I’m a small town girl. Each year, we have a county fair in which my county allocates a day off school to enjoy the pleasantries of artwork, carnival games and the oh-so-familiar smell of manure. We have one Starbucks, and one movie theatre. There is a cornfield behind my house, and I visited New York City for the first time in my life this past summer at 21 years of age.
About nine months ago I got on an 8-hour flight to Alicante, Spain. Though I had previously traveled outside country for family vacations, this was different. This wasn’t a day trip nor a week sojourn. This would encompass five month of living and studying a new way of life. Spain became my home.
At the end of the semester, I spent a day in Valencia waiting to catch a train back to Alicante. That’s when I realized how soon I would be leaving Spain.
In a local cafe, I compiled a list of random things I thought I would miss and wouldn’t miss at the time; all related; all hold true today.
1. I would miss speaking Spanish with people, but not the misunderstandings. Practicing my second language is something I don’t often have the opportunity to do at home, or even away at college. Naturally, one of the first things a person learns while in Spain are the various eating times. Needless to say, I quickly learned the difference between “merienda,” refering to a small snack before lunch, and “mierda,” meaning shit.
13. I would miss the fancier fast-food restaurants, however not the long lines that accompanied them. Who would have thought McDonald’s could be considered the go-to place for a special occasion?
10. I would miss “cafe con leche,” coffee with milk, but I wouldn’t miss the lack of “to-go” anything. Sometimes, it’s just necessary. There’s a saying in Spain that a woman who eats while on the move won’t find a husband. Looks like I’m out of luck.
4. I would miss never being in a rush, but not the slow-walking people. The laid-back atmosphere in Spain was really nice, but I’m confident that the world would be a better, friendlier place if sidewalks had express lanes.
15. Forever I would miss the classic “siesta,” but the stores closing in the middle of the day, I could do without. Taking a break for a few hours to nap is incredibly genius, however not as fun when you’re sick and the pharmacy is closed.
9. I would miss the fresh, delicious breads, but never the day bagels left my life. One thing I never understood is why Spain has no idea what a bagel is, when the bagel is made of bread. Though I was proud of the Spanish Starbucks’ adaptation to culture, lack of bagels depressed me.
22. I would always miss the ability to walk to a gorgeous beach along the Mediterranean Sea, but I wouldn’t miss the death glares I received from couples still wearing their heavy coats when it was 75 degrees outside. Apparently it gets so hot there in the summer, that what seemed warm to me was still chilly to the locals. This made me stand out.
7. I would miss my home-cooked meals from my “madre,” my home-stay mother in Spain, but I wouldn’t miss spending half of my day eating. The food in Spain was incredible, but it’s an hour-long activity even if it’s just a snack. Snack in the sense of an entire pasta dish, fruit and dessert, while my friends are waiting for me downstairs.
11. I would miss actually dancing with a guy that spins you, and doesn’t just grind. This one is obvious. Newsflash: Grinding is not dancing.
17. In addition, I would miss guys speaking English as their second language to me, but not when they shouted out any English words they knew at me as if it made sense. While in Morocco, the men would scream “Lady Gaga” and “beautiful” to our group as we walked by. No thank you.
12. I would miss hearing the Spanish music playing in the clubs, but I could do without meeting high-schoolers in those clubs. I always loved Spanish dance music even before I left for abroad, but most of it would never be played here in the states since it’s not English. The drinking age is also 18, and while being 21 I finally realize how nice it is to only ever meet someone who is my age or older at a bar.
3. I would miss learning to appreciate new foods, but not the absence of my once a week Kraft Macaroni & Cheese binge. When I told my “madre” that the powder stuff in the white bag was cheese, she left the kitchen.
Dealing with the thrill of the unknown is something I will always miss, but not the stress it brought to me. Though I will forever belt out the lyrics to Journey, whether in the shower or at a football game, it’s now I realize how this idea of ‘the exciting new and unknown’ is not something I found and left abroad, but a mindset that I needed to change. There is so much to learn every day no matter where I am, if I just search for it. What I realize now is that it is all around me, I was just never looking before.
Don’t stop believing.