Medio Punto

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Well, today is exactly 2 days after my halfway point. I have been here for two months and two days. It’s unbelievable, and I am feeling great! The first month was a little tough. For me, it was hard at first to adjust to living in a city. I felt like I had to make a million adjustments in my life, basically all alone. I kept counting down the days until I would get to go home and be around the people I love and in my comfort zone. After that, though, my experience flip-flopped 180 degrees.

In the past month I have started to feel like I live here, and realize how extremely lucky I am in my life. I’m not homesick anymore, and I don’t get lost that often anymore.  I miss my family, and sure there are plenty of days when I miss dropping by Grandma’s house for a coke and whatever random food is in the refrigerator, or sleeping in Chelsi’s bed when I’m scared (haha I shouldn’t be admitting this on the internet), having a bath tub, baking peanut butter cookies with the Hershey’s kisses in the middle, or a million other stupid little things. The funny thing is that I didn’t realize how important these little things were to me until I got here.

You know what, though? Right now I have a family with me here in Spain. There were so many ways that this trip could have gone wrong, but I got put into a house with an amazingly caring roommate and a great host-mom that really does take care of us. Her mom (our host-grandma) is constantly inviting us over for food, to relax and watch some TV, and to talk with her extremely hilarious (with the soul of a 5-year-old) husband. Sure I miss home, but the longer I am here the more excited I am because I know it will be THAT much greater when I actually do return home. I have a whole two months ahead of me in which I will have a million more adventures and stories that I will get to tell people when I get back into the states.

Monica had the most hilarious dinner/wine party last night. When Carla and I walked in they were playing a game the equivalent of Scategories in Spanish. It was just like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and every other holiday in the Friese/Parks/Gaffney households. They had the dictionary out, they were fighting over which words were real and made up, and they were laughing hysterically at everything. I had to laugh even harder when they started interrogating Carla about what kind of music she listens to in the US. She brought down her laptop so that they could listen to whatever they want, and all the way from upstairs I heard them break into “We Will Rock You”. We were both laughing so hard.

I am starting to become really close with a lot of the people here, too. The hard part, though, is that everyone here is from a completely different part of the country (or from Spain) so it will be difficult to keep in touch when we get back. Maybe it will be an excuse for me to visit the east-coast someday, though. I still have some of the most amazing friends in the world at home that I can’t wait to be around again. I really think, though, that it takes a different type of person to study abroad. Everyone is here for their own reasons, but a lot of them are the same. We all wanted/needed a change so we decided why not pack up and move to Spain. Now we’re just a bunch of American idiots living in Southern Spain, and it is a blast. One thing that I think is really fun, is finding out just how different the US is from state to state and from east coast to west coast. Carla and I tell each other stories all of the time, and every once in awhile I will start with a phrase such as, “This one night we were at Wendy’s getting a frosty”…and she will give me a dumbfounded look and say, “What is a Wendy’s??” Apparently they don’t exist on the east coast. They don’t have Red Robins either! Sometimes she mentions some random restaurant that I have never heard of before in my life, but everyone from the east coast will jump up and start talking about how much they miss the food there.

Another cool thing is dialect. It’s amazing how many words that we use in Washington don’t exist in the rest of the world. I have friends from Chicaaahgo, Illinois and others from Texas that don’t know how to say “you all” instead of “ya’ll”. Then there’s Carla from New Joisey. I swear she sounds exactly like Barbara Streisand in “Funny Girl” sometimes.  I even have friends from Massachusetts that live near a town that is spelled Worchester, but somehow they manage to call it “Woosta”. I always joke with Matt about whether he is from the “east-a-Woosta” or the “west-a-Woosta”. Then there’s us small-town folk from Washington that sometimes call a “creek” a “crick”. Oh! Did you know that in some parts of the south they don’t say “soda” or “pop”. They call every fountain drink a “coke” so when you actually ask for a coke they say, “What kind?” I thought that was weird. It is really fun having friends from all over the United States. Since moving here, I definitely have no doubt that Washington is the most underrated state in the U.S, and I think I’ve convinced about 50 people that they need to come visit. I try to tell people that rain is wonderful, but somehow somebody always pops up with “Isn’t Seattle the city with the highest suicide rate in the U.S. because it rains so much?”  Everyone has to be a comedian.

The only bad part about living here is that I am starting to love living in Granada so much that sometimes I’d rather stay here than travel to other countries. I think that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. When I have opportunities to get away for the weekends or for random excursions I have a lot of fun, but in the end I always end up missing Granada and being excited to come back. It’s becoming my home-away-from-home and I like that. My room here is MY room, and Carla and Monica are my family.

It’s weird to think back to when I got here two months ago and realized exactly how long four months is. Then, I was counting down the days until I got at least halfway because May seemed way too far away. Now I have a whole two months behind me and I’m looking at my calendar and realizing just how soon I will be leaving Spain. Like a good friend from home told me the other day, it’s all downhill from here. Every night when I go to sleep I wake up one day closer to the end of my duration here. I’m still excited to go home. I’m even more excited, though, to see what adventures are going to come my way in the next two months. It’s a good feeling. 

Thanks so much to everyone that has been keeping tabs on me this far. It makes me happy to know that I still cross your mind once in awhile, and I’m glad I can be a source of entertainment sometimes.  I do my best. You’re all in my prayers everyday.

Take Care,
Laura Lee

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Comments

[GRANDMA NONIE]

YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!
Laura -- If nothing else, you should write a book. You put words together so very, very beautifully. Wow, I always knew you were so very talented, I just didn't know how much. I love you and I am living "vicariously - and, al biet, and with a bit of envy - no - that's not the right word -- "vicariously and happily AND VERY PROUDLY" are truly the very best ways to express my feelings about you, and this wonderful "life's voyage" that you are on. God bless you -- and HAPPY EASTER MONDAY! Grandpa David and I have tried tuning in to and reaching you on SKYPE, but you have not been on line at the times we have tried. We will, indeed, try again.... Lots of love, XXX and OOOO's. You are truly loved!!!! Grandma Nonie