After three weeks, our second session is Cadiz is coming to an end. We still have one more day of classes, but our final exams are completed. For the next day, we can each take a breath and seize the final moments we have here. We each have different priorities as to what we will do. Many will go to beach, some will have their last tapa, as for me, I’ll be heading back to one of my favorite cafes that I have discovered. I’ll sit there and read as people walk by continuing on their daily routines. When I do this, I feel like I am apart of the community. As if I really lived here in Spain. I feel like I am blending into everyone and everything else around me. I’ve noticed that its actually a very Spanish thing to do, people watch. When you are in the square you will see children running and playing as the elderly peacefully watch.

I have gotten into a pattern while I have been here. Three weeks seems to be a perfect amount of time to feel utterly immersed in the culture, but still yet so far from it. I’m ready to leave Spain, but also ready to come back again. I think we are each reflecting now on what has this time meant for us. Few have been here solely for the credits, most were here for the experience. For the last week, I personally have been panic struck. I’ve been in Spain for six weeks in two different areas, yet I feel like I do not know enough about Spanish culture or language still. When I left the US, I expected to return with a deep understanding of Spain and Spanish. I forgot that the more you learn, the more you know, the more you know, more you must learn.

The view from our classroom.

After long discussions with my new friends and teachers I have come to the conclusion that I need to come back, that I need to learn more, and that I love Spanish for more than its convince in the world. I’m not the only one that will be leaving Cadiz with this mindset. Many of my fellow amigos have already started planning a long term trips back to study in Spain. I am so amazed how what can seem like a simple college study abroad program can really change the course of peoples lives. Some in big ways other in small. Thank you Profesora Matz for providing us all with such an amazing program. Each day you helped foster friendships, learning, and exploration between the group.

My roommate Jen and I on my last night in Cadiz.