The Friends We've Made and The Experiences We've Shared

For most of us in the program, this is our last weekend in Granada... last weekend in Spain. Coming here, we all thought that we have 4 months to enjoy and do everything that we want in this study abroad experience. We didn't think that the 4 months will go by fast and will leave us this week to take our exams, finish the last remaining projects that we have, and party some more. It has been a blast meeting new friends, seeing places here in there, traveling every weekend... We have learned a lot while having fun as well. I don't know how I feel right now. I have this feeling of sadness, happiness, anxiety... I am having mixed feelings of not leaving Granada, wanting to move on to Barcelona, and being jealous of the people that will be going back home. I guess my nostalgia will just have to come a day late... and it did. Let's back up a little. Alright?

Granada- Mirador de San Nicolas 27th of May 2011

This Friday is our last Friday in Granada. In the morning we finished our last IES exams and had time to just relax with friends, walk around Granada one last time before leaving, and do some last minute shopping. I chose to take time to get tea with my friends Emma and Paige. We got our chai's, Pakistani's, and Moroccan tea to sustain our chatting session that was so broad I don't think you'd know that connection. We all ended up talking about packing though... Haha. I am pretty sure we've all put off packing for the last minute because we are all in denial of the reality that 4 months just went by in a snap. It's almost as if time didn't run out: it just purely went MIA on us. It began with climbing the Alpujarras mountains to the farewell dinner that will take place tonight. We were all excited for this dinner, but then again we were also really sad about the fact that this may be the last time we'll share tapas together after a long time. Going back to the real world seems impossible now for us. Everything in Spain was just so surreal that it feels like we all became Alice in Wonderland for months... only that it wasn't Wonderland; it was Granadaland. Dinner/tapas time came and some of us met at the bus station to take the mini-Albaicin bus and avoid walking on cobble stones. It was scorching hot inside the mini bus and the bus driver was trying to turn it into a sardine fest inside by taking in more people.. Ah, the Spanish rule for invading your personal bubble... NO PASA NADA! We got there and took a billion pictures together, with professors, and the students that we hung out with most of the time. Alas, crying time came and some of us shed tears of sadness, happiness, or some just got overly emotional, which of course were all normal. I just stared at everyone and told myself I wont cry cause I will see them again. It's not goodbye yet, it's just see you later (music playing- This ain't goodbye by Train-- how appropriate). After the dinner/tapas ended some of us decided to go to Tantra bar to just have some drinks or shots. I opted not to drink because I have a flight early the next day but that didn't stop me from dancing with my girlfriends. I left them to there dancing shortly after because I need some rest before the flight to Barcelona. I hugged everyone and said my piece; I left happy.

Here are some pictures from the dinner/tapas cocktails:

This is with our ecosystems professor, Jorge.
(L-R: Molly, Mariah, Elizabeth, Jorge, Dana, and me)

Now this is with our bombdigitty professor, Indalecio. Ah, I had a mini crush on him. LOL. I do not know why. So, don't judge. Hahaha! Abi is the girl on Indalecio's right side.


With Alhambra in the background! Emma, me, Paige, and Mariko

My favorite! MATEO! <3

Haha! Mariah is 6'3 and she had to bend down so we could take a decent picture. So sorry for being short!


With Concha and Virginia! They are the ones who helped me speak Spanish well enough to let me go wander in Spain by myself. Thanks to both of you!

People I hung out with the most!
Cynthia, Dani, Diana, Erika, Katie, Alex, and Chad

With our Art and Architecture prof, Ana. With me here, on Ana's right, is Amy, and on my left is Kyla. They were my group buddies!
Rachel! She was the first one I met! I met here at O'hare and we were plane buddies!

This is Javier. He is the program director and the chillest one of all program directors I've ever met!

I got home and finished packing. I slept for an hour and got up early enough to eat my last breakfast at my parents house. I will always think of Ana and Antonio as my parents in Spain like I did when I first met them. My roommate Dani and I really lucked out on getting them as hostparents. We had the best family in Spain and the best homemade food of all! The excessive offers on food, the endless animated talks from Ana and Antonio, and the fun with their grandchildren are all going to be missed. I will be going back in 3 weeks time to see them before I leave Spain in July. That time, I am sure I will cry. I will come back but then there's no guarantee when that will be.

Here are some of the latest pictures with my host family in Granada:

This is Virginia. She is the youngest of all the grandkids. She's the cutest as well!

Here's Ami and Nuria.

Our host dad Antonio loves taking pictures of us!

Pedro and Vigi!

And this is my roommate Dani

My stay in Granada changed me in so many ways. It's all for the better and the change is more of an improvement rather than having the difference of day and night. I could be more approachable now, less timid when meeting people... you know.. I hated parties before.. I hated mingling.. I hated having to make small talk... but now I can do that. I might hesitate a bit still, but I am going to do it. There are many things I will take back with me from this experience and not a lot of people back home might understand me. I will go through reverse homesickness and everything about Spain might make me depressed and nostalgic. But time heals everything. So, when the time comes that I no longer miss Spain, that just means I have accepted that Spain did not disappear in my heart, it's just sitting there comfortably, ready to take me to another journey the next time I come. Granada will forever be my 'media naranja.' But I have to keep her in a secret spot in my heart so I can enjoy Barcelona. The change is gonna be big but changes are either good or bad... I can sense it all being good though. =)

It's time to leave Granada.... it's not yet ADIOS... it's just HASTA LUEGO!

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain- 28th of May 2011

My two other friends, Alex and Amy, are on the same flight to Barcelona with me. So, the ease of transition from Granada to Barcelona didn't feel hard. We all took the cab to the apartment where I will be living so they could figure out a way to get to their hotel. They weren't able to meet me for drinks tonight but tomorrow night we will be having a posh dinner. =)

Tonight is the UEFA Champion's League championship with FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United. The Catalan spirit is so alive and I felt the need to be in it too cause I am a Barcelona fan. I guess I didn't really have to feel the need... haha! I already had it in me! I got my first Barcelona jersey that I saved up for. It won't be the last FCB jersey I will be buying until I leave. Haha! The new friends I met took me to downtown to see the area and kind of learn the subway system. Here I won't be walking to class much but taking the train I will be doing a lot. I met my new flatmates, Valentina (her room is next to mine), Cristina P (our RA), Cristina la princesa (she rooms with Mercedes), and Mercedes (she was the one I talked to the most). I also met Bryan who is interning here as well. We went to Plaza Catalunya to get our jerseys and scarves so we could represent the FCB fun better. I got myself a jersey and a flag which I ended up wrapping around me like a cape, which made me look like Superman. Later on that night I had a little dancing showdown at the subway with ManU fans after the game cause Barcelona won 3-1! PEDRO, MESSI, VILLA! VICTORIA PARA BARCA!!! The whole Catalunya and parts of the world celebrated as if Spain won the World Cup again. Haha! It was so fun but then my dying energy got me going home instead... home to my new bed. It was alright though. I feel like I have always been here in Barcelona in spirit. LOL. Anyway, the next day Mercedes and I will start our P90X journey. I can see good friendship starting already and I am happy. =)

There should be more to write but I don't want my feelings escaping me right now. I will write more in the future. I just want to settle in and see Barcelona for myself first. Later, I will tell you all in details.

Till then... HASTA LUEGO!!