Kate McLaughlin '21

Ciao, I’m back in Coruña! Second semester doesn’t start until February, so I am technically still on winter break. January has been full of fiestas and viajes (vacations)!

Birthday!

I turned 21 two days after I returned to Coruña. For dinner, my host mom made my favorite Spanish meal (sunny-side up eggs with ham and potatoes) and we had a chocolate cake. My host family got me a beautiful necklace and a little bag that is perfect for travel-I was so touched by their generosity/thoughtfulness. Then, a bunch of the other Holy Cross kids and I went to O’Sampaio to celebrate.

My host cousin Julián celebrated his 1st birthday on Jan 14! We all went over to his family’s apartment to watch him blow out the candles. (His mom said, “This is probably the only time you’ll attend a Spanish first birthday party!”)

Despedida

Most of the other HC students left Coruña this month and have since returned to campus for second semester. It was so sad to experience so many Coruña “lasts” with them and say goodbye after a such a special few months. (It’s so weird to think that when I return to HC senior year, there’ll be so many more familiar faces on campus!) Pablo, our program director, organized a Despedida (“farewell”) dinner at Maeve’s host mom’s café. Everyone came, including all of the host families!

One of our last times as a group at O’Sampaio

MK and I went to “tomar algo” with some of the ladies from choir

France

My friend Caroline and I spent the last week in the South of France. We decided to not book any hostels/make any plans, so that we could make last minute decisions about where we wanted to go. We flew into Tolouse and spent a day and a half there, and then hopped on a train to Bordeaux. We went to the Tolouse Japanese gardens, the Capitole de Tolouse, a wine museum/tasting, the Museé des Beaux-Arts, and made many stops for coffee, wine, and chocolate crêpes along the way. Here are (just a few) pictures from the trip: