I was shocked by how clean the streets were and enchanted by the whole ambiance, with the dimmed orange glow that lit all around the elegant structures of the brick and stone walls. I felt as if I were in the village adjoining a huge palace.
This was the very beginning of my Europe trip. I was experiencing a whole new culture and embracing every moment of it without worrying too much about what others thought of me. I was aware that the crowd around me could easily (if they even paid attention) recognize that I was not from there, and yet this gave me relief, in a way, since my appearance and ignorance was out of my control. Besides, I blended in well as a common tourist who could speak very little Spanish, and everyone was very friendly. Tourists are common in this area. I left Madrid after only being there for less than 12 hours, because my six-week study abroad program was about to start. My primary destination was one of the three Balearic islands of Spain, the capital known as Palma de Mallorca [My-YOUR-ka].
The flight to Palma, although less than two hours, was exhausting. I did not have energy left to be nervous or excited; so the anxiety wasn’t that intense, it just numbed my active worries. When I arrived at my host mother’s apartment, she embraced me as if I were her long-lost granddaughter. I knew to expect a greeting where she would hug and kiss me on both cheeks, but there was still no way of preparing for my actual response. My host mom did not speak any Inglés (English), so as she spoke really quickly and toured me through her home, I could tell she was as excited and nervous as me.
![The clean and quaint "streets" a.k.a. "calles" (pronounced [ka-yays] but do not put any emphasis on making the "s" sound at the end, and do it with a quick Spanish accent!)](https://www.reachtheworld.org/sites/default/files/media/3328/2021/03/9351151E-7247-418A-8A4F-03D93C356460.jpeg)
