In the United States on September 11, we mourn the horrific tragedy that occurred on that terrible day in 2001. In the region of Catalonia, it is the National Day of Catalonia, or La Diada, which also is a remembrance day, the day that Barcelona fell to the Bourbons and Catalonia was forced to become a part of Spain.
I am officially three weeks away from leaving the United States and going on a nine-month journey to Spain! I decided to come up with a list of the things I’m excited to experience while I’m over there to get pumped up for this adventure!
Applying for a visa can be a stressful task and there is little help out there for you. So many websites claim you’ll need different things, leaving you confused. That led me to directly call the Spanish Consulate in Washington, D.C., to which the person who answered my call to tell me “you only need what it says on the website” (multiple times …). Make sure to check with your local consulate to find out the exact details for what your consulate wants. This was my experience with the Spanish Consulate in Washington, D.C.
When most people plan a vacation, they usually tend to be on the coasts: California, Florida, New York. Not many people think to go for a vacation in the middle states. But here’s a tip: go to Colorado.
Now you may be thinking, “Hey, there are no beaches or no monuments. Why should I got to Colorado?”
Are you kidding me? I love Colorado! My dream is the live in Europe, but if I don’t get that chance, Colorado is definitely on top of my list for places to live. Here’s why.
From Coors Factory to Coors field, you could say our day was full of Coors.
I’m a die-hard Denver Broncos fan. My mom was raised and Denver and my dad has family from the area as well. I’ve never known anything other than being a Broncos fan. One of my greatest memories was coming home to find out the Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII and then rushing down to San Diego to see them going back to their hotel.
At our general information meeting on studying abroad, they made a mention about “reverse culture shock”. It’s basically when you come back to the United States (or your country of origin) and feel out of place there. I never gave a second thought about it because I thought I’d be more than ready to come back home. However, this is definitely what I’m experiencing right now. I can’t even unpack my suitcase because I doing so will make me feel like my trip is definitely over.
I don’t know why I’m having such a difficult time readjusting. I can’t even sleep on a normal schedule. I’ve fallen asleep before or around 10 every night and then I sleep for 10 to 12 hours a day. Part of it is not wanting to feel like I’m so far away from Spain since there is a six hour difference. In my head I keep thinking “It’s 11 AM here so it’s 5 PM there … I wonder what they are doing right now.”
Another reason it may be hard for me to readjust is that we constantly had something to do and I was always around other people my age. When we were doing our excursions, I had almost 50 other people from JMU who were going through what I was experiencing. When I was at home, I had kids my age so I could easily relate to them. I always had friends wherever I was. Now that I’m back home, I feel so alone; I don’t talk to many people from high school anymore and the ones I do talk to aren’t here this summer.
It was easier to adjust to Spain because we are expecting something a little different, but at the same time, there are still a lot of American brands, American movies, American TV … but back in the US, I can’t get a bocadillo, walk around the city, and eat all the delicious Spanish food.
Some days are harder than others. Today is one of them because I keep thinking about how I would love to be hanging out with Pau and his friends since they are done with all their exams today. I just don’t want them to forget about me. I want to be back there in eleven months. I really enjoyed Europe and I just want to go back there. I’ve been in the US for over 20 years now and I want to have new experiences!
Today was my last day in Tarragona. After getting back from Salou at 6:30 and only sleeping for three hours, we had a nice little day. In the morning, I just kind of laid around a little bit. Melanie and I went to lay out by the pool since it was a pretty day outside (but a little cool when a breeze hit). We played a card game with Anna and her friend for a few minutes before just laying out there. We didn’t spend much time out there though because we went to the abuelos‘ house for lunch.
L-R: Cruzma, Me, Pau, Melanie, Anna, Jordi … I love my Spanish/Catalan familia
So yesterday after I wrote out my post, I got my paper done! I think I could have done a lot better on it (because I think there is always room for improvement), but with the little amount of time we had to do everything and all the excursions we go on, it had to do.
After we were done with everything, we went out to the pool and laid out there for a little while. I was brave and got into the pool. It was a lot warmer than it had been when we had our awkward middle school dance moment with Pau’s friends two weeks ago, but it was still a bit nippy.
As a group yesterday, we learned to make some traditional Spanish tapas. A lot of it was them showing us how to make them. Unfortunately, we ate just tapas for dinner and I wasn’t a big fan of them. We also had to eat them in a plaza area that didn’t have any seating, really, and whenever new food was put on the table, all the kids swarmed the food like flies. So my dinner was basically gelato. Jaja.
After the tapas dinner, we went to a flamenco show. After wandering around the city not really knowing where we were going (yes, including the professors), we arrived at this little Andalusian restaurant. Andalusia is the southern part of Spain, which includes Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada. It looked like it was going to be a dinky little show, but it was really cool to see them dance. For the Andalusians being a very free people, they dance very seriously with straight faces. I really liked their dresses. I want one!
We didn’t go out anywhere last night because this morning we had to give a presentation for a grade for our Advanced Medical Spanish class. We were supposed to arrive at 9:30, but our teacher never told us where exactly to go so we were just sitting outside the university building for like twenty minutes before our teacher yelled out of the building which classroom we were at. Then, she decided that we were going to go in order of where we were sitting in the classroom, so I had to go last. A lot of the people in my class took fifteen minutes to do their presentation, so by the time I had to go, I had to take quickly and cut out some parts. Ugh. People told me that mine was really good, but I think I could have done better, as always. I hate talking in front of people.
After have a good-bye luncheon (again, tapas) from the university and a toast of champagne, I spent the rest of the day at home and at the playa. I talked a little with Pau and I asked him if a lot of people in Catalonia don’t like Americans because his friend Pol told me he hates the US. He said the people here just see Americans as thinking they are the center of the universe and everyone depends on them for everything, etc. He asked me if Americans thought like that. I mean, I guess they do, but what he said next really just surprised me. He said that one of his friends went to the US and when she said she was from Spain, the first thing they asked was “Do you have cars there?” … what? People are so stupid. I like to think I have a more global outlook on the world. I hope so!
A few of us girls in the trip went to the beach today for the last time (most likely, because it’s supposed to rain tomorrow). It was really hot earlier today, but by the time we got down there, it was a little chillier and it started to get cloudy, so I’m not going to be much tanner.
So right now, I’m just sitting up in the living room with my host parents watcher Ferrer play Tsonga in the French Open semifinals. They are leaving to go to Paris tomorrow morning and they actually get to see the finals! Nadal is already in there, so hopefully it will be an all Spanish final! Later tonight, we’re going to go out with them for a dinner. I’m probably going to cry tonight, and then tomorrow when I have to say goodbye to the kids! Awww … it’s ok. I’m determined to come back next summer!