For my last weekend in Ireland, I took a long bus-and-train trip to Dingle out on the west coast.  As I got closer, the landscape shifted; I started to see mountains, and more sheep, and fog replaced some of the cold but also some of the people.

I underestimated the travel time to Dingle and, worse, the distance from the bus stop in Annascaul to my hostel in Inch.

I've been home for about three weeks now and my abroad experience seems like a distant day dream. I’ve settled back into the daily routine, adjusted to the lengthiness of transportation in America (all those highways that stretch from city to city), and I’ve been lost in my own thoughts more often than naught about the adventure I just completed.

After being asked this question about a hundred times you’d think I’d have gotten better at answering it. However, I keep finding myself stuck trying to find middle ground between describing every detail of my study abroad and barely stating ‘it was good.’ Hopefully, this last blog post will help begin to figure that process out.

Being back home for the last week has been simultaneously relieving and vexing; I am more than happy to be back with my family and friends, especially for the holidays. But at the same time, I feel an absence of something. Some kind of exciting spirit that I felt the whole time that I was in Spain is gone, and I am sure it was more than just the excitement that comes with living and studying in a new place for a semester.

            This is it. My final blog post about my experience in Barcelona. It’s the final chapter in a book I have yet to fully comprehend. It’s my goodbye to the city I have fallen in love with, and the incredible experiences that came along with it. If you must know, I have been dreading writing this last post.

 Studying abroad is an amazing experience, and if you have the chance to study abroad, you should take it ! And honestly, any country or program you go on, will only effect your life positively and allow for growth. That being said, you can’t just pick a random study abroad program. It's important to do research in order to find the best program/country that is related to either your academic or professional goals in order to get the best out of it.

Study abroad, as the cliché goes, is a time for self-discovery. Living in a foreign country means stepping outside of your comfort zone. It’s a chance to meet new people, explore new places, and unearth new passions. And then, at the end of the semester, you go home.

During the weeks leading up to my arrival home to Washington, D.C. from Barcelona, I had been planning out what I wanted my first meal to be. I would arrive at Dulles airport around 7 pm, my family would be waiting there to pick me up and we’d go to my favorite Thai restaurant. However, after I reunited with my family at baggage claim, the 13 hours of travel and the 6-hour time difference started to hit me, and I told my family I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. I was snoring by 9 pm.

The best part about having family in the country I chose to study abroad in is that my family spoiled me nonstop. Not only did they pay for expensive meals, they took me on weekend trips from time to time. This time, my aunt and uncle took me to Takayama -- a place at which, though it was raining, I got to relax and breathe in fresh mountainous air.