The Beginning of the End?

Friday, December 12, 2008 – 2:08 a.m.

6 days left. The nostalgia is slowly starting to grow; the ghosts of future possible regrets, maybe? Have I done enough during my stay here? Have I seen enough sites? Have I studied enough? Have I taken advantage of every opportunity possible? Have I left my mark on this city? I think it’s hard for anyone to think ahead of here and now and realize, yes, we should grasp desperately onto every fleeting moment of our lives, no matter where, when, and who we are. So instead of focusing on the few regrets I’ve had, I can’t help but share some of the amazing experiences that I have had, the ones I will hold with me forever.

If there were one day to be designated as the “beginning of the end,” I would say today would be that day. I woke up, after the truly unforgettable night I had last night, extremely tired, not knowing how much this day would get me emotional that my trip is coming to an end. My Spanish momma, Pepi, woke me up and told me I needed to clean up my room because a lady from the student housing program would be coming today to inspect my room for next semester students. This meant two things. 1) I was required to take down all the hometown newspaper articles and letters and funny cards that I have received while being here. Now my wardrobe closet is simply a wardrobe closet again… 2) I had to clean off the “shelf” bed of my bunk bed, the one I don’t sleep on. After I did this along, it didn’t feel like my room anymore. There wasn’t a messy layer of my school papers and Euros and iPod chargers and backpacks and clothes lying out to let me know I’m home. Before I left for class, I looked at my room and almost felt like an outsider, knowing that this home of mine would soon not be my home anymore, but contrarily knowing that this beautiful place would always be my home.

After the walk to the University, I walked into my last class for the semester. As my friend Phil perfectly stated, “I love it. That class lasted 12 minutes. Auxy (what we call our awesome Spanish professor) walked in 10 minutes late, and the other 2 was spent passing back our exams and then saying adios.” If someone would have told me my favorite class would be a class about Spanish phonetics and phonology, I would have laughed at them, but it truly was my favorite. I really learned the most and loved the professor and will never forget my hilarious presentation that my friend Nicolle and I put on for the class. “Bla ble bli blo blu!” After that, we all left the University for probably the last time, unless I decide to head back one more time next week before I leave. It hit me then, and it’s still hitting me now. It’s all about done.

After walking around with Erika and Phil for a bit, having time to kill before lunch because of the short class, I returned home for yet another amazing lunch from Pepi. Damn, I am going to miss that woman. I was her kid from day 1, and I know she will always have me in her heart after I leave. Yeah, we’ve had our disputes. I’ve fought with her about how to make the bed, I’ve been yelled at for taking too long of a shower, and I’ve been mad at her for turning off the internet when she goes to bed, but I love her all the same. It all has definitely showed me how much of an American I am, and how much more there is to this crazy world than just me, myself and I. She’s showed me I always need to be considerate of others in every aspect of life.

After lunch, I took one of my last true Spanish siestas. Damn, I am definitely going to miss those. Of course it wouldn’t be complete without the construction going on in the apartment next door, but I was exhausted enough to overcome the noise and I fell asleep almost immediately. I think the U.S. could use a good long "nap," and I mean that in more ways than one.

Eventually dinner time rolled around, and by dinner time I mean 10:00 p.m., another thing I’m in love with. I wanted to take Erika and Phil out to the Abacería, our place in Seville. There’s no other. It was most likely the last time we would all eat there together, so I treated them to some solomillo al whiskey and croquetas de jamón, our favorite ‘tapas’ by far, and we shared some laughs and reminisced about the crazy amazing times we’ve had in Spain. We all leave next week. It’s crazy. I already can’t wait to meet up again with them, no matter where and when. They’re family now, and I’ll never forget them.

