I have been in Alicante Spain for about two months now, slowly adapting to life here. Every day looks different when studying abroad, and I usually have no idea what the next day holds. Coming abroad brings a lot of unfamiliarity, so it helped me to get into a sort of routine.

My routine here looks very different than it does at Mizzou, especially living with a host family. Every day, my host mom makes me a breakfast similar to this picture. This includes bread with jamón, salami or another protein, juice, and a little sweet pastry or treat.

After breakfast, I head to the University of Alicante, where I usually have one to two classes a day, each lasting about two hours. School here is very different than what I am used to at Mizzou, but I absolutely love it. The walk around campus is gorgeous, with palm trees, cacti and huge sidewalks filled with the 30,000 students who attend the university.

My classmates and I have developed a routine of finding a new caféteria around the city after class. Usually, we get a café and a croissant or a tostada. We have yet to find a place we don’t love. If I don’t go to a café, I’ll usually go home for lunch with my host family. After that, it’s siesta time. Siesta time is heavily encouraged in Spain, and they take it very seriously. Many shops will close for siesta hours, and the city itself feels much calmer.

After a short siesta, I try to go to the beach. Whether it’s with the friends I’ve met here to play some beach volleyball or to take a break and read, it’s one of my favorite parts of my day. I’ve lived in Missouri my entire life, so having a beach less than 30 minutes away is very new to me. I have been trying to take full advantage of it, especially before it gets too cold.

After my beach time, I come home to eat dinner with my host family and relax for bed. It seems like every day I try a new food, and I love it. Although each day looks different, I have learned to get used to this sense of routine and can’t wait to see how the second half of my study abroad goes.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: ALI Abroad: University of Alicante