On the Beaches of Spain

by Danielle Miller (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown Spain

Last summer I took my junior journey, or study abroad trip, to Spain for two months to study Spanish. For the first two weeks I would be with classmates I knew from school at the Spanish school we were all attending there, but for the other 6 weeks I would be on my own at the school and in a country I had never been to before. I have been to Europe before a few times but never by myself, so this was going to test me as an individual. Naturally I am an out going person but this was still scary to me. Lucky for me the common language that everyone, from different countries, spoke my age was English so there wasn’t much of a language barrier with most people I wanted to talk to. Also lucky for me was the fact I was staying in an apartment that was only a 5 minute walk from the heart of the party scene and clubs in Alicante, Spain. So almost every night I would eat dinner, get ready to go out for the night, and walk out to the clubs to go meet new friends! That’s one of the best things about Spain, you could not know anyone but if you walk up and strike up a conversation, people will welcome you with open arms and before you know it, you have become life-long friends that you keep in contact with even years after the trip. Also hot tip, if you have blonde hair and smile, you become an instant boy or girl magnet! I had so many romances, friendships, and heartbreaks over those two months that I could probably write a book. I will, though, tell you about one that is close to my heart. The day after my classmates left, it was my first night by myself going out and I was very nervous. I remembered that this one club/bar would always have a free salsa and bachata dancing lesson that started at 10:30. So I quickly got ready, put on a cute outfit, and headed over. Everyone paired up in the beginning but every time the song changed or the instructors stopped to talk the girls would switch so that everyone got a turn with a good or bad dancer. My third switch I was paired up with a handsome guy who was one of the best dancers in the class, so i felt very lucky. We started dancing and it came so easily to dance with each other you would guessed we had known each other our whole lives. We both picked up on this strange but interesting connection. So after the class he asks me to walk with him on the beach, which was about a 10 minute walk from the club/bar we had been dancing at. I happily agreed and we ended talking late into the morning because time did not seem to exist when we were together. We both marveled and gawked at the things we had in common and how this seemed like a fated encounter. Eventually we had to part ways around 4:30 in the morning because I had Spanish class the next day but we agreed to meet again the next night. This continued for several weeks where we became soulmates and best friends. He even had his birthday party on the same spot we had talked on the beach and invited me for a special dinner after. But some things are not meant to be, Spain was wonderful but I had to go back home because my 8 weeks were up. We decided to be friends and to keep in touch, but to be nothing more. I was heartbroken but I knew it was the right thing. Even though I’ll visit Spain again and it won’t be the same, I’ll never forget the way I fell in love on the beaches of Spain.