Incredible. Amazing. Inspiring. Rewarding. Life changing. Unforgettable. Adventurous. Stupendous. The adjectives are endless to describe my time here in Madrid, Spain, my home for the last four and a half months.

There are so many thoughts racing trough my head right now as I am packing to up my life and heading back to the States. You always hear about a study abroad experience and form an idea of what it would be like but for me everything was different than I expected, and I mean that in the best way possible.

As I look back at my blogs I am reminded of my travels, conversations with my Señora, the stress of school, new friends, and so much more. It makes me feel a bit overwhelmed.  I am walking away with a mind full of memories, a heart full of adventure, and a hand full of lifelong friends.

When I first came to Madrid I was afraid. Who isn’t. You’re away from home, you don’t know anyone, your Spanish stinks, and your wardrobe clearly does not match that of a Madrileña. But you just have to not care. That is one thing I’ve learned and the only advice that will make your time abroad that much more worthwhile. You have to step out of your shell and be uncomfortable – it is the only way you are going to learn. It’s the only way you are going to live.

While in Madrid I faced many challenges. There are the obvious ones such as language barriers, miscommunications, stress over school work, tough decisions on where to travel and if it is worth the dent in the bank account. Then there were the ones I never saw coming like my father having surgery, then his complications from the surgery and my mother simultaneously breaking her ribs while my father was in the hospital, missing Beat Bucky Week, and not seeing my nephew get so big! They were all hard to face but I am still standing and typing into cyber world. I bring up the challenges because they were the times that made me realize that I had made a few really great friends that will always be there for me.

I came to Madrid knowing absolutely no one. I knew Rachel from a distance. She and I went to Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minn. together and were in the same Spanish class junior year – her senior year – but other than that, no one. I am glad that I came without knowing anyone because it made the adventure that much more exhilarating (also stressful) and lead to only a broader experience of making more friends. Yes, while you study abroad you form closer relationships with some people than others and that has been the case within our small group of eleven, however the entire group is great.

Besides forming new relationships and learning the Spanish language, I traveled.  A common goal of any study abroad student is to travel everywhere all the time. Being the antsy, gung ho explorer I am I had the same mentality. Then I realized:
a.) I don’t have funds for that
b.) I would get so tired, even at the ripe age of 20 (almost 21 thank you)
c.) I love Madrid too much to neglect it.

So, here I give another word of advice: stay grounded. You can get so caught up with previous conceptions and what other people are doing but you have to do what is best for you. I enjoyed every weekend in Madrid because I would always explore and find something new. I wouldn’t have been able to see all that I have or have all the conversations with locals if I had traveled every weekend or puente.

Today, for our final day in Madrid, Rachel and I went for a little walk around Madrid and we brought up the fact that everything we were doing was being done for the last time. That is such a strange concept to me right now. I am having difficulty realizing the fact that I am leaving on a plane in 10 hours and that the next time I come back – and I will be coming back – will be as a working, real world adult. It’s a little too much for me to comprehend. And a little too much for me to even express with words, and that never happens. So, for now I am going to let this day pass and let tomorrow come and write a recollection post in the same spot where I wrote my expectations blog post for my semester abroad, at home in Minneapolis sitting in my bed with layers of covers to mask the frigid temperatures.

Stay tuned. Unless the world is really ending tomorrow. Gulp.