The end of an era...

I promised myself I wouldn't stat crying while writing this entry. I'm already starting to break that promise...

The is the final entry I will post in here from Toledo, Spain. This is the final time I will be writing while sitting in the Fund Lab, typing on my half faded keyboard, retelling my adventures and what it is like to be abroad. This is the beginning of my last 36 hours in Spain that won't be spent in an airport.

It's so amazing the change a person goes through abroad. I still remember that first day here. I had no idea what to expect, everything was foreign and new. I had no clue about where things were, I had to concentrate so hard to listen and understand people, and honestly, I was scared to death of the upcoming semester. I was thrown on a bus, trudged through a city with my bags, in the middle of a sea of 90 other people feeling the same way, and then thrust into the home of a family I had never met. I wondered if the three months would go quick enough.

But then I started to get to know Toledo. I got to know my family. Each day became easier with the Spanish. Each day held a new adventure. there were ups and downs, and Spain and my host family became a true home. I overcame the language barrier, and my family got to see my personality. I made so many amazing friends and met so many wonderful people. Yes, there were so many lows and many battles with homesickness and people I just didn't get along with, but that's normal, that happens anywhere. The highs were amazing and the experiences I have had are enough to cherish for a lifetime.

The most amazing part of this experience was not the traveling, by far. The most amazing thing was the daily life, becoming integrated into the city and culture. Becoming a regular at a local tienda. Going to a bar with friends and having the bartender know your drink order. Seeing patrons in the street from the library and saying hi. Coming home everyday at 2:30 to eat lunch and 10 PM for dinner with your host family. Random 2 AM Döner Kebabs. Talking with your host brother after dinner. Working at the library. Running across town to catch an AVE or across Zoco to catch the 6. My amazing host family who I love and will miss forever. These little daily things that occupied my last three and a half months made my experience what it is, gave body and soul to my abroad time.

Tonight was graduation at la Fundación Ortega y Gasset Toledo. It was a nice little ceremony, and we all got diplomas. There was a line of professors at the front of a room, and when your names was called, if a certain professor wanted to personally give you the diploma, they got to, and then you shook their hand (for males) or gave them a hug and dos besos (woman). My internship teacher gave me mine. However, I still continued down the line and also huged and dos beso'ed my grammar/convo teacher (an amazing professor), and Yuki, one of the coordinators here. The diplomas were read off in two parts, which was also neat. The majority of students were read off in the first part. Then some students were called second. Earlier in the day the faculty met and discuss which students excelled the best/profited the most from the experience. I felt very honored, because I was called in the second group of people.

We then had a buffet, it was nice to get to say bye to all my friends, and my host mom got to be there too. There was lots of pictures and a few tears. This experience was amazing!

So now for my recommendations to students thinking about going abroad. Do not think about money. Do not worry about any fears. Do not worry about host families, or language, or friends, or missing anything at Ripon (or whatever university you are from). Do it. Just do it. Go abroad. Experience everything you can, take in every moment, and savor every piece of your experience. It is worth it 100 times over. I have learned so much this semester, about Spanish, about culture, and mainly about myself. I know this entire entry I have sounded like a cliché, but it is all the truth. It will be worth.

I feel so blessed for my time here, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It will be very hard to get on the plane and leave Spain (even though I am going to Belgium before the States), but I know I am ready to go home, and I know I will return. Three and a half months is not long enough. It is a good start, but long enough.

Tres meses no es suficiente. Quizás una vida entera. Quizás…

…Voy a echarte de menos España, ¡sin embargo voy a regresar tan pronto como puedo! Voy a dejar una parte de mi corazón aquí para siempre. Besos.

¡He acabado!

So I have a lot to catch up on! As you read from Andrea's post, I have been on two different trips so far. Segovia was gorgeous, and we got to see the famous aqueducts that were built by the Romans in the city as well as the Segovia Castle that was the inspiration for Mickey's castle in Fantasia. The next weekend, Andrea and I went to Zaragoza, which was originally a Roman city and is filled with ruins. As well as Fluvi, the mascot of the Water Expo next year. Please, go to google images and search Fluvi...he is fantastic!

Since then I've been concentrating on seeing more of Toledo, being that this is where I live right now and all. In the last two weeks I went to a bunch of museums in town. I got to see one of the Greco's most famous paintings, "El entierro del Conde de Orgaz,” which is in the Iglesia de Santo Tomé. I also have gone to the Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca, which was beautiful and really showed the mixture of the three cultures that is so visible in Toledo. It is completely built in with Arabic architecture, but is a Jewish Synagogue, and now has a Catholic altar in the front. It's gorgeous. Another amazing place was the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which has a beautiful church and one of the most wonderful claustros, or inner patio areas, that I have ever seen.

