contact with the other friends I met via ISA, by semi I mean I saw Ankur while in Washington DC this summer, sent a facebook comment here and there to people and a longer message once to Geena. I recently sent Maribel an email update. I intend to email her again, along with some photos [she’d like that ;) ]. I have her phone number saved in Skype, so potentially I can call her every once in while... I’ve just been a bad person and haven’t found time to do that :/

But, in summary, the experience definitely helped me change for the better. I grew in my confidence with and my ability to use the Spanish language, gained a lot of travel experience (with a large group, small groups, and solo), and a lot of general confidence.

I feel like I’ll visit Spain sometime again in my lifetime… I don’t know when, and not any time soon, but sometime!

Thanks for reading about all my adventures. I hope you’ve enjoyed them and I encourage you to go out and search for a life adventure of your own!

Hasta luego :)

Carolina