When I had first realized I wanted to study abroad, my first thought was where in Europe I would like to go. I always had a fascination with Italy and knew I would love the food there, or London because there would be no language barrier but my colleges had shied me away from those two choices. The reason was because everyone that I talked to said that Valencia had the best international program at FSU. After spending a very quick 5 weeks here, I don't even need to see the other programs to know that I made the best decision. This program has been above and beyond every expectation I had of it, and if I had to make the same decision again I would make it 10 out of 10 times. Everything from the housing to the staff has been perfect for the program and has really made it easy for the students especially myself never being in Europe before and speaking very little Spanish. So as I am getting extremely excited and anxious to make this trip of a lifetime I decide to fly out of JFK instead of Miami where I’m from to get over directly to Valencia rather then having to switch planes in a foreign airport for the first time. Unfortunately for me and about 15 of the students the plane was delayed for about 7 hours. I was scared for a while that we weren’t going to be able to go since it was around 12 at night by the time we eventually boarded the plane. After much delay and dismay we got in the air and it was off to Spain, and I have not looked back since. Once we got here I was in shock of the study center and the Torres de Sorranos put me in awe. We grabbed a quick bite to eat as a group and then it was off to do whatever we wanted at night. That first night was one of the most memorable of my time here. There was some festival going on at the beach so a group of us decided to check it out. When we got there it was unlike anything I have ever seen before, thousands and thousands of people all in the sand making bonfires and drinking just having a great time. Then as it became 12 o’clock there was some tradition that you have to jump over 4 waves and make a wish and it will come true. Of course the entire group of new friends I had just met had to go an join all the fun. To this day it was one of the best nights of my life and the perfect way to start this experience. All of this already happened and I hadn’t even been in Valencia for more then 24 hours. The first weekend was very special as it was the beginning to the bond that all of us student would start. It also was special because it was my first time in Europe so all the buildings and architecture was so new and beautiful to me. I would just go around the first couple of days and get lost in the city. I would just walk from the study center and pass all these important building and plazas that I had no idea what they were and the significance of them until we started going to them in your class. When class started that is when the real program started, because not only was everybody finally here but we would finally have a schedule and some structure to this new experience we were all having. It was short week of school but it was packed with plenty of activities including going to the fresh market and la Lonja. The fresh market was a very neat experience since there is really nothing like that back in the states with such great food for so cheap, which I learned is very important while over here abroad. That second weekend was a very important and special to me because not only was I traveling to Barcelona that weekend but it was also my 21st birthday. So friday the first of July was my birthday and it was very busy day. In the morning after a late night celebrating a little early at Max Max there was a day trip to the City of Arts and Sciences which had some of the most interestingly beautiful buildings I have ever seen. We only had time to get to the museum and aquarium and both of them did not disappoint as both were very interesting especially the Marvel Comics floor in the museum. Right after the visit to the City of Arts and Sciences I was headed on a bus to Barcelona so we could get there with enough time to enjoy the night. As we arrived to the hostel that we booked we were surprised by the location and the surrounding area. We could just say that is was not in the best place but it only added to the experience I was having on this trip. The first night we decided to walk around the city and explore and ended up walking up and down Las Ramblas a couple times to check out the bars and places to eat around there. The next day we had a busy time site seeing all around Barcelona. We decided to take a double decker bus tour for both days Saturday and Sunday that took us everywhere we needed to go in the city. The first day we went to a bunch of nice photography places overlooking the city, the Olympic Stadium, the FC Barcelona stadium, and a couple churches. As an avid sports fan this was my favorite day of the trip because we got to see one of the most famous soccer stadiums home to the best club and players in the world and the site of the 1992 Olympic games. It was surreal, you could walk into the main stadium for the Olympics and see where track and field and soccer matches went on. The next day was for more of the touristy must see sights that everyone said I had to see when I left for Barcelona. So we hopped on the double decker and made our way out to so many sights but the main being the beach, La Sagrada Familia and the House of Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most remarkable sights I have ever seen in my life. The fact that they are still building it, is beyond me. It was the biggest and most beautiful cathedrals I have ever and probably will ever see in my lifetime. From the outside it was so massive that when you are driving by it you can not capture all of its beauty. However the outside is only the beginning to its beauty. The inside was so colorful it really was a beautiful contrast to the architecture of the outside of the cathedral. I loved the city of Barcelona and would have loved to have more time to explore the beautiful city even more but it was time to go back to what I presently called home in Valencia. Oh well just looks like I will have to come back to this beautiful country again! After the weekend traveling I then had another short week of classes before another adventure. I am truly grateful that I took you class because even in these short weeks I got to see so many sights because it was part of our curriculum. Traveling across Valencia is definitely better then sitting in the classroom reading about these places. Some of the most memorable this week in between trips was our trips to the basilica and cathedral along with to the parliament building. We only went into the basilica but the beauty of La Catedral was enough to capture its importance. The basilica on the other hand you had to enter to see the true beauty of this church. It was one of the most extravagant churches in terms of beauty I’ve ever seen. The gold alter with the shrine of the Virgin of the Forsaken along with the mural on the domed roof can not be described properly with words. It is something that I think everybody has to get a chance to see on there own. After another short week in Valencia it was off to Madrid on Thursday for the weekend. This was probably my favorite weekend I had at Spain. It was nice to go to Barcelona and loved the city, but to go as a whole group was so nice to have 80 FSU students go and take over the capital city. The first night we got there to late to do any site seeing but we did make it out to one of the biggest clubs in the world in Kapital. It was a great night and a great start to the weekend. The next day we took bus tours of the city and basically saw the entire city from the streets with a guide to help us out. After the bus tours we went as a group to an art museum to see all the works of Greco and Velazquez, two of the greatest spanish painters of all time. That was the end of the site seeing in Madrid other then a quick trip to the Real Madrid soccer stadium that a few of us did after the long day on the bus and museum. The next day we travelled to Segovia a nearby city rich in tradition and nice sights. The trip included seeing the aqueduct and the castle. As soon as we got there we were interrupting a parade that was going on with different cities and neighboring countries showing off their style and dance moves to the people. It was quite the sight especially as soon as we got off of the bus. The next day after returning to Madrid that night we went to Toledo for the day before returning to Valencia. In Toledo we saw the old capital and all the cathedrals and synagogues that were in the city while it had power and significance as the capital of Spain. As a jewish student I was specifically interested in the synagogues that we visited as they are some of the oldest still left in Europe and have a lot of importance to the jewish community. After a half day of Toledo is was back to Valencia for a finally two weeks of “vacation.” The final couple of weeks in Valencia were nice and relaxing since most of the traveling was done and I pretty much knew my way around the city. With most of the sights around the study center already seen it was time to enjoy the city as a student and go to the beach and play sports at the park in the riverbed. It did not go without some significance however. We did go to the Torreria and Los biberos even though unfortunately you were not there to accompany us. The Torreria was very interesting to me seeing how the wine and champagne is made and how much goes into just making one bottle. These last 5 weeks that I have experienced in Spain have arguably been the best and most eventful weeks of my life. I have done and seen more then the last couple years of my life in America. I have gotten to see multiple cities in Spain including the main 2 in Madrid and Barcelona which I said I had to go see. I have been to multiple countries in the EU including Spain and the Netherlands. I could not have asked for any more then what I got these last couple of weeks. This place and program and has exceeded my expectations by so much and I can’t wait until I make my way back to this beautiful country again in the future.