How poetic that my final blog post (at least regarding Spain) is exactly a month after my last one. I have now been home in New Jersey for a week and a half, but honestly it feels like a month already. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed being home and only confirmed how much I missed my friends and family. However, it would be unfair to my (possibly) loyal readers to forget to talk about my last two weeks in Granada/Spain. It seems like so long ago, yet still so vivid.Finals were nothing to write home about; they weren't hard, it was simple memorization in order to regurgitate the information a few hours later. The hardest thing I had to do was my flamenco show, and that wasn't even graded!
After our last final, Katie and I went to Los Italianos for a celebratory tarta and did a little bit more shopping for us/people at home. Then, we all hiked up to San Nicolas one last time to toast the end of school. Fifteen of us went up there, and it was only for an hour, but that hour was golden. It proved to me that these people sitting next to me, drinking and laughing, these people have meant more to me than I will ever know. Even now, I think about them everyday and how they made me laugh in a situation that was unsettling or let me vent on a bad day. These people are my Spanish family and I wouldn't have it any other way. But more on that later.
That night was the official end of IES, so they threw us a wonderful cocktail dinner with alcohol and food galore. In hindsight, it is crazy to think that for the most part, that was the last time I am going to see most of those people; but with tinto de verano flowing, that was my last concern at the moment. All of our professors came so we took some great pictures, as well as a few pictures just with friends. The one below is currently the background to my computer because it explains my friends so well--we may not all be looking at the same place, or be visible, or even be ready for the pictures, but we are having a damn good time. I'm trying to make sure this doesn't turn into a gushing love post about my friends, so we are going to keep moving.
Saying goodbye to Javier (the director of IES Granada) wasn't necessarily hard, but I would classify it as weird. Like many of my peers, there is a very good chance that I will never see him again. And to make matters worse, I can't really verbalize to him, or anyone, how important his presence was this past semester. Even though I wasn't in class with him, which a lot of students were, I always knew that if something happened Javier would have my back. There are very few programs like IES Granada in the study abroad world and that is because there is no one like Javier. He has built this program from the very beginning into something that he is proud to call his own, and he should be because this program has more heart, soul, and community than any other one I have heard about.
After the dinner, we proceeded to dance the night away at Camborio, a dance club that overlooks the entire city with a clear view of the Alhambra. And when I say we danced the night away, I literally mean away--I watched the sun rise to the left of the Alhambra at approx. 7am and then decided it was a good time to go to bed.
Two hours later, I woke up to my last day in Granada. That means: last meal with Juanie. We had delicious meatballs and a great conversation as usual. I wish I could express to her how much I truly appreciate everything she did over the semester. She made a potentially awkward situation (and it was for some homestay students) unbelievablely comfortable. Val and I were so lucky to have her as our host mom because I am convinced I couldn't do better.
So as some of you may know, I was lucky enough to have a HUGE group of friends. Now, how huge do you ask? Our final dinner, at Pilar del Toros an incredible restaurant that is also a cafe that we frequented a lot, was a reservation for 17. Unfortunately, two boys couldn't make it, but I had all of my friends sitting in front of me for two hours that night. Somehow they thought it would be a good idea for me to toast (I wanted to a little plus I was sitting at the head) and of course everything I wanted to say got stuck in my throat with the tears. So, if anyone from Pero Bueno is reading this, this is what I wanted to say:
Thank you for being you and for being more than friends. We created a family support system the past four months and I could not be more lucky to be apart of it. Each and every one of you holds a special place in my heart. Somehow we created this huge group and somehow it worked. Who would have thought that 12 girls and 5 guys could get through 4 months with such limited drama?! There is a story connected to each one of you, a relationship with each one of you that is different and unique. I have learned so much from you all and I have only just begun to figure out how you have all changed me. But know this, you have changed me. Granada would not have been Granada without you and I am no longer me without the memories that include you. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Two weeks later and I still cried writing that.
The next morning is a blur. A 530AM alarm, hugging Juanie goodbye in an elevator. Somehow getting on a bus and driving away from Granada. Watching friends literally walk away from us. And then I was at the beach.
I spent 3 days at Torremolinos with some mix of Lindsay, Jim, and Kate. It was a great decompression trip and it really allowed me to process everything that had happened in the last two days in Granada. Then June 2nd, I boarded a plane in Malaga to London, got upgraded to business class on my flight across the Atlantic, and made it through baggage claim at Newark before my parents had even parked the car. And now I'm here.
My dad said to me a few days ago that I needed to finish this blog, and I knew that I did, but I was definitely mentally putting it off. Everyone keeps asking me if I am happy to be home, and I am. I didn't think I was going to be, so it has been a very happy surprise. The following question is if I miss Granada yet and, surprisingly, the answer is no. I have thought about why this is for awhile, because I adore Granada and would go back in an instance. But, the day that I can't envision Reyes Catolicos or the Alhambra is the day I'll cry. Right now, I am still floating on the recent past, reliving my life there whenever I find myself dazing. I have returned to Granada and my friends everyday since I have been back, even if I don't speak to anyone from Spain. And isn't that the point of study abroad? It is more than just a place or people, Granada and the past four months is a complete and total part of me. I contemplate having toast every morning, I blast flamenco music on my Ipod, I slip Spanish words into my everyday language just so I can still say something in the beautiful language. So no, I don't miss Granada because Granada, in some small way, has come home with me. And I could not be more pleased.
So, this is really the end. Minus a few notes in my handwritten journal and the daunting task of compiling my pictures, Spain is no longer my present or near future. But weren't the past four months a fabulous adventure? I know I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Adios!
And one final time, the most incredible meal from Pilar:
duck in a cinnamon and honey sauce
liquid white chocolate truffle with red fruit
