"La vida es eso
que te pasa mientras
tu intentas
hacer otra cosa."
These past months have been filled with more than imaginable. I have spoken to more strangers in my host language than I thought possible, making new friends constantly, and new memories to last me a lifetime. The greatest component of all is that I can laugh in my language, as well as cry, dream and really feel. I´m living Spanish.
By no means however has the time passed with such ease and felicity always, as this is still reality I´m living in, believe it or not. Each day poses new challenges for me (some uncomfortable or difficult) which provide brand new learning experiences. There are really tough moments in which I have to focus and purpose myself, since there is nobody here to tell me what to do. In this way I am understanding how to make decisions and cope with new situations. (Provided by my mistakes, since I am all about the trial and error theory.)
Like the quote above, "La Vida", this life I am living is occurring before my eyes, during time in which I am trying to do other things. It´s showing me to stop and behold the beauty in everything. I can appreciate the littlest things now, and realize I must not take a single second for granted, nor person, decision, etc.
Now I take much pride in being able to have a phone conversation in Spanish, something that upon arrival made me feel nauseous, incredibly nervous, and uneasy. It´s funny, how things of the past look to me, now that I´ve advanced my language skills more than I perceived possible. I love it when my host mom or dad calls me at the house asking if I can make them dinner, or when I can give to an intellectual conversation. It even further gives me pride and joy to meet new people on the bus, or to be mistaken for a Spaniard. Those are great moments. Priceless moments.
It´s a little bit tough to recall certain events to tell from the past few months, as there have been numerous. And now that life here is absolutely normal and natural, the days and months passing are quicker and more routine. Scheduling my flight home is the last thing I want to do, with a summer in Spain ahead of me. But life is composed of seasons, not only those that have to do with the sun´s relationship with our home earth, but also seasons of life: of different friendships, learning experiences, of love, joy, that´s living. And this season I am in is, for lack of an English adjective, impresionante. Lo mejor año de mi vida. A season of growth, love, and admiration.
Okay, so I´m going to try and recall some interesting events..and chill out with the flowery talk of peace and love, though I go on for days like that.
I took part in a gigantic fiesta called Carnaval two weeks ago, something most of the Spanish really do up right. Every single person was dressed in any sort of extravagant costume, some men dressed as women Flamenco dancers, some mid-Western Cowgirls, a handful of blue Avatars--you name it I saw it. My friend Anna and I were "mariposas", or butterflies. All night long we had people shouting "¡mariposa, mariposa!"..a great time indeed. Carnaval is a few days of festivities but the main night was Saturday before last. It´s a celebration of sorts right before Catholic Lent begins, a time to get everyone together for big concerts and dancing in the streets and simply enjoying the massive fiesta. Although we were still in the winter, people crowded even the beach to get their party on.
This past week, the beach has been absolutely beautiful. It´s certainly not hot enough to go take a dip in the sea, but the sun is heavenly. I´ve got a feeling I´ll return to Florida with a better tan than most, and that´s saying a lot being from the Sunshine State. Sunsets here are also dream-like and breathtaking.
And this morning, my mind stumbled across something, an epiphany of sorts. I got here in September of 2009, and began to count the days, trying to find an end to someting that seemed so endless.Attempting to put a structure to something alien and unknown. And now that we´re nearly in March of 2010, I see my days here counting down. So it hit me, what nonsense this counting is, when all that really matters is living in the moment, in the now. What is planning for the future or looking back into the past when all action comes about in the present, the always alive, never dormant reality of the moment. So I continue, living for today.
que te pasa mientras
tu intentas
hacer otra cosa."
These past months have been filled with more than imaginable. I have spoken to more strangers in my host language than I thought possible, making new friends constantly, and new memories to last me a lifetime. The greatest component of all is that I can laugh in my language, as well as cry, dream and really feel. I´m living Spanish.
By no means however has the time passed with such ease and felicity always, as this is still reality I´m living in, believe it or not. Each day poses new challenges for me (some uncomfortable or difficult) which provide brand new learning experiences. There are really tough moments in which I have to focus and purpose myself, since there is nobody here to tell me what to do. In this way I am understanding how to make decisions and cope with new situations. (Provided by my mistakes, since I am all about the trial and error theory.)
Like the quote above, "La Vida", this life I am living is occurring before my eyes, during time in which I am trying to do other things. It´s showing me to stop and behold the beauty in everything. I can appreciate the littlest things now, and realize I must not take a single second for granted, nor person, decision, etc.
Now I take much pride in being able to have a phone conversation in Spanish, something that upon arrival made me feel nauseous, incredibly nervous, and uneasy. It´s funny, how things of the past look to me, now that I´ve advanced my language skills more than I perceived possible. I love it when my host mom or dad calls me at the house asking if I can make them dinner, or when I can give to an intellectual conversation. It even further gives me pride and joy to meet new people on the bus, or to be mistaken for a Spaniard. Those are great moments. Priceless moments.
It´s a little bit tough to recall certain events to tell from the past few months, as there have been numerous. And now that life here is absolutely normal and natural, the days and months passing are quicker and more routine. Scheduling my flight home is the last thing I want to do, with a summer in Spain ahead of me. But life is composed of seasons, not only those that have to do with the sun´s relationship with our home earth, but also seasons of life: of different friendships, learning experiences, of love, joy, that´s living. And this season I am in is, for lack of an English adjective, impresionante. Lo mejor año de mi vida. A season of growth, love, and admiration.
Okay, so I´m going to try and recall some interesting events..and chill out with the flowery talk of peace and love, though I go on for days like that.
I took part in a gigantic fiesta called Carnaval two weeks ago, something most of the Spanish really do up right. Every single person was dressed in any sort of extravagant costume, some men dressed as women Flamenco dancers, some mid-Western Cowgirls, a handful of blue Avatars--you name it I saw it. My friend Anna and I were "mariposas", or butterflies. All night long we had people shouting "¡mariposa, mariposa!"..a great time indeed. Carnaval is a few days of festivities but the main night was Saturday before last. It´s a celebration of sorts right before Catholic Lent begins, a time to get everyone together for big concerts and dancing in the streets and simply enjoying the massive fiesta. Although we were still in the winter, people crowded even the beach to get their party on.
This past week, the beach has been absolutely beautiful. It´s certainly not hot enough to go take a dip in the sea, but the sun is heavenly. I´ve got a feeling I´ll return to Florida with a better tan than most, and that´s saying a lot being from the Sunshine State. Sunsets here are also dream-like and breathtaking.
And this morning, my mind stumbled across something, an epiphany of sorts. I got here in September of 2009, and began to count the days, trying to find an end to someting that seemed so endless.Attempting to put a structure to something alien and unknown. And now that we´re nearly in March of 2010, I see my days here counting down. So it hit me, what nonsense this counting is, when all that really matters is living in the moment, in the now. What is planning for the future or looking back into the past when all action comes about in the present, the always alive, never dormant reality of the moment. So I continue, living for today.
