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Hi! I’m Margo, a University of Arkansas student studying abroad in Spain. I am a Public Health major with a Spanish minor, hence the studying in a Spanish-speaking country! I love hanging out with friends, traveling, and trying new things. I am so excited for this adventure of a lifetime!
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I woke up this morning so excited but so nervous, I was shaking! My mom, stepdad, and I all went to breakfast for my birthday at First Watch and I ate my favorite breakfast tacos before we went to the airport. I didn’t think I was going to cry leaving them but as soon as my mom teared up, the waterworks came running. The flight from Kansas City to Chicago was quick and uneventful. Once in Chicago, I ordered a sandwich to eat on my flight to Munich. The kid behind me on this flight was kicking my chair the whole time, so I didn’t get more than two hours of sleep but I was still so excited for what was in store.
09.01.22 Arrival Day!
I landed in Munich around 7am, their time, midnight KC time. The layover was short so I headed straight to my gate and waited. Flying from Munich to Valencia was quick and easy. I walked straight through customs, they were nothing like the customs checkpoints in the U.S. Once I grabbed my bag, I headed to find my ISA supervisor and she took me to the office to meet my host family and roommate.
I adore everyone and it truly feels like a family, much more info on my experience on the HomeStay blog post! At home, my roomie and I unpacked, showered, and met another ISA student, E, living in the SAME building as us. All of us went to an orientation meeting at the ISA office that I was FIGHTING to stay awake during. Following the meeting was our welcome dinner at a cute little place that was within walking distance. BUT, before I could walk into the restaurant, my supervisor said to wait and that we needed to talk. I was freaking out and so were my friends. Then she let me in and my host dad had set up a “Feliz Cumpleanos” sign and surprised me with everyone singing me happy birthday. That was the moment I knew these four months were going to change my life and I was going to meet my forever friends. ISA kept us at the restaurant until 11pm to avoid us going to sleep too early. I had been awake for 32 hours by the time I finally went to sleep!
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Our entire group was meeting at City Hall to begin our walking tour led by an ISA supervisor. The city was stunning up until we were waiting to rent bikes. I haven’t ridden a bike in 12 years so my heart rate skyrocketed to 150 bpm BEFORE I even hopped on the bike. We rode the bikes as a group for about 5 miles before we all split up and headed home. The bike ride, thankfully, was uneventful!
My friends and I are all students at UCV so we all had the same welcome dinner on campus. We showed up an hour late because we forgot we needed to bring food and then we got a little lost. The other students are part of a program called Erasmus, so they are all from countries in Europe. I met people from Italy, Hungary, Austria, Germany, and so many others. It was kinda surreal meeting people from all over!
After the welcome dinner, we headed over to a friend’s apartment near the beach to hang out as our ISA group. We played some games and then went out to explore the nightlife around the beach area!
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K, E, and I all went to try “Dulce de Leche,” a very well known cafe. I ordered a coffee for 1.20 euros! We socialized and got to know each other more. I know I haven’t known them more than a couple days but it feels as if we have been friends for a long time. The people you meet abroad and become friends with truly become your rocks, alongside your host family, so treasure them and spend time getting to know them!
Today was the first day I truly took a siesta. I think it was 2-3 hours long but it was amazing. After waking up, we headed to a nearby cafe, Toastone’s, to hang out. The bartenders were so funny and were imitating my disappearing voice. I think we were all laughing the entire time we were there. They were also super encouraging towards us while we were practicing our Spanish!
Tonight, our ISA group met up at a student’s apartment near the city center. We all headed out to explore the nightlife in the city center and get to know each other better. E, K, and I were able to walk home late at night because Valencia is one of the safer cities in Europe!
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Today was a shopping day at a huge indoor shopping mall. My friends and I went to so many stores and tried on an insane amount of clothes. Everything is cheaper here! I purchased a pair of white jeans for 20 euros! At the mall, we walked a total of 7.2 miles! That was all while shopping too, so we went a little crazy at the mall. We took the public transport system to and from the mall, it is super easy to use and is really clean compared to the systems in the states. Of course as soon as we returned home it was time for a SIESTA!
When my roomie and I woke up, our host dad took us to his favorite ice cream place. I ordered mango ice cream “sin leche” and it was delicious. For dinner, our host made us churros and chocolate! It was amazing and when we ate it for breakfast the next morning, it was even more awesome!
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E joined K and I for breakfast before we headed to UCV for our orientation meeting. The buildings are super spread out but are all along the same street so there is some walking between classes. We were given a mini tour and were provided with our schedules. This semester I will be taking human physiology, advanced Spanish, biochemistry, and a culture class about contemporary Spain! I have one class next week but most of my classes don’t start until the week of the 19th! Lots of time for exploring Europe and the city.
After the meeting ended, it was time for a siesta, of course! K and I then went to Toastone’s to try “agua de Valencia,” which was delicious and might be my favorite new item so far! Then we went home to eat dinner and get ready to go to an Erasmus event. For dinner, we had pasta pesto with our host dad. Then we met up with E and headed to the club to meet other international students!
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Today my roommate and I decided to get lost in the city center and try to find our way around without a map. We wandered onto one of the busier sidewalk areas and saw the hamburger place our host dad recommended to try! The restaurant is named “Hundred Burgers” because the owners traveled to 22 countries and tried over 300 burgers in 3 years. The burgers were amazing! I ordered the “Carlton Banks” burger which has fried chicken and toppings. K ordered the “Ari Gold” burger, which was also delicious. After lunch, we wandered around the area and returned home, without using a map, and only took one wrong-ish turn! Of course as soon as we returned home it was time for our siesta!
After our siesta, K and I wandered around a different part of the city for a bit and ordered an “agua de Valencia.” We started to get a little hungry so we headed home. Our host dad had cooked Tikka Masala, an Indian dish another host student taught him how to make. It was delicious!
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- After meeting people doing independent housing, apartments, and host families, I recommend doing a host family. Especially if you are wanting to work on your language skills and truly immerse yourself in the culture. Less than 24 hours here, I knew I adored my host family!!
- During your first week abroad, do as much as possible! Keeping busy helped me not only make new friends but also to avoid becoming extremely homesick.
- Just because you are busy and the time zone is so different, stay in touch with your family and friends back home. Texting them made me sad but it kept me going.
- Get a SIM card for the country you are in during the first couple days you are here. The plans are super cheap. It allows me to stay in touch with friends here and provides access to a map for the very many times you get lost!
- Spend as much time as possible with your roommate, host family, and new friends. It seems crazy how quickly you get to know these people, I feel like I have known K and E forever! Push yourself, you will probably be okay!!
- Purchase a refillable metro card (5.00 to 7.00 euros depending on where you go) and download the FREE NOW app for taxis. These will both be lifesavers when you have to get across town or go home late at night.
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Read more from Margo at https://margospcom.wordpress.com/
