....but I saw and experienced so much and made ever lasting bonds with some wonderful people.
These last 2 weeks I have had a lot of "LASTS".
First, on Monday I had my last service learning at the Hospital San Rafael. It was really hard to say goodbye to Pilar (the head of the volunteer program) and when we did.. I cried.. one of many times this week haha and she gave us big hugs and kisses on the cheek.. like the Spaniards do :) and then she told us how much she appreciated all we had done for the patients and that we really did make a difference in their day and their lives.. which was absolutely wonderful to hear. She also told us if we want to come back to Spain we are always welcome in her home AND then she gave us a free calendar of Juan Belmonte who is a famous toreador here in Spain. It was actually really neat! but there was a gal on the street when I was walking home who didn't know English or Spanish very well but she tried to tell me in Spanish that she loved him and asked where she could get a calender like it.. so I decided just to give her mine because she seemed nice AND she talked to me in Spanish first rather than English which I always like when that happens :) haha Anyway, it was a sad time leaving the hospital for the last time.. but the time I had there was very worthwhile and was a wonderful opportunity for me.
Wednesday we had out last intercultural meeting with Veronica.. where she told us again how much she loves us and will miss us.. and started crying.. so naturally we all did.. and she gave us this great paper that has a lot of questions on it to help us get back in to the swing of things at home and to not experience as much re-entry shock when we get home. ....very helpful.
That night I had my last volunteering experience at Huerta Del Rosillas and this one was even harder for me because Maria (the head of the program there) is one of my favorite people I have met on this journey and saying goodbye to her was unbelievably rough. She is such an inspirational woman and a whole lot of fun. I had a blast helping out the residents and spending time with them dancing and sharing tapas and being a light in their life, and them in mine. For one of my classes I had to keep journals and write a ton of papers about my experiences every week for my volunteer sites so I have a lot more in dept insights in to my opinions and occurrences at the sites.. but they are typed in Spanish. haha
Thursday we had or Cena de Despedida (Goodbye Dinner). Veronica, Jose, and Christina took our entire program out to eat at a really fancy restaurant so we were all dressed up and it was a blast! Everyone took a bjillion pictures and we shared memories.. highs and lows of our trip and our favorite parts.. it was great. Also.. the food was ballaaaa. We started out with drinks and tapas which was a kind of melted cheese.. a first for Spain! Then we got a tooon of this really good spiced bread.. then some kind of burrito type thing.. then a chicken salad ohh gosh it was good and it had some sort of white dressing, not just olive oil! ..then pesto pasta.. then dessert... oh gosh, we got a tray per table of mango ice cream, a chocolate brownie drizzled in more chocolate, and then a cheesecake. YUM.
I may or may not have gained 10 lbs from this one meal. haha It was so fun!!!
Me and Kelsey :)
Colin, Alex, Chris, me, Gonzo, and Liasor
The most handsome man I know, Rob!
Colin, me, and Holly
My roommate Tayler
Everyone from Central with Veronica
Austin, me, and Zach
Breezy and Rob!! <3
On Saturday the rest of our program joined us on the beach with Veronica. It was HOT. Apparently we are having a heat wave from Africa.. haha that's weird to say.. but yah it's been about 95 degrees here these past couple of weeks and I can't complain because I love the heat. But, yah it is reeeally hot here. We spent the entire weekend on the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying our time together. It was really great to relax and hang out with the people I have grown the closest to here. We noticed that as the semester went on our vacations became more about getting together to hang out and watch movies and chat together rather than to race around and kill ourselves trying to see everything. We didn't get to hang out like this in Granada because the houses are too small to have friends over and my room is especially itty bitty. So, when we traveled it was fun to have "slumber parties" which I take for granted in the US.
Keley, Brielle, Katie, me, and Anna Marie
Also, when my mom and I were in Nerja we didn't have any problems with people being rude.. but this time on Saturday we had 3 different occasions where this was a problem. The first was a Spaniard and he yelled at my friends and I and told us that we were stupid ignorant Americans and we know nothing about the world. Then literally 1 min later a lady walked past us and went pssshhtt Americans, foolish pigs... in English. ha we couldn't believe it. We literally were doing nothing but walking... but it just goes to show that no matter what we do as a country there will always be people in the world who hate Americans. It's too bad really. THEN that night Anna Marie and I were walking to the supermarket to buy more fruit and this Arab looking man starting speed walking next to us and was saying, again in English, "You were kidnapped. You were kidnapped at birth from Africa." He repeated that about 4 times.. then muttered words we had no idea what they were.. then told us that we needed to find our real Ala. <<< uuuh, yikes. We literally were almost jogging we were fast walking so fast to get away from him. haha Anyway, Nerja was great and beautiful as always... just found a few loonies who apparently don't like Americans. Usually when in Spain we didn't have any problems with that.
