Quick Update

           I have been a terrible blogger lately, since for some reason this country thinks it's a great idea to have an entire month and a half of final exams. I have four this semester and they happened to be spread out through the entire exam period, meaning I started studying in late May and don't finish until July 9th. June basically consisted of spending the day in the library with friends (with very extensive coffee and lunch breaks) and unwinding with more friends and wine on the terrace at night--meaning studying has still managed to be a ridiculously social affair, as this is still Spain after all. Of course, a highlight of such spread-out exams was that I had two weeks in between my third and fourth and thus took a trip to Germany (post to come, although at the rate I'm going it could take a while....).
           With exactly one month left in Europe, I'm experiencing the strangest emotions. I feel like I could break down in tears at any moment thinking about leaving, but it's also surreal to see Granada transforming into the place that it was when I first came: hot and empty, except for the throngs of tourists. Since it's such a university city and most students have already finished exams, the place is definitely starting to clear out, and an odd and lonely feeling remains. I only have a couple more days in this amazing city, and I walk by my favorite places now with such nostalgia, remembering the many times over the year that I went to a certain tapas bar, sat and people-watched in my favorite plaza, strolled by the river or was awed by the Alhambra lit up at night. But the other part of me is so eager to get out of here and start my month-long trip through Switzerland, Sweden and Northern Spain, and I'm emotionally drained from saying goodbyes to people who have made my stay here incredible, and who I might possibly never see again. (Depressing, but realistic). To study abroad they prep you for cultural differences, cuisine, what to pack, and how to greet with two kisses; but they neglect to prepare you on how to leave it all after a year.
         When I said goodbye to my program director Inma yesterday, she put it best: I'll be back one day for sure, so this is not adios but rather hasta luego.