I AM HOME

I AM HOME AND I AM EATING EASY MAC (It's still Kraft.. I'll get my real Kraft Mac&Cheese sometime soon).

But this will be my actual last post. Let me just update you on what's gone on since my last post.

After breakfast I told Soraya THAT WAS MY LAST BREAKFAST. And she laughed and was like RACHEL DONT SAY THAT THAT SOUNDS BAD. IT'S JUST YOUR LAST BREAKFAST HERE.

SAID GOODBYE TO HOST PARENTS AND ABUELA. My abuela called me SUCH a good person and gave me a big hug and told me to go well in life hehe. And Fernando-padre gave me his Facebook info. And I got big hugs from Soraya, who helped me with my suitcases!

Took the taxi with Brett to the Airport and we passed el Huevo de Colon.. Fernando had told Alison and I about it but I NEVER IMAGINED HOW ENORMOUS IT WOULD BE.

So freakin BIG. This is very near where Colon left for el Nuevo Mundo :)

THEN we had our flight from Sevilla to Madrid which was fine, sat with Brett and WE HAD OUR GOODBYE at the Madrid airport but he lives close so no pasa nada.

THEN as I was going to wait in line for the Madrid to JFK flight, I go up to give my ticket to the guy, and he looks at it and (in Spanish) says 'Oh, you were in Sevilla? So you speak Spanish?' and I laughed and said 'Si, más o menos..' and he smiled and was like How long were you there for? And I said since September.. and blhaalhahl and then he looked back at my ticket and was like 'Well, RAQUEL.. Raquel, no Rachel, si?' and THAT MADE ME SO HAPPY and I SAID SI. And yeah, just happiness.

THE FLIGHT WAS ANOTHER THING. IT WAS TOO LONG AND I DIDNT SLEEP. But I'm home, it's over.

Oh my god there was a drunk gay man on the plane.. apparently he had charmed the crew enough that they kept giving him free wine.. and he was STUMBLING out of the plane and yelling and flirting and swearing like crazy. AND THEN HE STARTED TALKING TO ANNE AND I about how he was AMERICAN and just so drunk and didn't care anymore and wanted to be in California and then he was like BY THE WAY IM GAY I HOPE THAT'S OKAY and we were like of course .. and he said the Italians tried to cut off his finger for being gay?! Oh he was just a mess. So much yelling. And then he gave us his work card so we could email him and become facebook friends and he was like I'LL GIVE YOU SO MANY CONNECTIONS WITH GOOD PEOPLE.

So lulzy.

But yeah, so now I'm home. My family met me.. I HAD TO GET ALL MY BAGS BY MYSELF (three.. awk..) but at least it wasn't too far to walk to meet them! And I got a big hug and Lena made me a sign even though she said she wouldn't!

And yeah.. home.. lots of unpacking to do.. allergies already acting up..

Man, I have really really loved doing this blog. Never in my life did I dream of getting so into it, and I am SOOO glad I did. This is a memory I will cherish forever. Might even make a coffee-table book out of it!

I guess that's all, Sevilla. 

<3

Went to the Cafe Bar with my Abuela

Just like in the beginning! Got some Jamon Iberica y tostada, y freshed squeezed orange juice, for old time's sake. :)

Also, Nacho sent me a very long facebook message, and it may or may not be some sort of confession of love.. I didn't read all of it, because I'm getting anxious about the flight and don't want to be any more anxious, but from what I did see, it seems very sweet!

Te deseo un buen viaje a USA, y que hayas disfrutado de Sevilla y todo lo visto de Europa.
Espero que nos podamos ver pronto, en serio, ojala nos veamos este verano .

Te voy a echar de menos y mucho, por muchas razones, eres de verdad una gran chica y muy muy simpatica, llena de manias (siempre me preguntaba si te sentias rara por como te mirabamos), que te hacen aun mas especial como el chapstick, tocarte el pelo, tu "pues" o "sisisisisi" a todo:D(que por cierto suena a "shishishi").

Con una sonrisa pegada a la cara siempre excepto cuando tienes una cara de "are you fucking kidding me?", que incluso te hace mas graciosa .
Ademas eres muy guapa y no presumes de ello, lo que te hace ser aun mas guapa y llamativa.

