Jordyn – Spain

June 26th, 2025

Today’s the day! I get to do a lot of firsts today. First ever time flying, first time going out of the country, first time trying airplane food, and first time hoping my luggage would make it to my destination. I am feeling so excited and nervous at the same time. My mom and my two nieces just dropped me off at the airport so now I’m meeting up with my good friend Madison and we are going to navigate our way through security together, find our gate, and meet up with another friend, named Shaughnessy, going on the trip. We are all so excited and patiently waiting until we get a text saying our flight from RDU to EWR was going to be delayed to after our flight from EWR to AGP (in Spain) was supposed to take off. So, we talk to a United Airlines worker who helped us out, but it turns out we aren’t going to be able to leave until tomorrow, Sunday June 27th. Since this issue wasn’t the airline’s fault, it was air traffic control’s fault, we can’t get a hotel room for the night. Thankfully Madison’s dad was still close by the airport, and he picked us up and we stayed the night in Greenville.

Four women pose for a selfie outside of an airport.

My mom and nieces dropping me off at the airport

June 27th, 2025

Okay, now today is the day! Madison and I go through security, again, and send our checked bags on their way. We find our new gate, and meet up with our other friend, Shaughnessy, with hopes for good luck today! I feel more nervous today than I did yesterday, just because I was more mentally prepared yesterday and the delay threw me off, but there’s no going back now! We’re boarding the first plane from RDU to EWR now.

Hello from Newark, honestly flying wasn’t that bad. I was comfortable and wasn’t scared at all until it came to landing. We now have a 4-hour layover here in Newark until we’re officially off to Spain! 4 long hours later we are finally boarding the plane for Spain. It is kind of hectic because there are so many more people on this flight than the first one. We’re getting ready for takeoff, so I’ll talk to you in Spain!

June 28th, 2025

Hola from Almería, Spain! Our amazing professor, Dr. Lorenzo, is waiting to pick us up from the airport but first I need to find my luggage. We just got on a bus that is going to take us from Malaga, where we landed, to Almería, which is where we will be staying for the next month. It is so beautiful here, much better than I was expecting. It is kind of weird to see mountains right beside the ocean because in North Carolina we don’t have that.

We’re finally about to get off the bus and arrive at our dorms. Today was the school’s orientation, so we just missed all of that. After three days of traveling and being on the go, I am going to unpack now and get some rest since I haven’t slept much, adios!

Four women seated on a bench at a bus station.

Shaughnessy, Madison, me, and Mahogany sitting at the bus stop

Waves rolling ashore on a Spanish beach with mountains in the distance.

Picture of Almería where the mountains and beach are together.

July 6th, 2025

First week in Spain down, three more to go! This first week has been both fun and chaotic! I am having a hard time getting used to the 6-hour time difference. It not only has messed up my sleep schedule, but it’s also hard because I won’t hear from anyone back at home until my day is almost over. On top of trying to adjust to being here the air conditioning in my room went out so I didn’t have that for a couple of days which made it harder for me to be able to sleep. Besides that, I had an awesome first week, so let’s talk about what I did!

I navigated my way to class each day which was kind of confusing the first couple of days because we have to take a bus 20 minutes to get to Universidad de Almería. My friends and I went to dinner at a restaurant named Bresca. It was very yummy, and this was actually our first place we went out to eat at! We also navigated our way to the beautiful beach. The water is so clean and clear, nothing like what I am used to at home. Another day we went to a really big shopping mall. I thought it was funny trying to get home from the mall because we ordered a taxi home, but the taxis kept cancelling the ride. We were all hot and overstimulated because we were just in a huge mall, but it eventually worked out and we caught the 4th taxi. One afternoon my friends and I went out to town and took pictures. On Friday of this week our class went on a field trip to the old part of Almería. On Sunday I did some studying while at a really good local coffee shop where I got a coffee and a cinnamon roll. Overall, besides the normal first week out of the country, I had a very eventful and fun first week!

A woman takes a selfie with another woman

the letters UAE sitting in sand by the road

Woman walking in front of some historic building.

Two women have a selfie in front of a castle

Group of students sitting on concrete steps

July 13th, 2025

This is the end of my second week in Spain. This week flew by, only I only have two more weeks left. I am more of a routine person, I like to know what I’m going to do the next day… but here in Spain it’s different. This week has been a little easier and I’ve been able to get into somewhat of a pattern; I also was able to somewhat fix my sleep schedule. The air conditioning came back on, thank goodness, and I am still adjusting to not hearing from anyone until later in my day. Sometimes it’s actually peaceful to not really be on my phone and just navigate my way to and from class and decide what I’m going to do for the rest of the day. Speaking of what I did, let’s dive into this week’s adventures!

