A place far, far away...

(for CEA's MOJO blog)

At my ripe old age of twenty nineteen (Thanks, Allison), I've visited a surprisingly vast array of places. From the San Francisco to the Grand Canyon to Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory in remote Vermont, every experience has left me with great laughs, fantastic views, new experiences, and in the case of the last example, a full belly.
But taking the prize for favorite destination as well as a duel prize for most exotic would have to be Mallorca, Spain. Mi hermano and I visited the beautiful island three years ago after my mom was able to snag some insanely cheap tickets (thanks mom!), and we had contacts there, a la a prior foreign exchange student.
So what makes this chunk of land floating off of the coast of Spain so different and awesome? Well, how about the fact that it's in Europe, an entirely new continent for me by itself. However, to name specifics that one might relate to more, pretty much everything. What made it memorable was the fact that we in an entirely different country. From the lively seafood that sometimes glared back (eek!) to the lively nightlife that seemed to never end, Mallorca never ceased to be a new experience for me.
Starting our average day at the peak of noon, the warm ocean air would usually beckon us back out to the boat all day. Chasing octopi, snacking on cheeses, and giving our try at windsurfing were just a few of the salt water-infused activities we tried. Later that evening, we would meander back to port and gear up for dinner, an event that is not to be taken lightly in Spain. The real food came out here, namely the super-delicious seafood that Spain prides its diet off of. After a few plates and a few more cervezas or copas de vino, the bars called. Now, I know it's scandalous in America, but a sixteen year old (I was that age) drinking alcohol was quite normal there. This also meant it took some getting used to (We had a month to adjust; I think we did fine ;) )! Finally, our night would wind down hours later when we - sometimes drunkenly - stumbled back home and crawled into our beds, ready to repeat the same thing in a handful of hours. Completely exhausting, yet totally worth it.

Memories come in so many forms and colors, namely pasty white and ginger, as seen above.

Really, five hundred words don't do this trip justice. I would need a few chapters of a book to tell all. But my first true international trip is my most memorable, as it exposed me to other cultures, furthered my self confidence away from my parents, and kick started my interest in Spanish, an interest that has followed me to college and is one of the strongest reasons for me attending the University of Granada this upcoming semester. I can only imagine how much more I'll learn this time around.

Jacob