This post features student writing.

After a tearful goodbye to our Spanish families, we took a four-hour bus ride to our final destination, San José. When we arrived, we headed straight for the beach and spent a few hours swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the sand. Then we returned to the hotel for a pizza dinner and to wait for the sun to set so we could begin the day’s final activity, star gazing. We took a 30-minute walk to another beach, Playa de Genoveses, where we met a local astronomer who showed us constellations, planets, and stars, all while explaining their importance in Spanish. We then returned to the hotel to rest up for the activities the next day.

This morning we took an early kayak ride on the beach. First we went out for breakfast and had some toast and juice and then we walked to the store right next door to get into our life vests  and headed down to the beach! We got into our groups and started kayaking! The water was so clear that you could see the bottom even if you were 15 feet above it. After about an hour of kayaking and going through alcoves we arrived at a little dip in the rocks and docked; then we began snorkeling! There were small jellyfish in the water so we had to stay clear of them but besides that you could see so many fish, sea urchins, and sea grass. We kayaked for 30 minutes back to shore, docked, and went on with our day in San Jose

After a thrilling kayaking excursion, the group headed back to the hotel to quickly get ready for a delicious paella lunch. After lunch, we made a quick stop at our favorite ice-cream shop, Heladeria Vittoria!

Then it was siesta time! Everyone had the opportunity to regenerate before we took walks around town and played at the beach. The afternoon was laid back and very fun. Before dinner, we wrote thank you postcards to our host families and then took a nice walk. Dinner was full of laughs and a great way to end the night!

We’ve enjoyed quite an adventure in Spain and grown a lot. We are very grateful for our experience and for our time together. We can’t wait to use these lessons in other aspects of our lives in the future!

— Shayni, Kennedy, y Emma