Last night, my program API, had a farewell dinner for us all… a little premature since I don’t leave until Thursday next week but there are some kids that go to another university and they left today. Well, those whose flights weren’t messed up because of the volcano (;
Well, either way, it’s just really hitting me that I’m leaving soon. And not just that, it comes in such intense waves that I sometimes don’t really know what to do with myself. On one hand I can’t wait to go home and see my parents and Andri and Freya and Ana and Lindsay and EVERYONE! But then literally the next minute I want to cry because I’m leaving Barcelona. I’ve fallen SO in love with this city and I can’t bear the thought of leaving. And then I go back to being so excited about going home. And back again. And it’s horrible!
Yesterday I had my last real Spanish class – all that’s left now is the final, which is in three parts: oral (personal introduction, talk about a photo, and a dialogue with a partner), grammar test, and written test. So yesterday we practiced our oral parts a bit in class and finished watching the movie we had been watching and then Francesc tells us to push all the tables to the side and set the chairs in a circle. So we do, and he asks what we think about the class, if we feel like we’ve learned anything, improved our Spanish, etc. and everytime someone said something like “I definitely think my Spanish has gotten a lot better” he would say thank you. He said thank you to everything, and I almost started crying. He has been such an amazing teacher, so I’m gonna miss him, but having that whole conversation just made it that much more real. I was so relieved when the time was 12:45 so I could get out of that classroom and collect myself.
The farewell dinner thing was nice… They had put together a slideshow of pictures and it was really cheesy but nice. Being there didn’t bother me, I only started getting sad when we were leaving and I was saying bye to all the API people; Marta, Roma, Laura, Mireia, Nuria, Patricia… They’ve all been so great and even though I’m not leaving yet I don’t think I’ll see them again before I leave so it was really sad. I kept my composure but as we were walking out, a little tiny tear definitely made it’s way down my face.
Not to mention, leaving the people I have spent so much time with... Margarita, who has been SO so so amazing the entire time, a woman I'll never ever in my life forget because she has done so much for me while I've been here, and her family, especially Yolanda and Cristina, two chicks who have always just enhanced any lunch time or "pizza jueves". Brittany, though God knows we've had our differences, really has been amazing roommate, and we really lucked out considering the tight living quarters. We always joke and say that, if we wanted, we could fall asleep holding hands without stretching our arms out, that's how close our beds are. We have very similar living habits and it was just so lucky that we ended up together. Everything is just gonna be so different after having gotten used to this living situation. It's gonna be nice being back home in MY bed, with MY stuff, and MY family, and MY mess and all that, but this has come to be mine too..
Today I had a big presentation that I’ve been worried and nervous about for a long time. I had to speak for 10 minutes, IN SPANISH, about tourism and religion. First I had to read a 30 page article to get my info, then put the presentation together, and then remember what exactly I needed to say because I wasn’t allowed to use notecards or anything like that… I was super nervous all day yesterday and kept thinking about it, but then as I was walking to school I kept saying “I’m not nervous!” to myself and what do you know? I went to do the presentation and it went really well!!
So after class, Chelsey and I headed to Barceloneta and took naps on the beach (: The weather is absolutely GORGEOUS today, and it’s supposed to be like this for the rest of the week. Of course, figures that a week before I leave the sun comes out, but better late than never! Besides, I’ve been talking to some people I met at the hostel in Portugal and they said it’s been amazing there for a while so I can always look forward to the beach in Cascais (:
Gotta get to studying for the final… and probably go through some more waves of intense sadness combated by intense happiness. Nothing’s ever straightforward and simple, apparently.
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Awww, skil vel að þú sért soldið conflicted við að vera að fara, en það þýðir bara að þú hefur haft það gott og aðlagast vel að lífinu í Barcelona, þú kemur líka með tonn af góðum minningum og ég tala nú ekki um alla lífsreynsluna. Og það er alltaf hægt að fara aftur.....Mundu að taka fullt af myndum af Margaritu og fjölskyldu og öllum hinum spánverjunum sem þú hefur kynnst til að sýna okkur. Okkur hlakkar mikið til að fá þig heim eftir 30 daga!! Verður spennandi að sjá hvernig Freya verður þegar hún sér þig!!
ReplyDeleteRisa knús frá okkur öllum á Concord Road,mamma.