In nine hours I will be on my first of two flights back to my final destination: home. Can you believe it? My time here is up. No más tiempo. I think it is safe to say, however, that my time during this last weekend in Spain was well spent. Let's have a recap of the past several days:
Classes ended Thursday so we did not have to go to school Friday...it was a nice break. :) Instead, we had a diploma ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Facultad de Economicas. The ceremony was a treat. I received my diploma, took pictures with my teachers, and said goodbye to new friends. Two friends I'd like to specifically mention are Angela and Dagmar. One is from Hong Kong and the other is from Denmark. How cool is that? I have international buddies! I did not even consider this incredible aspect of my study abroad experience, but it has been a pleasant surprise for sure. Afterward, Maddie and I went back home and got ready for our evening in Madrid. The majority of the one month crew decided to stick around Alcalá and just travel to Madrid during the day/evening. We took a rest from traveling hours away and settled for exploring different parts of Madrid we hadn't seen. Friday night was not so much exploring, but simply enjoying. And did we enjoy ourselves. We rushed over to Gran Via to see "El Rey León" at 6 p.m. It was so awesome. And it was in Spanish. Yes, it did help that I knew the storyline and had seen the movie countless times as a kid, but it was really cool that I could actually follow most of the lines in Spanish too. There were definitely some huh? moments throughout the play, but the language barrier did not take anything away from the experience. I am so happy Maddie and I went...perfect roomie night out. After the play, the gang (Frank, Haylee, Anna, Will, Maddie, me) met up and we ate at our favorite Italian restaurant in Madrid. We shared pizza and just enjoyed some good fellowship. After a long night in Madrid, it was time to call it a night.
Yesterday was an adventurous one. The same group headed back to Madrid, round two for the weekend. Angela met us at Atocha and hung out with us for a little while. Our first stop was the Almudena Cathedral right next to the Palacio Real. After we explored the area and inside the cathedral, we said our goodbyes to Angela...it was so nice getting to see her one last time. After that, we ate some ice cream, walked through a park, and went to the Templo de Debod. You can read about the temple here! We were quite exhausted from all of the walking we had done so we just took a time out and hung out in the grass (pictures to follow). Once reenergized, we headed down to the Reina Sofia, a modern art museum. It was cool, but I tend to like more traditionally paintings. Frank, however, loved it! He said he could have spent all day there. Sorry Frank...your friends don't appreciate the arts quite like you do ;) By the time we were done at the museum, it was time to head back home.
Today looked very different than Friday and Saturday. It was so relaxing. Maddie and I slept in until about 10:30 a.m. (the most and best sleep I've gotten this entire trip...yay!) and just hung out all afternoon. Our mom cooked us our favorite meal: rice "soup" with chicken, red peppers, and green beans with bread and watermelon for dessert. It was delicious. She and Javi, her husband, even joined us for lunch! It was awesome. We also packed up all of our stuff and cleaned our "living quarters". To end our last full day in Spain, we met up with the same group of people and ate dinner with Brian and his wife! It was a good time of fellowship and enjoying Spain specialties...I had patatas bravas for dinner, of course, with ice cream to follow. I am very pleased by how my last day turned out.
Now...with everything but a final trip to the airport behind me, I want to take a look back at my various experiences and highlight some of my favorites. There is no possible way to pick one favorite thing about Spain, but I can work with different categories of favorites. I have enjoyed so much here that I am not sure if this list will do it justice, but I am going to give it a try!
-Favorite city: Toledo
-Favorite trip: Granada
-Favorite site: Alhambra
-Favorite cathedral: Catedral de Granada
-Favorite event: El Rey León with Maddie
-Favorite part of Madrid: Parque del Buen Retiro
-Favorite part of Alcalá: Plaza Cervantes
-Favorite food: Tortilla española
-Favorite drink: Fanta naranja
-Favorite ice cream: Vanilla in Granada (yes, ice cream needs its own category.)
-Favorite quote: "That's a pasa problema."
-Favorite city view: Segovia
-Favorite street: La Rambla in Barcelona
I have to close out my last Spain blog post with a bang. How can I do that? With pictures of course! Tengo más fotografias para ti (I have more photos for you). From the diploma ceremony at school and the musical to exploring Madrid and hanging out with friends, these set of pics capture my last weekend in Spain. As always, I hope you enjoy :)
Some of my awesome Spain family at the gym after Zumba...Cristina, Me, Mari, Maddie, and Marta.
Maddie and I chillin' with the famous statue in Alcalá.
Me with my two teachers from Alcalingua, Anna and Visi.
Angela Lee. So thankful to have met her. She is truly a wonderful young woman and a great, new friend of mine.
Frank, Dagmar, Angela, Me, Anna, Maddie.
Sitting down and ready to go.
Me with my "El Rey León" cup. I was so excited for the show to begin!
Such a great musical! We couldn't have asked for a better night :)
Near Puerta del Sol Friday night. We <3 Frank.
One thing I haven't really mentioned is all the "cigüenas" in Alcalá. There are storks in trees, on top of buildings, everywhere!
I wanted to capture a pretty picture of Plaza Cervantes with all the flowers. Loved seeing this view everyday.
Catedral de Santa María la Real de La Almudena.
Inside the cathedral. The inside was very modern!
Sweet Angela met up with us for a little while Saturday. I loved spending time with her!
The group hanging out in the grass at Templo de Debod.
This picture is perfect. Great day with some great people :)
Spain, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for a wonderful month full of new things: new friends, new family, new adventures, new learning. I feel so blessed to have experienced just one small piece of God's creation and I will forever cherish the memories made. Thank you Lord for your beautiful, diverse creation. I have so enjoyed it.
El fin.
Bethany
