For the history general education goal, I took HIST 100 while studying abroad in Valencia, Spain. Taking this class abroad was an awesome experience because we really got to connect with the history we were studying since we visited places we talked about in class. We visited the site where Queen Isabella of Spain gave Christopher Columbus her support to sail to across the Atlantic. We visited Roman ruins and Islamic mosques, which gave us perspective about how Western civilization has evolved and interacted with other civilizations throughout history. I must admit I did not know much about the history of Spain before travelling there, and I learned so much through this course. I gained a real appreciation for all of the forces and cultures that had influenced Spain to become what it is today. I have attached a paper about a museum that I visited that is dedicated to a fascinating local festival, Las Fallas, during which the people of Valencia build huge paper-mache sculptures that are later set on fire (note, the paper is in Spanish).