España

Let me tell you. Although the flights were long, they were not the problem. The jet-lag was. After arriving at Madrid at near seven in the morning, we stayed awake and participated in the planned activities for as long as we could. The activities themselves were wonderful! We met Adolfo and Luis, our hosts from Mira, and we had a wonderful breakfast, visited the museum and saw artworks of Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso’s Guérnica, and dined all together. Big and little observations of Madrid from a newcomer’s perspective: There is an extravagant amount of graffiti throughout the city. In parks, beside roadways, and practically any blank surface that was deemed a canvas.    A second observation included smaller, more compact cars that were able to maneuver around the thinner streets of the city. Drivers that used turn signals were nonexistent, but were very talented at parallel parking. Everyone is very relaxed and do not rush outside of the airport. The city is fu...

I have to admit, this is my first attempt at writing a blog, so please bear with me. I want to tell you my story; who I am and how I came to be in a position of studying abroad in Spain. Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  My name is Coralys Miranda-Reyes, and I was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico in the mid 1990s as the third born child of a growing family. We all left Puerto Rico in 2000 with the 4th child, my new little brother, only recently having been born to 2 exhausted parents. That exhaustion was the result of efforts to move to the United States and make a better life for all of us. Their exhaustion wasn't for nothing, because without them, we would not have become who we are today. Today, we total 5 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 parents who never stopped working to make something better to this day. With their help, I was an honor-roll student during my primary and secondary education, which lead me to my university; the University of Southern Indiana.  I starte...