This past week may have been one of the best, happiest, but most difficult weeks of my year abroad. From Monday to Friday, I traveled with my class to Málaga, Spain and Gibraltar, a British colony that both Spain and Britain have been fighting over for years. The week was filled with class bonding time, learning about new cultures, impromptu trips to cafes and restaurants, and individual growth. Being the sports class, I participated in many types of outdoor activities that were both challenging and rewarding.
We left for Malaga on Monday at the airport, I was so excited to go but also nervous. The nerves were brought on because it felt like I was traveling to a new country all over again, but this time without friends and family to drive me to the airport and say goodbye to. I realized soon, that I was in fact not alone on the trip, as my class shared the same excitement and nerves. The flight was short, only 3.5 hours and then we arrived in nice, warm Spain. We stayed at a nice hostel, where I roomed with three other friends and had a balcony looking over the street we were on. We arrived quite late, but some of us in the class took the opportunity to explore the city we were in (we were staying just outside of actual Malaga). We found the beach and this crazy flag sculpture right in front of the beach.
On Tuesday, my class went mountain biking. When I say mountain biking, I truly mean biking to the top of a huge mountain. When our guide first pointed out the mountain in the distance, I thought they were kidding. Biking that day had to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. At the halfway point, we had the option to stop and rest in the town or bike to the very top of the mountain. I chose the latter. As crazy as it was, I wanted to finish the tour. I was so exhausted physically and was doubting mentally that I could do it. Although the biking also included a lot of walking for me, I made it to the top! It was so worth it after, being able to coast down the mountain, with the wind cooling me off and taking in the sight of the beach and small villages along the other mountains. The bike tour took almost a whole day, but after we stopped for a late lunch in this cute town.
Wednesday was also filled with outdoor sports activities. My class was divided into two groups. My group, went hiking first. We hiked up a mountain (there’s a ton of them in Spain) where you could see the valley below along with all the fields. The sight was breathtaking. We had two guides that day hiking, they were both really funny and informative. They would give information about the valley, brought along their adorable hiking dog, and kept pointing out plants telling us which ones make the best toilet paper if a problem arose… The hike took around two hours, and after my group switched to rock climbing on a side of a different mountain. This was the first time I’ve actually rock climbed on a mountain, the times before it was always on a rock wall in the gym. The rocks/ side of the mountain looked menacing but I volunteered to go soon after seeing it wasn’t so bad. I then became the first person in my class to make it to the top! It was terrifying, because I’m afraid of heights but I just kept telling myself “don’tlookdown don’tlookdown”. When I finally looked down, I was at the top and I started panicking – ironically that meant it took more time to go down the side of the mountain than climb up because I was panicking so much. After the rock climbing adventures, we rejoined the other half of my class and we went kayaking in a lake! I’ve been kayaking only one other time in my life, so it was definitely something of an adventure. It was fun to be on the water, with mountains and clear sky surrounding us, but neither I nor my kayak partner could get the steering down so we ended up zigzagging across the lake. Nevertheless it was still a nice way to end the sports adventures in Spain. After our exhausting day out in the Spanish mountains, some of my class still decided to travel to the center of Malaga and eat dinner there. I was able to try the famous Spanish Paella, and spend time with my class. I was exhausted by the time I returned, but I thought it was important to see and do as much in Spain as possible because this might be my only time there.
Thursday we took a break from sports and visited the British overseas territory called Gibraltar. Spain and Britain have sort of been fighting over this area for years, because Spain claims Britain tried to steal it from them but the people there are mostly happy being part of Britain. We were able to meet with a class from “Gibraltar College” who was studying tourism and travel. They were a very friendly, and outgoing class. It was interesting to talk to them, and see their opinions about Gibraltar and Spain. The class took us on a tour of Gibraltar. We took a cable car up the side of the mountain to get to a cave. The cave is a popular place for concerts in Gibraltar, and the ancient Greeks also believed that there was a part of the cave that was the entrance to the Underworld. On our tour, we also met the famous Gibraltar Apes. No one is sure how the apes got to Gibraltar, but they roam freely and try to steal food from unsuspecting tourists. The apes aren’t aggressive but if you try to irritate, they will bite you (thankfully no one found that out first-hand)! Another interesting thing about Gibraltar is that although most speak British English as their main language, there is quite a lot of Spanish used. They’ll just throw in Spanish words or phrases and then go right back to speaking English. It was actually pretty neat to hear though.
After our trip through Gibraltar (and back through Spanish customs that took 1+ hours), my friends and I decided to do some last minute shopping. We looked for souvenirs and clothing, as everything in Spain is cheaper than Denmark. After, we ate dinner and spent time with the class as a whole.. Because our flight was a very early flight, we had to meet at the lobby of our hostel at 4 a.m. Some of us decided to just not sleep and instead hang out in the lobby. Although I was exhausted and completely dependent on coffee to keep me moving, it was a nice way to end the trip.
As I said, this trip to Spain was fun, exciting, but also difficult. I was very exhausted physically, but learned the importance of never giving up. If I had given up, I wouldn’t have been able to see the breathtaking view from the top of the mountain when biking. I wouldn’t have been able to reach the top of the rock climbing and surprise both myself and my classmates with my climbing skills. I wouldn’t have been able to bond with my class over the struggles but also the fun adventures. By not giving up, I was able to live a whole life in a week and had fun and adventures. Spain has helped me grow as a person, so although it is not my host country, I am still thankful for the chance to have been able to travel there. I am also thankful for my class, who helped me and encouraged me to keep climbing and not give up. I realized what great friends they all are and how I’m going to miss them bunches. The biggest thing I realized when leaving Spain is that I only have three months left of my exchange, so I better make it a good three months.
