Maybe it’s just me, but November has gone by in the blink of an eye. I’m trying not to freak out, but as I’m writing this I only have 20 days left in this semester abroad.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m looking forward to seeing my family, friends, boyfriend, and dog again, to sleeping in my own, super comfortable bed, and to regrouping and reflecting before another normal semester in Pennsylvania begins. But, I also want to cry and throw up simultaneously when I think about how little time there is left in this semester, plus all of the work I have to do for finals, and all of the things I still want to do before I have to say goodbye to this amazing city and this incredible experience.
Regrettably, November seems to have been pretty unproductive for me, as far as all of that goes. The Thursday after returning from Paris, I went to class feeling like I had a fever and with a terrible stomach ache. The fever luckily went away within a day or so, but the stomach problems lasted for about another two weeks. And then, just when I finally admitted that I might need to see a doctor, I started to feel better. But I spent a lot of time in bed, wishing I could be out and about.
I was beyond frustrated. It felt like I had spent 90% of this semester feeling sick in one way or another, and I kept waking up every day, looking at the date, and knowing that time was slipping away from me. But at the same time, I knew that it was important to get healthy, and that if I didn’t get enough sleep, proper diet, etc. then I was only going to spend more time feeling miserable. As my dad would say, you can’t burn the candle at both ends.
Luckily enough I’m feeling better now, and was well enough to go on the trips that I had planned. The weekend after travelling to Aracena, Ronda and Setenil, I met up with one of my good friends from my school in PA in Barcelona. Not only was it refreshing to see a familiar face, but it was nice to be reminded of happy memories from home. And Barcelona was absolutely incredible. We got to see the Magic Fountains, Park Güell, La Sagrada Familia, and a ton more.
The weekend after that, I went to Granada with my roommate and two other girls from her program. We spent a lot of time walking around exploring the city and got to see the Alhambra, which we were worried we wouldn’t be able to do. We had heard a mix of different things like: “You have to buy your tickets weeks in advance,” and “You’ll have to wake up super early to wait in line and hope you get a ticket.” But we were able to buy tickets from a machine at the Alhambra bookshop and got in to see it just fine. It probably helped that we didn’t go during such a busy time in the season, though.
The Alhambra reminded me a lot of the Real Alcazar in Seville, which to date has been one of my most favorite things I’ve done in the city. The detail in the architecture is incredible. If you get the chance to see either or both of these, take it.
This weekend I was in Valencia with the two girls from SSA who also go to UPO. It’s been another great trip, but I’ll write more about it in my next post. And after that, we have our final trip together to Rome, which we’re definitely excited for, but it’s clear that with the recent terrorist attacks, and the expectation that they will continue, our feelings have, of course, been complicated. We know to be vigilant, and we know not to let fear get the best of us, but we can’t help being nervous and scared. We were very lucky to have gotten to see Paris when we did, just two weeks before the attacks, and to have felt and been so safe throughout this experience so far. But we know that this can, and does unfortunately, happen at any given time and all over the world.
I’ve seen and learned so much about the history and culture of Spain, and its relation with the rest of the world. I’ve had such happy feelings about the wondrous things I’ve seen and experienced, but also have felt frustration, anger, and sadness. I feel like my eyes have been opened quite a bit, but with that comes a responsibility.
It all really hit me while I sat on one of the wooden pews in the Iglesia del Sagrario in Granada, just taking in the absolute beauty of this church we just happened upon. To think that people are capable of making such incredibly beautiful things, to have the kind of devotion that must go into working on them, but, and it’s impossible to speak for every individual, to also be capable of such hatred toward one another breaks my heart. That was what was going through my head when I started to cry.
There may be days where I wonder if I have really made the most out of this experience. Could I have done more, made the difficult situations I faced better? Of course, or at least I could have tried harder. But I know that I’ll be taking away from this experience something that I think is more valuable than more ticket stubs and even improved Spanish speaking skills. And that is the desire to know more about, understand better, and always push myself to keep an open heart and mind to the mystery of all human beings and this world we live in.