Well the time has finally come….it is time for me to head back to the the windy city. This entire week has been extremely hectic..with exams, and trying to see all of my friends before I left…it has been crazy. Even though I have been studying intensely, I have still had a very good week. I met with each of my local friends this week, and had the opportunity to say goodbye, which was sad. I really don’t believe that I have been in Barcelona for four months….it is absolutely insane how fast this semester has been flying by.
This morning I had my last final and after I was finished it felt so good. I went home and began to organize some of my stuff and go through some of my school work that I didn’t want to keep. After I packed most of my suitcase I went to a sushi buffet with my friend Alex, which was delicious!! For 11 Euros I was able to get all of the sushi that I wanted and many other types of food as well. After I ate lunch I went to ‘attempt’ to finish my souvenir shopping, which turned out to be more difficult than I expected. I wish that I wouldn’t have waited until the last minute to do all my shopping because I didn’t buy as much as I would have liked to, but oh well.
I really don’t believe that I have been out here for months, and I really have met some awesome people out here. It really has been the highlight of my experience in Barcelona; I absolutely loved meeting the local people that lived here. Here are a few pictures that I took from walking around El Born and some other parts of Barcelona. Alex was very nice to take me on her motorcycle which was awesome because it gave me an opportunity to see Barcelona from a different aspect. Here are a few pictures of my last few days in Barcelona…
Well after I finished shopping I went home to eat dinner with Anna and Travis. I couldn’t believe that it was my last dinner that I would have at my house for years. We really didn’t have anything special, but it was still delicious. I spent some time organizing some more of my belongings and then went out for a second dinner.
Anna and I ....our last picture together until next time...
My roommate Travis and I....
Cristina and Lizzy’s parents were both in Barcelona for a few days and they invited a few of us out dinner. We went to a restaurant that I had previously been to, and it was delicious. We basically just had tapas for dinner, which I was fine with since I ate dinner a few hours earlier.
Here is a picture of our group at dinner...Cristina, Nick, Lizzy, Me, Mike, and Roxanne:
After we were finished eating, the parents all headed back to their hotels. We all went to a bar called Pippermints, which was extremely fun, as it always is. It was really nice to spend my last few days with the people that I met in the beginning of my trip.
A picture of Nick and I at Pippermints...
Roxanne and I...
Cristina and I...
Cristina and Lizzy...my first two friends I met in Barcelona!
I got home relatively early and finished packing the majority of my items. Anna offered to call a taxi for me to pick me up at 4:30 in the morning. As I was in the taxi going towards the airport I honestly didn’t believe that I was actually heading back to the United States.
Right now it is 6:30 in the morning and I still have about forty-five minutes until the plane departs to London. I will be laid over in London for a couple of hours, which I am fine with…I guess.
As I am now back in the United States, I really can’t believe that I am here. The last four months have passed by faster than I could have imagined. My experience in Barcelona has been the best time of my life, and definitely has been a trip that I will never forget. I feel that I have successfully accomplished all of the goals I made before I came to Barcelona. I really had the complete cultural experience, and I am so happy I ended up living with a family. My Spanish has improved immensely, and I am happy I became so close with my family in Barcelona. I met some awesome Spaniards and I will do all I can to continue to stay in contact with them, and hope one day they will visit me in Chicago, and I will definitely return to Barcelona. My favorite part of my trip was meeting my local friends and having the opportunity to travel all over Spain, and also to Zurich and Roma. I strongly feel that I took advantage of this opportunity as much as I possibly could have. These last four months in Barcelona have been the best time of my life, and I will never forget my experience abroad. I hope to return to Barcelona, or at least Spain within the next year, depending on how much money I make this summer and next semester.
I surprised myself with how much I kept up with this blog, and it definitely was very time consuming. I am thankful because I will always have this blog to look back on and realize how much I enjoyed my experience abroad in Barcelona. I will continue my studies this summer at Northern Illinois University and plan to pursue my degree in Business Management, and Spanish Business Translation. I look forward to using my Spanish knowledge and Spanish cultural experience in my career, and I will continue working hard to perfect my fluency. I hope that everyone enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Take care,
Jeremy
