I've had a few countdowns going on lately, and I just completed one late last night when I got home from Valencia.

On Friday afternoon after school, 8 of us AFSers caught a bus to Valencia so we could have a weekend on the beach. It was nice to finally get to enjoy the nice weather to its fullest exent. It can be kind of annoying sometimes walking around Madrid when it's 80 degrees outside because walking around the city in nice weather isn't the same as relaxing on the beach in nice weather.

The host family of one of the AFSers, Mackenzie, has a beach house in Valencia, and it was less than a minute walk from the beach. It was really cool to just be able to go 8 of us friends to spend time together alone on a Mediterranean playa.

 International friends+paella valenciana+sangria+sand in between your toes+Mediterranean Sea+sunburn=Love.

And if that's not good enough, here are the 4 main countdowns I'm still working on. As of today, there are:

• 4 days until I go to Barcelona for the weekend
• 11 days left of school. (I actually have a physical countdown for this one. Everyday when I get home from school I tear off a page.)
• 19 days until I leave for Budapest and Prague for a week with my class from school.
• 35 days until the benchmark of being in Spain for 300 days.
• 40 days left in Spain. On day 40 I leave to Portugal for 3 weeks.
• 63 days until I return to the United States.

As the year is coming to a close, it's bittersweet. But I'm ready for what I still get to do, and I think I'll be ready to return when the time comes.