Reflections on Spain
Posted on June 13th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It has been an interesting semester, hasn’t it? I began January by flying to Madrid to be in NYU in Madrid’s program, living in Spain’s capitol, and feeling for the second time what it’s like to be a study abroad American student in Europe. And then I returned and I saw my country swear in the first African-American president in our history and stood on the front lawn of the capital experiencing something that I hope to tell not just my children, or my grandchildren, but my great-grandchildren and I hope the stories continue to go on generation by generation. It was that amazing tone that seemed to set my semester to something incredible, to a level that I couldn’t even imagine at the time. And then my father was sworn in to be a superior court judge that same week, something he has worked for endlessly during his career. The sentiments continued to build because dreams were becoming a part of everyday life all around me. It was no longer a stretch of the imagination to say “my president is Black!” or that perhaps America was moving toward a new era that we’ve all been waiting for…change, the same word that an amazing campaign was built on, change and hope. I returned to Madrid a few days later to work on the moment God had given me. In truth, the honeymoon phase had passed and now I was in a city, with a language that I was not fluent in, and city folks that truly weren’t that friendly. As someone who refuses to stay in any bubbles set for myself, I could feel myself becoming upset that the interaction I expected with native-Spanish speakers and Madrid’s citizens was not coming to pass. Instead, I was there with my American friends in and out of class, speaking our common language of English, having a great party life, and feeling my Spanish reach a plateau where it wasn’t getting better or worse…it just “was”.
With this feeling of just existing and not progressing, I waited, I meditated, and I prayed for guidance. Then after something like a fairytale, I booked a weekend trip with my friend Tammy to Sevilla to get away in hopes of clearing my mind from my surroundings and focusing harder on what I was supposed to receive from my study abroad experience. After meeting so many international students from all over Europe and South America, and even some from the U.S., all studying in Sevilla at actual Spanish universities with native Spanish students, I knew immediately that HEY THAT’S WHAT I CAME HERE FOR!!!!
So I did the unthinkable and left my program in Madrid to move to Sevilla and enroll in a local university called the Universidad de Pablo Olavide, by far the most adventurous thing I’ve done in my life. Moving to a place, I’ve only seen once and completely risking my academic semester, but I had one of those “feelings” that it was right even though it logically could not be explained. But four months later, I can tell you that my Spanish literally has me feeling that I am reaching the top of the ladder to fluency, if not being two steps from already achieving it, I made a life friend (love ya Tammy), and I got the opportunity to experience Spain and its inhabitants on a completely different level. Between my trips to Granada, Barcelona/Catalunya, Ibiza, Palma Mallorca, Valencia, and Cordoba all within Spain and then to Greece and the Greek islands, it is clear that God had a plan and something to show me. That extent of traveling would not have been possible on my NYU in Madrid schedule and the Spanish I had to use to communicate and most importantly hear the stories and histories of the locals would have never been at the proper level. But still Madrid was a blessing, Sevilla was a blessing, and every person I met contributed to my life in a unique way. I thank God for making all of this possible including the family and friends that supported me through this. To my Mom, Grandmother, and Auntie that were always there to hear me vent on a phone call, I can’t tell you how much it meant to have people to talk to when you’re so far away from home. To my Aunt Candace and Uncle Bruce that literally financed this trip and gave me the spiritual talk that I needed before I left their house in Michigan/gave me great advice while I was abroad, my travels and attitude toward this trip would have never been the same without you. To my sister who managed to keep me laughing through this whole process between her emails, comments on my blog and our phone conversations, I LOVE YOU! And love to my brother Bryson and Asha for coming all the way across the Atlantic to see your little sister! It was great to see you guys and some familiar faces in Spain. And to my Dad who gave me some great words of advice for returning to New York and my last days in Spain, it was exactly what I needed to hear to prepare me for my last year of school.
Although I thought I’d be moving to live in Cordoba for the next 2 months to intern for the Plataforma Andaluza de Apoyo al Lobby Europeo de Mujeres (Andalucian Platform of Support to the European Lobby of Women), I ended up moving back home to Jersey and currently thinking about my next steps. My senior year of college starts in less than 3 months and I’m sure that God has a ton more things to show me before that accomplishment. I wanted to put together some picture memories for you all from all my trips, experiences, and last days of being in Sevilla. Thanks for all the continued support while I was abroad. I love you all!!!!!
Arielle
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Vane