Diego Alanis: Blog Post #2

The Month of New: New Friends and New Cities

Welcome back, y’all! I’ve officially been in Sevilla for a month, and I can’t believe how fast it’s flown by! Reflecting on this past month, I can confidently say that studying abroad is sooo worth it.

I won’t lie, like most people, I had some fears and hesitations before coming here. I’d never lived so far from home, and the idea of making new friends in another country felt intimidating. I knew I’d really miss my friends and parents back home. How was I going to adjust? All those feelings were completely valid, but looking back, I’m so glad I took the risk and said yes to studying abroad!

September has been a month of “New”, I’ve met new friends and explored new cities across Spain. I’ve never had the chance to travel so consistently in my life, so once I arrived in Sevilla, I promised myself I’d take full advantage of all the beautiful places around me. This semester, I’m actually the only student who chose to come to Sevilla, so I made sure to say yes to every opportunity to meet new people and it’s gone great so far! I’ve explored incredible cities and made wonderful friends!

Below are some pictures and descriptions that show how my study abroad experience has been going so far. Enjoy! 🙂

First and foremost, we have the most beautiful city of them all– Sevilla. I left Dallas on September 1st in the evening and arrived in Sevilla on September 2nd around 4 p.m. It was a wild 20 hours of travel, but I was so happy to finally make it! To the left is the famous Guadalquivir River, and to the right is me at Plaza de España, fun fact: one of the Star Wars movies was filmed there!

Second, we have the Real Betis game and Cádiz! A few friends and I decided to go see a Real Betis soccer match, and it was truly amazing. Seeing how massive the stadium is in person felt so surreal! We also took a couple of trips to the beautiful beaches of Cádiz. Once on our own and again during a CEA CAPA excursion. Both times were unforgettable!

Third, we have Málaga! Words honestly can’t explain how much I loved Málaga. The views were stunning, the food was delicious, and the water was so refreshing. What more could you ask for? I had an amazing time exploring with new friends and overall, it was just an unforgettable experience. 10/10!

Last but not least, we have Ronda! Ronda is a small city about two and a half hours from Sevilla, known for its famous bridges: Puente Viejo and Puente Nuevo (the image on the left shows El Puente Nuevo). It’s truly a gorgeous city, and I highly recommend that anyone visiting Spain make a stop here!

Overall, September has been an incredible month here studying abroad. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel and make new friends that I’ll be spending the rest of the semester with. Now I know there was nothing to be fearful or hesitant about, studying abroad truly is amazing. If you are debating on whether or not to study abroad… do it, take the jump! You got this!

Until the next blog… ¡Ya nos vemos!