For most students enrolled in American universities, the first year of university life involves the stereotypical and unpleasant dorm life, boring lectures in classes of 400 students and preparing for final exams, after missing class several times. First, skipping class was strictly prohibited on the Valencia campus, and although many students complained bitterly about this mandate, I found it helpful to have an extra incentive – that being my grade – to attend class. While I wasn't exempt from the classwork or final exams that are part of freshman year, my first year of college was a study abroad fairytale in the historic and affluent city of Valencia, Spain. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Through the Cultural Activities Program, I had the opportunity to travel to numerous sites in Spain, including Jaca, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Andalusia, and some cities in the peripheral areas of these significant cities. I expected this relatively unique journey of mine to have influenced me; It is natural and expected for a person to blossom and change during their first year away from home. I feel, however, as if I have grown, changed, and learned in more ways than I thought was conceivable. Leaving for any new place requires adaptation and my move to Spain was no exception; Getting used to the Spanish culture took time and learning Spanish required all my patience. I recently came across the Spanish expression merecer la pena, or to be worth it. Looking back on my time in Valencia, I can confidently say that the hard work was truly worth it. The experiences I had alone and with other students were otherworldly and I will never again have an experience comparable to my study abroad in Spain. On the rare chance that time travel existed and I could go back in time, I would without a doubt choose to study abroad in Spain again; there is no reason why I would change my course in this regard. Sure, there are some chapters in my fairytale first-year-abroad story that I'd like to tweak, but my only real regret is not being able to converse fluently and flawlessly in Spanish after spending eleven months in Spain. That being said, I improved my Spanish language skills, which were non-existent when I arrived, tenfold, however I was hoping for a noticeable improvement, which sadly never occurred. Therefore, if I were allowed a do-over, I would immerse myself even more in the Spanish culture and language, meet new people, and participate in all the Spanish exchanges offered by the university. Although I met many Spaniards while in Valencia, the problem with these Spanish friends of mine was their desire to practice English, thus hindering my goal of improving my Spanish. Further aggravating was the fact that their knowledge of English was already far superior to my knowledge of Spanish, which not only occasionally caused me embarrassment over my mistakes and lack of vocabulary, but also forced the English to be the default language for our conversations if we have never had serious matters to discuss. My difficulty with the Spanish language was a natural consequence of the fact that 150 English speaking students were sleeping, eating and hanging out together 24/7. Perhaps if we lived in host families with Valencian families this problem could have been resolved, but this would have diminished the "family" bond that theprogram encourages when students, staff and faculty are together. In this regard, one of the most impressive aspects of the Valencia program staff members was their ability to plan interactive events for the entire group of students and to transport approximately 150-200 of us to various locations in Spain, such as the aforementioned Jaca, Madrid, Barcelona and Andalusia. Not only were they able to transport us from city to city, but they also managed to keep us safe and entertained throughout our stay, a combination that must be difficult to achieve when dealing with young adults . Although Valencia is a fascinating city in itself, excursions to these different regions of Spain have enhanced my appreciation and understanding of Valencia; both historically and culturally. Plus, after these activity-packed week-long trips, it was a bit of a relief to come “home” to Valencia. In addition to the high regard for Valencia, I believe that the trips to Jaca and Madrid were of the utmost importance for students who had never traveled to Spain before or who had not learned much about the country in general. The topographic diversity the country has to offer is often overlooked by Spain's reputation as a “party peninsula”. As beautiful as Valencia is, if you only travel to the coastal cities, it reinforces this wrong notion. Undoubtedly, Spain is a great place to party, but in addition to being trendy, I find that Spain has a lot to offer in terms of history, art and architecture. Of the four different mandatory trips hosted by the program, I was very pleased with the features provided in Jaca. From a historical perspective, I found Jaca fascinating and compelling. In addition to being an important stop on the Camino de Santiago, Jaca has a lot of medieval history and a few centuries ago it was also the capital of Aragon. In particular, Jaca Cathedral, the first Romanesque church built in Aragon, piqued my interest due to the unique stone checkerboard pattern displayed throughout the architecture. Also, being a nature lover, the activities we did in Jaca appealed to me because most of them took place outdoors, giving me an unreasonably high expectation for subsequent mandatory trips. I would like to include a disclaimer that our subsequent excursions were still exciting, even if of a different type; instead of outdoor adventures, we visited important places such as galleries and monuments. Jaca was simply singular in the rustic activities we took part in. In addition to feeling happy outside, I also have an unquenchable adoration for the mountains; so the Pyrenees were all I wanted after my first month in Spain, when I started craving the fresh mountain air as a respite from the daily 35 degrees Celsius of Valencia. To satisfy this desire, the students embarked on a two-hour hike through a segment of the Camino de Santiago. This excursion was the epitome of relaxation; no tour guide herded us like cattle – as often happens when we are led through one museum or another – and we were allowed to take photos of each other and the views whenever we wanted. Even those who weren't so keen on nature seemed to enjoy, at the very least, the social aspect of this trek through the mountains. The next day featured an activity that remains the most exciting of all the mandatory field trips; even after four semesters abroad, the whitewater rafting event is still at the top of the charts. This highly interactive and exciting journey wound through a ravine where high peaks rose into the sky above us. Each raft contained six people and an instructor,the latter were all fun-loving pranksters who played tricks on us, such as