Many things happen when you study abroad in Valencia. While I was there, I became a wine connoisseur and expert. Well, maybe not an expert, but I did take a wine class. Every person experienced and learned different things while in Valencia. I figured for this article I would mention some things that happened with just my friends and I and some I believe every person in my program would know to be true. Take a look into the 15 things that happen when you study abroad in Valencia:
1. You make amazing friends in just five weeks.
Within a week, you learn more secrets than you would imagine about these people you now call your friends. Sometimes you learn a little too much about them in such a short period of time.
2. You call WiFi “WeeFee.”
I thought it was a joke. Then when I asked for the WiFi they said, “Ah si, si, tenemos WeeFee gratias.”
3. You learn to pack a weekend's worth of stuff in a single backpack.
No, I don’t mean the giant backpacking backpack, I’m talking about a North Face you’d bring to class. Yes, I managed to get everything in there for one weekend, and no, I never did it again for another weekend.
4. You feel cultured within the first five days.
5. You give in and buy the fake YEEZYs (Feezys).
“Those Yeezys real bro?”
“Nah man, that guy on the street was selling them for 20 euro!”
Yes, I have a pair. No shame.
6. You learn to never eat at Mike’s if the fryer is broken.
Don’t do it. You will end up eating horsemeat with no fries to help it go down.
7. You enjoy saying “para llevar” a little too much.
“Aquí o para llevar?”
“!PARA LLEVAR! Por favor.”
Let’s not forget ToGo isn’t something they really do, it’s literally just for tourists, or for us lovely students.
8. You don’t go out until the break of dawn.
If it’s 11 P.M. you are pre-gaming too early. Maybe start in an hour, or an hour and a half. Might be smart to hit up Chupitos so reception doesn’t kick you out.
9. You spend your cheques on Sangria instead of dinner.
When you go to Café Lavin and wind up getting Sangria and some patatas bravas and spend your daily cheque, that’s normal. Well, at least it is for me. You may even spend it on Mike’s later in the night.
10. You learn to navigate airports like a pro.
It doesn’t matter if the signs are all in a different language, you got this down whether you can read it or not.
11. You drop your glass cup at Fox Congo at least once.
You either drop it or it gets dropped on you. If it gets dropped on you prepare for glass in your foot and blood on your sheets the next morning.
12. You think you are getting better at Spanish, but you’re really not.
You learn how to order your meals in Spanish (finally) so you try it out, thinking you understand. Then they reply and you stare blankly back at them, trying to figure out if they don’t have it or if they asked if you want something else. Sometimes you never know what you may get.
13. You go on spur of the moment trips to different countries.
Some go to Ibiza while some go to Paris. I randomly decided to go to Morocco and it was the best decision I ever made.
14. You realize there’s more than just America.
Once you travel, you see there are more problems and other people than what is in the U.S.A.
15. After you leave, your life will never be the same.
It only took a week for my life to already be different. Now that the program has come to an end, I think I can say this on behalf of all of us; our lives will never be the same. They didn’t change for the worse, only for the better.
