even though we all had finals this week on our last week here and some of us up until our last day here, we managed to have a fun last week. i can really say i have done absolutely everything i could have possibly wanted to do in granada. on my last night here i was even caught by erin and monica sprinting to get shwarma at 5:30 am cause i had to squeeze in my last one. looking back on my semester i can’t really wrap my head around the fact that its over.... and i’m currently sitting on my flight from london to boston about to arrive home in a few short hours. of course rachel, becca, kathryn, ella and i got together our last day in the park just as we had started our first days here and of course i was the one to be the crier. actually going to the airport i felt physically sick cause i just couldn’t believe it was all over.
i have been from the beaches in granada to skiing in the mountains, from hiking up trevenque to riverwalks, from oktoberfest to sensation white, from barcelona to sevilla, from ireland to italy, and even from europe to africa. i really could not have asked to accomplish more in my four short months here and i can only say that i am eternally grateful for the experience. i have my mom and dad to thank for all the help and support they gave me, and my host mom and dad lola and jesus for feeding me and not judging me for my horrible spanish. but one of the most important things that i am thankful for are my friends in granada that i got to share all of this with. i have met so many new friends and become better friends with others but i can’t picture myself with a better group of people surrounding me the whole way through. we have lost all social cues together which will be hard coming back to the US cause i think they are now the only people who don't think i'm a total weirdo but my fellow granadinos have brought out the best in me and i have had more fun and memories with them crammed into such a short time than ever, but i know these memories and friendships will last forever.
i know this is so corny and yes i am relishing in my last few legal drinks on the plane before i get to the US as i write this but really and truly this has been the most rewarding four months of my life. yes, i am probably still the most american person on the block as i started the semester, but i would like to think that everything i have seen and done this semester have taught me more than any textbook possibly could. personally i feel as though i have finally become the person i want to be and that is largely due to the people and places i was surrounded by. i am more understanding, less self centered, more observant, and more curious about new things than ever before. i have also come to appreciate every last detail of everything and every relationship i have and i am truly grateful for that. all the while learning un poco español!!
the other most rewarding part for me was how genuinely cultural my experience was. i realized this most in my travels in the past 24 hours while sleeping overnight in the barcelona airport and connecting in london, i have heard some very shallow comments about only clubbing and partying everywhere they were and i really do believe i got more out of my experience than that. living with a family did definitely bring me back to a more stricter (and fattening) version of high school sometimes, but having that family as a resource to learn about spain and spanish culture is something i am so grateful for. also thanks to the people i was surrounded by there was always an effort to do more than just party. everyone i was here with wanted to really relish in the experience and do as much in granada as we could from hiking, to going to the arabic baths, to walking up to the mirador just to admire the alhambra. i don't really care how douchey this sounds right now just let me get inspirational.
it is really really hard for me to say goodbye to this semester but i think that i am coming back to the US as a better version of myself and extremely grateful for everything. also it definitely helps that i have going back to tulane to look forward to. there were many days where ella and i would just say “ugh i miss tulane. i miss new orleans” and yes i loved granada and everything that europe had to offer, but i am so lucky to have great family in boston and great friends in new orleans to go back to. i don’t really know how else to end this super sentimental and kind of lame post but by shout out 2 da grx now we sip champagne when we thirstaaaay. aka clearly jdr is definitely still an american girl.
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