Me has llamado la atencion desde el principio, en la clase (hace tan poco, y tanto tiempo a la vez), pero, y esto me a sido muy dificil de tomar una decision, pero al final lo hice, y aunque, debo de decir, que me gustas, de hecho creo que practicamente me gustas por todo, existe como una linea que si la cruzo, me vuelvo mucho mas sentimental.

Eres una chica joven y divertida, solo esta despedida y no verte tan sonriente como siempre me ha hecho sentir muy mal, no puedo imaginarme que habría pasado si te hubiera contado que pensaba yo de ti.

Queria haberte escrito en la bandera tuya una pequeña frase, mas profunda de lo que te puse, pero como te he dicho antes, es muy dificil intentar ser sincero y profundo, mientras evitas decir demasiado.

Como ultimo regalo de despedida te escribo un pequeño poema que acabo de crear para ti:

-De donde quiera que nazcas, de sonrisas enormes te rodearas,
de donde quiera que vivas, de largas miradas sobreviviras, (this mean them to you)
a donde quiera que viajes, de diversas lenguas te alagaran,
pero a donde quiera que termines, solo tu lo disfrutaras.

Muchos besos Guapisima Rachel!

I'll have to translate it later.

GONNA MISS MY FRAAAAANDZ AND FAM.

Edit: Here's the translation.. seriously what a sweetheart..

I wish you a good trip to the US, and that you have enjoyed Sevilla and all the view of Europe.

I hope that we can see each other soon, seriously, I hope we see each other this summer.

I am going to miss you so much, for many reasons, you are in truth a great girl and really really nice, full of manias (I always wondered if you felt weird when we looked at you) that make you even more special like the chapstick, playing with your hair, and your 'pues' or 'sisisisi' and everything (that totally sounds like 'shishishi').

With a smile always stuck to your face except when you have the 'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?' face, which makes you even more funny!

Also you are very beautiful and don't brag about it, which makes you even more lovely and striking.

You have called my attention from the beginning, in the class (only a little a while ago, and so long ago at the same time), but, and this has been very difficult for me to make a decision, but at the end I did it, and even though, I should say, that I like you, in fact I think I practically like everything about you, there exists a line that if I cross it, I would become much more sentimental.

You are a young and fun girl, only that this farewell and not seeing you so smiling as always has made me feel very bad, I can't imagine what would have happened if I had told you what I thought about you.

I wanted to have written on your flag a small phrase, more profound than what I put for you, but as I said before, it's very hard to try to be sincere and deep, while also avoiding saying too much.

As a final gift of farewell I write you a small poem that I just finished creating for you

From wherever you are born, you'll surround yourself with smiles

From wherever you live, long glances you'll survive

To wherever you travel, diverse languages will reach you

But to wherever you end up, only you will enjoy it

Many kisses Beautiful Rachel!

The real goodbye with the Spaniards.. and the Americans..

Okay so right before I left to go out and say goodbye to my amigos Americanos, I went in to say goodbye to Carlos and Fernando, because they're going to be at school when I leave. And they gave BIG HUGS AND DOS BESOS and Soraya was like Well, when your sister studies abroad, ask for our house! And I was like yeah, in ten years! And then Soraya was like.. hmm.. Carlos will be 25 and Fernando will be 27.. and your sister will be 20.. That's not bad! AND THE BOYS MADE A FACE AND I WAS LIKE HEY. CUIDADO THAT'S MY SISTER YOURE TALKING ABOUT. Heheheh

Then I met up with Caitlin and Alison and we went to the Triana Bridge JUST LIKE THE FIRST WEEK. And we drank some tinto.

And Fernando and Nacho met up with us and we went over to see the Americans of CIEE botelloning by Torre de Oro. And we said goodbye to OWEN <3 with LINGERING DOS BESOS and also Molly and Will and ALL OF THE FRIENDS THAT MATTER. I didn't cry.

And then I said goodbye to Caitlin.. big hugs, but no crying.. I'm sure it'll all hit me within a week. Seguro, seguro.

AND THEN MICHELE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM LOS REMEDIOS TO SAY GOODBYE. And we went to a bar for ONE SHOT of Tequila.. a celebratory shot.. it was terrible heh but free (thanks Nacho!) .... and then we walked back to Plaza de Cuba and just were talking about inappropriate jokes (I told them a Helen Keller one and they LOVED it heheheh)... And Family Guy, and all this stuff.... 

