Adios, España!

I'm currently sitting in bed, unable to sleep because of nerves: I have to wake up early to get to the airport for my flight! It is my last night in Madrid, and all I can say is thank you. I'm thankful for the whole experience, all the good and all the bad. I'm thankful for the people who supported me and encouraged me to leave everything behind and live across the ocean for a semester. And I'm thankful for all of the experiences, the close-knit friendships and the education (in-school and out of school) that I have received during these four months. Spain has been a vessel for a lot of personal growth and I feel like I am leaving a more well-rounded, conscious, and mature Haley. All that aside, I am beyond excited to return home and reunite with everyone starting tomorrow! Thanks for keeping up with my blog amigos! :) It has been an incredible journey!

Much love and merry Christmas!!

Haley

Happy reflections and serious study

I have officially finished all of my reading for the semester! I consider it a milestone in my education, because before I came to Spain, I had never read an entire novel in Spanish. After four months, I have read six full-length novels and eight plays in Spanish! (Plus four very important works of literature in English!)

As finals approach, "Haley hibernation" time begins--bring on the coffee, late nights, unhealthy snacks and study-induced hallucinations! (Just kidding about the last one... well, kind of).

10 days left! Hasta pronto! ~

2 semanas!

I'm down to less than two weeks in Madrid! Throughout the past few weeks, I have: explored more of Madrid, written a 7-page research paper about a Spanish play, performed in my Latin Dance recital dressed as a cat, finished 98% of my souvenir/Christmas gift shopping, seen Picasso's enormous painting "Guernica" and read half of Don Quixote, among other things. It's hard to believe that my time here is almost over, but at the same time, I still have so much left to do! Finals start in 8 days, and once they're over, I have just one day to pack and then I'm flying home!

The picture above was taken at the Templo de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple that is now situated in the center of Madrid. I went there a couple weeks ago while exploring the Royal Palace with my friend Annie! It is so fun to get out of the house, take the metro to a random part of Madrid and just walk around. I think the exploring and the friendships I have made here are what I have treasured most about this experience. It's hard to believe it's almost over!

Well, it's time to get back to reading Don Quixote! I have to write a paper comparing the role of women in Don Quixote and Dante's Inferno by Thursday, so there is a lot of work ahead! Hasta luego!!!