Two Days!

Dear time,

Please slow down.

Thank you,
Linnell

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Seriously! Time has absolutely flown by! I can't believe that I'll be hopping into a plane in less than two days. I've been getting a bit nostalgic this last week about these last two years in Spain. They have been full of many challenges, adventures, discoveries, and many many firsts. In Spain/Europe, I ate cured ham, cheese, and sausage (aka. no need to be in the fridge) for the first time, I was a serious child caregiver for the first time, I seriously studied and learned a foreign language for the first time, I learned how to cook, I lived in an apartment for the first time, I failed a class for the first time (yes, Spanish class... I didn't study hard enough nor was I rested enough for the exam), I gained an appreciation for Flamenco music, got a mullet for the first (and last) time, got short-short hair for the first time, along with many others that I've probably forgotten (though, nothing to do with relationships nor love... don't worry, Mom and Dad). Haha.

This has really been an unforgettable experience, which I am sad to leave behind. Everyone here keeps saying, "nunca sabes lo que va a pasar..." (you never know what will happen) always implying that I just might find myself back in Spain someday, but next time to stay. Haha, and I know most of you don't want to hear that, so don't worry, I'm not seriously considering any possibility of staying in Spain for good in the future unless something incredibly crazy happens. Most likely than not, though, I won't find myself building a life and a family in Spain. I really have no idea what lies ahead for me in terms of my long-term future, but I do have the next three months planned out, at least (a lot, I know). I'll be working as a server at the country club again, but after the summer is over, I don't really know what I'll be doing.

That's the excitement in life though, right? If you always knew what was going to happen, who you would be, etc., then that would be quite boring. I was just talking with a good friend about this the other day and he brought up a good point. I told him that I used to struggle with God's lack of tangibility and that at one point, I just wanted God to show up and tell me what to do, who to be, etc. My friend then asked me, "Well, then what would you need God for?" and I began thinking about how boring and pointless a life like that would be. If absolutely everything were already planned out for you (think: the new Alice in Wonderland movie), then what would be the point in living and making your own decisions? God would become irrelevant and life would be boring and predictable. So, I'm embracing the unknown. Bring it on! :)

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Enough of those ramblings. I've had two weeks of incredible business! (busy-ness, not business... just to clarify, in case you're thinking that Amsterdam inspired me or something). Haha.

I had my last days of class with all 19 classes that I worked with. Some were much harder to say goodbye to than others, for sure, but no tears were shed even in the classes that I was closest with. Probably the hardest goodbyes were to the teachers and to the only two classes that I had every week (all of the other classes, I had every other week). Haha, this whole last year, I constantly felt like I was always just barely staying afloat, trying to come up with activities to do with each class. I usually never knew what classes I had the next day, and by the end of the year, I still hadn't memorized my schedule (nor the majority of my students' names). I think this is why the year went by so quickly. I literally lived day to day and week to week, trying to figure out what I would be doing that week and not worrying much further in the future (well, except for my vacations and travels, haha). It was a good year though. I was really blessed to have been able to work with two other Americans in my school and to have been placed in such a great high school and with such wonderful teachers. I'll definitely miss them.

My last day of school was on the 15th, but I left for Barcelona the weekend before to meet up with my friend, Andrew Barrett, and his friend, who came to Spain for a week vacation. I met them on early Saturday morning and we went to the beach (Playa de Marbella in Barcelona) and spent the entire day there. It was so relaxing and perfect after a long night train trip. That night, we watched the World Cup, USA vs. England, which turned out better than I thought it would. We tied, to the embarrassment of England. Later, we had wine and cheese next to a beautiful church/cathedral in el Barrio Gotico.

The next day, we woke up somewhat early and spend nearly the entire day on Montserrat, wandering the trails and sampling cheese. When we got back, I showed them my favorite spot in all of Barcelona: Plaça de Espanya. It was just our luck that the weather was fantastic and at the very top of all of the stairs, there was someone playing the Spanish guitar. It was wonderful and so relaxing. Then, at the base of all of the stairs, the fountains began and some groups of castellers began their castle "building". If you don't remember what castells and castellers are, go here. I've also added some new videos to my Youtube account, if you want to see some of the adventures from this week. Later, we met up with some of my good friends from last year (Wynn & Carla, Nilton, Rich, Rashida) and I said my farewells. Andrew, David, and I ended the night with some amazing paella and fideua at a restaurant on the waterfront.

The next day (14th of June), we took a day train back to Palencia, and then to Valladolid. I showed them around Valladolid briefly, and then we had a wonderful dinner together in my flat with Yolanda. We ate the Colombian Soup that Cesar taught me how to make... it has become my staple food for guests. The next day, Andrew and David took a day trip to Salamanca since it was my last day of class at the high school in Palencia. So I said all of my farewells there, and then that night, even more farewells to people in my program. Haha, come to think of it, Andrew and David were present for over 50% of my despedidas (farewells).

The next morning (16th), we took a super early train to Madrid, where David took a flight back to Wshington D.C. Then, Andrew and I spent the day wandering Madrid, half-awake and sleep deprived. We managed to take a nap in Retiro park, and then a quick two hour lightning tour of the Prado Museum (it was free), and later we watched Spain loose to Switzerland (what an embarrassment!) and experienced the frustration of the Spaniards... lots of cuss words were thrown here and there throughout the entire game, haha. It was fun translating for Andrew. Later, more Madrid touring, sunset, and late night pizza and good conversation. The next morning, Andrew left for Madrid and then I met up with my friend, David (who I went on the road trip with a few months ago), to say goodbye to him too. So many goodbyes.

Then, I came back here to Valladolid, got my Spanish exam results back and said goodbye to more classmates and my awesome Spanish teacher, Raquel. Haha, what's sad about my Spanish exam is that I only failed one part of the exam. In half of the exam (expresión escrito y oral), my grade was nearly perfect (19/20), and one part (comprensión oral), my grade was okay. However, the part that I failed was the comprensión escrito, which was super tricky. I'm not too sad about it though. It is a shame that I didn't pass, but it doesn't count for anything in the States, so I'm not too worried.

Since then, I've just been tearing up my room, trying to fit everything into my suitcases. Yesterday, I went to Palencia with Brooke (one of the girls that I worked with) and her boyfriend to meet up with one of the teachers and her husband to do some tourism in the city. Even though I worked there for ten months, I never really did any tourism, so I never got to know the city very well. I had a wonderful time and it was a great break from packing and thinking about leaving. Then, today, I went to church to say my goodbyes, and now I'm back to packing the suitcases. Wish me luck.

Hasta muy pronto Seattle,
Linnell

P.S. Sorry if this post was quite random and boring... sometimes I do these updates for my own memories, so that I don't forget what's happened and what I'm thinking about. ;)