Today marks a significant day: I leave Sevilla in exactly one month.
So I thought it would be appropriate to take some time to talk about how it feels to be abroad.
When I first arrived in Sevilla, I described it as surreal. This feeling has not changed.
First of all, the life of a Sevillano is a good one. For me it was never hard to become accustomed to the culture here. In fact, I would say I fit right in. With traveling, eating tapas, watching Flamenco, taking siestas, and living with my awesome señora who takes care of me and feeds me mountains of delicious food every day (and then tells me to take a nap afterward), I have no complaints. I get to speak Spanish every day, and have actually grown to prefer it over English. I have made many close friends whom I will surely miss. I have become a regular at my favorite tapas bar. I have made Sevilla my home, and it will be very difficult to leave it.
Secondly, life abroad for me feels like living in an alternative reality. Every day is a completely new experience, and I have done more things for the first time in these two short months than I think I have ever done in my life (okay, maybe an exaggeration, but you get the point). But because of the technology that exists today, I never feel too far away from my life in the States. With Skype and constant updates from my friends on Facebook, I can still imagine (and actually even see) what life is like in Wisconsin. It feels as though I have simply pressed pause on my life in Madison, and therefore when I return, everything will be there just as I left it. Surely this is impossible as I have experienced and learned so much these past two months that nothing can go back exactly the way it was, and surely my friends have grown up (at least a little) too. But I find comfort in the fact that I have loving friends and family waiting for my return, and also that I will be able to see them in person very soon.
It actually feels very strange to live connected to two distinct places at once. My life in Madison is so much different from my life in Sevilla that I sometimes feel like a completely different person. But then of course I hear Lady Gaga over the radio or a poster for Harry Potter 7 or a face that reminds me of a friend at home, and I am able to connect my two worlds for a moment.
On September 4, I dropped my life in the States and flew to Spain to pick up a new one. Although these lives are related, they are quite separate. I have uncovered another chapter that may serve as a good appendix to my life's work--supplementary material, yet a rich and fascinating story worth the read.
With only a few short weeks left, I feel sad to leave my new home. And even worse when I remember that I will be returning to the bitter reality of a Wisconsin winter and sleepless nights at the library for my godforsaken classes.
What's it like in the life of a resident Sevillano?
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