During my time here in Granada, I've made some lifelong friends (isn't it amazing how sometimes you can already tell, even after knowing people for only a few months?). One of these great friends is Alec Rigik, a sophomore at Illinois State University.
An enthusiastic, hilarious, kind-hearted goofball, Alec is the type of person to be ready for any adventure or approach any person on the street with a smile on his face. I saw this brilliant and friendly personality when we took an overnight trip to the sea town of Malaga, Spain, a few weeks ago with some other CEA program friends. Sun deprived and needing an afternoon to relax, we all spend the afternoon on the beach, enjoying the sun (but not the sunburns the next day), the icy water of the Mediterranean on our toes, some tasty burgers, and each other's company.
Alec, of course, being the wonderful human he is, almost immediately joined a group of volleyball players a short distance away and struck up a conversation with this group of total strangers. While this is unsurprising for his character, I had no idea this experience stuck out to him so much until I asked him about his favorite story abroad so far.
Darby Hennessey is the Spring 2016 CEA MOJO Blogger in Granada, Spain. She is currently a junior at the University of Mississippi