I’ve spent almost two weeks in Trujillo, Spain, and I’m having a great time here. I live with my host mom right in the center of town. My Spanish has already improved so much by being here, because I am able to practice my Spanish with my host mom and with the locals. Every day I wake up, go to class, eat lunch with my host mom, sit and have tapas with other students, and then end the night by eating dinner with my host mom. Tapas are small snack size portions of food commonly eaten between lunch and dinner. I always enjoy chatting with other students over tapas. There are noticeable cultural differences that I’ve learned. First, It is common here to eat lunch at 3pm and dinner at 9pm. I even have friends who eat with their host families as late as 10pm. This is mostly because the sun doesn’t set until at least 9:30pm. Additionally, breakfast is not considered the most important meal of the day. Eggs are commonly served at lunch and dinner, but are never eaten for breakfast. Second, when you meet someone new, it is polite to kiss them on the cheek, rather than in the United States, where it is common to shake someone’s hand. I’ve also learned about the history of Trujillo. As a class, we completed a scavenger hunt/cultural quest around town (my team won second place!) which gave everyone the opportunity to learn rich historical facts. Trujillo is a fortified town in Spain, originally part of the Roman Empire. There was a short period of time when Muslims ruled this area. There are many cathedrals and convents, similar to Charleston. Fransisco Pizzaro, the conquistador of Peru was born here, and you will find many statues in his honor. All of the locals here are extremely friendly, and patient, with us American students. So far, I am loving my study abroad experience.