200 Days!

Today is a pretty significant day for me. It marks 200 days since I've arrived in Spain, which is pretty exciting, but it also means that I only have 100 days left. In these past 100 days, I've made countless new friends who are now my family, experienced what Christmas and NYE is like in Spain, changed host families, traveled to other cities and made many memories.

The beginning of my exchange was a hard time for me and I was homesick a lot, so I downloaded an app to countdown the days until I would be home. At that time, I needed the countdown and to see the numbers getting smaller every day. However, now those numbers frighten me because I've built a life here and I can't imagine ever leaving because once I leave, it will never be the same. Even if/when I return, I won't be returning to the same life that I'm living now. I’m scared to leave my friends because I am not guaranteed to see any of them again. I'm also scared to leave my city because it's become my second home over the course of these past 200 days. It's hard to explain how I feel when I look out the windows at school or walk around the city knowing that the life I have in Spain isn't permanent.

However, I also realize how incredibly lucky I am to be living here in Spain. At times it feels surreal and there are days when I still can't believe that I'm living in a foreign country on the other side of the world. If someone had asked me a few years ago where I pictured myself being in 2018, I never would've imagined myself in Spain, yet here I am.

The friends that I have made here are amazing and I feel like I've known them my whole life. I don't know what I would do without them or how to describe how thankful I am that I had the privilege of becoming their friend. Even though I've known them for less than a year, I know that we will always be there for each other.

These remaining 100 days are going to fly by in a blink of an eye so I am going to take advantage of every second I have to enjoy my time here and make more unforgettable memories.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped make this incredible experience possible! ¡Gracias por todo lo que habéis hecho por mí!