Hasta Luego

I’m writing this sitting on the porch of a beautiful airbnb just outside of Milan. I left Barcelona early before the sun came up this morning. I spent three days showing my friends around the city and I was amazed at the amount of facts and knowledge I had about the city and the places we were visiting. I’m so glad I got to share such a beautiful city with them. It was very bittersweet leaving. I realized I had become very comfortable in Barcelona and it had begun to feel like home.

Studying abroad was such a great experience. Getting to learn in and out of the classroom and having it count towards my minor was the perfect thing for me. I’m becoming more comfortable with Spainsh (so much so that I keep trying to speak it in Italy…whoops). I made memories that I’m sure will last a lifetime and I know I will always look back fondly on my time in Barcelona.  I’m hoping that I have 13 new friends to share those memories with and I hope we will stay in touch back home.

I remember being so nervous getting on the flight to Barcelona. I had never lived in a big city before. What if my Spanish wasn’t as good as I thought? But after five weeks spent in the city interacting with the people and exploring, I can safely say that I regret nothing. Maybe one day I’ll come back to Barcelona. I’m definitely coming back to Spain. I want to go further north to San Sebastian or maybe south to Seville. I don’t know that I’ll ever live in a big city again. The daily lifestyle was just a bit too busy for me. However, this trip did inspire me to travel more and maybe even live abroad for a year or two after I graduate.

For now I’ve got plenty to keep me busy, Milan for a few days, then Munich, then Amsterdam, then England, and finally back to the states from there. I miss home a little, but I’m really glad my adventures aren’t quite over yet.

El Ultimo

When I was accepted and committed to this program in the spring, I was incredibly excited for the opportunity to study in Barcelona for five weeks. However, when I was actually in the taxi to meet my host family I became really nervous. What if my Spanish wasn’t good enough? What if I didn’t like the other students or my host family? What if I didn’t like Barcelona?

Looking back, I am so grateful for this experience. First of all, it really helped my Spanish. Talking everyday in class in Spanish, ordering or giving directions in Spanish, and simply being surrounded by Spanish helped. My host mom watched the news a lot and during my time in Barcelona a lot occurred, such as Brexit and the Spanish elections. While I may not have not always spoken with perfect grammar or used the most advanced vocabulary, I could understand her opinions and talk with her about these more advanced topics. I am more confident in my ability to communicate in Spanish now.

I always liked the idea of living in a big city, but growing up in Boulder I wondered if I could actually handle it. After commuting on the metro every day and needing to find ATM’s, a pharmacy, and stores on my own- I now know that I can navigate a city. While I feel like I saw all the major highlights of the city that I wanted to, there is always so much going on. I feel like I could live in Barcelona and still always find something new to do or see. My favorite part of living in Barcelona that I miss most now being back in Boulder is just getting to walk around the busy streets and see all the hustle and bustle. I hope to one day return to Barcelona either to travel, work, or live.

Lastly, I am thankful for the friends I made during this program. I plan to stay in touch with them once we are all back in Boulder again. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my experience!

Altered Pace

Pace is something that is constant, an unspoken rhythm that acts as a metronome for how quickly something occurs.  It can be rapid, like a heartbeat, or slow as the tick of the second hand of a clock, counting down the remaining time that we have left on this earth.  In Spain, I became accustomed to living a life of accelerated pace.  I was always moving, whether it was walking to class, riding on the metro, or braving the Barcelona streets in a taxi ride.  However, as I have returned home the pace of my life has been drastically altered.  I no longer continuously have some place to be, and have time to relax in a hammock as the sun beats down upon me while I slowly turn the pages of a good book.  I had adapted to a life of never ending motion, and it now feels strange to return to my life where time stands still. 

I have also noticed the immense quiet of my suburban neighborhood.  The only sound that I can distinguish is the tranquil chirping of birds.  There are no footsteps, no people rapidly speaking in Spanish in the street, and no car horns blaring in thick traffic.  In five weeks, I am not used to hearing such a lack of sound.  It is unusual to see so much open space and green because Spain is so congested, and the only green that you see are the leaves on the trees.  Colorado is so spread out as opposed to the confined concrete streets of Barcelona.  It feels odd to be home and return to my life that I left before Spain because it almost seems as though I had never left.  I have recoiled back into my old routines, and it is weird to think that I was gone for so long when my life does not appear to be any different at home.  However, my life is different, and I now understand the rich history and way of life from another place in the world.  Returning home, I miss the endless exploration and discovery from my life in Spain.