5 weeks almost done!
It’s our last week here in Granada and I am so sad to leave. It’s amazing how quick five weeks can just fly by. I think it went by so fast because many of us spent a majority of our time exploring and making memories instead of sitting inside all day after internship. I couldn't pass up having the freedom of having access to anything I want within a short walk; it was fantastic. Especially since I don't drive in the United States, it was cool to not have to rely on anyone for transportation. That is something I will truly miss and take advantage of the week I have left to continue walking around this lovely little city. I am going to miss meeting people from all over the world and cheap flights to so many countries right nearby. It’s exhilarating to know that if I do become fluent in Spanish by next year from studying abroad in Peru and another Spanish-speaking country I could come back! Then I would have so many countries at my fingertips to explore.
This week was filled with a full week of internship. It was amazing to have one more week with the kids and continuing learning from them and teaching them. I feel I have gained so much more from this internship than I initially thought I would. So being able to have a full work week with them was great to end the trip before our weekend on the Mediterranean Sea. I will miss the kids dearly and the teacher I was assisting for the entire internship. I thought he was fantastic and really knew his stuff. It was cool to be able to learn Spanish from him and teach him English. We really got see how much we learn from each other as the weeks went by. Hopefully, if I ever do go back to Granada I can drop in there, hopefully see the kids if they attend, and even the teacher who has worked there for 30 years. Work ended on Thursday with a few tears and goodbyes then it was packing for our weekend ahead and for Home in the United States.
I also spend a lot of time with my host family this week as I will miss them very much. I realized why they had come to Granada, as they are all from Brazil. Their goal was to promote peace with everyone in the world and live minimally. I loved this! This was right up my alley. That is my thing: to live as minimal as possible. So it was great to hear how they enjoy it and it is much better than when they had a lot of materialistic items. They also told me that, as part of their missionary work, they couldn’t pick where they wanted to be sent; it’s not up to you and you agree to be sent anywhere. That was so neat to me that you could be sent anywhere and welcomed into a community all thriving together. I thought this was amazing and really powerful. It was neat and makes sense why they always had visitors from all over. You never knew who was going to come next but that made it interesting and a cool experience. We also had family game night and played a bunch of games like UNO and Jenga and Spoons! It was great! I'm going to miss walking around Granada with them and doing cute family activities. I can’t believe how much we all squeezed in to see each other and spend time with each other as the weeks kept flying by.
On Friday before our venture to the beach, we went to Monasterio de la Cartuja. It was amazing and beautiful to walk around and see the amazing detail! So much artwork and gold it was immaculate. It was so cool and neat I hope to see it again someday.
We stayed an hour away from Granada on the Mediterranean Sea in a beach house. It was great to have all of us all under one roof and actually spend some time together. In Barcelona we all really grew as group and became a family so it was great to have that again right before we flew back home.
It was all of us plus Mike and Cassie and one of the girls’ host families came along as well. They have three young children and they were adorable! We stayed up playing board games and the host mom did henna tattoos on the girls hands and even designs on a couple of the boys. Then during the day we laid out on the beach; it was so relaxing! Plus it was fun taking turns making breakfast, lunch and dinner: it was fun and delicious. It was neat to see who wanted to make what and who ended up on dish duty. I think one downfall for the whole weekend was the jellyfish or “Medusas” (what they call them in Granada) in the water. And when I say in the water, I mean everywhere! They were very poisonous and if you were stung you had to go to the hospital. So for me I didn’t want to risk it. But of course I dipped a few of my toes in to say that I had been in the Mediterranean Sea. I knew if I didn’t put one toe in it wouldn’t of matter unless I said I had touched the Mediterranean Sea.
Overall this trip was amazing and I am sad to be leaving. I will miss my host family and friends I met here and along with all the locals I met along the way! There are some things you wish you could just get to do for the first time all over again. It still feels like we just got here yesterday. How did the weeks fly by so quickly? I guess that’s why they say “Time flies when you're having fun!”
