Summer in Spain

A few things have happened since I've gotten back to Spain from Italy on June 27th.


On July 1st, Spain won the 2012 European Football (soccer) Championship. It's a pretty big deal because Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and the first international team to win three straight major tournament titles (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012). I proudly sported a red T-shirt during the final game, waving my Spanish flag during each FOUR of the goals we got against Italy, who scored none! I may not quite be a Spaniard, but I guess I'm almost as proud as one now.

Euro 2012

On the 4th of July, my American friend Isabella and I had an independence day party with a bunch of friends on the beach, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, and even Rice Krispy Treats! My friends weren't so sure about the Rice Krispy Treats at first, but I ensured them that they're delicious, plus I made them myself that day... and in the end everyone absolutely loved them! (People don't really eat/use marshmallows here, so it was quite a new experience.) The 4th of July was a bit strange without the parades or the fireworks, but it still meant just as much if not more to me here. 

Me, Matt, and Isabella -- The Americans

Also around the time of the 4th of July, a friend, Colleen, came to stay at my house for a couple of days. She's from Georgia and has a scholarship through Rotary to do a Masters Degree in Granada for a year. Rotary pays for her schooling and an apartment, but she has to go around to so many Rotary Clubs or groups of people explaining her volunteer work as a part of the requirement for the scholarship. So, while she was visiting a few clubs in the Marbella area, she stayed in my house. We got to hang out some and go to the beach one day, and we even went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Marbella with my host parents. It was pretty exciting because neither Colleen nor I had been to a Hard Rock Cafe before! And of all places to go there for the first time, we went to one in Spain! Either way it was very delicious and I hope to go again before I return to the US.

Me and my "older sister" Colleen for the first time at Hard Rock

A nice shot of Puerto Banus took by Colleen

Me and my host parents at a Rotary meeting

A few days ago was Estepona's fair, but I've slowly come to dislike the fairs here. That being said I only went one day. The other night my friends went I stayed home watching NCIS in Spanish I believe.

Sonia, Isabella, Lola, and me. Some of my favorite people that I've met here :)

"The Americans" Take Two -- Estepona Feria

In other news... I still don't have my plane ticket home because the travel agency back in the US hasn't bought it yet. I should be back home in Iowa in a few weeks, but nothing is for sure with out the plane ticket. It's strange thinking about leaving here. After all, I've been here for over nine months now! It kind of feels like forever, but at the same time, like no time at all as if I just got here the other day. People always ask me here me if I'm looking forward to going back to the US. Well, the answer to that is yes and no. In a way, I feel ready to go back, like it's the right time. Like "real life" needs to begin again. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends, eating my mom's cooked meals again as well as some nice Mexican and Chinese food we have back home. I'm looking forward to driving again and having a good cell phone again. But I'm not looking forward to leaving behind my friends and family of Spain. I'm going to miss my host families' meals (apart from the fish) as well as some good kebabs or Indian take-out. I won't miss taking the bus here, but I'll miss the diversity of the people I encounter in Puerto Banus, especially on the buses. I look forward to going back to the US, but it won't be easy having to leave here. 

One doesn't just live abroad for a year and come back unimpressed. This year has definitely made an impression on me. Although I'm not sure if I can call Spain a home yet, I somehow know I can't say that Newton is my only home. I know that when I come back to Spain one day, I'm going to have people to visit and places to see again. It's going to be hard leaving these people and places in a few weeks, but I would much rather have met these people and had these experiences, than to not have and have nothing to come back to in the future. It's kind of like that quote, "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Except the cool part is that I haven't lost, because I will come back :)

Buenas noches,
Josie