Then we walked back to my house.. and ALISON AND I GAVE BIG HUGS. And Nacho and Fernando too.. and.. and then we didn't want to split so we took pictures... and WAH. I can't imagine Fernando and Alison's goodbye. It must be tough. WE WERE JUST LIKE 'HASTA PRONTO.' Because we wanna make it happen. That would be awesome.

Heheh blue steel.. acero azul.. Zoolander!

THE LAST SUPPER

WHICH MEANS THE LAST ARROZ CON LECHE.

I had dinner with my bros and Soraya. Just eatin some pizza. SORAYA BROUGHT OUT BEERS AND COKE as a goodbye mini-fiesta, and she asked if I wanted some beer and I wasn't really feeling it. So then she asked Carlos and Fernando (who are 15 and 17). 

AND CARLOS'S EYES GET SO BIG AND HE'S LIKE YESSSSSSS. And Fernando  (who didn't want any) was like NO NO HE'S NOT OF AGE HE'S NOT OF AGE. And then she poured him half a glass and he was like THE WHOLE THING THE WHOLE THING. And he like.. downed that stuff if a few minutes.

SO PROUD. GUESS WE KNOW WHAT HE'S GONNA GROW UP TO BE.

Then she told them that I'm still too young to drink in the US. And I said I'm 20 and you have to be 21 and they were like NOOOOO. That's SIX YEARS for Carlos hahahahahah.

Soraya was like RACHEL YOU TELL HIM. TELL HIM IF HE DRANK IN YOUR COUNTRY THEY'D TAKE HIM TO JAIL.

And then I got a picture with them in their robes AHAHAHAHA. Love them. Gonna miss them.

Carlos, yo, Fernando

Carlos, yo, Fernando, Abuela!

GUESS WHO JUST FACEBOOK CHATTED ME

Andres. He didn't come out yesterday for our 'goodbye' which didn't actually end up our goodbye. 

Look what he said!

Rechelll!!!!! Te voy a hechar mucho de menos

Ayer no fui xk ya fue muy tarde

We'll just ignore the terrible spelling to point out he used TE not OS which means he'll just me ME SINGULAR not ME AND ALISON PLURAL. heheheh

I invited him out for our REAL last goodbye but he's terrible at facebook so who knows.

This was gonna be my last post..

...But I don't think I can plan for that. So no pasa nada!

I've finished all my finals. I've packed up (after buying a THIRD tiny suitcase that will run me like $120 extra... wutever just tryna get home)... Waiting on dinner and then a big farewell botellon with my AMERICAN FRIENDS and also Nacho and Fernando because they REFUSED TO DO IT YESTERDAY.

Anyway, here's what I'd intended to write. 

WHY SEVILLA IS THE BEST.

Reasons why Sevilla was the best choice I could have made:

1. Barcelona - way too enormous, though beautiful, people speak English and Catalan A LOT.

2. Madrid - not European enough.. also, I just wasn't very impressed when I visited.. too many people

3. Salamanca - it's a college town, so everything is cheap, but it's smaller and much more easy to be bored.

4. Granada - TINY

Reasons why CIEE specifically was one of the best programs I could have chosen

1. Interest Groups and Intercambios - they REALLY give you a lot of opportunities to make spanish friends

2. University classes - I didn't take advantage of this, but also a wonderful way to make spanish friends

3. All the trips they take us on!

4. Absolutely wonderful teachers, with classes that are academically challenging but also keep in mind that you are ABROAD and don't want to be doing work constantly

FRIENDS.. obviously... I wouldn't have met all the people I did without coming to CIEE Sevilla. Made some great friends that I hope to stay in touch with for a very long time to come!

I'm constantly thinking oh, I have to do this and this and this when I get home, but how will I say that in Spanish -- Oh wait.. I don't have to… It'll be a huge challenge to keep fresh in my mind all that I've learned. Even if I can't talk as well as I would have liked, I can speak without so much inhibition, and I can understand UN MONTON better than I ever could have dreamed.

Also, I retract my previous post about the NO8DO tattoo. If I were to get any tattoo commemorating this trip, it would be this one:   

 A combination of 'no pasa nada' and NO8DO - the two things from España I'll carry with me for quite some time. We'll see if I still like the idea in a few months ;P It probably wouldn't go right on the wrist either...

