A trip to Valencia and my sick week

This past week was rough. But before I get to that, I'll start with last weekend--my trip to Valencia.

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain, about 4 hours from Madrid by bus. It's a beautiful city, right up the Mediterranean coast from Barcelona, and I think all 48 of us that went had a great time. We stayed in a cute little four star hotel a short walk away from lots of shops and restaurants and the hustle and bustle.

On Saturday, our program took us to the aquarium--the biggest in Europe, I think?--which was SO BEAUTIFUL! It was a lot of fun to walk around and look at not only the animals but also the really cool architecture in the area. I took a lot of pictures that I'll post as soon as I find my USB cable...

We stopped briefly at the science museum, which was also really interesting (highlights were the hatching chicks and the female body exhibit) before an enormous lunch of paella Valenciana at a restaurant across town. The food was delicious, and I left completely stuffed. A few of us walked around after lunch to digest, and after a short nap, I got ready for a night out dancing! It was a great day, my best in Spain at that point.

On Sunday, everyone went to the beach. The water was perfect, very refreshing before a 4 hour bus ride back to Madrid. Only when we returned did things start to go downhill. In preparation for my first day of classes on Monday, I ate dinner and went to bed early, only to wake up several times during the night vomiting and feverish. It was a horrible night, and I was still really sick the next morning and unable to go to classes. My RA called a doctor, who came to our apartment and told me I had gastroenteritis, which is basically a stomach bug. I stayed in bed all day and slept as much as I could, and luckily was able to go to school on Tuesday. I wasn't able to eat much all week and only started feeling better on Friday. I was SO HOMESICK while I wasn't feeling well! It's really hard being sick in a new country, and all I could think about was laying in my bed at home. It was a horrible week, but things started to turn around once I started feeling like myself again.

I'm adjusting day by day. The thought of being here until mid December still scares me, but I'm learning to like it here. In a little time, I'm sure I'll dread the thought of leaving. I've already learned so much about myself, more than I ever thought I would in just two weeks, so I know that 4 months will be completely worthwhile. I'm anticipating more bad days to come (of course there will be bad days scattered amongst the good, it's normal) but I'm looking forward to all of the amazing things I will do, see, and learn in the time that lies ahead.

I miss you and love you all! I hope everyone is well, wherever you may be. Please email me to let me know how you are doing!

Much love,

Lauren