I Will Miss You, I Will Miss You Not

Lists of things I will NOT do once I leave Spain:

1. I will not eat fried food. (Just because you fry something in olive oil does NOT mean eating fried food every day is okay in any way, shape or form. I just can’t do it anymore. My body doesn’t understand why I’m abusing it like this!)

2. I will not eat soup. (I had chicken noodle soup with eggs in it last night for hmmm…the one-millionth time since I’ve been here? It’s gotten to the point where I can smell when my madre is cooking soup in the kitchen and my stomach immediately shuts down. My body goes into a complete state of aversion just from the soup fumes! I don’t want it. I just don’t want it.)

3. I will not stay up until 4 a.m. (Spaniards are impressive creatures. I have no idea how they stay out so late on the weekends and are then able to reverse their sleep schedules just in time for classes during the week. If I stay up too late one night during the weekend, my sleep schedule is screwed for the next two weeks…or…the next four months…whoops.)

4. I will not smell like smoke after 10 minutes in a restaurant, club, bar, or any other enclosed public area. (I’m so thrilled that I will be able to go out to eat and NOT have to worry about someone sitting next to me and ruining my dinner because he/she has decided to light up in the middle of the restaurant. Some people get headaches from cigarette smoke, you know!)

5. I will not be late to class. (After living here for 4 months, you learn that if the class schedule says 10:30, class doesn’t ACTUALLY start until at least 10:40. Therefore, you can wake up 10 minutes later than you were planning, or you can stop for a coffee on the way to class, or you can just walk really, really slowly to the university.)

6. I will not just push past people in a crowd without apologizing. (People here do not watch where they walk; it’s just a fact of life. They will push past you, abruptly stop walking right in front of you, and overall just not pay attention to where they are walking. And worst of all, they typically don’t apologize…unless they completely take you out. So, you learn real quick that it’s either push or be pushed.)

7. I will not fear for my life when crossing the street. (The pedestrian does NOT have the right-of-way in Spain. If you cross the street when you aren’t supposed to, they WILL attempt to hit you just to teach you a lesson. Drivers here know they have all the power because they have the car…and they use it to their advantage. The number of car-related deaths in Spain must be ridiculously high…and sometimes, it almost feels like drivers WANT to make you a statistic…)

8. I will not feel self-conscious while wearing shorts and a tank top, a short dress or any other summer outfit in public. (Girls here are all about wearing the nude tights under shorts, skirts, short dresses, even jeans. It’s like outside air can never touch your bare skin unless you want to be publicly scrutinized. Girls your age will stare at you in disbelief, adults will look at you either in shock or disgust, and old men will walk right up to you, smile, look you up and down, and then mutter something dirty while you walk away.)

9. I will not feel the need to wake up every morning and feel like I need to put a ridiculous amount of effort into how I look before I go outside. (Women here dress up to go to the supermarket. Shoot, they wear a full layer of makeup just to go to the gym. I didn’t even bring a pair of sweatpants to Spain for fear of the ridicule. I cannot wait to spend an entire day in my sweatpants when I get home without my host mother declaring, “Aren’t you going to change?!?!? You don’t want people to see you like that!"...Although I'm pretty sure my REAL mother will say something very similar to me regardless...)

And finally…

10. I will not forget how much fun I’ve had. (While I may complain about certain cultural differences, I’ve actually had an incredible experience. I’ve proven a lot of things to myself on this trip, and I’m feeling incredibly confident in my ability to come home, finish off college and start a new chapter in my life. And despite all that I’ve said previously, I WILL miss the relaxed, nonchalant, over exaggerated, incredibly loud and overall beautiful Spanish way of life. HOWEVER. There IS one thing I will miss the most… and that is DEFINITELY the designated siesta time ☺.)