I can’t believe how fast time has gone by. It is so sad to think that there is only one week left here in Spain. I still feel as though we just arrived yesterday. One thing that will never change is how grateful and happy I am that I was able to come here on this journey!
On Sunday, the three ladies that I live with, as well as Ricardo and Manny, decided to take us all out for churros and “hot chocolate.”
The churros were incredible, but the hot chocolate is not anything like what I am used to from America. Instead it is basically melted chocolate in a mug… but nevertheless, it was still amazing. After churros, we went for a long walk around the city. It was great to see some different scenery than I am used to. I feel like no matter how much I walk and explore, I am always finding something new each day.
After having most of the week off from internship last week for the holiday, I was excited to go back to work on Monday. I still find myself nervous in my classroom because it is so hard to communicate with the children, due to my very limited Spanish. The one thing I don’t need Spanish to understand, is the love that the children have for each other. Even if I have no clue what they are saying to each other, their actions speak so much louder than words ever could. It amazes me each day how kind these children are to each other. One child is nineteen years old, but mentally he is only seven years old. He is one of the more advanced children in my classroom. He has a mild seizure disorder and experienced one in class. One of the other children in the class, an eleven-year-old, jumped out of his chair immediately to grab him a pillow so he could rest on his desk after. He also got some tissues and started wiping the drool off of his face since he was unable to do so for himself. I was so touched by this. Seeing one child, who has disabilities of his own, have so much compassion for this other child, was extremely heartwarming. There is another child in the class that is thirteen years old but is mentally five years old. She has a disorder where she has a lot of tremors and spasms. It is an extremely rare diagnosis with no cure or treatment. It breaks my heart to know that there is nothing that can be done for her, but it makes me happy to see her constantly smiling. I have enjoyed seeing some of the tools they use to help the children. They use a lot of picture boards with Velcro that allow the student to move stuff around based on the day. This includes them learning the date, the weather, and which students attended school that day. To see the look on the child’s face, as well as the look on the teacher’s face when they get something right is so gratifying.
Later in the week, one of the boys in the classroom started experiencing mood changes. He started biting himself, hitting the walls, and ripping apart his belongings. The language barrier made this situation extremely difficult for me. Back home, when I have patients that start harming themselves, I can easily communicate with them and help calm them down. Here, I don’t know how to communicate that everything is okay and that he needs to stop hurting himself. Eventually he calmed down and apologized. This was just another learning experience for me and made me realize that I would love to be able to learn to speak a second language someday.
The most gratifying part of my week was working with a child who is blind. He also experiences behavior issues and is hard to calm down. I believe this is due to him being scared since he cannot see his surroundings or who is with him. On Tuesday, he recognized me, obviously without seeing me, and started yelling out my name. It was an incredible experience and made me so happy to know that he knew who I was and when I was present. His activities are very different from the other children’s. He has a plastic board with holes in it that he has to place circular plastic bubbles in. He was so excited when he finally completed the activity, which also made me very excited.
Tuesday evening, Rafaella, Wanessa, Herika, and Ricardo took Frankie and myself out to dinner. The best part of the night was teaching them different English words. I had never realized how many words sound similar to each other. For example, Ricardo was trying to talk about a dog and instead of calling it a puppy, he called it a “poopy.” We all shared a great time, and many laughs.
Wednesday night, the whole group went to Mike and Cassie’s apartment. We ate dinner and watched a movie called “The Human Experience.” It was a documentary that a group of boys made. They went around and met all different types of people – some homeless and some diseased. The documentary talked about how important a person’s upbringing is. So many people come from broken homes and abusive pasts. It made me realize how important family life is and how I sometimes take my family for granted. I am extremely blessed to live in a house with the most amazing parents, who show my sister and I a great example of a healthy relationship every day. I look up to them and their marriage (of 27 years next week – congratulations mom & dad!).
Thursday night, the whole group left for Barcelona for a weekend getaway. It was quite the experience. I had never stayed in a hostel before. This is a room with four sets of bunkbeds and a shared bathroom. The entire group stayed in the same room which was nice and helped us all to bond. The hostel itself was interesting to say the least. When we arrived to our room we found that there was no WiFi and no working outlets in our room. The bathroom light was also broken, so it was pitch black in the bathroom when the door was closed. Our first night, I really wanted to take a shower even though there was no light. Alexi had to stand outside the shower with my phone flashlight on, so I could see. As strange as this was, we both laughed the entire time. The shower was very different, as well. In order to get water, you had to push a button… every five seconds. It was such a struggle, but it made me appreciate my shower back home!
Overall, our time in Barcelona was fun! We went to see the Sagrada Familia, which is a very famous church in Barcelona. It has been under construction since the year 1882 and won’t be finished until around the year 2028. Both the inside and outside are absolutely breathtaking. It was very different from the other churches we have visited because it looked more modern. The inside was filled with supports that were made to look like trees. The ceiling was made to look like branches. Every single detail in that building has a reason. I am so glad that I spent the extra money to get the audio guide because I learned so much about the building and the work that has been put into it. I would LOVE to go back and see it when it is finally finished.
We also went to a rooftop bar that had the most amazing views of the whole city. On Saturday, we went to Park Güell and the beach. The park was absolutely beautiful. There was so many interesting structures surrounded by trees and plants. The views were gorgeous here, as well.
I wish we had had more time at the beach and our bathing suits. The weather was absolutely beautiful and sitting by the ocean was very relaxing and reminded me of home.
This week has been a very busy and fun filled time. I still cannot believe that we are leaving Granada in 8 days. It is a very bittersweet feeling for me. I miss my family and friends so much, but I know I will miss Granada when I leave.
