Concluding Thoughts on Spain

I passed my last two days back at IRTA, assisting with work and saying my goodbyes. I also returned to the gym and residence hall one last time to say goodbye to the people I’d met there. And though I’d grown discouraged and perhaps even disgruntled with the Spanish postal system, I was thrilled to find that nearly a month after the Christmas holiday and two months since its sending, the box my mom sent to me for Christmas was, in fact, not lost but waiting for me there at the residence hall before my final departure.

Given my very early flight out of Barcelona on Wednesday morning, I actually traveled to the airport Tuesday night to await my 7:30 am departure. It was not the most desirable of things to do, but it was basically my only option considering the public transportation schedule. I took the bus from Reus, and perhaps my wait at the bus station was more unsettling than my overnight at the airport, as in fact, there were others passing the night along with me. The flights were, thankfully, uneventful, and the food on the planes surprisingly decent. For a short while, the comedy radio channel played a segment of “You Might Be a Redneck…” and I had to stifle my laugh, as it finally struck me that, yes, I was returning back to my home country. (And I know there are others of you reading this that would have appreciated the drawled wit, too.)

I finally arrived in Ithaca at 5:45 pm EST after about 30 hours of waiting and traveling. I will spend 5 days in what feels like a frozen tundra before I head south to a welcomed Chilean summer – the next of my Dreer fellowship adventures.

And now for some concluding thoughts about my three-month stance in Spain… Though there were slow moments, tiring moments, and challenging moments, in retrospect, I had a wonderful, memorable, and invaluable experience. Perhaps I even grew a little sentimental as my time drew to a close. Certainly there were issues that baffled me – like why some public women’s toilets had no toilet seats, and others that frustrated me – like how a box painted on the floor of the Madrid airport was enough to designate smoking from non-smoking sections. There were issues that challenged me – like living in a place where I didn’t speak the preferred language, and issues that I couldn’t understand – like the passionate and even spiteful regionalism within a country. There were barriers I tried to climb – like being a woman athlete in a community where that was not the norm, and others I tried to chisel away – like the general assumption that all Americans walk the same line of being a war-loving, consumption-driven, environmentally-unconscious society fueled by the constant intake of fast food. And, of course, there were cultural adaptations that I had to make – like eating dinner at a time previously passed my bedtime and consuming far more pork than my raising of 4-H hogs had previously repulsed me from doing. And though, on first glance, this list may appear negative, in the end, the issues had a positive influence on me because they made me realize some things about myself – my insecurities, flexibilities, and strengths.

Last but certainly not least, I cannot deny the power of relations. I made not just invaluable contacts in Spain but also cherished friends, especially Núria and Davíd, with whom I believe I will stay in contact well into the future. And isn’t that what life is all about anyway – about making relations that, indeed, change our outlook on life, making us better professionals, better citizens, and most importantly better neighbors in this very small, small world?