It's Not Goodbye, It's See Ya Later

It's our last night in Cadiz and I am extremely sad! I never want to leave! I have had the most amazing time here! I have met the most amazing people, experienced unbelievable things, and have seen the most breath-taking views! Cadiz is a wonderful place with so much to offer! Not only was Cadiz amazing, but Abbey Road as a program was unbelievable! We were always busy with fun-filled activities and surrounding by wonderful people the entire time! I cannot believe that these two weeks have flown by so quickly! I feel like we just got here yesterday! I wish I could stay longer, but I am extremely grateful that I was able to have the chance to experience this at all! I am grateful for every second of it! I will never forget my amazing memories in Cadiz (the 1500 photos that I took will help with that!). I plan on visiting Cadiz in my future and I plan on staying in touch with all the amazing people on this trip including my home stay family! I love everyone so much and I am so thankful that they made my experience so great! Adios Cadiz para ahora!

I Never Want To Leave!

Going into this experience I knew that I was going to be exposed to a new culture, new people, and a new lifestyle, but I did not know that I would be learning so much and having such an amazing time! I love every single aspect of this whole experience! I love all of the kids that are apart of the Abbey Road program, my homestay family, and Cadiz itself! It is so beautiful here! Everyday I have to stop for a second and take it all in because sometimes it does not seem real to me! I am extremley lucky to be here! I absolutley adore my homestay family; they are so welcoming and I truly feel apart of the family. They have taught me so much about their culture and their language. My Spanish has improved tremendously just over five days because of my conversations with them! I really would like for them to come visit me in the Untied States; it would be so cool! Not only do I love spending time with my homestay family, but I also love spending time with my Abbey Road family. Everyone is so nice and I love learning about what their lives are like in other parts of the country! I really hope that I am able to stay in touch with most of them! We just started Spanish and elective classes this week and so far I love them! For my elective course I am taking digital photography and I cannot wait to learn how to take amazing pictures rather than simply pointing and shooting. I am also really trying to improve my level of fluency in Spanish and between our great Spanish classes with Abbey Road and my casual conversations with my homerstay family, I am seeing great improvement! Not only are people on Abbey Road and my homestay family extremely friendly, everyone in Cadiz is too! I love talking to Cadiz residents about the town and what their favortie restaurants are. Speaking of restaurants, Cadiz offers amazing cuisine! The homestay families provide us with delicious meals in the house, but there are also amazing restaurants that offer great Spanish cuisine. Let's not forget all of the heladerias! There are gelato stores on every street and it is to hard to walk by without stopping for a taste! They are unbeleiveable! Cadiz also has a myriad of cute stores, cafes, and street venors. They all sell things that really portray the beauty of the Spanish culture. I feel like I truly live here now; I know Cadiz like it is the back of my hand! Icannot wait to see what else is about to come our way!

I Can´t Believe It!

We just arrived in Cadiz and it does not seem real! It is so beautiful here, I cannot believe that people are forunate enough to live here all year round. I met my roommate in the airport this morning and I could not be happier! She is so nice and happens to live a few towns over from me; hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with her after the trip! I love all of the other kids on the program as well! They are all so friendly and open-minded. It was a long travel day but it is so worth it! We got picked up by our homestay families and my roommate and I could not be more excited! The family is so nice and hospitable. It was a little hard for us at first to communicate with them because of the language barrier, however they are extremley understanding and now we are able to communicate without a problem! Our family lives right across the street from the best beach in Cadiz which is an extra bonus on top of everything else! Our family has two children around our age and we get along great! They said that they will be our tour guides in Cadiz! I´m so excited to see what's next!

So Close!

Only 3 more days until we will be Spain bound! I cannot believe that we are leaving so soon! It does not seem real! I am extremely excited, however I am also nervous and anxious. I know that I am going to be faced with different situations and some of them may make me uncomfortable, however I am prepared to welcome these situations as learning opportunities! It will be interesting to see what is ahead!

Thought Before Departure

I am extremely excited to go on this amazing journey to a foreign country that has so much to offer. I love Spanish and I hope that I can excel even more by improving how fluent I am able to speak the language as well as build my vocabulary. I cannot wait to interact with the natives and experience their intriguing culture first-handedly. I am so glad that we will be able to fully emerge ourselves in their culture and soak up everything that they have to share with us. It really is a once in a lifetime experience to be able to do this. I am excited to meet all of the other teens on trip and I cannot wait to get to know them and listen to their stories. I am extremely interested in what the staff, the teens, and the natives have to say and I;m excited to learn about their individual stories. I am looking forward to soaking up the sun, the culture, and the experience.

Almost here

Only 16 more days! I'm so excited! I cannot believe that it is almost here, it does not seem real. I can't wait to meet all of the kids on the program and my home stay family. The Spanish culture and sun is only weeks away! : )