While you’re in Spain you’ll have a plethora of opportunities to go all over Europe as well as exploring different wonderful cities and regions all across this country. So far my favorite places in Spain have been Barcelona and Seville. This weekend we had a four-day weekend and I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the south of Spain. My friends and I passed through Cordoba, Seville and Granada. They were all amazing in their own way but Seville was stunning, especially the Alcázar (Dorne from Game of Thrones is filmed there) and the Plaza de España (Planet Naboo from Star Wars). As I stood in La Plaza de España I was overwhelmed by how beautiful it was, and in the Alcázar I was taken aback by the mix of natural beauty and ancient architecture. I was also able to go to La Alhambra in Granada and every section we visited was unique and beautiful. The heavily decorate walls I could’ve stared at for hours, and the absolutely gorgeous gardens and city views left me speechless.

I have also been able to go to London (a lifelong dream of mine), Barcelona, Segovia, and Toledo. I feel very blessed for having these opportunities, and the ones that are still coming my way. This weekend the program will be taking us to Extremadura (yet another GoT filming spot!), and then I will be going on my five-day class trip to Galicia. In two weeks I will be heading to Morocco for spring break, followed by Paris in April and finally Dublin, Amsterdam and Prague just before the program finishes up.

Yesenia Olivares, student blogger

I feel tremendously grateful for all these chances to travel, I am nowhere near wealthy and my family is admittedly in fact lower middle class, and part of me never knew if I would be able to go to all of these amazing places, let alone Madrid. For this reason I aim to try to be present everywhere I go, and take a minute to breathe it all in, and savor every moment, let my hands touch the ancient walls, and hover and linger over beautiful flowers, bask in the golden sunlight and admire the gorgeous sunsets. Even in the ordinary, I urge you to be present; although sometimes it can be difficult it’s always worth it.