Mid-Point Mindset

Yes, I didn't think that this day in the game would come so quickly but my program here in Granada is already halfway through. How this happened I don´t know it basically can be summed up in the famously coined saying

¨...time flies when you are having fun¨ 

There are so many and too many things I have learned being here that in one way or another I'll take back with me from the time I have had here. I can tell you I have learned a lot, but after becoming so accustomed to another culture after living here for two months I feel a lot of that I will see once I'm back in the US. I won´t think twice about leaving the house with dry hair and I will be able to go up and pet every dog I want on the streets. This morning on the way to the grocery store I saw a couple walking a puppy Labrador retriever and the STRENGTH I had not to pet that dog was unbelievable, it was so cute I could´ve stolen it. I´m going to miss all the Spanish food I have come to love, and plan to take a lot of recipes home. This goes with another reason why I feel my experience is a bit different from others. Most people when coming abroad choose to live with a host family. Having almost no confidence in speaking the little Spanish I knew before coming here I decided against it and chose an apartment. Living with three other people all from the U.S., Mexico and Belgium it was both a way to practice the language and also experience fully living on my own for the first time. I can tell you I am walking away from this semester being very prepared for much of the future. I´ve cooked for myself before but here I have learned to become a lot more independent than from living at home or on campus back in the U.S. My favorite is my friend Hannah and I even try cooking Spanish or other recipes once a week, granted that one time our Spanish tortilla did come out more like an omelet but the effort was there!

You learn to be okay with trying new things and doing a lot more for yourself. My friends usually refer to me as the person who never spends money and is constantly saving. So to stop working and be in a spot where I'm constantly spending money, I've learned to accept its okay. I needed to see that in some way and being abroad has helped me figure out the balance of spending money wisely, rather than just only saving it and spending it on my Dunkin coffee when I needed a caffeine fix. My spending tends to consist of utilities, food, travel and postcards (I am collecting a postcard from every place I have gone as my souvenirs!) so if I feel like splurging here and there I have gotten better knowing its totally fine. If I was to splurge or spend my money anywhere, travelling and doing everything I can abroad isn't a bad way to go about it. You soon here realize how simply you can live. I can live off of ten outfits and feel partially silly for all the clothes I have. I can go with walking 30 minutes as if its a walk down the street and carrying my groceries home. I don't mind not driving anywhere and just going on walks and hikes to explore the city. You learn to appreciate the people you have around you, especially when you have just only met them two months ago and they are the closest people you have here. From friends who helped me out when I got sick right before a weekend trip that I wasn't about to back out of to my roommate who tossed me money to help me get the iced coffee I was stupidly craving that morning, we all are in the same point where our closest people are an ocean away and together we have get to make the most of where we are and be there for the unexpected moments we don't plan to have.

When I knew I wanted to go abroad, I chose Spain because after visiting it for a few days I couldn´t wait to go back and explore. I wanted a understanding of the language because I feel that having a second language or an understanding of one is very valuable in many aspects. I wanted to travel, and two months in I have done just that and plan to do a little more. I have gotten to see a majority of southern Spain, while also seeing the Netherlands and Belgium. You can say I am more than lucky and you can say after these past two months, the next two months will probably fly just as fast. I can tell you it has been the experience of a lifetime and I´m not even done yet. We have our spring break next week, on Sunday my dad and Jake fly over to come for a beach week in Spain and I turn 21 Tuesday. How many people get to say they celebrated their 21st living in Europe? We have talked about this trip and them coming for so long, now that its hear I can´t believe it happening. Its going be sweet getting to both show them my life here in Spain but also get a bit of home!

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