Currently, I am sitting at home and watching TV with my family for the first time in five weeks. It is a very bittersweet feeling; I am happy to be with my family again, but sad to be home already. For five weeks my life was completely different than normal, and readjusting to the daily pattern of my life is now a readjustment in itself.
There are a few things that I was definitely looking forward to about coming home. First and foremost was the air conditioning. Before leaving for Spain, I had taken for granted the fact that I could always rely on coming home to a cool house after a long, hot day. While in Spain, there were several times I actually fantasized about standing in the refrigerated section of a grocery store because I missed air conditioning that much. Additionally, I missed the food. Even though I am not a picky person, and I really do enjoy trying new foods, there’s just something about foods that you know and love. Whether it be my favorite restaurant or a dish that my mom makes, I enjoy familiar foods.
Although it has only been a day since I’ve been home, there are already so many things that I miss about being abroad. One of the most important aspects that I miss is the people. Over the course of five weeks, I got to know 13 classmates and multiple teachers better than I anticipated. Spending time with them every single day allowed me to learn a lot about them, and I’ll miss the relationships that I formed with them. This is not to say that I won’t be able to be friends with them in the future, but the setting in which we will see each other again will be entirely different. The other important thing I will miss about Spain is the constant busy schedule. Every day was an opportunity to explore and learn something new. Whether there was a field trip scheduled, a weekend getaway planned with friends, or just a day to walk around and see the sites in Pamplona, there was never really a moment that I was sitting at home bored. I loved the idea that there was always someone willing to join me no matter what it was that we wanted to do, and I will definitely miss the constant busyness of my days.
If I learned anything from my time in Spain, it is that the world is a huge place filled with a million amazing places, whether they are huge cities like Barcelona, or smaller, lesser known areas like Pamplona. Each of these places has new people and experiences waiting to be discovered. I know for a fact that I will travel more in the future, and I cannot thank the people I met while in Pamplona enough for making the trip as exciting and enjoyable as they did.