Almost everyone I have ever known who has come back from study abroad has claimed it to be the best semester or year of his or her life. Which is also the expected answer to the question, "How was studying abroad?", or the even more tricky "Was your semester abroad great?" I've been trying to formulate the best answer to these questions, both for other people, and for myself. I really can't say that this past semester was fantastic or even great, but I can say that I'm glad I went and that I gained a lot from it.
After four and a half months of living in the south of Spain, I can definitely say that it isn't the place for me, and that I probably would have been happier in other study abroad programs. I never felt the same sort of affinity for Granada or my particular program that most of my fellow students felt; there was lots to enjoy and do and see, but I never felt as comfortable as I'd hoped to be. But, of course, my Spanish improved tremendously, I got to see all sorts of new parts of the world, and I learned a few academic things along the way. So I'm not about to tell anyone that it was a waste of time, just that it was another nuanced semester that had its ups and downs.
I ended my trip with a visit to England which is somewhere I would absolutely love to go back to. I spent almost all of my time in London, but hardly saw a fraction of it since there's so much to do (despite traversing most of it by foot for 6 or 7 hours). I thought I'd end with a few pics from the last couple of weeks in Spain and some from England:
Lovely house on a hike up into the Granada hills.
View of the bridge I crossed at least 4 times a day.
The Natural History museum of London.
A beautiful section of London's canal called Little Venice.
A trip out to the country-side (ie. not London) to Colchester.
Colchester's Roman wall. It may or may not be missing a tiny stone.
Outside the British Museum.
Well, that's it for now, though I may revive this blog if something important happens or travel ensues. I know I picked up a few people along the way, so thanks for reading and commenting (or trying to comment).
