Last days in Spain

Like many of us, I'm ready to go home. Not that I'm going home tomorrow, but the feeling remains the same. I love Spain, this semester has been amazing, I am so happy I decided to study abroad here, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Menchi has been a blessing - she is so welcoming and makes me feel so comfortable, and we get along great. I can definitely tell that my Spanish has improved, especially when I've been drinking. And, I've gotten to travel around Europe and will get to do more of that with my whole family when they get here tomorrow - none of us had ever been to Europe before.

This is one reason why I love Spain. Where else would you find these figures pooping as a Christmas decoration? They have EVERYONE - the king and the royal family, Hilary Clinton, and even the Dalai Lama. What the hell?

Also this is hanging in the hallway in our apartment and I just noticed it the other day. Apparently, Menchi's father did something worthy of getting a commendation from Franco. Huh.

And here is Menchi! Por fin, we took a photo together, using the trusty timer on my camera.

Nonetheless, I am ready to be back in the good ol' US of A. Being in Europe makes me appreciate the United States in a different way. I will miss the fantastic Madrid Metro and the high speed AVE train, but nothing can compare to not dealing with general strikes and soldiers with automatic weapons in the train stations. And like I said before, it's all about NORMANDY if you are ever feeling blue about the US. I promise, it's like the ultimate existential crisis anti-depressant.

Wednesday night the whole program went out and celebrated finishing our semester together with drinks and dancing. Thursday night, Ashleigh and I went to watch the aggressive prostitutes on Gran Vía one last time. And with that, I say hasta luego to Madrid and to Spain. I'm leaving, but I'll be back.