Sadly, so long España. I’ve had the time of my life and I will see you in 2 years- you best believe I’ll be back.In this last week I’ve won some and lost some, learned some and forgot some, and added everything to my mental scrapbook. The moment has finally come where I’ve had to say goodbye and head back to reality. July 31st, you arrived faster than I imagined and I’m not sure I’m exactly okay with that. I sadly had to say goodbye to my beautiful, encouraging, and loving house mom, to all of my new acquired classmates, acquaintances, friends, good friends, to my favorite place outside of the United States, and to the traditions, style, and food that will be no more in America. Not ready at all either to endure this 10 hour plane ride back home but this is the only way to get back to my family so here goes nothing- guess it just means I have more time to blog and whatnot.
As you already know, I took my first final on Friday and then second on Monday. Straight DOMINATED the exam and ACED the class with a 4.0 baby!! ;) I have to admit I’m extremely excited because not only is that going to boost my GPA tremendously but think about how good that is going to look on any job application or scholarship application for Spanish- making a 4.0 in a foreign country speaking a foreign language, YESSS. So happy. Monday night I went out with all of our tutors and of course my P.I.C. (partner in club) Caroline to Calle Betis and then to Balindo to dance the night away along with Samuel, Trace, Mateo, Benjamin, Chad, Luca, Kate, and many more! Had a great time ALLLL night, especially with Irene and Javi- our favorite boy and girl tutors- and even danced it up with moto man- another one of our tutors that obviously owns a moto-hence the nickname- even rode that baby with moto man out of Calle Betis.
Checked that last thing off my list. We all had a late night and an early morning considering we had to be on the bus, with ALL of our luggage by 6:30 that morning- too bad we didn’t even leave until 7 because our head director got stuck in her apartment’s elevator- COOL- haha actually it’s pretty funny because she always tells us to not be late or we get left, and this time she was the one that almost got left.
Off to Toledo we went- all 40 something of us- and took plenty of baby naps on the bus between touristic places we stopped at to see. Out of this whole trip- Toledo definitely wins the nicest hotel award- FREE INTERNET, niceeee comfy beds and blankets, AC, and free breakfast. Went to a couple more cathedrals – put a couple more offerings for my Grandma Dee and Uncle Brian- and had the chance to see the GRECO museum. Picked up some goodies for my brothers Teej and Johnny boy and saved the rest of that money for Madrid. My absolute favorite part about Toledo was by far the night skyline. If you like nature, and just sitting outside and enjoying the little beautiful things around you, even the stars- which were amazing btw- then this would have been perfect for you. I think I probably sat outside just enjoying the lights and view for 3 hours. BEYOND AMAZING. If that doesn’t make you appreciate the little things in life as well then I don't know what does. Off to sleep, we all woke up for another long trip to Madrid on the bus that next day. It’s funny to me how we pay so much for these “expensive” hotels and then when you actually get to the hotel with the class, there is no free Internet, NO AC, terrible service, and on and on. Explored the city of Madrid again fortunately and even got a free dinner provided by the school at a nice restaurant BUT Lagos’ free school provided dinner was the all time best free dinner I’ve ever had- TRUMPS Madrid. After dinner it was of course out because hey after all this was our LAST week in Spain, so we just had to make the most of it.
That next morning we were off on another excursion to a smaller city about 15 minutes from Segovia with the Alcazar del verano and then headed to Segovia after the Alcazar visit. In that smaller city, we toured the Alcazar del verano and by far that was my favorite “Palace” of any queen or king so far. It actually looked like a palace I would imagine kings and queens living in- not just stone concrete rocks everywhere. And in Segovia, the aqueduct that was free standing without any kind of concrete paste was a sight to see, the lunch at a small little place was not bad to go along with it as well but the after math of Caroline’s paella was not too pretty considering she got food poisoning from it the next day - that was terrible. Off to the castle that Walt Disney was inspired by we went, and the view from the top was gorgeous. To conclude the day, we took a 2ish or so hour drive back to the hotel and headed out for the night.
With the regulars, we went to a small little disco that became the place to be the next few nights. Even ran into one of the pub-crawl guys that Candra and I met on day 3 of this whole experience- small world. Danced- or should I say SHUFFLED- the night away with C-line and headed to bed after a long night. Planned on walking the streets and seeing a few sights the next day but decided to take the day easy after the food poisoning came in strong for Caroline. 2 days left til the U.S., I sadly took in every last moment and experience in Spain that I could. Saturday came around and a lot of walking around the city I did. Took the metro to the modern art museum, which was extremely weird, but at the same time cool and ended the night with a nice dinner. 
Sunday was the day to leave so Saturday night I decided to stay up ALLLLL NIGHT LONG- or at least that was my plan- so that when I didn’t sleep on the airplane, I would get home and be extremely exhausted to the point where I would just pass out and sleep so good and get on schedule. I ended up falling asleep for one hour after watching 2 movies but woke up just in time to eat a nice breakfast and catch the cab to the airport- SAD.
With my 60-pound duffle bag on my back, my full to the max with schoolwork and clothes backpack on the front and my 50 pound suitcase, I dragged myself through the airport to American airlines check in and received my ticket to America. I used some of the skills I’ve learned growing up with a pops like mine and bargained with the flight lady to not charge me 60 bucks because my luggage was 2 pounds over. SCORE. Walked over 20 minutes through the MAD airport and finally arrived at the right gate- after getting lost a time or two- and boarded the plane – which I now have been sitting on for 4 hours or so- to take me back home. One hell of an experience and a memory that will last forever, I have left Spain but will never forget it. I am filled with a million emotions along with the lessons and grace learned over the last 7 weeks that has by far enhanced me as a person and opened my eyes more than I could have ever imagined. I couldn’t be more thankful, as I am beyond grateful to everyone and everything that made this possible. And when I arrive in America, I will be sure to let the people closest to me know how much I love them.
Standing in the inspiring vision of my future,
I boldly take every step - large and small - with courage and intent.- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
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