Well, here it is. The last one. It's probably going to be more sad than funny but whatever I hope you enjoy anyway.
So last night we went to the beach at night to hang out and say goodbye to the friends we've made this semester. It was really upsetting to not only say goodbye to my friends but also the city. It was really hard to bring myself to leave but I had to continue packing for the next morning. I went to bed around 5 and then woke up at 7 to get ready for my day of traveling. It was hard to see our room and bathroom empty again, it just made it more real. We took a taxi to the airport and I ended up checking 3 bags (1 was free) so I only had to carry around my backpack which was nice.
My first flight was to London and it was way longer than it was supposed to be so that was unfortunate. I arrived to London and got to my next gate with no problems which was surprising since this was my first time catching flights alone. Nothing remarkable happened on either flights. I finished Wolf of Wall Street so that was successful. It was on the plane when it really hit me that I was going home.
I wasn't flying back to Barcelona after a crazy weekend in Berlin or Prague or Madrid. I was flying back to Chicago with no plans to return to the city that I have been living in for four months. I was going back to living in the Chicago Suburbs, using US Dollars, not having the metro to take everywhere. I wasn't ready to leave. I was extremely homesick in late March and early April to the point where I was counting down the days until I was going home. Back to my parents, siblings, friends, boyfriend, dog. It all sounded so perfect at that point. But now that I am actually doing it, I have very different feelings. It's not that I'm not excited to see any of the above people. I don't think it has hit me that I'm not taking the metro to class tomorrow and then going to get coffee and a sandwich for lunch. I have nothing to do in Arlington Heights. It didn't hit me until dinner tonight that I was never going to see my host mom again. Yeah, I knew I wasn't going to but it didn't seem as sad until it just felt weird not sitting at her table eating dinner. Those things I did everyday where the ones I took for granted.
While I'm really upset about leaving, I'm also extremely proud of myself. The day before I left for Barcelona, I was crying to mom saying that I don't think I can do this and why did I decide to go for a whole semester instead of just a summer. I wanted to puke the entire way to the airport, not to mention the flights. I didn't know how I was going to be away for so long because I tend to be a homebody. Even at school I see my parents (and usually dog) every month. My first night in Barcelona I was alone because my roommate's flight got delayed and I was crying because I was so overwhelmed and scared by what was ahead of me. Picturing that girl, who cried through security back in January and then who sat in the wrong gate for an hour, I can see how much I changed for the better having had this experience. I have gained more independence and confidence. I have become more outgoing in making friends, seeing as most of my friends are just in my sorority at home. My Spanish itself has improved a ton. The other day I was reading my early blog posts about how much trouble I was having with getting adjusted and I could not believe how far I have come. I never imagined that I would reach the point of being entirely comfortable in a foreign city but I accomplished that over time. Overall, I have only benefited from this experience and I am so incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity.
That brings me to my next point. I wanted to publicly say thank you to my mom and dad (even though we all know Fernando won't read this) for giving me this opportunity and supporting me in everything I wanted to do. There were times when a trip seemed like it was going to be too much money but they would encourage me to do it and help me out so much. They even took time out of work to come visit me for a week and half, which honestly was one of my favorite weeks of the semester. My dad wrote me a letter every week even though I just responded via email because I didn't know how to mail things. My mom would talk to me whenever she could while she was at work since the time change threw a wrench in things. I am so grateful to them and I don't think I could ever repay them for quite literally giving me the world.
I also want to thank everyone who read my blogs. Thanks for caring about my life and what I'm doing. I know it sounds dumb, but it means a lot when people tell me that they read it and they comment on things and ask me questions about whatever stupid story I was telling. I don't think I would have been able to keep up with the blogs if no one was reading them, so thank you guys so much and I hope you miss reading them as much as I will miss writing them!
I feel like I have left a piece of my heart in Barcelona and I know I will always be able to call that city home. Even after visiting Madrid and Granada (two other places I wanted to study in) I cannot imagine being in any other city. I can only hope that I go back someday. I wish I was able to make a list of everything that I will miss about the city but I'm pretty sure that would take up like 10 pages and no one would read that so I'll spare you. I'm going to miss it a lot and it's definitely going to be different living in Arlington Heights this summer and then Champaign again this fall. I just hope that I can top this experience at some point in my life...I don't want to peak too early. This whole experience honestly just feels like a dream. It feels like I left home 2 weeks ago. It was such a surreal experience and I'm sad that it already feels like it actually didn't happen. I'm definitely going to be upset these next few weeks but at least I will be seeing my home friends and I'm sure they will want to know all about my trip (hopefully).
Is it fate that a commercial starring Shakira just came on TV? I already want to go back.
So, without further adieu, adios. Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it. I really did live la vida loca this semester.
Angela
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