Lovin’ La Coruña

Hey all!

So, to continue from where I left off, the first three weeks of my 6-week spring break were spent in America, while the second 3 weeks were spent in Europe.  The past 2 weeks I have travelled to Spain, Greece and Portugal, and this last week I am in England, back at Sussex Uni.  While there is too much to say about each location all in one blog, I am breaking it up into a few blogs so stay tuned!

Anyway, on April 9^th I arrived in La Coruña to visit my friends Kelsey and Nora, who are studying there, and also my friend Amanda, who is studying in Dublin.  Although I was completely jet-lagged, it was so good to see them and soon after reuniting, we went back to our separate houses.  Since Nora and Kelsey are in foreign-language countries, they live with host families.  I went back to stay at Nora’s apartment, while Amanda stayed with Kelsey.  Nora’s family was very nice (I’m sure if you read her blog, she may describe them at times) and so was Kelsey’s host mom.  Seeing how my friends are living this year, whether they are abroad or stateside, gives me great perspective into my own study abroad experience and is one of my favorite things about this year.

There were so many things that we did during the few days in La Coruña.  Included in the activities were walking all over the city, going out to dinner and for Spanish tapas, and going to the university where Nora and Kelsey attend classes.  We also saw many tourist attractions including the torre (tower), the bubble (a bubble-shaped elevator to the top of a mountain), the beach and many of the shopping areas in town.  I particularly enjoyed walking along the Passeo (a biking/running/walking path that runs along the water and is gorgeous on a sunny day).  I also had a traditional home-made Spanish meal at Nora’s apartment every day at 2:00 pm, as these large meals in the early afternoon are an important part of Spanish culture, and are usually followed by siesta. 

While I really enjoyed the time I spent in La Coruña (it is a truly lovely city), i couldn’t help but compare it to my own experience and realize how different the lifestyle there is from what I have become used to in England.  For instance, Nora and Kelsey live more family-centered lives, living off-campus from the university, and their Spanish family members are significantly older than them.  In contrast, I live right on campus with a bunch of freshmen who are 2-3 years younger than me.  Since I live with mostly boys, my flat is a lot louder and definitely has a completely different feel.  For instance, I hear music, playstation and FRIENDS episodes 24/7 in the flat, as well as the sound of a soccer ball being kicked up and down the corridor at various times.  I think that there are pros and cons to each living style, and I definitely enjoy exploring the differences.

At the end of my time in Spain, Amanda went back to Ireland and Nora, Kelsey and I got up at 4 AM one day to get to the airport on-time for our 3 flights of the day.  Next stop: Santorini!  Stay tuned!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 9:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.