Bilbao, Spain

Example Day

In the morning, I would wake up and have some cereal in the morning on my own in my host family's home. I would leave and walk about 10 minutes to the university building and have two classes. Afterward, I would go back to my host family for lunch and have a nice big meal with them. We all would take a nap after the meal, and usually the whole town would have this limbo time in the afternoon when people would be taking a siesta. Sometimes I  would have maybe one afternoon class, but after that I would take a 15 minute walk to go to the gym and walk through a park in the city on my way home. Usually then, I would have time in the evening to be with friends, host family, or traveling around.

I think that the study abroad was what I was expecting for the most part. I think my expectation of what the study abroad experience would be like was correct, but I hadn't prepared myself fully for what life was truly going to be like. When time was building up to the time of leaving the country [the US], I remember being dropped off at the airport and thinking, "Wow, I really am about to do this." I think if I were to go back, I would have allowed myself to explore a little more and go out to do activities during the week with my friends. At times I would stay home and have some personal time, do homework, watch a movie, or hang out with my host sibling. Overall, I have no regrets at all, but maybe I could have been a little more spontaneous or adventurous.