No Hay Halloween!

In Spain Halloween is only celebrated by little kids and on a much smaller scale. Halloween here is basically just an excuse for clubs or bars to get large crowds of people to come. There aren't decorations outside of the houses, trick-or-treating, or carving pumpkins. In fact, most pumpkins here are long and narrow so finding a "normal" shaped pumpkin to carve was difficult. However, my host family decided to get into the spirit of Halloween with me and we decorated the house―inside and out―and carved pumpkins and cooked the seeds. The carved pumpkins turned out great having it be their first time ever doing this and the seeds, well, they're very large and thick here so they didn't turn out like they do at home. Nonetheless, it was a successful Halloween away from home :)

Barcelona

From October 21st until October 25th my family and I took a trip down to Barcelona. We flew into the Barcelona airport, got onto their sailboat at Port Ginesta in Castel de Felles, then sailed approximately two hours to Port Vell, Located in Barcelona. I had never been sailing before and to my surprise I almost got sea sick...not fun. The five days we were there we went shopping at Maremagnum, a large shopping center; visited Las Ramblas, famous streets lined with shops and restaurants; went to La Sagrada Familia, a famous Cathedral featuring Gaudi's architecture; visited the Gardens of Gaudi, which contains more of Gaudi's architecture; and went to the Plaza de Catalunya (there is an unbelievable amount of pigeons). For lodging, we slept on the boat instead of staying in a hotel. 

La Sagrada Familia - Cathedral

Gaudi Architecture inside La Segrada Familia

Feeding Pigeons - Plaza de Catalunya

Al Principio

Saying goodbye to everything to which you are accustomed and being introduced to something entirely new is never easy; for me, it was harder than I had expected.


I departed from the Milwaukee airport heartbroken as I knew I wouldn't see my family or friends again for over four months. That feeling, however, soon converted to aspirations, excitement, and high hopes as I began thinking of what awaited in Spain. My outlook yet again changed once I arrived and this time I was crestfallen; I experienced culture shock my first two and a half weeks―I was extremely sad, thought this experience was not for me, and desperately wanted to go home. I didn't like how everything was different: the food, the school (boys!), the house, the schedules, the cars, the fashion, etc. Nothing was how I had imagined it to be. Thankfully I eventually became accustomed to this new norm and my positive attitude returned around the fourth week, thus I began to feel comfortable and happy. Since then, things progressively get better every week and I could not be more content. I continue to fall in love with Spain and the Spanish lifestyle more and more every day.

Mi Familia

I was lucky enough to be placed with an amazing host family. They are very outgoing and close-knit.

My host parents are Joseba Mugartegi and Izaskun Fernandez de Luco

I have two host sisters. The older of the two, Irati, is 15 years old.

The younger of the two, Naroa, is 12 years old.

The family also has a Golden Retriever, Duna. 

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We live in a chalet located in Sopelana a minute away from the ocean.

The Living Room

My Bedroom

Front Porch

Dining Room