I Miss Spain

So, I've been home for about a week and a half now... and I don't know if I'm glad or sad about being here. The first few days were great. Everything was the same, but at the same time, it all felt so new, so it was exciting to see everything and everyone.

While I was abroad, I was afraid that I would be missing out on a lot. A whole semester of missing campus life, my sorority sisters, classes, clubs and organizations. But coming back, I realized that they are all still here, waiting for me, and that I was fortunate and blessed to have been able to go abroad and experience a completely different life.

Now that I've been here for about two weeks, I'm starting to miss Spain. A lot. I miss the little things, like being able to walk everywhere, taking the metro to the city, having the beach a walk away, siestas, the food, and it goes on. I feel so trapped here, having to take the car if you want to pick something up from the grocery store, or having to drive three hours to the nearest beach.
Of course, there are things here that I am relieved to have again, such as diversity, my mom's Korean food, and of course my friends and family.

If I could, I would do this all over again. Going abroad seemed like such a dream to me, and only that. I never realized that it would be possible, for various obstacles and reasons that I had in my life. But now, being on the other side, it makes me realize how easy it is to travel. Just need a passport and motivation. Studying abroad was one of the best experiences ever. There's always the opportunity to travel later on in life, but being able to study there was unique. I was able to live in Spain for 4 1/2 months, and immerse myself with the culture. With the comforts of the support from UMD, the program, and my friends, I was able make this dream come true. This is truly an amazing opportunity to do something incredible with your life. I only wish I did this earlier, so I could have had more opportunities/semesters to study abroad longer.

So far, yet so soon

I can't believe I have to go home. It's weird.
I get waves of panic... and then excitement... and then panic again.
Sometimes I want to go home so bad! I miss my family and friends, and I can't wait to go back and catch up with everyone... but then, I start thinking about how much I love it here, and how relaxed it is, and that's when the panic comes in.

It's strange to think that this has been my home for about 4 and 1/2 months. I have a life here, know my way around town and the city, have grown accustomed to the culture to a certain degree... and in about a week, I have to leave it.

There's still so much I haven't done, and everyday, I think of more and more things that get added on to my "to do" list. I get anxious and nervous when I think about leaving here without having accomplished everything I've wanted to do. At the same time, I want to leave some things un-done, so I have a reason to come back.

Thinking back on these months, I realize that I have been able to see some incredible sights, learn so much history and meet amazing people. I don't know if I have any regrets, but at this moment, I am so content with my experience here.

Going back to the states is going to be interesting. Everything is going to seem so familiar, yet so different. I'm going to miss the nature, and the clouds of Spain. For some reason, the clouds seem so much more beautiful here.
I'm going to miss being able to walk to the beach, and walking in general. I rarely got into a car while I was here... it was hard to get used to in the beginning, but now, after walking for 4 months, I'm ready to keep walking. I'm going to miss siestas, and the idea that taking a nap in the middle of the day is not only accepted, but expected. I'm going to miss my family so much! and my house mom's cooking (of course).

While I'm going to miss all these things, I'm still really excited to go back home, and see what's changed, what hasn't, and how I've changed too. It'll be interesting to see what I see differently now.

But what I am NOT looking forward to: packing. I have no idea how I'm going to fit everything in my bags. People told me about a million times to pack lightly when I left the states in january. Honestly, you don't learn from other people's mistakes. Only you're own. One of the many many life lessons I've learned while abroad.

It's so hard to believe that I've been here for 6 weeks!

With time flying by so fast, it's making me realize how much more there is to do, and how little time is left. I can remember thinking how long a semester seemed, and thinking that I would have enough time to do everything, see all the places there was the see, meet all of Spain, and of course speak spanish enough that when I came back, I'd be fluent and a natural.

Now that I've been here though, I feel like even a year wouldn't be enough!

Since I've been here, there have been many adjustments to get used to. I think one of the biggest adjustments was the general atmosphere. Coming from a lifestyle where I barely got 6 hours of sleep on a weeknight and had every minute of the day booked, I was used to the hectic, busy schedule.

However, since being here, I feel like I've been able to catch up on missed sleep from the past two years. The siesta is a wonderful aspect of the Spanish culture, and while it took a while to get used to, I have embraced it, and am thoroughly enjoying it.

It also took a while to get used to the different meal times. Lunch here isn't until around 2:30, and dinner isn't until 9:00 or 10:00. Of course I knew this before I left, but it doesn't really mean anything until noon comes and passes, and your stomach is empty.

Some other things I've had to accustom myself to are different sayings that are more common. Nobody says "adios" here, but instead its "hasta luego" - or "see you later!" or "¿qué tal?" instead of "¿cómo estás?"

Another aspect of the Basque Country that's made my experience here interesting has been the political activity. It has been interesting to see small demonstrations and protests. Also, the University of the Basque Country has a strong political science department, so there are a lot of students that are passionate than the issues within the Basque Country.

Of course, coming to Spain, I planned on traveling as much as possible throughout Spain and Europe. Although I haven't been able to travel as much as I'd hoped so far, I have visited some very interesting and inspiring places.

During a long weekend, I made a trip down to Madrid, and while there, took day trips to El Escorial, Valle de los Caídos and Toledo. While there, I did a lot of sight-seeing, and visited a lot of museums. In Madrid, I went to el museo de Reina Sofia and el museo del Prado.

