HCIU Abroad: Three Best Friends and 1 Trip to Spain

When my two best friends and I landed in Madrid, Spain, we felt a sense of confusion that was unlike anything we had ever known. Looking around the airport, there were signs in Spanish (which we could not read), announcements over the intercoms (which we could not understand), and just one hour before our connecting flight. Making it to the gate in time for our flight was a feat that was amazing to us.

Once we arrived in La Coruña, Spain, we met up with our friend Cristina, whom we had met the previous year when she was a foreign exchange student at our high school. Immediately, we became immersed in the Spanish culture.

We became accustomed to eating a four-course meal for lunch each day at four in the afternoon, and waiting to eat dinner until midnight. We became addicted to the bread that was served at every meal, and no longer thought it strange that the water in restaurants wasn’t free. While all of this was relatively easy to adjust to, it took more time to adjust to the nightlife.  

As many people know, the legal drinking age in Spain is 18, which means that at that age one can also get into dance clubs. As a result, everybody of age (along with most 16 and 17 year olds) goes out every night Thursday through Sunday to drink and dance until seven or eight in the morning. After adjusting to the strange hours and new laws, we loved the nightlife in Spain.  

During the day, we were able to play soccer on the beach with the new friends that we were making and learned how to paddle surf. We had the opportunity to visit Santiago de Compostela, a beautiful cathedral that millions take a pilgrimage to every year. We explored caves on the beach on a rainy day, and I tasted pineapple and banana pizza. Everything about Spain was beautiful and so different from anywhere I had ever been.

In the two weeks that we were in Spain, we met friends that made us laugh harder than we ever had before, experienced things we never would have gotten a chance to do, tried new foods, and saw things that were new to us. It wouldn’t be even the slightest exaggeration to say that after this visit, I am in love with that city.