Long day....

I've had a long day...flew home from Spain today so I'll make it short.



I had it planned for a few weeks to surprise my family. My amazing uncle Corky and awesome cousin Kailyn picked me up today from Chicago. I popped out of their car to surprise my mom and the twins in our driveway. Then, they treated me to my favorite restaurant in the whole world (literally) and then took me to surprise my dad at his office. Kailyn has some pictures so I'm sure I'll post it later. It was so nice to see my family...ALL of them and eat about 10,000 calories today :) I am super tired and am going to hit the hay. Hope to hear from you all soon now that the cat's out of the bag :) Thanks so much to Corky and Kailyn, too, for making it a wonderful surprise and for the great food!

The despedida.....

My Spanish friend, Santi, and my American friend, Julie.

I get sick of boring pictures!

Half Spanish Half American amigos at my house for my "despedida"

The group out at a club for my goodbye party

Since I am leaving in just a couple of weeks, my friends decided to throw me a goodbye party this weekend to celebrate my leaving Spain before final trips start for everybody. What was supposed to be a few friends going for dinner ended up being a huge bash...didn't know I had so many friends here! It was wonderful having all my Spanish AND America friends in one spot and obviously it was a bit bittersweet. I couldn't help but reflect on my year here when thinking of going home.....

It will be hard to say goodbye to some amazing people who I have met here. Lucky for me, some of the American friends I have made here are from UW so it will be WONDERFUL having them so close to home. If I had to sum up this year, I would call it "purposeful”. It wasn’t quite life changing like last year, but I learned a lot: about the country, the continent, the people, the city, the language, and myself. I have tried to be pretty neutral up to this point about Spain (on the blog anyways, a few of you know my TRUE feelings) but here it goes…. I suppose as I look back on it, I would give Spain a total thumbs up, Madrid a definite thumbs down. Now, those of you who know me know that I am usually a very positive person so I don’t say this lightly. The attitude of the city, NOT the country, is very….I would call it rude. Over time, I have found myself coming a little bitter towards the general attitude of the “madrilenos pijos” (posh Madrid-ians) who think that they are better than the rest of the world. A lack of customer service and general compassion for your fellow man is very obvious in the city. The hustle and bustle is not something I enjoy being trapped in everyday…..but now I know! I miss the smiles on the street corner from strangers, people giving up their seat to the elderly, the safety you feel in small town America (without gypsies!), and generally people in love with life, not themselves. At the same time, Madrid is the hub of the country; it has been easy to travel and welcome visitors, too so I am glad I was here and not elsewhere. I have learned so much and I am so glad to have realized that I am NOT a city girl! Therefore, because I have learned and grown so much, this year was a very POSITIVE year. Overall, I have had an amazing time here and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Ok. Well that’s enough of the sentimental junk, just wanted to give ya’ll my overall impressions. Now I better get some of these post-exam to-do things crossed off my list.





Si escuchas a la canción de abajo, cuidadosamente, vas a ver que hay un secreto escondido en las palabras….manana te lo dire, vale?