Paige on Exchange: March 2011

I’m back! Sorry that it’s been over a month. I promise I haven’t died or fallen off the Iberian Peninsula or anything. Rather, I’ve been busy enjoying what is shaping up to be my best month in Spain so far.

Let me rewind to the last week in February, where I spent a whopping 72 hours back in the United States to interview for Clemson University’s National Scholars program. I was chosen in January as one of 32 finalists, and lucky for me, Clemson paid the airfare, hotel, and food for all finalists to attend. It was, for lack of a better word, grueling. I was extremely jet lagged (not to mention a bit reverse culture shocked), and had to make it through a group interview, and individual interview (where they asked everything from what I saw as the second biggest problem in Spain to what correlations exist between the problems in Wisconsin and Egypt), a writing prompt, a group seminar (consisting of 8 of us sorting out of pseudo world crisis), etc, etc. I left Clemson feeling grateful for the opportunity to see the campus, but highly doubtful that I had stood out in any way amongst the other 31 just as qualified candidates. But there was little time to dwell on that, because on Sunday it was back to Spain!

Upon my return to Spain, I had just one day of rest before departing for the 10 day Rotary trip through Spain and Portugal. Mika came to Valencia the day before, and on Wednesday I boarded a bus to Madrid with her, Stephanie, and a new exchange student from Australia- Marissa. Arriving at the Madrid bus station and seeing all the exchange students was wonderful. Most of them I hadn’t seen since the orientation in Madrid in September, and we spent hours recounting our past six months in Spain to each other.

I would love to give a day-by-day description of the trip, but that would be extremely lengthy and probably boring. Suffice it to say that this trip was probably the best 10 days of my entire life. We visited Granada, Seville, Huelva, Cordoba, Lisbon, Costa de Caprica, Merida, and Salamanca. I saw more incredible things than I could ever possibly list, but the things that made the trip so incredible weren’t the famous landmarks, but the people I was with. There’s something about being an exchange student that puts friendship on hyper speed, and within 2 days I felt as though our group had been lifelong friends. Here’s a shout out to Mika, Maddy, Marissa, Cristina, and Molly. Love you girls!

I have so many wonderful memories from that trip, from an insane carriage ride through Seville to our conversations with crazy chaperone Cesar to a McDonald’s drive-through to Cristina speaking Portuguese with an Italian/Andalucian accent. I loved the trip more than you could ever imagine, and if I had it my way, I would have stayed forever.

Our last night of the trip, in Salamanca, was bittersweet, but it was made a bit (or maybe more than a bit…) better when I opened an email saying that I was named as one of Clemson’s National Scholars. Full tution, room board, books, personal expenses, and a 6-week Europe trip next summer. We went out to celebrate my scholarship, best friends, and a Rotary exchange year to remember.

Enjoy the pictures!

The famous Moorish palace, the Alhambra, in Granda

The Mezquita in Cordoba. It was originally an Arab mosque, and the only reason it wasn't destroyed during the Inquisition is because the Christians had built a Cathedral right in the middle of it.