Wow and just like that six weeks of study abroad are over. I can say that I am so glad to be done with classes, but I will miss so but I will miss the 5 hour long tapa tours, the weekend adventures, and all the wonderful people I meet on my trip.
When I arrived in Salamanca, I liked it but didn’t fall in love with it. Salamanca is small and more personal than big cities like Madrid, but still nothing stood out to me. Though I loved the plaza in the middle of the city. The square always had lots of people (minus siesta time) and I spent so much time there eating gelato. It was beautiful both in the day time and at night and I spent as much time as I could with friends in the plaza.
I didn’t realize how much Salamanca had grown on me until I arrived in Madrid today and I swiped the menu down on my phone and it said “Right now, it would take you about 2 hours, 22 minutes to drive home.” Home- that was what Salamanca was to me for the past six weeks.
I realized that Salamanca had slowly grown on me. My friends and I discovered the secrets of Salamanca as we adventured down to the river and found parks to hang out in and enjoy a nice stroll. Quickly enough I started noticing that I loved Salamanca. The people there were so sweet and my host family was so wonderful.
It was hard to say goodbye. Salamanca had become my home for the past six weeks. I have never spent that much time anywhere but Fort Worth. It was hard to say bye to my Spanish mom Maria, who is so selfless and did so much for me during my weeks in her home. It was hard to say goodbye to Mar – our wonderful tour guide, that was so much more than a tour guide. She put up with all of our crap and was there both for the good time and the bad times. We all shared so many laughs with Mar.
As I watched the city get smaller and smaller as we drove away, I felt a heavy heart in my chest. I felt like a little bit of me was left behind as I looked out the window.
It was also so hard to say goodbye to my friends as I left for my next adventure in Spain, but the awesome thing about this study abroad is that I will be able to hangout with all these incredible people back at TCU next semester.
I will never forget the memories that we made on this trip. The laughs, the adventures, and everything in between. I can’t wait to be reunited with these girls in August in Fort Worth. And Salamanca, I will be back soon.
Tomorrow, I begin Orientation for the Atlantis Project where I will be shadowing a doctor in Teruel, Spain for three weeks. I can’t wait to learn about the health care in Spain and explore more of this wonderful country!
XOXO,
Kaitlyn Callaghan
Hopping the pond 