5

So in 5 days I will be back home...which made me think I would reflect a little, so here I go with 5 things I'll miss about Spain/my Spain experience:

1. Being able to walk everywhere- do you know how amazing it is to be able to walk to anywhere you want- whether it be shopping, movies, restaurants, libraries (yeah I never used one of those), parks, class, monuments...ANYTHING! It's amazing!!

2. Bakeries EVERYWHERE--this is probably actually a blessing in disguise...but CROSSAINTERIA PARIS (spelt that wrong...), HORNO, Delicasstae(?), Mandala, Strudel...gonna miss those little guys. which brings me to my next point:

3. SPANISH COFFEE- I'm pretty sure that spanish coffee is composed of: espresso, milk, magic, and love. That might sound corny- but I think you can literally taste the love (the magic is hard to pick up on...but the proof that its there comes in the inability to replicate the cafe con leche from some of the aforementioned locations)- Delicasstae(?still dont know if thats what its called), Mandala, Javi Copa (yeah its a bar-and they know me as the girl who drinks coffee...you wanna talk about doing a number on your social reputation with strangers...try being the kid who goes into a bar 3 times a week and gets coffee...), Pancake, Cafe Toro...its been good times. sighhh.

4. Travelling- obviously, I don't have to stop travelling when I go back home, but I am going to miss being able to pick anywhere within decent proximity and being able to get there fairly easy. Im going to miss the ridiculous adventures of pulling all nighters in airports (I mean they were rough-but fun). I'm going to miss the process of choosing a location with friends to go to and then just doing it.I'm gonna miss Javier's crazy itineraries, that always seemed to piss everyone off except for me (call me crazy- but I like organized...especially when I had nothing to do with it), and I'm gonna miss the times that we go on our own trips and talk as if we're spiting Javier by not going to a Cathedral or by stopping and taking pictures. And I guess what I'm going to miss most about the trips, and spain experience in whole is my next point, which is:

5. Hanging out (almost every waking moment) with the friends I've made here- the good thing is they all go to Wake, so in the fall obviously all the friendships resume. But there's something about being abroad that makes it different. I came to Spain with a group of people who I considered aquaintences and strangers for the most part. But somehow, strangers and aquaintences became friends with whom I forsee life long friendships. This sounds super corny- but I feel like Spain kind of helped me to become myself, and for the first time I didn't have to put walls up, and people got to see me being me, with no inhibitions. I am so grateful for all the people who I have really gotton to know this semester and share this experience with. The people who stood and waited as I started hyperventilating and crying on the middle of the sidewalk outside the train station when everything felt like it was spiraling out of control, and helped me to realize that everything works out. The person who helped me to see that a 60 on an art test wasnt the end of the world (same person who helped talk some sense into me with my internship struggle- and helped me to reason logically). The person who would sit and talk on the corner for 2-3 hours after our strudel nights, and then talk to me for 15 mins more on the phone to make sure I got home all right. The person who would stay for lunch at the centro as we tried to motivate eachother to do our papers. The people who I walked to class with every day (except tuesdays). The people who were the "fearless leaders" on trips. The people who would be absolutely ridiculous with me. The people who could always be convinced (or really simultaneously decided) that it was a good time for a pastry, a coffee, a gelato, or a Carrefour trip. The people who I travelled with. The people who I could make snort laugh (whether they were laughing cuz something was funny or just laughing at me is of little importance).The person who maybe had some merit in suggesting that maybe we don't have to define everything, but rather, just live. The people who went along with my dumb matching outfits (intentionally or unintentionally). The person who had no problem embarrassing me in business class (pop lock and drop it) The people who woke up at ungodly hours for breakfast parties while travelling. the people who would dance Waka waka with me regardless of where we were (oh hey boat deck...). The person who made sure I didn't forget I had a jewish name (and who inadvertanly caused a tour guide to question me on Hebrew writing in Cordoba). The people who listened to me babble on and on, sometimes making a fool of myself, in general and in front of javier (I still dont know how you ask what the temperature will be). The people who listened to me sing, who listened to me make bad jokes, references, puns. The people who "educated" me on all kinds of topics. And just, the people who made me realize that when things seem bad and even unbearable, that we can rely on eachother- that friendship is enough to overcome and even heal each other of whatever's going on around us. I'm gonna miss these people- and yet I'm going to carry what I've learned from everyone in this group with me forever. And that's what I'm most grateful for :)