I've also done a lot of walking around the city, have had the chance to see all of the walls and Roman bridges, as well as ruins of the old Roman baths. It is amazing at how much there is to see in Toledo, and the best part is you can get to it all by foot!

Things are really starting to get in the Christmas swing. The mall is completely decked out with lights, as are most of the streets in the city. In Zocodover they are currently constructing the Belén, or nativity scene, for the Christmas. According to our coordinator Yuki, they also do a live Nativity with real animals and everything soon!

It is fun to try a lot of the Christmas foods as well. There are three specific Christmas foods in Spain: Mazapan, Turrón, and Polvorones. Toledo is famous for its Mazapan, which is a candy made of Almond Paste and sometimes egg york and a sweet glaze. They are a bit squishy and an interesting texture to eat. Turrón literally translates to nougat, but isn't like what you find in 3 Musketeers bars. The traditional Turrón is made of Almonds and honey, and you can get is soft (Blando) or hard (Duro). Nowadays, however, there are many varieties, including chocolate, cinnamon, fruit flavored, and vanilla turrón. Polvorones are interesting. They are like little cakes, but are very dry and crumbly, but very sweet. They are very soft to eat, and the proper way to eat them in Spain is to first crush them in your hand and then eat all the powder at once. One of our professors told us the joke that a "true Spaniard" can put an entire polvorón in their mouth and then say the word Zaragoza. It is impossible!

In other news, my name is now Jeac, like in French. I went to get my hair cut, and when I made the appointment, they wrote my name down as Jeac. Funny, but not as good as Jazz.

Also...Classes are done! On Monday I finished my last exam. I am feeling pretty good and feel no matter my grades I have learn "un montón" about the language and culture, and feel a lot more comfortable with my Spanish. On Thursday we get our grades. We actually go to our professors one last time and talk to them all, get certain things handed back, and then have a closing ceremony. It's pretty cool, but I know a lot of kids find it weird to go see their professor again to get their grades. The fun part is my host mother is coming to the ceremony!

Last night, my host mother and I went to Cine Club, which is where the show a movie every Tuesday night in the Teatro de Rojas. The main reasons I went were to spend time with my mom while I can and to see the theatre. It is absolutely gorgeous! It is all old architecture and everything is beautiful. The movie wasn't that good, and I was afraid to say anything, but then my host mom whispered over to me that this was one of the worst movies she ever saw. That made me feel good.

Well, now I am off to go see a few more museums and the Catedral in Toledo, and then who knows what!

Andrea´s Entry!

¡Hola!
Josh is letting me invade his blog, so here´s my update:
Basically, I am loving my life here in Spain, and I´m really sad that we only have a week and a half left. My family here is really nice, I´ve made some amazing friends, classes have been going well (even though this week has been extremely stressful for everyone with finals and essays), and I love how much I´ve been learning about both the Spanish language and culture. I´ve also been enjoying the traveling that I´ve been able to do while here.
Two weekends ago, Josh and I went to Zaragoza together. Initially we were planning on visiting Sevilla, but a last-minute change of plans took us to Zaragoza. I didn´t know anything about the city, but I´m really glad we went. After a lot of walking, Jaaaazzz (that´s what I call him now - long story) and I finally found the center of the city and things to do. We visited the castle Aljefería, two cathedrals (which were both amazing), and the Roman forum. On top of all that, we managed to do some shopping and serious turrón/chocolate-consuming (mmmm). We were also highly amused by Fluvi, this mascot for an upcoming water expo that was EVERYWHERE throughout the city. Overall, the city (and especially the Plaza de Pilar) was really beautiful, and it was a nice day trip.
However, on the way home, our train ended up being delayed a half hour... which caused a lot of stress, because we knew we had to catch the last bus back to Toledo at midnight. This meant I had another experience running through Atocha (I tend to have bad luck with public transportation). Thankfully, we were able to catch a taxi to the bus station and avoid being stranded in Madrid for the night.
Three weekends ago, we had an excursion to Segovia with the Fundación. It was another really beautiful city. Another castle, another church, the aqueducts, lunch (surprisingly not chicken and fries- cow and fries this time), and some time for shopping. And that was our last Fund excursion.
Last weekend I went to Barcelona, but Jaaaaazzz didn´t go, so I won´t talk about it on his blog. It was wonderful.
Anyway, Jaaaaaazzz and I are both looking forward to our week of traveling Europe before heading back to Wisconsin, but it´s also going to be really sad to leave España and this amazing experience behind.
Hasta luego....