Madrid, SPAIN — It’s almost over. After three months and 13 days, my study abroad experience is beginning to wind down. I’ve been reflecting on the whole thing, and I feel completely accustomed to Spanish culture. I get homesick, but that’s expected. I don’t feel very different than when I arrived, but the real shock will come when I return to the States next month.

Here’s my attempt at luring you into enrolling in study abroad programs, secretly disguised as a mere recap of events. Without further ado, a semester in Spain.

Festivals of Spain — Pyromania, the KKK and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. In the east coast town of Valencia, the year is spent gearing up for the springtime festival Las Fallas. Colorful papier-mache statues (fallas) are built depicting scenes from the news, politics or just for fun. Some are 100 ft. tall and are sponsored by local businesses, while smaller projects are built by individual communities.

On March 19, the city looks pillaged as the fallas are ignited in a blazing inferno. Only the winner of the yearly contest escapes the flames and is placed in the Fallas Museum. I’m still deaf from the fireworks, more than I’ve seen in my life. If you wind up there, bring earplugs. You won’t be sorry.

For Holy Week, Catholic brotherhoods dress up in gowns that resemble the Klan and reenact Easter Bible stories. Marching bands play solemn music, and the formally-dressed crowd watches captivated. The spectacle is rooted in centuries of tradition.

Every August in the village of Bunol, the town stops dead for a huge tomato fight. How cool is that? I won’t be around for La Tomatina this summer, but I may return for the festivities. Until then, maybe I can stage an ISU-style tomato fight on central campus. Anyone up for it?

Spanish hospitality — People who live close to the coast in Spain are the kindest in the country. In the U.S., the Midwesterners are supposed to be more down to earth, but here, it’s the opposite.

One night, my travel buddies and I went out to dinner at a small restaurant on a quiet side street in the southern city of Sevilla. It was run by a friendly woman named Chari who tended bar, cooked, cleaned and did everything else single-handedly. She fed us gazpacho (a cold vegetable soup), Spanish-style chicken dinner, fried potatoes, beer, sangria and ice cream, all for only 1,000 pesetas ($7.50).

Chari lovingly called us her “hijos” (children) and spent time with us chatting, laughing and telling jokes. After dinner she insisted on giving us free shots of Irish Cream. We signed her guest book, which was filled with hundreds of entries from traveling students from all over the world, and she promised she would send us post cards within a year.

Spanish hospitality at its finest.

Food — Where’s the ham? As much as I complain about Spanish food, I’ve actually begun to take a liking to it. Everything is drenched in olive oil, garnished in seafood, and ham may as well be one of the food groups. Overall, Spanish food is very rich.

Paella, tapas, tortilla Espa¤ola, bocadillos — there is a whole spectrum of cuisine to sample.

I’ll never forget sitting in Rodilla with my visiting vegetarian friend Blair, picking through her Mediterranean salad sandwich wondering about its ingredients. “Is this meat?” she would ask, holding a mysterious piece of food she picked out of the sandwich. “I think it’s a mushroom,” I’d say after she forced me to taste it. Don’t tell anyone, but I saw the list of ingredients later, and sure enough, that sandwich has meat in it. So much for being a vegetarian in Spain.

Random people I’ve met — Living in a foreign country provides perfect opportunities to meet some interesting people. In fact, I’ve learned more about people just by traveling from place to place than I’ve ever learned in any class.

On a bus to Barcelona, I met a Canadian girl who had spent five months traveling through Europe by herself.

She just went wherever trains and buses would take her. We chatted the entire time of the 6-hour trip to Barcelona, and she taught me some things about backpacking — just a few tips here and there. I’m sure those tips will be helpful when I embark on my three-week backpacking adventure after the semester.

And then of course there’s the infamous Carlos and company — Spaniards I spent the night with homeless at a park in Granada. We slept on cardboard boxes and plastic wrap, huddling together for warmth. Despite those hindrances, we found the humor in it and allowed ourselves to have a good time.

But now it’s all coming to an end. Soon I will return to the land where it is acceptable to eat an orange using entirely your hands rather than a knife and fork. A place where Oreo cookies abound and cars actually stop for pedestrians. I’m ready.

Not so fast. I haven’t told you why you should study abroad (not that I’m biased or anything, but you should study in Spain; it’s well worth it). Studying abroad, you learn to appreciate your own culture.

By being away from everything familiar, you start to notice things you’ve never noticed before. At the same time, you learn to understand and enjoy that which is different — a culture completely different from your own. It brings a great sense of personal satisfaction.

What have I learned? To put it simply, I’ve learned what it’s like to live on the other side. Now I know what it’s like to get through nearly an entire day without speaking a word of English.

To stay out on a Saturday night past 7 a.m. and be normal. To relax at a sidewalk cafe enjoying a glass of fine wine. To watch thousands of screaming Real Madrid fans cheer their soccer team on in a noisy stadium. To get through a night with only your backpack, some good company and no place to stay.

Studying abroad, you learn to survive. I survived. And now I can say I’m coming home. Hasta luego.

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Conor Bezane is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Chicago. Viva Espana!