Finals have started and sadly, they?re a lot harder than I was anticipating. I have my final two tests next week. While I?m excited to be done with school and start my summer vacation, I?m also dreading the end of finals because that also means that I will be leaving to come back to Texas.?I?m in a little bit of denial that I am leaving Barcelona in 9 days. I feel as though I am about to leave another home.
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Things I?m Going To Miss
- The culture-?I?m going to miss the way everyone in Barcelona greets each other, with one kiss on each cheek. I?m going to miss the way people invite you into their homes so warmly, and have hearts oozing with generosity. I?m going to miss being around the Spanish and Catalan language. I?m going to miss the random protests. The protests were always friendly, but I found them amusing. At one point during this month I wasn?t able to go to class because all the students decided to ?protest?and not go. I was not complaining about that.
- The food– I am looking forward to having Mexican and junk food again, but I am going to miss tapas, paella, sangria, and churros and chocolate.
- The scenery– I love going on random strolls and finding myself gazing at random buildings. The architecture here is breathtaking, I?m going to miss seeing Gaudi?s work everywhere. I will also miss the beach. The beach quickly became my favorite place to go, and I am going to miss constantly making up excuses to spend hours there. Even the most boring alleyways had interesting stories to tell, and I am going to miss constantly being surrounded by the mixture of modern and antiquated buildings throughout this city.
- ?The activities– It is impossible to be bored in Barcelona, and I am going to miss constantly finding new things to do. I was able to climb the mountain with the breathtaking view, Montserrat, this month. Hopefully I?m able to hike up the other mountain, Tibidabo, at some point before I leave. There are many museums to go inside of, many cute little markets to walk around in, and many events constantly taking place. This month I also went to carnival, which is the equivalent to Mardi Gras. That was a night I will never forget.
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Tapas and Sangria, Churros and Chocolate, Beach?
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Bubbles, Gaudi?s Casa Batllo, Montserrat
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Carnival, Parc de la Ciutadella
Things I?m Not Going to Miss
- The general feeling of unsafety– I can?t express how excited I am to be back in Texas where I don?t have to assume that every person around me is waiting for a chance to rob me.
- My apartment– While the apartment I stayed in during my time here is considered quite nice and roomy compared to others found in Europe, I can?t wait to be back in Texas where I have a dishwasher, a dryer, air conditioning, and more storage space.
- The expenses– I?m ready to go to a restaurant back home where water is free. Here, water more often than not costs more than alcohol. I can?t wait to no longer be thirsty while eating my meal because I?m worried about conserving my water.
- Street Performers– I know this is a random one to put, but people dressing up as statues freaks me out personally. My roommate thought they were funny so I think I might be alone in this distaste.
Overall
Overall, I cannot put into words how much this experience has meant to me. I discovered a lot about the world, but perhaps most importantly, I learned a lot about myself. I?m capable of being independent and I can?t wait until the day comes when I can greet this sense of independence again. So, rather than say adios to Europe, I intend on saying hasta luego. I may never get the opportunity to spend 3 months in Europe again, but I will return one of these days. I look forward for that day to come.