This side of the Atlantic greeted me with heaping piles of snow, Christmas wreaths on every door, public and private, and a very excited family. I must acknowledge what I’ve missed the most about the US: the food, free bathrooms, ice cubes, magical places called drugstores that allow you to get toothpaste, aspirin, and candy bars all under the same roof, and of course all the people I’ve only been able to skype with for the past four months.

I can already tell that leaving Nantes is going to be one of the hardest things I’ll have to do in my life. While I’ve never been away from my parents for this long before, I’ve also never felt closer to them than I do now and that makes it so much harder for me to return home.

So my homestay was technically located in the barrio of Recoleta, but right on the border of Palermo. I think this was probably my favorite barrio because of all the fun restaurants and boutiques, and the general sense of being able to meander around cobblestone streets and enjoy the neighborhood. Palermo also has several sub-barrios including Palermo Hollywood, Palermo Soho, Palermo Chico, and others.

1) The Barceloneta sunset is one I will never forget, I have countless memories in this city and they always end in the same amazing sunset
 

2) Over the course of the fall semester I have met more amazing people than ever, all relationships that I am happy to say I will continue to keep in the future.
 

3) As I am beginning to make my transition from Barcelona back the cold temperatures in Massachusetts the biggest surprise was to come home to a yard full of snow and a snowman happy as ever.
 

Coming home is the hardest part of going abroad. Things are weird. The money is weird. The people wear sweatpants. The condiments are free. It’s not natural.

Coming home, I was lucky in that I had plans lined up, like babysitting for some of my favorite kids and going to the movies. If I didn’t, I would’ve sat in bed and cried even more. It’s hard not to sulk, but throwing yourself into something makes life a lot easier.

Sheesh, does this take me back! Our very first field trip with each other barely knowing one another. We knew everyone’s intros – full name, home town, university everyone attends – but we were still strangers in this new world. For me, I wanted to learn more about myself through the trip and network with other kids on the trip.

A few weeks ago walking home from class, tired and hungry as usual right before lunch, I realized I was walking with my eyes cast downward.  There are practical reasons to watch the patch of street right before you: to avoid the water that collects between the cobblestones, the leaves that can be threateningly slippery, and the usual detritus that collects on city floors.  But there’s another reason one fixedly watches the street instead of the panoramas breathing and moving around them: after losing their ‘eyes of a stranger.’

No blog about a study-abroad experience in Granada would be complete without a post about La Alhambra.

From afar, the Alhambra is sublime: seen from the famous Mirador de San Nicolás, the Alhambra is backed by the Sierra Nevada and you’re overwhelmed and filled by the sheer force of history, culture and nature alike.