Afternoon by the Sea

"Not all who wander are lost."

Today I had an unexpected change of plans: a free afternoon!

Because of our schedule, I did not have to practice teaching in the afternoon. So what does Lisa suggest? "Go to the beach!" "Ok," I thought. "Don't have to tell me twice!" So off to the beach I went.

I took the metro from our school to the marina. Although I have visited this before, somehow it did not feel that familiar. All of my weekend trips while I studied abroad were such a blur, rushing from one tourist attraction to the next. But today, I had all the time in the world (mostly because I had absolutely nothing else to do).

I walked around the marina, checking out the sailboats and watching the tourists take photos of every single thing. I myself tried to keep my camera in my bag and limit the picture taking. I just wanted to enjoy the afternoon like a local, strolling the boardwalk and soaking up the sun.

But who are we kidding?
Of course I HAD to take at least a few photos.

I took the boardwalk until I finally reached the beach. I found a spot in the sand and sat to watch the waves.

As soon as my feet hit the sand, an overwhelming and familiar feeling came over me. I once again had a strong urge to laugh at myself, at the absurdity of my life. I felt this way almost every day while studying abroad, and it had returned to me yet again. So I sat and laughed to myself and thought about how lucky I am to be here. I thought about my family and friends back home and how I wished they were here to share this afternoon with me. I thought about the possibilities of my future as an English teacher. I thought about Sevilla and Gloria. I thought about how the phrase "the roar of the sea" really is an accurate description. I thought about how exciting it is to have such an uncertain future.

I have no idea how long I sat there for. But when it finally started to get a bit chilly, I pulled myself up and started walking again. I followed the boardwalk some more and just kept going.

The more I walked, the more I began to realize that I had no idea where I was, and furthermore, that I didn't have a map. After a split second of slight panic, I realized that it was impossible for me to be lost because I was not looking for any particular destination. I was simply and truly wandering around. This realization gave me a sort of rush and I decided to keep going. So I meandered in and out of side streets, parks and beaches the rest of the afternoon.

Finally, the sun began its decline and my feet started to hurt a bit, so I decided to head home. Luckily, I recognized the name of the street I was on and knew that it eventually intersected with my own street. So I followed it, and an hour later (yikes) I found my apartment. In hindsight, I probably should have taken the metro. But hey, that would not have been nearly as stimulating!

At the end of my absurdly relaxing day, I crashed into my tiny bed, exhausted but pleased.