pushing or dragging students into freezing water. Overall, Jaca has been a huge success among both staff and students. Both events provided extraordinary views, especially the first, as the part of the Camino de Santiago we walked looked down on both France and Spain. We were lucky to have such beautiful weather for the duration of our trip; aside from the occasional gust of wind, the sun shone down on us, rewarding our dedication to nature. While Jaca proved to be the most interactive expedition, I was not at all disappointed with subsequent planned trips. Each different location gave me a new perspective on Spain and a myriad of knowledge. I have had the pleasure of traveling twice to Madrid and Barcelona. My last trip to Madrid was more satisfying the second time around; there was no learning curve and therefore I could use my free time more productively. I had enjoyed the obligatory visit to the National Archaeological Museum so much on my first trip to Madrid that I returned of my own accord on my last visit. The program was respectful of freshmen like me and adjusted the summer trip schedule to both Madrid and Barcelona so that we wouldn't be bored with the information we had already acquired in those cities. We went instead to the controversial Valle de los Caídos, or the Valley of the Fallen, which was both surprising and disturbing. The disturbing aspect came from the idea that this monument was more of a shrine dedicated to Francisco Franco and José Antonio than a commemoration of those who lost their lives during the Spanish Civil War. Almost everyone I casually asked for their opinion of the basilica simply stated that they thought it was “pretty nice.” Needless to say, when they discovered that thousands of political prisoners had died during the construction of this site, their tone changed completely. Luckily, our professor was in our group to give an overview of the Valley of the Fallen after we walked inside, which cleared up many students' confusion regarding this structure. The learning curve was also eased for the Barcelona trip, however, the large number of students on the summer trip made the excursion seem more hectic and less relaxing compared to the more manageable number of students who went on the semester trip spring in Barcelona. In the spring, events included the Dalí Museum in Figueras, a tour of the Sagrada Familia, the most spectacular creation I ever laid eyes on, and various other Antoni Gaudí achievements, such as Park Güell. The Dalí Museum was interesting from the point of view that Salvador Dalí himself created the gallery to represent a great deal of symbolism, wordplay and optical illusions. Luckily, after the guided tour, we were given some free time for lunch, during which I was able to happily explore the entire museum once again. During the summer visit to Barcelona, ​​instead of visiting the Dalí Museum, the students were given an extremely exciting tour of the Castillo de Sant Ferran, an ancient fort. At first, the idea of ​​visiting a citadel seemed trivial and useless. However, as soon as we were given protective helmets and miner's lights, our attitude calmed down. Our tour guides helped us into rustic-looking jeeps and then took us around the vast, dried-up ditch in a quick, casual, and consequently exhilarating ride. While we might have needed helmets for the Jeep trip, their purpose was made clear when we enteredin the pitch-black subversive tunnels that have been used during various sieges over the centuries. Additionally, we used our lights to navigate underground spring water paths in boats that barely fit through the corridors. In this way, that day's activity was certainly a worthy substitute for the Dalí Museum. These trips around Spain were informative and fun, but as I mentioned previously, it was a relief to unpack once again in Valencia after a busy week of travel. That said, Valencia was also not synonymous with relaxation. During my spring semester in Valencia, I was lucky enough to attend the largest and most unusual festival I have ever attended: Las Fallas. Aside from the huge amount of partying that Las Fallas is known for, I found the experience culturally enlightening. This two-week event introduced me to the first Valencian language I had heard. Until that moment I had only seen Valencian written on the city's street signs or in newspapers, but never spoken about it. The evening Las Fallas began, I was confused and a little irritated at my inability to understand the mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberá Nolla, as she addressed the city; I thought my understanding of Spanish had improved after almost seven months of living in Spain! I quickly realized that she spoke Valencian and turned to my native Valencian friend for the translation. Ironically, he himself could barely understand his garbled words; apparently the mayor had overdone the libations before the ceremony. Fortunately, the subsequent encounters I had with the Valencian language were much more enunciated and I was able to understand the jargon well, although I was never able to understand what the falleros and falleras were saying. One of the most impressive aspects of Las Fallas, besides the Spaniards' ability to party at seemingly all hours of the day and night, were the actual fallas, or elaborately painted satirical—and often explicit—statue constructions. I am amazed and horrified that they were set on fire at the end of Las Fallas, but I certainly appreciate being able to see them in all their glory before La Cremà, the last day of Las Fallas. Sure, watching the fireworks set the Fallas ablaze was fascinating in itself, but it was the prospect of wasting time, talent and materials that didn't appeal to me. Although the Valencian catwalks during the Fallas were often too crowded for my liking, with so many people around the city, I was able to strengthen my cultural bonds and understanding by mixing and sparking friendships with people from various nations, such as Slovenia, the Netherlands and Spain, of course. Even though I barely slept a wink in those two weeks, lost some of my hearing due to the gunpowder mascletas and ran for my life from the crazy firecracker borrachos, not only were the Fallas worth it for the fun, but also the high intensity emotion during the celebration made me feel more part of Valencia than before. I was so disillusioned with my sense of belonging to the Valencians that I found myself muttering angrily about the tourists flooding the streets, even though, as a foreign student, I am a tourist in Spain too. When the sweet city of Valencia was not crowded with visitors during Las Fallas, my favorite hangout spot was La Plaza de la Virgen. Even without knowing the history behind the cathedral, basilica and government buildings surrounding this space, the lively plaza is so aesthetically pleasing that one is almost compelled to stop, have a cold drink or a small bocadillo, or simply sit on the windowsill of the fountain. and admire the views. Another.