Also, if anyone was wondering.. I made it through with 8 chapsticks. HEHEHE

Me queda un examen más!! Y YA ESTÁ.

Just had my final exam with Angel. So he published a book that he's going to use for his Intensive Class next semester, and we told him we'd buy it, so he brought some in today, and was like 'It's normally 21€ but my publisher said I could sell it to students for 20€' .. and I was like OOOH QUÉ DISCUENTO. Hehh. So Molly and I paid for one but we were like YOU HAVE TO SIGN IT.

Then he was like SEE CLASS? These ladies know how to get an A! And then we laughed and I was like oh.. in that case.. puedo irme? (can i leave? .. and not take the test?) which he JUST LAUGHED AT AS HE HANDED OUT MY TEST looool

And so after my test, he gives me A BUG HUG AND DOS BESOS and I say thank you and he says We're in contact!! Facebook!! And I say yessss. And he gives me the signed book and I say Gracias and leave. Then I look at what he wrote, so sweet!

Para mi alumna, y ahora mi amiga, Rachel. Por su sonrisa, por su compañia, y por su apoyo. No me olvides (ni a mi ni a tu Sevilla!!) -Ángel

For my student, and now my friend, Rachel. For your smile, for your company, and for your support (heh financially for buying his book). Don't forget me (or Sevilla!). -Ángel

SO SWEET.

Then I went downstairs and walked out with Michele, but the WRITING CENTER GUY stopped us (her, he knew her) to check in on our exams. And he was like AFTER YOUR EXAMS, YOU GUYS GO HOME AND MAKE YOURSELF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL YOU CAN BE, AND GO OUT AND JUST DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY. AND DON'T HAVE PAIN IN YOUR HEART, JUST KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE BACK SOMEDAY, AND DON'T WORRY. YOU ARE HERE NOW, DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW.

It was so inspirational. And sweet.

While I was on my way to take Angel's test, I was listening to my iPod, and not gonna lie MAYBE IT WAS THE ANXIETY but MY EYES WERE A LIL WET. JUST A LIL. NO TEARS. I don't know if they're going to come. But still..

Also, I've written my final Facebook goodbye to Sevilla. I'll give you a preview: (I'm gonna post it before I leave tomorrow)

I'm terrible with words, but I'll give it a go...

In just a few hours I will begin the journey back to the USA. I'm so excited to be home and see my family and friends, but our reunion is bittersweet, because it means having to leave Sevilla, the place I've just started to call home. To the American friends I've made here - you guys are wonderful and I have no doubt I'll see plenty of you again in the US. To the Spaniards who seeing again will be more difficult - thanks for making this trip one I'll never forget (and for putting up with my initially terrible Spanish). COME VISIT IN THE USA. Most importantly of all, know that wherever I go, Sevilla will not have left me. No me ha dejado! NO8DO! 

--

No tengo facilidad de palabras, pero voy a intentar…

En pocas horas empezaré el viaje de regreso a los EEUU. Estoy tan emocionada estar en casa y ver mi familia y mis amigos, pero nuestra reunión es agridulce, porque quiere decir irme de Sevilla, el sitio en el que acabo de comenzar a llamar 'hogar'. Para los amigos americanos que he hecho aquí - estais increible and no tengo duda de que nos veremos mucho en los EEUU. Para los españoles que nos encontraremos dificil a ver otra vez - gracias por hacer este viaje uno que nunca voy a olvidar (y por soportar mi Español terrible a principio). VISITADME EN LOS EEUU. Lo más importante, saber que en cualquier sitio voy, Sevilla no me habrá dejado. No me ha dejado! NO8DO!

SO BEAUTIFUL I HOPE IT GETS LOTS OF 'LIKES' or 'ME GUSTAS' heheheh.

Okay, time to study for Fernando's test. It shouldn't be that bad because he's an easy grader.

ALSO TODAY I HAVE TO AT LEAST SAY GOODBYE TO MY HOST BROTHERS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN CLASS WHEN I LEAVE TOMORROW. OH MY GOD. Oh my gosh.

Heheh also Alison made my day by saying when she goes to make a scrapbook about this trip, she's gonna print out some of my blog posts about our most fun nights. YAY. 

Study time <3