Looking Back

With two weeks of work at Wrigley under my belt (yes, I waste no time) and having finally adjusted back to the American life, I figured this would be the perfect time to reflect on my 17 weeks in Sevilla.

Researchers and professionals say that time spent abroad should change a student in more ways than one. Keeping this assertion in mind and mentally documenting changes that I’ve noticed in myself, here’s what I’ve come up with:

1)   Flying Solo: During the first few weeks, when I learned that BW was traveling to cities outside of Sevilla, ALONE, I felt both shocked and bad for him…for two good reasons. One, I would never have the guts to get on a plane, train or bus and travel to a foreign place by myself and two, (and this is my insecure self speaking) how awful would it look traveling alone? All this changed after my Portugal trip, when I was forced to figure out the metro system, by myself, to attend Jamatkhana ceremonies.  I remember, it was at that point, I gained the courage to do things on my own and promised myself I wouldn’t be dependent on others to make the most of my time abroad. Since then, I’ve traveled to a number of cities alone (to see friends of course), meeting others who were flying solo along the way.

2)   The “No Pasa Nada” Attitude: Those who know me know that I possess a strong micromanaging attitude when it comes to projects and planning. At first, I took every trip as a project that needed to be orchestrated down to the very last minute, in order to maximize time. I learned all too quickly, after my trip to Granada, that this attitude would get me nowhere. With multiple traveling buddies, four days (in the week) to plan and class work to finish, it was impossible to perfectly coordinate details of any trip. It was then when I decided to just let it all go. People always took the “last-minute, spontaneous” route and it was my turn to accept that I couldn’t control everything. Life’s been a lot less stressful since I’ve adopted the “It Doesn’t Matter” attitude.

3)   There’s a First Time for Everything: Growing up in a somewhat sheltered environment, the craziest thing I’ve tried, outside of keeping both hands up (and my eyes open) on Six Flag’s Raging Bull Roller Coaster, was walking across the 130-foot  high, 1,080-feet long Canopy Walkway in the Kakum National Park, in Ghana. Other than that, I’ve led a pretty safe and normal life. While in Spain, I told myself I HAD to try everything, at least once. From consuming weird looking (and tasting) foods, hiking to ungodly heights (and lengths), watching six bulls be slaughtered, I tried it all. And I’m glad that I did…because I discovered untapped, inner potentials.

 

4)   Live Like You’re Dying: Aside from enjoying a position, high on Billboard’s Top 100, Kris Allen’s song poses an interesting question: “So if your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would’ve done?” Like most of you reading this, there’s a lot I wish I HADN’T done – fighting with my little sister, befriending certain people, stressing enough to sport seven shiny grey hairs, letting freshmen 15 take advantage of my immaculate high school body – but the one thing I don’t regret is living every day, this semester, as if it were my last. And because of this mindset, I’ve been able to cross many thing off my bucket list, bringing me one step closer to responding to Kris Allen’s question with “Nothing.”

5)   Disfruten Mucho, Gasten Menos…Somos en un Crisis: Roughly translated as “Have a lot of fun, spend a little. We are in a Crisis,” these were the wise words of the great Professor Adolfo Vázquez. Every Wednesday, at the end class, Adolfo would recite this line, reminding us of the grave financial crisis the world was facing. As much as we didn’t care about expenses while trotting through Europe (since most were being funded by their parents), I could see looks of concern and understanding, around the room, as Adolfo’s words registered into our minds.

And with that, I’d like to thank all my avid readers for keeping up with my blog all semester long. I know I’ve reached out to a lot of people around the world, and would love to know who out there was reading my entries. Feel free to leave comments or email me!

Watch out for future entries on the Globe Trotter, as my sister and I are training to qualify for an International Sports Tournament (to be held in the summer of 2012).

Adios!