Tapas culture makes it easy to enjoy a meal with friends without spending a fortune, and the city’s public transportation makes life accessible, even without a car. Everything feels a bit more grounded, a lot more happy, overall, here in Spain.
One of the most meaningful parts of my experience was living with my host mom. She taught me a lot about the way Spanish mothers show love—endlessly giving, always checking in, always asking how they can do something for you in a way that made me feel so bad because of how independent I am, but I eventually leaned into it because I knew it’s what made her feel good. She was there during some stressful moments when I was dealing with things back home, offering support, space, and even gossip about boys over dinner. It felt like I had family here, and I’ll always treasure that.
I also got to explore so much of Spain, especially the beauty of the south. The school program took us on unforgettable tours—through the Alpujarras, into a flamenco cave performance and to countless historical sites that made me fall in love with Spanish culture. I’ve come to love the little details: the way Spaniards gesture with their hands by shaking it in the air to say something is crazy, how they pause in the middle of the street just to finish telling you a story and the public is so accustomed to it that no one gets irritated, how "guapa/guapo” is is often used just as a casual greeting. Everything here moves at a pace that feels so natural to me.
In Granada, I wasn’t just visiting—I was living.
