The Beginning of the End

Well folks, that time is rapidly approaching. I've already begun the goodbyes, the end of school celebrations, and the lasts (the last weekend in Alcala, the last time to see Retiro, the last time to see the kids). And as hard as I try, I just can't really wrap my mind around the fact that my time in Spain is almost done and that I have been here for nine weeks. I knew that time was going to fly from the beginning, but I had no idea it would go this fast.

So these last few days I've been trying my absolute hardest to squeeze in every last drop of Alcala, Madrid, and my host family because I know it will be awhile before I see any of the above again. Hopefully not too far in the future (if everything goes to plan), but still, it could be awhile.

So first thing on the agenda had been to spend a lot of time with my little hermanos. And, after much waiting and wondering, I finally have a couple of pictures of the two.

First of all, meet Guille (pronounced GEE-yay). Guille is nine years old and he is the perfect model of a spanish big brother. Sometimes he picks on Mario, but it's always out of love. :) He is really athletic and he loves to play soccer and swim, and he loves it when I join him for either one. He acts like a tough guy, but really he's just a big softy.


Now meet Mario. Mario is seven years old and he is also the perfect image of a spanish little brother. Occasionally he can be whiny when he doesn't get his way, but he always has a smile on his face again before too long. He is a little ball of energy and can barely stand to sit still for more than five minutes at a time. He never could be around me without climbing up onto my shoulders or into my arms.

So last night, I had to say my final goodbye to these two. They're going on vacation with their mom to Ibiza and they won't be back until after I'm gone. For the last couple of days, Mario has been telling me that he doesn't want me to go and they both have been getting kind of upset talking about it. So last night when they finally had to leave, they both ran up to me and cried and gave me big hugs.

My gosh I am going to miss those kids. Who knew that I would get so attached?

So other than saying my first of few goodbyes, I have also been going out to get my last views in of Alcala and Madrid. One our favorite traditions this summer has been to go to Gabanna, a bar/discoteca, to hang out and hit the dance floor. We always meet up there every Thursday night, and this Thursday was our last one. Here are a few pictures from our last gathering.

Here are Hannah and Cherrie and their french roommate (whose name I can't pronounce). And of course, Briana squeezed in the background and Ashley slid in the side.

Here I am with Evie and Ashley, the dynamic duo. And together we make up the Three Musketeers! I've had so much fun with these two this summer that I can't even describe it.

Another thing that I've done a lot while I've been in Spain is travelling around the country and taking in as much Spanish culture as possible. Well, Hannah and I decided to make one last day trip together seeing as how we make such great travel buddies. And this time we decided to go to Zaragoza in the northeast of Spain, because we had heard to much about the Zaragoza Expo. However, I have one little bit of advice for anyone thinking about going to Zaragoza:

Don't go.

Hannah and I had really high hopes for this trip. We had been told that the Zaragoza World Expo was really cool and that it alone was worth the trip. However, we soon learned that the expo was just a big science fair. Nearly every country in the world had a pavilion that was supposed to show you a little bit about their culture and to educate you on water problems and how their country is solving it. However, it was a lot less culture and a lot more nerdy stuff. Hannah described it as "MGM without the rides." I described it as "science camp." Basically, it was the type of thing that you would go on a school field trip to, except we had to pay to get in.

This is Hannah when we first got off the bus. Notice how she's smiling and actually has a happy look on her face. If only we knew that this trip was going to be a bust. haha

Here is Hannah in front of the Nepal expo. As you walked in, you had to spin these little golden wheels as you walked by. Nepal was actually kind of cool, because they had some more cultural stuff. But other than that, the expo didn't really reach our expectations.

So after we left the expo, we decided to walk around Zaragoza and see some of the city's sights. We basically just needed something to redeem the city. And on our way, we found this fountain, which partially did that. haha

After getting lost for awhile, we finally found this giant basilica, which was actually pretty impressive. Impressive enough to change our opinion on Zaragoza? Well.......nearly.

Final verdict on Zaragoza? Thumbs down.

And of course, I couldn't possibly squeeze my last favorites in without spending as much time in Madrid as possible. It is such an incredible city and I love wandering around and taking it all in. This weekend a group of us went up to go inside the Royal Palace and to see a few of its surroundings.

Here are Hannah and I in front of the Palace Cathedral.

While we were in front of the Cathedral, we were treated to this really awesome cultural show that seemed to be almost Irish. There were bagpipe players and dancers and it was basically a huge parade. We're pretty sure it was for some festival in Spain, even though a lady told us that it wasn't.

And then here are Molly, Hannah, and I in front of the Bank of Spain, I think. We really just walked around for the rest of the day and took in as many sights as possible.

So is it sad to be leaving Spain? Definitely yes.

Is it hard to have so many goodbyes and lasts in such a short period of time? Without a doubt.

Is it all worth it? Definitely.