I woke up this morning and my mind could not grasp the fact that today was my last day in Spain. Whether or not I wanted to believe it though, I had to realize that it was. With that realization (which really didn't set in until today) I decided to take full advantage of the day. I met up with friends at the Mercado Central and got breakfast and coffee, then wandered around the city, at lunch at home, and went back out. The second outing entailed climbing the bell tower of the Cathedral, drinking horchata, seeing the Christmas lights, getting coffee with my language partner, buying Alice in Wonderland in Spanish (plane reading!), and getting one last pan de queso...and a lot of photos, of course.
Everything from last night through today has been the perfect end to the semester. Hanging out with the program and exploring the city was a calm end to my four months here--exactly what the doctor ordered after finals. Also, I was told I speak good Spanish and have a Cuban or other Latin American accent, and the waiter at Pan de Queso said "merci beaucoup" to me (I guess he thought I was French? I'll take it). Since it is the end of the semester I decided I should revisit some of the stories I forgot to tell. So here is the very brief version of it all (really, I could write a lot more).... I loved France. Absolutely, completely, whole-heartedly loved it. Paris was beyond my expectations. Other than having two pick-pockets in the course of a few hours it was a great experience (and they gave what they stole back, so it wasn't disastrous). The people were friendly (no, I'm not kidding, they really were friendly), I got asked for directions multiple times (this has happened everywhere I've been...Italy, France, and Germany). Also, the chocolate festival (with many many many testers and a chocolate fashion show) was extremely entertaining. Aix-en-Provence was also beautiful in a completely different way. Plus I got to see two of my best friends. So that weekend was a really really good one. Frankfurt and Luxembourg. Where to start? I've wanted to go to Luxembourg for years. I'm so glad I did. It was beautiful (and snowy). Go. Just take my word for it. Oh, and they have a GREAT history museum. Frankfurt was also amazing. Couchsurfing is a must. If you are studying abroad I highly recommend it. Oh and the Christmas markets. They are the best. Go for Christmas, the whole atmosphere is so cheery and festive. But be prepared to drop a fair amount of money--between cute souvenirs and gluhwein you will spend a lot. Lastly, while packing I found a notebook I wrote a couple notes in while I was in Italy. I was sitting by myself at dinner, and decided to write a bit so I didn't look so strange sitting there solo. Reading over them was so fun. I had forgotten some of the details, and it was also interesting to see what I was thinking in the moment, rather than what I remembered looking back on it. There were details from that dinner that had completely escaped my memory. With that, I bid Europe farewell...for now. I'll be back, without a doubt. P.S. Photos are all up (except for the ones I've taken these past two days, but those won't be up until I get home). Also, there is a little video from Paris. Happy Holidays!
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Turns out right when you start to get a hang of a second language everything linguistic you know begins to jumble up. In Paris I had someone say "Bon appetit!" to me in the hostel as I was making dinner. My response? To smile and nod. I couldn't think, for the life of me, what language I was supposed to be responding in. Italian? French? Spanish? English? My brain drew a total blank. In my defense that day I spoke English, Spanish, and French (ok, not much French...but enough phrases to confuse my overloaded brain). A good awkward silence later I explained to him that I drew a blank and couldn't remember how to respond. Being a hostel employee who is used to lots of languages flying around he understood.
