To begin with, the night before my flight to Spain I was a little nervous. The next day, upon arrival at the airport in Detroit, I went to check my bags, but the agent informed me that the name on my flight reservation did not match the name on my passport. Mistakenly, I put “Alex” as my name instead of using my full name “Alexander.” As a result, I had to call Priceline (the booking company) to have them change the name. I swear it was the longest hour of my life and definitely did not help the anxiety of the trip itself. Aside from that the rest of my trip went well! Once I got into Oviedo I immediately fell in love with the city. Although, that first week I had to make some adjustments to Spanish life and culture. For example, I struggled with the changes in meal time and size. I like to eat a big breakfast and dinner with a relatively small lunch. Aside from that adjustment, I love the food here. The majority of the dishes include some type of seafood, which is my favorite! The seafood is especially good in Gijón a coastal city in Asturias about 20 minutes away from Oviedo. Along with Gijón, I have visited a fishing village named Cordillero, Áviles, Picos de Europa and, most recently, Madrid. Of all of those, I believe I enjoyed visiting Madrid the best. In the United States, I loved visiting New York City and although there are cultural differences, it reminds me a lot of Madrid. The city has so much life and plenty to experience. To continue, the past two weeks I had a gone to a class to refresh grammar and learn more vocabulary. Along with those, I learned more about the history and culture of Asturias. I am excited to learn even more about all of the different elements of Spanish and Spain in my classes that start this Wednesday. I would definitely say that my initial decision to travel abroad was a good one. ¡Adios!
