Fast-forward, please

I'm not quite home yet.

The plane that would whisk me away from Madrid and magically spit me out in Philadelphia had a little temper tantrum and wouldn't move from the runway for two hours. Reason? Volcanic ash. I had been wishing and praying to be able to stay longer in Spain since I realized how soon I would be leaving. But spending the extra time in a two square foot space, unable to order a creamy café con leche from my favorite little bakery or chat with my Spanish friends under the shade of an orange tree in the river park wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

I missed my next flight because of the delay. Instead of being in my own bed last night and seeing my mom and brother for the first time in months, I was shuttled to a quirky Philly hotel for the night. Greeted with a cheerful aloha, I made my way to my HUGE free room with 2 queen beds and a widescreen TV. Not bad, but I'd still rather be in Madison, MS snuggled up with my squirmy little yorkie.

After waking at 4 am, I'm staring through tired eyes at the gate of my fourth and last flight of this part of the journey. The ache I feel when I think of everything I'm leaving behind in Spain still throbs, so I'll focus instead on the good memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'm already trying to figure out how to go back, so stay tuned! This blog may not be finished after all.

Say it isn't so!

As I brush the dust from my red suitcase, a sense of dread creeps up and pours over me.

I haven't cried yet, but I have a feeling tomorrow will be a blubberfest. We have our closing ceremony at school, followed by a dinner celebration and a goodbye party at a salsa club. I'll be bidding farewell to my intercambio and his friends, which is hard to even think about. I haven't actually spent time with them lately since I've been so weighed down with schoolwork, but remembering their hospitality, friendliness and hilarious comments makes me tear up a little.

In other news, since I'm too emotional to think of the impending flood of nostalgia, I'm officially finished with my third year of college. This afternoon I turned in my soul in the form of a six-page paper on Media and ETA in the Basque Country before also critiquing Spanish Baroque art in a final exam. As a celebration, I went out for chocolate con churros with some of my amigas before doing some shopping downtown. So far, I've been successful in trying not to think about leaving.

I have a little gnawing suspicion that reality is about to come up behind me supermega-fast. But until then, I will enjoy a good night's sleep before meeting Christy at the Mercado Central for some last minute perusing. ¡Buenas noches!

egoísta

Some days, life turns your perspective on its head and spins it around a little. Yesterday was one of those.

While walking back with Nina from lunch at Juan and Mari Carmen's house, we dove under the awning of a fruit stand to shield ourselves from the torrential downpour (not even an exaggeration) that fell out of the pudgy grey clouds. Enormous drops of rain smashed the sidewalk and splashed onto our feet. A Spanish woman who looked to be about 40 years old joined us to take shelter too. Frustrated at the inconvenience, I muttered a sentence that matched the thoroughly miffed expression on my face:

"What HAPPENED?! It was so beautiful this morning...and now the rain's ruining everything!"

All I could think about was the fact that the storm was keeping me from getting home earlier to do my work/messing up my hair/getting my new shoes wet/robbing the gorgeous sunshine from the day so _I_ couldn't enjoy it.

The woman shrugged and with an upward twist of her mouth replied "Well, it's good for the countryside! And the snails!" She giggled and turned to watch the raindrops bounce in the street. I realized the sudden change of climate was kind of beautiful.

Oh how selfish I had been. Too often we think about how life's frustrations inconvenience ourselves rather than ways they might benefit others. And you know what? All my pretentious worrying was really for nothing. In less than five minutes, the crashing rain subsided to a mere sprinkle so we could walk the remaining three minutes to our apartment.

I challenge you to stop in the busyness of your day and reflect on how fortunate we are to even be here. Instead of focusing on the things that are going wrong, count your blessings. Or, even better, count the blessings of those around you.

In summary: It's not all about me.