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.