El Final

So here it is. My final blog post about Igualada.  5 months seems so long to be in one place and I cannot tell you how glad I was to have that time.  Living in one area for a long period of time is so much better, in my opinion, than a quick vacation.  I was able to get to know the people around me and have a weekly schedule.  I formed relationships that will last forever.  I did things that I never would have been able to do on a week's holiday.

About a week before I left, I met with a Spanish singer, who embodied lady gaga, to help with her English pronunciation for her new song.  There are so many little pronunciation intonations in English that I did not realize were so difficult, even after being in Igualada for almost 5 months.  So we worked for around 4 hours, making sure she sounded as native as possible for her song.  After taking an intro audio production class in college, I fully appreciated the massive amounts of technology the producer had in his small studio inside his apartment.  After changing a few of the lyrics to make more sense in English and then practicing, we went into the studio and started.  That day, I felt I was a part of something really big and it was an incredible feeling.  I hope one day she makes it big and I can see her in concert as she is traveling around the US.

As I was sitting in cal font (common plaza) one of my friends mentioned that in an hour, many people would be climbing a large tree.  Spain always has these strange spontaneous events around town and every so often you just stumble upon them.  So I came up to the plaza and literally, an enormous tree with one stump that had been striped of the outside bark was sitting in the middle of the square.  Children and adults would put on a harness and attempt to climb the tree as fast as possible, ring the bell on the top in order to win the oh so popular ham leg.

Oh, and it was raining.

Looks quite disgusting but don't hate until you try it.  Delicious.

 Some other things that happened during my last few weeks in Igualada:

Louise and I went exploring and found some farms we never knew existed.  Essentially our goal for that day was to get lost and see where we ended up.

A human Catalonian Independence Flag.  Catalonia never ceases to be boring as random events/festivals are the norm.

What people do on a Sunday is still a huge mystery to me.  Today, the weather is beautiful and there are a few kids running around but nothing like the massive amounts of crowds in the plazas on a Saturday.  On this day of rest, all of the stores are closed and the few cafes that dare to open are met with few customers.  Now take note, I'm only referring to Sunday before 7pm.  That's when people will go for a coffee or wander the streets with friends and family.  I know many families that save Sunday for excursions (day trips) to various places but not everyone in Igualada can do that every weekend? or can they? Like I said, mystery.

I'll miss this place.  I'll miss the 4 hour meals.  I'll miss the relaxed attitude of the people.  I'll miss having to go to specific stores instead of the 24/7 hour Walmart.  It was my first day here and I was wandering around the small streets asking someone every few minutes, "perdona, donde está la ferretería?" I needed a lock for my locker at the gym and instead of going to a large store, I needed to go to the metal shop before 1330h (don't forget the little siesta in the middle of the day when all the stores are closed from 1330-1700).  I'll miss never needing a car and having the ability to walk/bike everywhere in Igualada.  I'll miss that when people cross the street, they have full confidence that the oncoming car will stop.  I'll miss living in a "big city" atmosphere (big city only referring to the living quarters that are integrated within the city as opposed to separated into suburban residential areas).  However, Igualada has a small town feel.  I can walk into a popular plaza and wave to people I know.  I'll miss giving directions to my house and saying "it's next to the churros van." The churros van is rarely open when I am out, consequently making these flashy gaudy lights that decorate this trailer so much more exciting.  I'll miss the 1 euro postres I got all too often.

Being on my own, I have noticed the importance of learning good values as a child.  I have my family and friends to thank for that because it has made such a huge difference over here.  Sometimes, I put myself out there where I wasn't completely comfortable at first in order to meet new people and discover new things.  I could have done this trip very differently but I am happy with how it turned out.  I think one of the most meaningful things in life is meeting new people and finding out more about them.  Everyone has unique opinions and ticks differently.  Sharing stories and hearing how others have grown up, especially in a country with different traditions, has been extremely rewarding.  I will truly miss my time over here and hope that when I make my way to Europe again, I will be able to visit many of the people that have made this trip unforgettable.

This is so temporary and I've always known it too.  I am an optimistic but realistic person and I don't honestly know when I will return to Igualada or Europe.  While life can give you all sorts of surprises, I feel like I will never have the opportunity to take a 6 month break and travel Europe again.  Going back to the US, to the life and traditions and habits I had become accustomed to, may make my time here in Spain feel like a dream.  Even so, it has been a great dream, one I will never forget.

I think it goes without saying that what I will miss the most are the people I've met here.  There are ones I know I will most likely never talk to again in my life.  The friendly workers at the cafe I probably frequented a little more often than necessary.  The helpful woman always working at the front desk in the gym.  There are those that I will be sure to keep in contact with thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and whoever invented what's app.  The au pairs, the professors, and those friends originally from Igualada.  My private lessons and my class at la confiteria.  Those from the English meetings once a week at L'Ateneu.  My host family with the two adorable children I lived with.  I am so excited to see how the kids in my host family change as they get older and learn more English.  I know I will keep in touch with my host family over email, the occasional Skype, and some postcards here and there.  The students in my classes were always so kind and very motivated to learn English, as were my friends at the English meetings.  I enjoyed coming to every class because I did not feel like a teacher, I felt like a friend telling a story or talking over a cup of coffee.  They contributed so much to my time here and I learned so much from them.  They shared stories about their own traditions in Igualada and seeing them every week allowed me to feel as if I was experiencing and sharing the culture with them.  The freedom as an au pair is very rewarding and I was able to spend time with au pairs/professors/locals everyday.  We explored the city, got a cafe con leche at a shop to share stories, had intercambios, etc.  It has been amazing meeting people from all over the world.

However much I want to hold onto this temporary lifestyle, life moves on whether you're ready for it or not.  No matter how many organizations I was involved in in college, the university still functioned without my presence.  There was someone to take my place just as there will be an entire new group of 12 au pairs and 5 english professors to take our places when we leave.  They will make Igualada their temporary home, just like we have.  They will attempt to forget that someone else will do the same in a short year's time.  While the buildings may remain more or less the same, I will never have the opportunity to come back and visit Iguadala as I remembered it.  All my foreign friends will be gone.  My family will have a new au pair and I will be someone in the past who hopefully made a good impression on their lives.  Many of the locals I have met may be doing some of the same things but others will have moved to a different country to experience something new; so they can have their chance at a temporary experience abroad as I have.  Life moves on but I won't forget the past.  Life is too short to constantly wish for something in the future.  Don't get me wrong, it's important to have goals but as college was nearing an end, I realized how you can miss so much if you take the present for granted: the small things.  Don't always yearn for the next day off from work or for that far off goal because soon enough, you'll get there not knowing how you did.

So that's it.  My time in Catalonia in nutshell.  Do I want to move to Europe? Let's just say if I could take all my friends and family from the US and those I've met here and combine the best traditions from each culture, of course I would do that.  But there's a balance and you can't have everything.  Before I get onto a rant about balance of good and evil demonstrated by Taoist's ying and yang or the existentialist idea that evil must exist in order to understand or appreciate the good, I'll stop and keep attempting to live life the best way I know how.

To take advantage of my year off and the expensive plane ticket to get over to Europe, I decided to travel for a month and a half after Igualada.  I'll be going around Spain, France, Italy, and Greece so I'll be blogging about those too!