Unfortunately, the Picasso exhibits were closed in the Reina Sofia, but I was able to see a lot of works by Miró, which was really interesting. I did a big project on him in high school, so it was really interesting to see a lot of the works I studied in person. At the Prado, one of most exciting paintings I got to see was Las Meninas, another painting that I have studied for many years in my various Spanish classes.

During another weekend, I made a day trip to a small town in France. It was still in the Basque Country, but it was interesting to see how different, but at the same time, similar it was from the Basque region in Spain. From France, I took a boat back to Spain, which was quite an exciting experience.

This past week, through email correspondence, my friend asked me what my favorite part of my 6 weeks here has been so far. After sitting there and thinking about it for about 5 minutes, I couldn’t come up with an answer. I thought about all the incredible people I’ve met, all the different places I’ve been to, the beach that’s a two minute walk away, my host family, the new friends I’ve made since being here, and I still couldn’t think of an answer. However, after having just been fed, I have to say that at the moment, the food here is probably one of my most favorite things. Of course it doesn’t compare to the once-in-a-lifetime experiences I’ve had, and the amazing people I’ve met, but it’s worth a mention. The food here is pretty amazing. I look forward to the meals my host-mom makes and to even something as simple as fresh bread with nutella.

6 weeks in and so far I’ve had an amazing time. It’s so hard to believe that 6 weeks has already gone by, but it’s harder to believe that I only have 2 ½ more months here! It really is time to seize the day!

Madrid

Palacio de Cristal en Madrid

El Escorial


Valle de los Caidos

Toledo

Saint Jean de Luz, France

So I´ve been here for about a week, and its been pretty amazing

The first two - three days were tough... getting adjusted to the time difference, food, the city, etc. but now I feel more settled in.

I decided to do a family-stay, and I am so glad I made this choice. The food here is so good! And its one less thing to worry about. Of course there are advantages to being in an apartment with other students, but I definitely don´t regret my decision. I can already see how much more practice I´m going to be getting since I´m staying with a family.

So much has happened this past week alone; it´s hard to know where to begin. The first few days have been a lot of orientations and tours of the school and nearby cities. The school is definitely different from any university from the states. There isn´t much of a campus, just one large building that has everything. Unfortunately, I won´t be taking any classes with Spanish people, its only people from my program. I believe that the Spanish school curriculum is different… they´re going through their week of exams right now, whereas we just started our classes.

The tour of the different cities was a lot of fun. There are so many beautiful beaches and sites around where I live… I can´t wait to go exploring and check them all out. We also went on a tour of Bilbao, which is the main city; about a twenty minute metro ride. It reminds me a lot of Washington D.C; how it’s a metro ride away, and even the buildings and the city-feeling I got from being there.

The city I live in, Algorta, is beautiful... It´s a smaller town and everything is walking distance. The bus and metro are pretty much the only means of transportation for me... I use a bus to get to school everyday.
The beach is about a ten minute walk away from my house, and it is so beautiful!

This past weekend, I went to San Sebastian, which is about an hour away from Algorta. It was their patron’s day festival, so I went to check that out... and it was amazing. The city is beautiful, and the beach is right along the outskirts of the main town area. The festival was incredible too. The actual festivities started at midnight, and it went on all night.

I can already tell that my semester here is going to be amazing.

Algorta

Algorta

Bilbao

San Sebastian

Pre-Departure Woes

So I leave in approximately three days.
During these past two weeks leading up to Saturday, I've had waves of excitement, followed by panic, followed by excitement again.

I finished packing yesterday, after spending hours figuring out what to bring and what to leave behind in my closet... and for those who know about me and my closet know that, that was not an easy task.
I tried weighing myself holding the luggage and then myself without holding my bags to figure out how much each of them weighed. Each bag has a limit of 50 pounds; if I go over, I have to pay a fee and if I go over a certain limit, they could even reject my bag altogether.
Not a good situation at all.

Besides packing, I've been making a bunch of calls to a bunch of people: credit card people, the bank, at&t, the airline, etc... I've probably been put on hold for a total of about an hour.
It feels good to have everything done though.

Now, it's just waiting for Saturday to come. I try to imagine what it'll be like when I get there. But before I can imagine myself in Spain, I picture myself being lost and confused at the airport, struggling with my bags.
Once I manage to get myself out of the airport, I find myself at the doorsteps of my family; complete strangers. I am so nervous about meeting them, living them, attempting to communicate with them.
Am I going to be with a big family? with five kids, dog and parents? Or will I be with senora, a single woman?

I can't wait to be settled in, and be familiar with the town, and the school. I'm really looking forward to the classes, and meeting everyone in my program. I'm also excited about the travel opportunities. There are so many places I want to go: London, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, everywhere!
I want to go to all the touristy places, all the landmarks, but at the same time, I want to go to the small towns and soak in the culture and atmosphere. So many things to do... I know one semester seems like a long time, but I can see myself wanting to stay longer, or regretting not traveling enough when I'm there.

I hope there are no regrets. I hope that I take advantage of all the opportunities, and challenge myself. All these goals, hopes, aspirations seem cliche and corny; but now that I face my departure date so soon, they seem appropriate and fitting.

So here I go, finally going to Spain and fulfilling my dream. Until next time,

¡Hasta Luego!

A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints - Wilfred Peterson