Arrival to Your Study Abroad Program

It’s finally here. The long awaited academic year abroad in Seville, Spain. It’s strange, because even though I’ve been preparing for this trip for months, I find it hard to register that it is finally happening. So far, the journey from my home town in the U.S. to Seville has been...difficult. Our layover in Madrid was originally supposed to be 6 hours, but it eventually stretched into 12 hours when our flight to Seville unexpectedly cancelled. Though this may seem like a travel nightmare, it is important to take advantages of incidents like these. How? 12 long hours stuck in an airport is the perfect opportunity to get to know the other program participants. By the end of these long hours together, everyone is a lot closer to one another from first arriving to Madrid. This experience has made me realize that situations are what you make of it. And this situation was handled well by all of CIEE’s participants in the Spain extended study abroad program. Remember to always look towards the bright side when unexpected situations cross your path!