The End Is Near

Hello Everyone! 

To those of you in the states I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! To those of you in Spain and other's taking exams I hope you are doing well on your finals! And to all the rest I hope all is well. In the beginning missing even the smallest holiday was the biggest thing for me, but as my time has went on I have learned that giving up a few holidays was well worth the price. Yes I missed turkey on Thanksgiving, and seeing my siblings faces early in the morning on Christmas, and I missed Easter egg hunts, and BBQ's and birthdays and all those other little things but what I gained was so much more and I have so many more years of those holidays with my wonderful family to celebrate. I have gained another family who I care about very deeply and will always be a part of my heart, I have gained friendships that I hope will carry with me throughout life, I have gained the experience of learning another language, of living in another country, and of adapting to a different life, I have traveled and seen more than I ever thought possible, and so much more. This has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life and I thank all of you for supporting me and helping me. It has been a bumpy ride at times but with all of my friends and family I have made it though.

In 2 weeks I will be home, 2 weeks! I cannot believe that the time is already here for me to head back. As the end is coming I have thought a lot more about the beginning and how it all started and in some ways it seems like it was just yesterday and in others it seems like centuries ago. The person who arrived in Spain is completely different that the person who will be leaving. I have developed my Spanish so much, although there is always room for improvement the fact that I have not only survived but created a relationship with someone that is so deep who doesn't speak my native language proves that I am doing something right. I have learned, okay I am still learning, to roll with the punches, although it is a lesson that is not completely learned I have had to adapt and accept that not everything is as structured as I am used to. Although I was never really a dependent person I am leaving this experience a more independent and confident person. I have learned that me and my happiness have to come first, and although I prefer making others happy if I am happy with who I am and what I have done then that is enough because at the end of the day the only person who I have to deal with is me. 

Well it is time for me to end this blog and get back to studying, my last final is Friday and afterwards I am celebrating with a trip to Valencia to buy a Starbucks and my last round of souvenirs from there. I then have a nice relaxing week filled with friends, my Castellon family, the beach, and sadly packing and saying goodbye to Castellon. Lastly, I will make a two day trip to Madrid to see the capital of Spain and then flying home. I will try to update this atleast once and updating my 365project whenever I get an interesting picture to share! 

Love you all! 

Thought I Would Try Something New

Hello Everyone, 

I thought I would post a video instead of typing a long boring blog that you have to read, hope you like it! 

And here is the link to my 365 project that I said I would post : http://365project.org/pdwhalen/365

Oh the Differences

I am a month and ten days away from being back in America and I realized that I have not really talked about the differences between Spain and the U.S.A. I think that this is because I usually try to avoid comparing two completely different cultures to each other, but I think today is a good day to write a blog about it.
I will start with the differences in the classroom. In the states if you talk in class while the teacher is talking there are usually consequences and it is not accepted, here in Spain however you are shushed but then you go on with your conversation, which I think is very rude.  Also, class almost never starts on time here in Spain, which goes with their relaxed culture but is a very big difference. The professors will change the time or place of a class that you originally signed up for whereas in the states I have never had that happen. Usually your class is based on one big paper or presentation and then a test, no homework, nothing else. But, here you get two chances on your final exam, so if you don't pass the first time no worries, you will take it during the second try exam period and hopefully pass.
The differences in the home are the most interesting to me. Almost every Sunday everyone gets together with their family and they have a very large meal, this is possible because every single store is closed throughout the town. Grandparents have a very active role in the lives of their grandchildren and usually help the parents to watch the children while they work. Other little differences are that most people do not have dryers so clothes are hung to dry, most people live in apartments or flats, and most of the floors are wooden.
The food, oh the food! I personally love the food here, I know others who have visited and who are studying here who do not agree though. I love the color that I have on every plate that my host mom makes for me. She also makes me eat a ton of fruit which I really have grown to love. Just in general I feel as if they eat healthier, there isn't a McDonald's every couple of blocks, actually you have to quite a ways to get it if you want in my town. Everyone walks as well so the amount of overweight people is much less than I am used to seeing in the states.
Another thing that I really appreciate and love about Spain is that they take pride in their country. There are fountains and statues and flowers and everything like this all over the place and I feel like that shows that they are proud and want to show off their abilities and make their country more beautiful. The architecture as well is just so beautiful.
As with every culture there are differences from what we are used to, some of them we like, some of them we do not. With every culture though we appreciate a little bit more of our own and learn a little bit more and appreciate a little bit more as well of the other.