"La Costa Brava" was one of the best places I've ever visited. Not because of the beaches, or the views, or the food, but because of the people. The first two days were gloomy and rainy; something I had only experienced one or two times in my entire 3 month stay in Barcelona. I woke up both of those days and was completely content with doing absolutely nothing. And to my surprise, no one thought anything of it. I realized Americans don't know vacation. "How are we on the most famous coast in Spain and NOT AT THE BEACH?!" was my initial thought. Rain, wind, a bout of food poisoning-"I MUST go enjoy the coast!! What are we doing sitting around eating?"
I soon realized eating isn't just eating. I had always known this, but this family I stayed with took some extra time in their cooking and eating rituals. I told them I was tired of ham so they fed me just about everything else. And I was the guest, so I took everything being thrown my way. Melo, chicken with carrot sauce, mini pears, steak, puree-I ate it all. It took us almost 3 hours each day to eat lunch-after which we all napped. After every nap it was time to start cooking again. I, of course, stayed clear of the kitchen-no one wants an American college student near anything having to do with traditional spanish cuisine. But I watched, and I bonded with the amazing grandma that slaved about 6 hours every day just making the meals (in the non-airconditioned kitchen, of course). I loved my stay, and I'm willing to share any story if you're willing to listen to it. I've found myself kind of speechless when people ask me "How was Spain?" "Great", I answer. But great doesn't cover it-I feel so much more knowledgeable and fulfilled than I ever have before. You can't fully explain everything that happened in Spain for me-yes, it was great, but it was something more than that. I still dream about the short walk to my best friend Mariana's house, the awkward moments with my (maybe too nice) spanish teacher Ricardo, and smirking at all the spanish people's faces on the metro at 9am in the morning, wondering why some white girl would actually live in Barcelona. It was all incredible-I HIGHLY recommend it!
La Costa Brava trip in a nutshell: sailboats, beaches, small spanish towns, Dali museum, hammocks, pretty views, good company. (Add "food" every three hours and it pretty much sums up my days there)
My next plan is to go to South America. I graduate in May 2011 and I have a feeling I need more time to figure out what kind of PR I really want to do . I have faith that I can find a job, but there's an annoying bug in my ear saying that I need to go experience more of the global "spanish" culture I love so much. The different spanish accents, the foods, the different cultures (all generally centering around food and family); I'm already feeling a pull towards leaving again. I've also had another bug, on the opposite side of my ear, reminding me that I feel like I'm meant to be in the non-profit world. Yes, I know there's no money in it and yes, I know that when you're in non-profit PR, it's normally you and no one else. But something's telling me to go in that direction. Hence why I need more time to figure all of my thoughts.
The beautiful Adrienne and I while visiting her in North Carolina:
My dad and I before our 4.3 mile kayak on my mom's Labor Day/Birthday weekend:
All and all, a seriously amazing summer. It was totally worth spending more than half of my savings! Ha.
My plans for 2010-2011:
1. Survive this semester (it's proving difficult thanks to senioritis and my Peter Pan "I don't want to grow up!" thoughts)
2. LEARN Spanish. Everyone I met in Spain told me that learning a language is a lifelong process. I'll be honest, I was bummed. I just want this fluency to "stick" one day. I do talk to myself in spanish occasionally (mainly at work-I'm sure that looks normal) but I really need to study, practice, all that good stuff. I can proudly say that, thanks to Spain, I'm "conversationally fluent". Now I just need to learn the fun words like "polytheism" and all the other crazy ones I read in my spanish textbooks everyday, and I'll be set....it'll happen one day!
3. Intern/Experience
I'm hoping I'll convince someone that I'm a hardworker who, at this point, would probably do anything PR related to slab some experience onto my resume. Mainly for competition purposes-public relations students are brutal!
4. Take it slow
Actually relax once in awhile. Ever since Spain I've made it a point to do things on my own time. Not necessarily doing them late, but not getting anxiety over the everyday events. I need to remind myself that I go to school full-time, work part-time, and volunteer. 'Tis a handful.
5. Party like its....2011?
This needs no explanation. I need to get all that "undergrad" stuff out of the way before I decide on what the heck I'm going to do in this crazy world! (sidenote: My 22nd birthday is in 21 days!)
Hope I caught everyone happy and healthy. I might actually start updating this thing every once in awhile so keep an eye out!
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