Our trip has already reached and passed our midpoint and now I feel like we are all under the gun to get as much as we possibly can in these next nine days. I personally feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to take part in this trip and I am so grateful that horizons found ISA because they have made this trip more than I could possibly imagine. Things were pretty rocky at the beginning with issues with our homestay family but that was quickly rectified with the help of ISA. Now being in our new family which feels like the true family setting both Emily and I were looking for. We now have our homestay mom, an abuela, a homestay brother and a sister from Germany, and even Sophie, our dog. We all communicate to the best of our abilities and I see myself keeping in contact with them which didn’t seem like a possibility with Christina, our old homestay mom.
Past all that, I have countless memories to take back to the states with me. From the first night in Valencia to now, our first day in Barcelona, we have fit in an unimaginable amount of traveling and sightseeing. I remember within the first couple of days Josh mentioning that we had already done all of the top five or something like that, things to do while in Valencia. While a lot of that had to do with having such wonderful help from the people at ISA, I also got incredibly lucky to have Emily as my roommate. Just sitting around for the day was not an option for the two of us (and most of the time also Josh). Our expectations for the trip fit together perfectly and each of us wanted to get the absolute most out of the experience. Even now we are trying to cram everything possible into the last couple of days.
Aside from anything having to do with the trip being in beautiful Spain, I feel completely honored and blessed to have been able to share it with such wonderful people. I am baffled by the fact that I have attended the same university with the individuals on this trip for at least a year and I have never had the pleasure of crossing paths with them. After this experience together I could not imagine my life without them. Also the knowledge I have gained is completely unique and I will carry it with me and use it to help me be the best leader and individual I can be for the rest of my life. All in all, this experience has turned out to be more than I could ever imagine and I am eternally grateful to have had been a part of it.
I'm on the left and my roommate Emily S. is on the right
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