A Farewell to Vitoria

Well everyone, the time has come.  In less than 24 hours I will be starting my journey home to North Carolina after six months in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
   
     I'm not entirely sure where to start with this post, my mind is moving at a million miles a minute and it's all I can do to choke back all of my tears.  I guess I'll start by saying thank you.  More than anything I am so grateful to the people that helped me get here, the ones who helped me in Vitoria, and the ones who made it all worth while to stay and fall in love with this beautiful little city.  When I came to Vitoria, I did not have many expectations on the line, I wanted to roll with everything that came my way.  At first it was incredibly difficult as I realized I had more obstacles and walls put up by myself than I had initially thought.  I was worried about the weather, I was worried about meeting new people on my own, I was worried about my spanish and many other things in between.  But little by little I started to chip away at these restrictions and move forward and I am so glad I did.  I have seen wonderful things, met incredible things, and improved in ways I could have never imagined.  It's hard to put it all into words but I feel like I accomplished a lot across many fields including my spanish, the way I treat others, and the way I treat myself.  I've learned to finally breathe, and really, it's incredible.

     Returning home, I think, will be anything but easy.  These months in Vitoria have been a sort of vacation from all that I left at home.  Though that life hasn't left me (finding an internship from 4,000 miles away was not easy!), it is quite daunting to return to it.  I'll be entering my last year at NC State after what seems like forever (the "real world" is quickly rushing in on me) as well as managing a job and internship.  Educational woes aside, my personal life is one that will have to be confronted as well when I return and that seems like the scariest task of all.  I didn't run away from things, but the distance and time created a sort of break from reality.  All of that mushy stuff aside, North Carolina is nothing like Spain and that in itself will be hard to digest.  North Carolina is beautiful but it's completely different to the culture, atmosphere, and landscape that I've come to accept as my own since being here.  But even though I'll miss pintxo pote and chorizo, here in Spain, I am definitely glad to get back to sweet tea, biscuits, and the warmth of my friends and family.  I can't even begin to express effectively all that I'm feeling right now, but I think y'all get the gist.  So I'll move on.

To remind myself and y'all what all I've done here, I'll make a list of my travels:

• Sidrería
• Carnival
• San Sebastián/Donosti
• Madrid
• Barcelona
• 2 weeks alone through Italy
• Bilbao
• Hendaya, France
• Frankfurt, Germany (hay, Jasmine!)
• Salamanca
• Nervión
• San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
• Gran Canaria- Playa del Ingles and Las Palmas
• San Fermín

This list doesn't include all of the drives and walks I've taken.  Those moments can hardly be documented by names of places but I cherished them all the same.

Now on to the people I've met here.  Laura and Jonathan have helped me so much throughout this whole process starting with giving me a comfortable place to live and call home.  And they really did make it feel like home.  It's hard for me to express my gratitude towards them, but I hope they know that everything they've done for me from showing me around to helping me improve my spanish day by day has been greatly greatly appreciated.  I feel I should thank my friends personally so I think I shall.

Zinaida and Jessica: Thank you so much for helping me break out of my shell by approaching me first. Ha, I know it was a little hard for you (my face just looks angry naturally!) but I'm so glad we became the friends we did.  I've enjoyed all of our moments together from Suso to Gran Canaria.  Zinaida, your kindness and awesome dancing skills has helped me really learn to have fun and I hope we get to have that kind of fun together again!  Jessica, your honesty and humor have kept me grounded here, and you've provided me some of my best times in Spain, and I thank you for that.

Zarina: We've gotten considerably closer since the others left, and I'm so happy we did.  You help me with my Spanish, and you've helped me through some personally rough nights (sorry, again!).  You're down for discovering new things with me whether it be seeing people burn their pasts at the Hogueras or sitting on a park bench with me at  7am after a night of dancing.  I see how incredible you are, don't worry about the jerks out there, the ones that matter know how wonderful you are!

Enrique: Seeeriously, Bruno you have been so incredible!  Your light heart and ability to have a great time have been a godsend for me these past six months.  Te quiero mucho and I can't wait to visit you in Mexico, because I can't even describe how much you need to stay in my life!

Iban: You have been such a great resource for all of us, and I am so grateful for the friend you've become and the help you've been to all of us!

Gustavo: Who would have known that our late addition to our Spanish class would turn out to be a good friend and an incredible dance partner!  Thank you for helping with my Spanish and helping me break out and have some fun from time to time whether it be on kutxi or in cool, you kept me light and fun.

All of these people, plus many more have also been kind enough to walk with me to the taxis on our nights together, and I really loved those moments with all of you, so thanks!

The other people that I have met here and have become my friends are equally important here and have made a serious impact on my time here.  I thank you all and I miss you all already and you will always have a home in North Carolina!

If I have time tonight I'll create a "best moments of Spain" picture post, but for now we just have text.  Although I will show you guys a before and after of myself here!

This is from one of my first days here and as you can see, I'm flying solo and considerably lighter than I am now, haha.

This was taken the week everyone else left and I'm in the very back!  But I've chosen this picture because we all look incredibly happy and it shows just how surrounded by great people I was and how it went from just me to me and my friends and endless days of fun. Thank you all so much! (Photo by Jessica's friend Klara!)

Gracias and eskerrik asko to everyone from my friends and family at home, to my friends and family in Spain.  I can't wait to see you all again, and I love you all.

Un gran beso, 

Autumn