Home at last

Well I have finally managed to make it home from Spain. Even though getting back to America was a lot harder than I thought, I made it! I never realized how much security people have to go through to get into the U.S. Finally after waiting through many lines and the eight and a half hour flight, my friends and I walked off the plane and were in New York once again. We were all so excited to get back and could not stop talking about all the American things that we would do that we couldn’t while in Spain. Seeing my mom and my boyfriend was so surreal and I had been waiting for that for so long. Even though I was away for the entire summer, now that I;m back it feels almost like I never left.

Everyone keeps telling me how much weight I have lost (because people walk everywhere in Spain) and how I have the “Spanish glow” haha. Also every time someone asks me about Spain, they always ask me to speak Spanish. I am very proud to say that I actually can speak Spanish now, although I’m not completely fluent, I can communicate myself and I am so happy of how far I have come in just two months. The hard part will be not loosing my Spanish and trying to practice whenever I can.

It has been about a week and a half since I’ve been home and I have already gone back into my routine of hanging out with friends and working. I had to go back to work right away just because of how much money I spent in Spain. It was scaring looking at my bank account coming back, but honestly I don’t know if I will ever get to live in Spain again and be there for as long as I was and I am happy that I took advantage of all the opportunities, even if some of them were a bit pricey.

Leaving was definitely bittersweet. I was excited to get home, but at the same time sad to leave a place that I had been living for the past two and a half months. Looking back I have learned so much and now have a new outlook on life. The biggest thing Spain has taught me is to take advantage of all the experiences that you possibly can and not to be afraid of trying new things and meeting new people. I feel so much more independent now and, it sounds weird, but I honestly feel like I know myself better. Going through this whole study abroad experience has really opened my eyes to the world and showed me other people and cultures that I would never seen had I stayed in the U.S. and I am forever grateful to have had this experience which is one I will never forget.11781815_10205090509851166_3130333283451956849_n 11816823_10205090506731088_8805176125636062231_n 11824967_10205090507371104_7229912879122695420_n

My name is Ashely Sirna. I am a junior at SUNY New Paltz and am double majoring in Spanish and psychology with a minor in disaster studies. This summer I am studying abroad in Oviedo, Spain for two months. I am very excited to learn about the culture and improve my Spanish!

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