Week 9 in Spain

Well, this week started off great, and ended with some devastating news. We were enjoying a nice week in Barcelona going between the beach and seeing the sights including some amazing art by Gaudi. On Thursday morning, we woke up to the news that we had to return to the US by next Tuesday at the latest. I felt like I was in shock. I never thought that the program I had been planning and waiting for for 3 years would be cut short by almost a half. We decided to go watch the sunrise at the beach since we were up so early and we sat there just trying to process this abrupt ending to one of the best experiences of our lives. I was very sad the next few days, especially when I thought about leaving my host family so early. I tried to enjoy my last few days in Barcelona, but these days were filled with the stress of finding flights back to the US, and threats of getting stuck somewhere due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in Spain. When I finally got back to Bonn on Sunday, I enjoyed a lovely final day with my host family. I quickly packed all of my things and spent the day walking along the Rhein river, having my last German beer and playing games with my host siblings. We left on Monday and returned back to our homes for 2 weeks of quarantine.