PIS ON THE FLY: A STUDY ABROAD SUMMER IN SPAIN

Hey everyone!

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Cádiz, Spain. I applied super last minute, but once everything was submitted, I was crossing my fingers that it would actually happen; thank God it did!

In late May, a group of 30 people and I met in Madrid, which was a little scary because it’s a huge city. But once we got to our Airbnb, the nerves settled. Before the trip, I was actually super nervous because I applied without knowing anyone else going. I was afraid I wouldn’t meet anyone during the trip, but that was absolutely not the case. I met some of my best friends on the trip on the plane ride to Madrid, and we became very close during the rest of our time in Spain.

The next few days were spent shopping, visiting a few museums, and going to the nearby parks and cafes. The shopping in Madrid was amazing because the clothes were super cheap, and they had a TON of cute European stores like Zara, Pull&Bear, and Stradivarius.

We took the train from Madrid to Seville after a few days, and it was even better than before. In Seville, we did a walking tour of the city where we got to see the beautiful buildings and parks in the city walls and the Cathedral of Seville, which is one of the most famous cathedrals in Spain. The next day, we took a bus together to Cádiz, the small beach town where we would spend the next month!

When we arrived in Cádiz, I was super nervous to meet my host family because I knew I would be spending a ton of time with them in the house. Our host mom was waiting with the other parents, and when my roommate and I were assigned to her, she ran up and gave us both a huge hug! On the bus ride to her apartment, she was so excited to show us her city and tell us all about the cool things we could do in Cádiz. There, we went to class from 9 am to 2 pm and then we either went to one of the beaches within walking distance or we had an activity planned–such as surfing or a tour.

On the weekends, our study abroad company called Centro MundoLengua had an excursion to another city planned! We went to a ton of places: Granada, where we saw the Alhambra; Tarifa, the windsurfing capital of the world; Ardales, where we did a three-mile hike through the mountains called Caminito del Rey. One of my favorite memories is going to the beach with our whole group after class, playing some soccer or football on the sand, listening to music, and just waiting for the sunset so we could watch the sky turn purple and orange over the water.

During this trip, I met so many amazing people and friends for life, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

I am so lucky that I was able to have this experience during this covid-era, and I would 100% recommend it to anyone who has the chance to do it in the future (plus, I got a TON of Spanish credit for my Spanish minor)!

Katie Lumb

PC ‘19