We left for Malaga on Monday at the airport, I was so excited to go but also nervous. The nerves were brought on because it felt like I was traveling to a new country all over again, but this time without friends and family to drive me to the airport and say goodbye to. I realized soon, that I was in fact not alone on the trip, as my class shared the same excitement and nerves. The flight was short, only 3.5 hours and then we arrived in nice, warm Spain. We stayed at a nice hostel, where I roomed with three other friends and had a balcony looking over the street we were on. We arrived quite late, but some of us in the class took the opportunity to explore the city we were in (we were staying just outside of actual Malaga). We found the beach and this crazy flag sculpture right in front of the beach.
On Tuesday, my class went mountain biking. When I say mountain biking, I truly mean biking to the top of a huge mountain. When our guide first pointed out the mountain in the distance, I thought they were kidding. Biking that day had to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. At the halfway point, we had the option to stop and rest in the town or bike to the very top of the mountain. I chose the latter. As crazy as it was, I wanted to finish the tour. I was so exhausted physically and was doubting mentally that I could do it. Although the biking also included a lot of walking for me, I made it to the top! It was so worth it after, being able to coast down the mountain, with the wind cooling me off and taking in the sight of the beach and small villages along the other mountains. The bike tour took almost a whole day, but after we stopped for a late lunch in this cute town.
Wednesday was also filled with outdoor sports activities. My class was divided into two groups. My group, went hiking first. We hiked up a mountain (there’s a ton of them in Spain) where you could see the valley below along with all the fields. The sight was breathtaking. We had two guides that day hiking, they were both really funny and informative. They would give information about the valley, brought along their adorable hiking dog, and kept pointing out plants telling us which ones make the best toilet paper if a problem arose… The hike took around two hours, and after my group switched to rock climbing on a side of a different mountain. This was the first time I’ve actually rock climbed on a mountain, the times before it was always on a rock wall in the gym. The rocks/ side of the mountain looked menacing but I volunteered to go soon after seeing it wasn’t so bad. I then became the first person in my class to make it to the top! It was terrifying, because I’m afraid of heights but I just kept telling myself “don’tlookdown don’tlookdown”. When I finally looked down, I was at the top and I started panicking – ironically that meant it took more time to go down the side of the mountain than climb up because I was panicking so much. After the rock climbing adventures, we rejoined the other half of my class and we went kayaking in a lake! I’ve been kayaking only one other time in my life, so it was definitely something of an adventure. It was fun to be on the water, with mountains and clear sky surrounding us, but neither I nor my kayak partner could get the steering down so we ended up zigzagging across the lake. Nevertheless it was still a nice way to end the sports adventures in Spain. After our exhausting day out in the Spanish mountains, some of my class still decided to travel to the center of Malaga and eat dinner there. I was able to try the famous Spanish Paella, and spend time with my class. I was exhausted by the time I returned, but I thought it was important to see and do as much in Spain as possible because this might be my only time there.
Thursday we took a break from sports and visited the British overseas territory called Gibraltar. Spain and Britain have sort of been fighting over this area for years, because Spain claims Britain tried to steal it from them but the people there are mostly happy being part of Britain. We were able to meet with a class from “Gibraltar College” who was studying tourism and travel. They were a very friendly, and outgoing class. It was interesting to talk to them, and see their opinions about Gibraltar and Spain. The class took us on a tour of Gibraltar. We took a cable car up the side of the mountain to get to a cave. The cave is a popular place for concerts in Gibraltar, and the ancient Greeks also believed that there was a part of the cave that was the entrance to the Underworld. On our tour, we also met the famous Gibraltar Apes. No one is sure how the apes got to Gibraltar, but they roam freely and try to steal food from unsuspecting tourists. The apes aren’t aggressive but if you try to irritate, they will bite you (thankfully no one found that out first-hand)! Another interesting thing about Gibraltar is that although most speak British English as their main language, there is quite a lot of Spanish used. They’ll just throw in Spanish words or phrases and then go right back to speaking English. It was actually pretty neat to hear though.
After our trip through Gibraltar (and back through Spanish customs that took 1+ hours), my friends and I decided to do some last minute shopping. We looked for souvenirs and clothing, as everything in Spain is cheaper than Denmark. After, we ate dinner and spent time with the class as a whole.. Because our flight was a very early flight, we had to meet at the lobby of our hostel at 4 a.m. Some of us decided to just not sleep and instead hang out in the lobby. Although I was exhausted and completely dependent on coffee to keep me moving, it was a nice way to end the trip.
As I said, this trip to Spain was fun, exciting, but also difficult. I was very exhausted physically, but learned the importance of never giving up. If I had given up, I wouldn’t have been able to see the breathtaking view from the top of the mountain when biking. I wouldn’t have been able to reach the top of the rock climbing and surprise both myself and my classmates with my climbing skills. I wouldn’t have been able to bond with my class over the struggles but also the fun adventures. By not giving up, I was able to live a whole life in a week and had fun and adventures. Spain has helped me grow as a person, so although it is not my host country, I am still thankful for the chance to have been able to travel there. I am also thankful for my class, who helped me and encouraged me to keep climbing and not give up. I realized what great friends they all are and how I’m going to miss them bunches. The biggest thing I realized when leaving Spain is that I only have three months left of my exchange, so I better make it a good three months.