On Monday morning I navigated my way to and from class then got ready for the afternoon with my friends. We went to downtown Almería and did a little shopping and ate dinner at a burger place called ‘Goiko’. We also found a super yummy gelato spot called ‘Amorino’. We took some cutie pictures in an alleyway behind the gelato store and ventured home. On Tuesday we went to class then got ready to go downtown again. We have kind of gotten used to everything being downtown so every day we end up over there haha. We went to a new restaurant called ‘La Consinteda’ this is DEFINITELY a new favorite. They have tapas named after celebrities here in America and let me say the Miley Cyrus (which is a hotdog and fries) and the Monica Lewinsky (which is ribs and a sweet potato) were so delicious. On Wednesday we didn’t have class, but we went as a class to La Alcazaba, which is a garden fortress. On Thursday we didn’t have class again, but we had another field trip to the Catedral de Almería. On Friday we went to Cabo de Gata in San José and did some kayaking and snorkeling. Over the weekend my friends and I just went and enjoyed the beach and did some studying! I had a fantastic second week, I’ll talk to you guys next week!

Pictures from Amorino

A blonde woman in a pink top and white skirt in a Spanish alley

Downtown

A blonde woman eating ice cream in a dark alley

Picture of me with gelato

Pictures from kayaking and snorkeling

A group of people with life vests standing on a beach with a kayak

Pictures from the Catedral de Almería

Tropical trees outside a Spanish building

Two blonde women stand in a cathedral hall

Pictures from from La Alcazaba

A group of people standing before a large portal

Pictures from La Consinteda

Miley Cyrus hotdog

At the beach

July 20th, 2025

Well, my third week here in Spain has come to an end. I am so sad because that means I only have one week left in this beautiful place, but that also means I get to go home soon and see my family and friends! This week was adventurous, fun, and exciting. Let’s talk about what I got to experience this week!

First thing Monday morning there was an earthquake that woke me up bright and early at 7:13am. I had never experienced an earthquake before so that was pretty scary. Other than that, I continued on with my day, went to class, and just chilled out in my room the rest of the afternoon. On Tuesday we didn’t have class, we went on a class field trip to Cable de Ingles. This is the English cable in Almería that would transport minerals and goods from the mountains to ships to be exported and traded for other goods. On Wednesday Madison and I passed a pizza place on the way home from class and we decided to stop by, that was honestly the best idea ever. The pizza was so good I’ll include a picture of Madison eating the pizza haha. On Thursday we decided to take sunset pictures, so that is exactly what we did. We also got acai bowls from this place on the beach, and they are so yummy. On Friday we all took a trip to Granada, Spain and saw the Alhambra. This place was huge but so beautiful. Shaughnessy, Madison, Mahogany, Evelin, Hope, and I then left from Granada to Seville, Spain where we spent the weekend in a cute little airbnb. We shopped, ate yummy food, and did some sightseeing in Sevilla. I had the best time this week and realized my time here was almost over, to make the best of last week.

Pictures of Cable de Inglés

Three women on a dock by the sea at sunset

Pictures of food

Madison eating pizza

Picture of acai bowls on beach

Pictures from the beach

A blonde woman in a white dress by the sea

Pictures from Alhambra in Granada

Three women in the shade at a historic building

Pictures from Sevilla, Spain

A woman standing outside a historic building at sunset

July 27th, 2025

My last week in Spain is over. Wow, it’s really over. I can’t believe it. I didn’t do too much this week. I just took in all the views for the last time, went to the beach for the last time, said goodbye to Madison early, ate Spain food for the last time, and flew home. I won’t lie, I cried on the plane ride home. I just had so much fun and can’t believe it’s over. Let’s break down what I did for my last week.

On Monday, Shaughnessy and I said goodbye to Madison. She was leaving for the airport early because she had another trip to be on. It was so sad to see her go because we just did everything together for the past three weeks. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I just went to the beach and took in some sun and acai bowls for the last time. On Thursday we had one last class field trip to an art museum. That night the school held a farewell dinner for us and the girls all went out for a girl’s night. Friday was sad, no class just packing, crying, and a final project that needed to be done. I didn’t sleep Friday night because we left for the airport at 4am Saturday morning. Flying home wasn’t bad, I just looked back on my memories from this trip the whole way home.

Acai bowl on the beach

Student in front of paintings in a gallery

Art museum

A woman in a bluedress standing on the beach in front of a sunset

Last night in Spain sunset

Goodbye Spain picture taken on airplane

Shaughnessy and I on the airplane to come home

I’m Home!

I feel so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain. This trip is a journey that will forever hold a special place in my heart. The friendships I made, the memories I cherish, the lessons I learned, and the growth in my Spanish skills will stay with me for a lifetime. I am deeply grateful to everyone who made this experience possible. My professor Dr. Lorenzo, the Office of Global Affairs, the Thomas Rivers Scholarship Committee, the Matt and Kelly Slate Study Abroad Scholarship, and all those who supported me along the way. Everyone’s generosity and encouragement made this dream a reality. While I’m happy to be home with my friends and family, I often find myself thinking about Almería and what life is like there right now. If you ever have the chance to go anywhere to study abroad, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s definitely an experience that will change you forever!