Monday in class I had to give a cultural presentation, so naturally, I did mine about the 4th of July. :)
They thought our family's typical 4th of July seemed like a blast and they especially liked the picture of Nick's USA beard. Family.. you are all officially famous in Spain :) haha
That afternoon Tayler and I went to Yo10 which is a HUGE really nice gym and spa near my house here. Our host brother's wife gave us each a free day pass to try.. which we had been dying to see inside! So we finally got the chance to! After lunch we went and took a class called Body Pump.. where I almost peed my pants because the instructor was so buff and intimidating and well it was scary.. but it ended up being sweet and the next day my arms and legs almost fell off I swear. SORE. haha it was really fun though! Then we ran and worked out on the bikes and other machines.. then went to the spa! Ohhhh yes, they have a spa in the basement. It had mood lighting, was so warm, and then had soft music playing. There were reeeeeally long looking hot tubes with water falls and massage chairs.. and yah, it was heaven. That place rocks! We were there for 3 hours.. :)
That night we had our LAST intercambio with Helena and we went over to her house for dinner. It was neat to see where she lives and we got to meet her roommate, Blanca. We ate at about 9:30pm and we didn't leave until after midnight. We talked and talked and talked and she just graduated from college this year (they do 5 years) and so she was very proud of this and showed us some of her videos and projects and such from class which was really interesting. She is so nice and so much fun, I'm reaaaally going to miss her and hanging out with her. So yet again, another hard goodbye.
Helena's meal she cooked for us.
Our group!
Griffen, Rob, me, Helena, and Gen
Tuesday we had our final day of lecture! NEVER thought this day would come... yaaaay!! After class I came home and Maria had made my favorite.. paella.. for my last lunch here in Granada. It was delicious as per usual! :) Then after lunch I went back to the CLM to study for my Phonetics exam that we had that night. Easy Peasy.
Wednesday: MY LAST DAY IN GRANADA, SPAIN
Kelsey and I had our FINAL exams and presentations for our Intensive course. I did my presentation on Mill Pond so that was really fun :) They enjoyed the pictures and had lots of questions about my job so it was fun to share that with the class.
Kelsey and I with our first professor, Sonia.
and again with our second prof, Carmen.
Then.. I had to say goodbye to Veronica. CRY CRY CRY. :'(
We about squeezed the life out of eachother, luckily she comes to Pella once a year for a conference so we will get to see her again!
Finally... we celebrated!! We went out to our little Mexican restaurant and had margs and stuffed ourselves. Then we shopped til we... had no more money.. and enjoyed the rest of the views and places we love in Granada with all of my closet friends here. It was an absolutely wonderful and perfect day. But saying goodbye was the worst thing imaginable. I balled. balled. when I had to say goodbye to them. It sucked, a lot. :''''( They all live in different states far away and I don't know when I will get to see them again, but I'm hoping soon!!!!
LOVE these girls.
Me, Fatima, Anna Marie, Brielle, Kelsey, and Katie
(Rob took the shot) :)
That night I went home to my final dinner with Maria, Paco, and Tayler. Again, it was suuuper emotional and I can't begin to explain how all this makes me feel besides overwhelmed.
Then I packed up... gave them HUGE hugs and kisses before I went to bed.. My flight leaves from Granada at 7am and I need to catch a bus there at 5am.
That morning Maria woke up with me at 4am and had breakfast with me. She gave me huge hugs and told me she loved me and that I'm always welcome in her home.. once again, she made me cry. Then I gave Tayler a big hug and was on my way.
I had a 30 minute horrible walk with my bags to the bus station that took me to the airport. Then everything went smoothly. I traveled with 2 other gals from Granada to Madrid and then Madrid to Chicago. All of my flights were on time and finally.. I reached Des Moines where I was greeted by my mom and dad :) LOVE.
It was a whirlwind, a blast, a struggle, and a DREAM. I couldn't have asked for anything more and I wouldn't change a thing about this opportunity. I loved it, and made incredible bonds with so many people. I had an incredible experience abroad.
Love my family <3
BACK TO REALITY.
