Hello everybody.
Tomorrow I will be leaving Spain for good. I am flying from Málaga to New York, and from New York to Washington DC Dulles, then the four-hour drive home. It’ll be one very long day, but it’ll be so wonderful to see my family and my friends and my boyfriend again.
Honestly, I have such mixed feelings about leaving. Living here was an amazing experience, and I met so many wonderful friends and had awesome experiences and unforgettable life advancements. But it was also frustrating and disappointing with my language skills, and the loneliness of missing the people back home.
Tomorrow I will be leaving Spain for good. I am flying from Málaga to New York, and from New York to Washington DC Dulles, then the four-hour drive home. It’ll be one very long day, but it’ll be so wonderful to see my family and my friends and my boyfriend again.
Honestly, I have such mixed feelings about leaving. Living here was an amazing experience, and I met so many wonderful friends and had awesome experiences and unforgettable life advancements. But it was also frustrating and disappointing with my language skills, and the loneliness of missing the people back home.
But for the people who I will miss so much who are not from the United States:
Mariana: Gracias for being such a wonderful friend. And for traveling with Bailey and I to Seville. Thank you for your constant source of encouragement and laughter. Everything I did with you was happy and I will remember everything we did together very fondly, especially the talks we had on the roof of your flat. I’ll get to Chile someday!
Mariana: Gracias for being such a wonderful friend. And for traveling with Bailey and I to Seville. Thank you for your constant source of encouragement and laughter. Everything I did with you was happy and I will remember everything we did together very fondly, especially the talks we had on the roof of your flat. I’ll get to Chile someday!
Lisa: Danke! Honestly, your no nonsense approach to life helped me to see the bigger picture when I was moping about small things that in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter. I enjoyed all of our trips to the beach, and having cute double dates with Lou when Bailey was here. I enjoyed all of our conversations and everything I learned about Germany and how it works. I can’t wait to visit you someday.
Sophie: Diolch! I know you are home now but that doesn’t mean I will miss you any less. Being able to visit you in Wales and see your life and world was a marvelous experience. I always loved our conversations at Shakespeare’s and on the balcony in your flat, as well as all the laughs we had together about silly things. Oh, and Lisa always beating us at Arkansas rummy. Hopefully I will see you both in the next couple of years.
Sophie: Diolch! I know you are home now but that doesn’t mean I will miss you any less. Being able to visit you in Wales and see your life and world was a marvelous experience. I always loved our conversations at Shakespeare’s and on the balcony in your flat, as well as all the laughs we had together about silly things. Oh, and Lisa always beating us at Arkansas rummy. Hopefully I will see you both in the next couple of years.
And to all the people in Shakespeare’s: Pete. Alberto, and Sanja. You three created an environment in which I felt safe and was able to learn so much from people of every culture. I found friends in your bar, taught American games, watched football and rugby, and furthered my knowledge of politics on the world scale. I enjoyed all of my talks and the advice I was given by all of you and I am thankful for all the time I spent there.
To the professors and employees of the Universidad de Málaga: Thank you for pushing me outside of my limits, to further my speaking and listening abilities, as well as all of the material I learned from class. Thank you to all of the employees in the café who served me and fed me when I was so overwhelmed I could barely get to class and home. Thank you to all the professors who willingly met with me and helped me outside of class, even as a person who struggled to communicate.
To all the bus drivers: without the EMT Málaga, I never would have been able to be as free to move throughout the city as I was. I appreciate you all and how I always knew that every 15 minutes I would have a ride to see my friends, or even just buy pizza.
To the professors and employees of the Universidad de Málaga: Thank you for pushing me outside of my limits, to further my speaking and listening abilities, as well as all of the material I learned from class. Thank you to all of the employees in the café who served me and fed me when I was so overwhelmed I could barely get to class and home. Thank you to all the professors who willingly met with me and helped me outside of class, even as a person who struggled to communicate.
To all the bus drivers: without the EMT Málaga, I never would have been able to be as free to move throughout the city as I was. I appreciate you all and how I always knew that every 15 minutes I would have a ride to see my friends, or even just buy pizza.
To Amanda: The team #Struggle Abroad will live on forever in our hearts. Thanks for traveling Ireland with me. Thank you for being a source of joy and laughter through messaging as we both attempted to navigate a new and sometimes confusing culture. Thank you for your constant encouragement and understanding of what the heck was going on with our crazy lives here. Can’t wait to see you on campus this fall.
And finally: to my Mom and Dad and Bailey. Without your continued support during my time abroad, I am sure I would not have been as successful during this study abroad experience as I was. Thank you for staying up late with me when I was overwhelmed and upset, thank you for giving me solutions and helping me cope with decisions. Thank you for encouraging and praising me when I did well on an exam or test, or even just had an understandable conversation in Spanish.
And finally: to my Mom and Dad and Bailey. Without your continued support during my time abroad, I am sure I would not have been as successful during this study abroad experience as I was. Thank you for staying up late with me when I was overwhelmed and upset, thank you for giving me solutions and helping me cope with decisions. Thank you for encouraging and praising me when I did well on an exam or test, or even just had an understandable conversation in Spanish.
And thank you Spain, for giving me this amazing life segment and instilling in me determination, fearlessness, fortitude, and a love of tinto de verano and tapas.
¡Hasta luego!
¡Hasta luego!