By Evan, Tufts 1+4 Participant
Six months can feel like a long time. Since I last saw my host family, I had made an entirely new group of friends at Tufts, joined the sailing team, and switched my major at least four times. But as soon as I saw my host sister and parents in the airport in Madrid, I knew that despite our time apart, we would have no trouble jumping right back into our relationship. For over a week, I played, laughed, and chatted with my host siblings, parents, and grandfather, sharing stories from our time apart and reminiscing on our year together. I visited the school where I had been placed last year, having only told a handful of people that I would be coming. Just like with my host family, I knew from my short conversations with the teachers and students that I would always have a home both at the school and in Madrid whenever I wanted to visit. When I had to return to the US at the end of my trip, it was hard to leave my family and friends again after having only been there for nine days, but I stand reassured that no matter how long we go until we see each other next, we’ll always be able to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company.