El Fin

This is officially it- I am going home to the real world in 4 days, and I cannot believe this time has flown by so quickly.  We are all starting to get very depressed, realizing that our 4 month long vacation and cultural experience is quickly coming to a halt.  Mari Luz and her family keep on saying they don’t want me to leave, or that they are going to pack themselves with me in my suitcase.  Mari Luz also insists that someday when I go on my honeymoon, I honeymoon in her spare bedroom- although not sure that would be the most romantic situation, it certainly is a sweet offer.  I have learned so much here- learned how fortunate we are in the US, how much people both envy our lifestyle while we envy theirs.  

Things I will miss about Spain include:  all day siesta naps, some type of religious holiday almost every day in some city in Spain (which is celebrated by all day drinking and no work or school), TAPAS, my little dog Luna, my wonderful Spanish family, the winding streets with dozens of shoe stores and specialty shops, our chino wine and candy, walking around the city with cans of Alhambra beer, our easy class schedule and no work (no responsibilities in general), speaking Spanish to anyone who cares to try to understand our accent, saying I’m from Chicago and having people think that is the coolest thing in the world, being blonde and having that be a rare thing, the discotecas that are open until 7 am (even if I rarely last that late), Garcia lorca park, art field trips, churros con chocolate, fake botellon behind Cortes Ingles, bread lady and pan man, pastries in general, tortilla espanola, those damn gypsies…and of course all of the people in the program I have become so close with.  I cannot believe I feel like I finally found my niche here and now we are all being torn apart- but next year will be SO much fun knowing so many new faces around campus.

My recent trips include a spring break-esque trip to Lagos Portugal with basically the entire program, a hiking trip through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains through the town Alpujarras, and a quick trip to Sevilla to see Las Ferias.  These trips were amazing but I am in no mood to write about them now- sorry Cha Cha and family J Ask me about them in person if you’re very curious.

Today is the celebration of “Los cruces” in Granada, not sure what that entails but we are all meeting up to party and celebrate with the Spaniards!  Just a couple more days.  Wish me luck everyone with trying to pack my belongings into my suitcase.  Thank you all for all of your support during these 4 months, and I can’t wait to come home and tell everyone more about my experience!  Hasta luego!