Even more entertaining than fumbling through the few phrases I know in German and French while traveling, is the effort it takes to use English. I am a good speller. By no means do I intend for that to sound pretentious, but unless a word is particularly long or complicated I don't have trouble. I was runner-up in my 3rd grade spelling bee. (I lost on oxygen. I will never spell that wrong again. But honestly, they said it like "oxy-gin" so that is how I spelled it.) The point is I normally don't spell things wrong, which makes what comes next particularly entertaining. In Spanish everything is spelled phonetically. Which is great for learning Spanish--but dangerous for switching back to English. As I noticed my loss of ability to spell simple words in English I decided to start a list. So here it is, a list of words I have spelled wrong over the past month or so (the way I spelled it is on the left, the real spelling is on the right): neer-near thaught-thought plunty-plenty sais-says grees-grease screan-screen deer-dear (meant dear, wrote deer) cole-coal analisis-analysis Most of them I caught...but sometimes (especially on Skype, where I don't have spellcheck) I would just stare at the word, wondering why it looked so wrong. So it's that point in the semester. Finals crunch. Normally this is accompanied by an extremely overwhelming urge to get home for the holidays, and nothing else. Well, lots of stress and a lack of sleep, but that's about it. Mostly I just want to be home.
This year, well, it's different. I want to be home, I can't wait. I keep thinking about my family and friends. I'm starting to have dreams I'm home (but then in the dream I realize I haven't taken my finals and it gets stressful). My cozy house and lovely town are calling me home. (And Christmas--I LOVE Christmas.) But...it's bittersweet. This time I actually am a little sad to leave. Suddenly the end is here and reality is sinking it, and it's hitting me that I'm not coming back. It's not like Connecticut College where leaving means you'll be gone for just a month. Everyone is still there when you get back. Your room is exactly how you left it. Leaving for break isn't really leaving. There is no coming back to this. Sure, I'll come back to Spain. We have a pretty good thing going. When I come back, though, it won't be the same. I won't be studying. I won't have my room up on the ninth piso with my host family. The study abroad group I've spent four months with won't be here. I feel like the semester flew by, and there are so many things I meant to do. I meant to make more Spanish friends. I meant to go to the Mercado Central more often. I meant to write in my journal every day. I meant to blog more. I meant to travel around Spain more. I meant to go to the beach more often. I meant to eat more paella, drink more horchata, and go out for tapas. I meant to do so much. And I didn't. Or did I? It seems like the semester went by without anything happening. To be fair I have had classes (this is still a semester of school, after all). And when I really think about it, even with classes I've managed to do a lot. I've had an internship in cardiovascular surgery. I've been teaching English to two kids. I have a language partner. I've made Erasmus friends from England. And I've traveled to multiple countries. I have done a lot, I just didn't do exactly what I had planned. So I guess I feel like I didn't do anything because I didn't really do anything I was expecting to do. But maybe that is exactly why we should study abroad. Throw your plans out the window. Realize that life happens, and you don't always do what you had planned on. Sometimes it works out for the best, even better than your plans could have been. Sometimes you miss out. I missed out on some things, sure, but I also did so much I never would have planned. In the end I can't say I've regretted this experience at all. I've met great people along the way and there are so many moments I'm never going to forget--everything from seeing a heart stopped for surgery and scrubbing in, to the cliché but obligatory trip to Paris, to the nights spent wandering around the park with friends or staying up to watch the sunrise, to the panic caused by Iberia announcing a huelga (strike) for the date of our flight home (which was cancelled, by the way). Despite all that, it is still finals crunch, and it is still the holidays. The normal urge to return home is there (it's like I'm living on a migration pattern or something). My time here has been amazing, but nothing beats home for me. I am a homebody. I love my family--blood family and the family you just kind of gain as you go through life. (They may not have any legal standing as my family, but I challenge you to tell me they aren't.) Charlottesville is my home, and as sad as I am to be leaving Valencia, I can't think of a place on Earth where I am happier. So in a little over a week I will recharge in Charlottesville. And then I'll be off again. Then home for a bit, and off again after that. But, no matter what, I'll always make my way back home. Because I've yet to find anywhere that is more of a home than good ol' C'ville. |
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Claire AngelineI am traveling the world from October 2017-October 2018, and the plan is to visit all seven continents. I'm a vegetarian foodie, a baker, a dance enthusiast, a nonprofit co-founder, and a huge travel addict. When I'm not traveling I'm putting my MPH to good use and doing public health research. Archives
September 2016
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