Coming home...

  Madrid, Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands
Friday, August 22, 2008

Tomorrow will be my last day in Spain. It's been 1 year and 4 days (minus the 13 days home for Christmas), and without a doubt the most challenging and life-changing experience I've ever had.

So I'm pretty much packed. That in itself was quite a feat; fitting one year of my life into two suitcases was not easy. I had to throw away three grocery bags worth of clothes just to barely make it, so that's kind of a bummer. Oh well.

As I sit here in my empty apartment, I realize how much I will miss my life here in Madrid. At the beginning of this year, I would have said that I still had reservations about my decision to come to Spain. With all that has happened back home over the past year, it's difficult not to have those feelings of regret. But a few months ago, I reached a point where I was content and felt a sense of ease being here in Madrid, when the time until August 24th didn't matter.

My main objective of coming here, getting my masters degree, has become secondary to the experience of living abroad for a year. Often times I forget that I've even graduated. Through this experience, I've built incredible friendships and made memories that will last me a lifetime. After spending every single day of class together, taking trips and going out together, my friends and I have become very close. So admittedly, the goodbyes have been difficult. Unfortunately, the reality is that it will be very difficult to see my peeps again, but knowing how much I have learned from them and how much I have taken away from this experience makes it all worth it. And traveling through Europe has been an incredible experience as well. I've fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams, seeing the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Alhambra in Granada, Gaudi in Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, the list goes on!!

This year abroad has also taught me how much I take for granted back home. Things like fresh air, nice(r) people, a car, dryer, etc., though seemingly trivial, make life so much easier back in California. But strangely enough, I've learned to live without these things. I'm sure some of you remember me complaining about having to hang dry all my clothes, but somewhere along the way, it didn't bother me anymore. I do have to admit that having my stash of Safeway Organics peanut butter has saved my life.

I like to believe that this experience has changed me for the better. For starters, I am a lot more open to experience (not only the weed, haha). Just things like socializing with people and stepping out of my comfort zone. I've become good friends with people with whom I would have never thought I was "compatible." Moreover, all the craziness back home has really been a blessing in disguise. Looking back at how I handled (or didn't handle) the difficult situations has helped me change, if not at least identify, my flaws. I'm hoping the Landmark Forum will fill in that gap for me in September.

When all is said and done, it's been a fantastic year. Although the Candie thing still lingers, I can confidently say that I have no regrets and that this has definitely been the best experience of my life.


Here are some pictures of my best friends.






It helps to have Mexico here too. My good friend Keyla taught me how to make enchiladas and real tacos, followed by our buddy Don Julio.




Thank you, thank you all for your support and kind words of encouragement. You guys have really helped me get through this year. See you all NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



PSSST! If you haven't noticed yet, all the entries of my Eurotrip are posted. Check them out. For more pics, check out my albums on Facebook. ;)