Friday, December 18, 2009

Don't Say Forever...

Oh Barcelona... I can't believe that three and a half months have already passed. It really feels like yesterday that I just got here and was getting lost on the street I live on. My friends and I went out last night to have a farewell drink. We were all having a great time until it hit us that we really are leaving and who knows when we all will be together again.
Veronica and I at El bosque de las hadas (the forest of the fairies), one of my favorite bars in Barcelona!


This morning I woke up early to say goodbye to my roommate and then a little later I met up with my friends Elsa, Katelyn, Calli and Veronica to go with Veronica and Katelyn to the airport (Elsa, Calli and I weren't leaving until later) and say goodbye to them as well. After, Calli and I went out for our last cafe con leches and churros con chocolate (Elsa couldn't join because she had to return to her home-stay to get ready for her flight later in the afternoon) and then we all had a tearful goodbye.


I walked around the city for awhile to get one last good look at my neighborhood and also walked down to the beautiful Mediterranean and thought about all the good times I had here, the crazy adventures I went on, and how much I learned... especially how much I learned about myself. It's weird what almost four months in another country does to you.

I went back to my home-stay to pack up the last of my things and to get everything organized for my flight in the morning. I then realized I needed to go back to my favorite vinoteca for one last glass of my favorite wine here! I walked in and sat at the end of the bar, ordered my vino tinto and thought more about my semester here. About halfway through my wine it was like a slap in the face: I was just in Barcelona for almost four months and now it's over. I couldn't hold it back anymore... I started to cry. As excited as I am to come home and see all my family and friends that I have been missing it also reminds me of the family and friends that I have to leave and say goodbye to. Only one word to describe this moment: Bittersweet. I finished my wine, asked for the check and headed back home before I started bawling. I little later my host mom taught me how to make Paella and Mussles for dinner... and then pineapple with jamon serrano (pretty much prosciutto) for dessert. My favorite. She's the best.

After finishing a wonderful meal, told that I will always have a home here in Barcelona, with this family, I sit here now writing my last blog, with tears streaming down my face. I just can't believe this over. There are so many things I am going to miss about Spain. Eating the best tomatoes of my life, having jamon serrano almost everyday, drinking wine before noon with no judgement, my beloved cafe con leches, the friends I've made here, being able to travel almost anywhere in Europe easily, the Mediterranean...and just the European way of life.

So I ask you all of back home to bear with me for a bit as I adjust back to "American life". I thank you all for your support during my time here. I am not looking forward to the long journey home, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone!

And to Spain, you'll always have a place in my heart... It's come time to say goodbye. But it's not forever. Goodbye... for now...

No comments:

Post a Comment