I feel like I've been saying goodbye and constantly thinking about the time to leave for the past month, which is unfortunate because thinking that way makes you stressed about the things you love to do and feel as though you need to do more of them. And one should not be stressed thinking about the things they love to do. Let's see, it's been a while since I last posted, I believe since Morocco. Unfortunately I cannot say that there has been a whole heck of a lot to report since that amazing trip except that May has arrived without warning and April seems like months ago. My last weekend in April I took a quick and exhausting trip to Barcelona to visit my best friend who was coming for a few weeks vacation. Although it was tiring I was glad to see her and even though we didn't have the fortune of having nice weather, just spending almost 30 hours together and talking of all the things we haven't been able to talk about was lovely. It was however quite an adventure and I had to keep telling myself it was all part of the "experience" even though there were parts when I wanted to sit down and do more than complain.
My plane arrived in Barcelona around midnight on Friday, after a two hour trip to Malaga and then navigating the airport alone, and my friend was waiting for me, which after such a long day was quite a relief. It was so weird on the bus for both of us, believing we were both there in Spain, together! Well, to make the evening adventure a little shorter for us, I will say that there was a slight mix up with dates and so we were homeless in Barcelona for what ended up being hours until... 4am. After walking in the rainy streets of Barcelona we met a nice guy at a hostel who agreed to let us stay the first night for free if we would drink some wine with him. We obviously took him up on it and around 5am, said goodnight, only to wake up four hours later and begin the day. I knew I wanted to see the Sagrada Familia since one cannot go to Barcelona without seeing Gaudi´s homes and his masterpiece. We stood in line for an hour, mind you it was rather cold too, and paid a whopping 18 Euros to enter and look around. Honestly, for me the outside was more impressive (when you ignored all the plaster and cranes surrounding the beautiful church) than the inside. When you look at it you feel it should be some digitally created masterpiece in a Walt Disney movie, it is absolutely incredible to see all the fine details Gaudi created. The inside was a bit more plain, although it is not completed (will be finished in 2030) and you were restricted to only the main parts of the church. However like I said before, I am glad I saw it and hope to return years later when the finished product lies before us, and will go in the summer when the weather is nicer! The rest of our day was spent finding coffee and walking the streets with Miya's friend who was sweet to take time out of her weekend and show us the main avenues and sights of Barcelona. Needless to say Saturday was another sleepless night, with only two hours of rest and then up at 4am to get me to the airport by 5:30. That ended up being trickier than I thought, since we had to take the subway, then run through the subway to find our exit and the bus stop for the airport. Luckily after much stress, I arrived to the Barcelona airport with 5 minutes to spare and joined the line to board our plane. Oh it makes me exhausted just thinking about that trip. So in conclusion, I hope to go back to Barcelona some day and see it when I'm not so exhausted!
Last weekend, our first weekend of May, my new adopted grandparents, Pablo and Kitty (from Wooster) made their way to Granada after a month and a half of traveling to see friends of theirs in other parts of Europe. I was so incredibly touched and happy that they took time to spend the weekend with me in Granada and it was as if a little piece of America was with me the entire weekend. While I have only known them for 6 months, I feel as if I've known them my whole life and having them here with me was so comforting and special. We spent Saturday walking around and enjoyed lunch at a Tapas Bar where we obnoxiously had several bachelor parties clearly enjoying their friend's last few days of "freedom". IT was however a lovely lunch despite the ruckus and were joined by the professor couple here who have been so nice to me, Felix and Aurora. Saturday night my group and I went to a flamenco show which had the most beautiful view of the Alhambra in the background. I'm telling you I could has just stayed there the whole night, nostalgically reflecting on these past wonderful months. Sunday morning we went to watch the rehearsal of an operetta that Aurora is in this June and then spent the afternoon together enjoying the city. The hard part of saying goodbye finally came around and I felt like a complete child as I walked down the street back to my house with tears in my eyes. I don't know how many of you have had that feeling of familiarity and then when it leaves you're struck by how much you need and miss it. Well Pablo and Kitty are just a special couple to me and after spending the weekend in the warm comfort of my "grandparents" I didn't really want them to leave.
Last week we spent working on our final 12 page paper and for all of us it was like we had clumsily tumbled off a cliff and were hanging in midair, just wanting to get the crash over with. After a whole semester of what some might say, "busy work," and no real papers, having to write a ten page or more papers, in Spanish, was a bit more than just rough. More like small torture. So while I don't have much fun to report on last week I can successfully say it is far behind me now that I have finished that paper. Our last weekend in Granada was spent as it should have been, staying out until 5am, drinking a bit much and our whole group together wandering the streets of Granada. Friday night our program gave us a farewell dinner at a very nice restaurant with all of our host families as guests. While it was sad, it was pleasant at the same time as we all got to meet each others siblings and put a face to the mother's who have provided all of us with pleasant snacks these past months when they gave their one student enough food for five. We presented each of our mothers with a rose and card, thanking them for all they have done for us. Of course we provided Antonia with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which took me an hour to find, and each gave her a big, American style hug for all her love and support. I must say the original plan was rather pitiful since Antonia had asked Cecilia and I to present her sister (who is in charge of the homestay choices) and her with a rose when we gave our mothers one, so of course we decided to surprise her with not one rose but a bouquet. The dinner ended with almost all the mothers crying as Antonia announced that the parents needed to help drop us off at one location so we could party away our last Friday night. I know, Spanish adults actually think you're lame if you're young and don't "go out" so they gladly help us when planning. Our night consisted of an Irish Pub, a Chupiteria (shot place) a Latin Salsa Club and an hour roaming the streets in search of a discotecta, which once we arrived and tried to get in for free, decided 10 Euros wasn't worth it. While I know it may sound like it was just a night wasted drinking and fruitlessly bar hopping, we had the most fun simply talking, walking and dancing the night away (and when I mean dancing I mean actual Salsa dancing where most of us made fools of ourselves). After going home at 5:30am, Saturday for me began at 1pm and I cannot say I was too productive, although spending the afternoon getting tea and pastries with my friend Sara does constitute a successful day in Spanish society. Sunday morning I went to mass, my last mass in a beautiful European church, and then came home to make Spanish rice with my host mother. I have apparently been chosen by my real family to provide the Spanish rice/paella for my brother's graduation in two weeks, so yesterday we got serious about it. It was quite a success and I'm just going to hope it turns out half as good when I attempt it in the U.S.
Well talk of the U.S. brings me to the final reality that it is almost time to return to my homeland. I admit I am ready to get to the conveniences of my own house and my own bed, to see my family and friends, the healthiness of my own kitchen and pantry and the access to my beloved YMCA where I can begin to work off these carbohydrate pounds. I am ready to get back to a country where people walk and don't saunter on the streets, where bread and pork are not included in every meal, where the temptations of pastries don't overwhelm my eyes every time I exit my house and where I don't have to consistently listen to how much people hate going to work. However...... I am not exactly ready to leave my beloved friends and community here. I know this European bliss and relaxation cannot always last (which I'm actually tired of "relaxing" so much) and a return the my real world is necessary, but the reality that I may not see some of these people again is not a pleasant reality to face. I feel as though I have become closer with these classmates in the last almost four months than I have to people in Wooster. I can express how much I love the people I have met here and the goodbye will be harder than I think I'm prepared for.
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