I'm sorry. I
know I said I would write more shorter posts about what I had learned
from this year abroad. Soon after I wrote my last post though, I
realized that I hadn't actually taken the time to think about what I
really had learned. I knew I'd learned a lot and that I'd changed a
lot but, I felt like I needed some time to actually think about it. I
then decided to disconnect myself from people back home for the last
month until I left Jerez to really try and get as much out of Spain
while I still could. It was on the train leaving Jerez, when
everything was starting to sink in, that I realized what I'd been
trying to figure out these past few weeks. I remembered my first
train ride from Barcelona to Jerez back in September. I thought about
who I was at that point and who I am now and I realized that, while
I'm obviously still the same person, I'm also completely different. I
have a completely different mindset on so many things. The thing is,
most of these changes were so gradual I didn't notice they'd even
occurred until I really thought about it. I won't go into too many of
the details because most of them are pretty boring but, some of the
biggest things that I think I've learned/gained from this whole
experience are:
-How
to immerse into and accept a completely different culture
-How
to speak a second language
-How
to travel within Europe
-How
to find common ground and even become friends with people completely
different from me
-How
to live on my own for an extended period of time
-The
feeling of actually having a desire to learn instead of having it
always feel like an obligation. (like I wrote about in my previous
post)
Obviously I could go on and on about how this year was so much more than just a year for learning Spanish and how it was the best year of my life but, I won't, because I really could just go on forever.
I left Jerez over a week ago and am now currently sitting in Barcelona with my dad who's most likely playing Words with Friends like he's been doing majority of his free time on our trip. I'm coming home tomorrow and now that I've had a week to process everything, I couldn't be more excited. Not to say that I don't miss Jerez and my life there. Leaving Jerez was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done. Saying goodbye literally left a pain in my stomach that still hasn't fully gone away. It was so much harder leaving than it was coming here because I honestly don't know when I'll see these people again. In a perfect world, I'll be able to save up enough money to come back next summer and all my friends will still be in Jerez and things can just go back to the way they were. This isn't a perfect world though and even if I do save up enough money to come back, nothing will be like it was. Everything will be different and that's what I think saddens me the most. My exchange friends won't be there, my class will be all split up in possibly completely different parts of the country, and most importantly, I'll only be able to stay for a couple weeks or so and then I'll just have to leave all over again. I didn't just say goodbye to a school, a town, a family, and some of the best people I've ever met. I also was forced to say goodbye to an entire life that I'd formed there in Jerez. A life that unfortunately, I will never get back. I'm obviously very excited to be back with my friends and family back home. It's something I've been excited about since the moment I left. The combination of excitement and sadness has left me more confused than I've ever been in my life. I just hope being home will help me figure everything out. One thing's for sure though, no matter how long it takes me, I will be back.
In
the past week I've been to Madrid, Paris, Rome, and back here to
Barcelona. Traveling around has been a great distraction and I've
seen/done some amazing things that I will definitely remember for the
rest of my life. Another important thing I learned this year is that,
I love to travel. Seeing one new culture has made me want to see all
of them. I want to see, try, and learn as much as I can as soon as
possible.
Anyways,
Thank
you to everyone who has read my blog this year. This blog has been a
great way for me to share everything I've done and it will be also be a nice way for me to remember how truly amazing this year was. I plan on
writing one more post about what it's like to be home because I know there will definitely be some reverse culture shock.
So
until then,
Adioooos
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