Highlights: Academically I feel like everyone tries to speak English with you in big cities and such, and we always would try to make our Spanish better to try and fool them into speaking Spanish with us. By the time we got to Barcelona (my friend and I went on our own birthday excursion) we were pros at this, and in a restaurant our waiter (after talking to us for the meal) finally asked us what part of Spain we were from!! It was so rewarding to finally get down enough colloquial slang and accent down to fit in enough. I would thank our teachers who only taught us in Spanish, and taught us daily common phrases which helped a lot with social situations. These are things that are nearly impossible to teach in a removed classroom in the states.
There were so many highlights of my trip. Like, you felt like you hit the highlight of it, but then something else great would happen. Also, just being at home and going to school felt like paradise. Málaga literally looks like something from a movie set; it almost hurts your eyes how pretty it is. Everyone is laid back, and the atmosphere is intoxicating: everyone takes a siesta break, everyone is late for everything (on purpose, because it's a cultural presumption), everyone spends ample time outside and I think my favorite thing that I learned there was just slowing down and figuring out that (you can apply this when you come back to the US as well) to "aprovechar todo," or take advantage of everything or carpe diem, if you will. Make the most out of your time- make memories and friends and cultural respect- and don't regret any of it.
Morning: Wake up at 7:30am, roll over to the side of the bed where my homework was laying, do homework in bed from 7:30-7:45. Eat breakfast at 7:45 downstairs with host mom and roommate, and talk about life. Then go upstairs and change quick before heading off to early classes (8 or 8:30am?). The walk to school is beauttttiful; all lined with flowers in full bloom of the most flamboyant colors. The walk takes about 10 minutes. Classes are great and the teachers are excited to be there, and everything in my classes was in Spanish in the mornings.
Afternoon: Come back from classes at around 1:30pm, and eat a gloriously full lunch with your señora, and usually the whole family (including other exchange students if your family is hosting them as well- ours were always from Denmark). After lunch, go take a nap or just chill for an hour or two because everything is closed. My roommate would go for a run at this time, whilst I would usually go for a run after morning class at 10:30am.
Evening: I had night classes 4 nights a week, but I enjoyed them a lot and the hw load is negligible. They were actually interesting classes that I liked a lot and would've gone to just out of interest. At night, however, the social scene does not start until at least 11:30/Midnight (just to go out to eat before your night out) so that was great because I could do night classes without them taking up my whole evenings, as it were. You can take a bus into La Almenada Principal (for like 1.25 euros) and dress up and go out with friends somewhere like Montadito's(!!!!) and get bocadillos and tinto de verano (for 2 euros for a pint!) before going out to one or more of the clubs in town. Or you can just buy some tinto at a grocery store for roughly the same price and take it to the beach for a very inexpensive and fun night with friends. What's better is there is no need for a designated driver because you just take the bus back home, and everything in between is very walkable. The night (a full proper night) usually ends between 5 and 7am more or less (we only accomplished this once or twice). Also in the evenings (before sunset) my roommate and I liked to go hiking and rollerblading and making short films.