After dinner, I received a text from my friend Nicolle that they all wanted to see me one last time, because they would be all flying the next day. So I hurried across town to ‘Calle Betis’ to meet up with them one last time. I’m sad that I wasn’t better friends with her and the people in her program earlier in the semester, but like I said before, I’m extremely grateful to ever have been unexpectedly paired up with her in the first place to do our class presentation. Yet again, we shared some stories and laughs about our times here, and how we’ll never be the same again and how this experience will forever impact our lives. When we left, I wished them farewell. I’ve never been a fan of goodbyes. I say enjoy the time you have with someone as if it’s the last. If it’s not, feel grateful when you reunite again. And whether or not you never see that person again, if they’re important enough, they’ll always leave a little bit of themselves on your heart.

After we parted ways, there was nothing left to do but what I do best. So sure enough, I suited up the coat, gloves, and iPod, and started strolling toward home. One of the best things about being out late at night in Seville is walking through sleeping Seville, even though it’s claimed as “La Ciudad Que Nunca Duerme” (The City That Never Sleeps). Trust me, if you’re up late enough (or should I say “early” haha) it is a peacefully sleeping giant. I don’t know what it is, but I’m perfectly happy then and there, just me and my music, strolling through my city.

Everything from the day eventually brought me home, where I now find myself under my 400 covers and pink comforters in my non-heated room, yet warm at heart and smiling. There’s nothing left to say for the evening. I don’t have some grand conclusion to spill. It’s been an amazing day, but I still don’t have life figured out. I don’t have some end-all be-all answer that sums up the purpose to the madness. But I do know that it’s fun finding out a little bit more with each day. So maybe after all, it’s not the beginning of the end. It’s just another amazing day in Seville. Ahora, a dormir… *Besos* Ry

Single Digits

Well the final Illinois College reunion in Spain this semester just finished up. This time, all the friends came to MY city! Seville! I had been excited for some time that they would get to see the city I have lived in and loved for the past 3 months. We were short 2 people, Laura and Michelle, and we all missed them dearly, but we made sure to not let them down and have a good time.

The weekend started out pretty much how we do things... a little hectic and crazy, but perfect in it's own imperfect way. I picked up the girls, Katie and Eva, from the bus station around 8:30 and we decided to head to find the hostel after Daman called and said his bus was running "a little" late. After getting to the general location of where I thought the hostel was and wandering down some back alleys, we discovered it had been right across the street from the bus stop haha. It was a fairly decent place overall. 2 bunk beds and a personal bathroom that...well...I'll just say it smelled... but we made the most of it for the weekend haha.

We then headed for the bus station another time to get Daman, who was about 2 hours late. Turns out when he got into Seville finally around 11, they had redirected to the OTHER bus station where we were NOT at, so after ANOTHER bus trip around the city, we finally snagged him up to get back to the hostel. It had been a long day for everyone, so we decided to just get settled and hang out that night with no big plans. Around midnight finally we found a restaurant next door to the hostel to grab a quick bite for all the hungry travellers.

After some pizza, tortillas españolas, and some other Spanish tapas, everyone was feeling a little better from the long day, and we headed back up the hostel to chill. The bunk beds, to say the least, were not very functional for sitting on in a group to hang out, but after some creative rearranging of the room, we had a nice little table to sit around whilst on the TOP 2 bunks! Haha. Katie had her PC with her and provided the music, anywhere from Fergie to Jack Johnson to you name it. Good times. After discussing Legends of the Hidden Temple, reminiscing about past reunions, sharing crazy stories from each of our travels in Spain, and after apparently some of us learned some Parseltongue, we finally called it a night.

We all slept in Saturday until after 12. I think everyone needed it. Katie and Eva had a 6-hour bus ride, while Daman's was an ungrateful 16 hours after delays. I headed back home to clean up and have lunch with my Spanish momma, Pepi. After a meal that I did not enjoy from her, which is RARE, I headed back to meet up with everyone to show them around Seville. We first all went to grab a bite to eat. The tradition has been to have Kebabs for at least ONE meal of our reunion, so I took them to a Kebab place. I had never had them before coming to Spain. They're goooooood. A Turkish dish. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6ner_Kebab

After that, we headed to the Plaza de España, one of the coolest places in Seville to take pictures. Built for the 1892 Expo, it is grand and breathtaking. Check out some pictures. Then we headed toward downtown, and it was awesome, because it was just getting dark, and LITERALLY everywhere we went, all the Christmas lights would turn on as we got there. People were EVERYWHERE... A typical Saturday night for Sevillanos. Everyone loved the atmosphere. I was really glad that they all got to see what I experience here in this beautiful city of Seville. The pictures say it all. Christmas lights, street performers, the smell roasting chestnuts, people out and about enjoying the beautiful evening... BLISS.

