Best decision I've made

I always knew that Study Abroad was a must for me. I'm so grateful that my school uses Sol as their Spanish abroad program because I truly believe it is one of the best out there. Whenever we talked to students from other programs it made me feel a little luckier. The program is cheaper than most, so maybe you don't get to travel to Rome for a weekend, but you do get to do so many important cultural activities right there in Spain, like food tasting, flamenco, Arabic baths, horseback riding, bike riding...you even get to go the movies.

My host family was amazing, especially my mom. She was a wonderful cook but really so much more. Helpful, loving, supportive, understanding. I don't know what I would've done without her.

In terms of the social life, it is harder to immerse yourself outside of the group of Americans, but not impossible. Intercambios can help a lot with this. I got lucky because my host brother took my roommate and I out so he showed us popular bars and clubs. If you want to be immersed and really meet/be surrounded by Spaniards, break away from that big group of Americans and go somewhere other than Paddy's and Chupiteria. You won't regret it.