After walking around for a few hours, we eventually found our way back to the hostel to get ready for the night. The hostel had an amazing terrace on the rooftop that was closed the night before, so we headed up there to start the evening and share some drinks. The owners of the hostel were amazing. They had food cooked for everyone, cookies, and wine. There was a girl playing guitar and I got SUPER jealous... Only 9 days and I will have my guitars again... I have no clue how I've gone this long without them and I haven't gone crazy... Oh well. Back to the weekend.

After hanging out on the terrace, we headed out for some Seville night life. We headed to The Abacería, my favorite restaurant here in Seville, so I share my favorite tapa, solomillo al whisky, with everybody. They LOOOVED it too. I was glad. After that we went to a bar down by the river that makes really good pitchers of mixed drinks. Barbujas. After some fun there just chilling and talking, we headed across the river to Calle Betis, which is pretty much THE place to be to experience the true Seville nightlife. All the young 20 somethings like us were there enjoying the evening. After going to the bar Big Ben and experiencing a very angry American girl that was yelling at the bouncer because she didn't have ID to get in, we had a few drinks inside, but it was very crowded as usual. Shots for only 1 Euro are going to bring everybody, so we left after 20 minutes or so. Then Katie wasn't feeling well, so she and Daman headed back to the hostel, while Eva and I made our ways to Tijuana TexMex, the Seville version of Taco Bell, but 10 times better! We had the nachos there, which are SO deliciously good! After that, we headed back to the hostel to get a little sleep before another fun day.

Sunday, we didn't have the whole day, because the girls' bus left at 6 and Daman's left at 10. They had to check out of the hosel at noon, so after I put all of their bags in my room, we headed for Telepizza to have some lunch. Their sign said they opened at 1, and we were there at 1, but they didn't open at 1 haha. We sat outside for 20 minutes and finally gave up and decided to walk elsewhere. We ended up at a cool little Pizzeria which turned out to have WAY more amazing pizza, and it was a quaint little corner restaurant out of the cold wind and spitting rain that day. After that, we made our way back through the winding streets of Seville again, this time during the day, and headed toward the Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed for a special event throughout the weekend, so we got unlucky there. Instead we walked through the twisting, turning, dizzying alleyways of Seville, hitting up the souvenir shops, and just getting lost in the beauty of this wonderful city. Eventually we found our way back to my house and I grabbed the ladies bags and we made our way to the train station.

We had a little time to spare, so we went into mini-mall across from the bus station. There, we bought some "dulces" (Spanish sweets) and found a bench to just sit and relax for a bit. Then we said our goodbyes to the girls I'll miss them very much! =(

After that, Daman and I went to catch a movie, Bolt, in Spanish. We were probably the oldest people there that weren't parents of little kids, and I was probably laughing the most out of anyone in the theater. I'm a goober =). Go watch it if you haven't yet!

After that, we hit up the Abacería one more time to have some good food. Solomillo and croquetas with a fútbol game on TV. Ahhh the good life. I got Daman to the bus station successfully and after he left, I went back to my good ole friend, the iPod, and listened to some good tunage while taking the city bus back home.

Overall, it was a memorable weekend, and I wouldn't trade it for any others. It's almost the cap to a great semester I've had here, but there is still a little work to be done and a little fun to be had, so I can't wrap it all up just yet. As for now, I'm off to study for one of my finals. I appreciate the patience all of you followers have. I miss you all dearly, and the countdown is now down to 9.

Single Digits!

Love,
RDB