Wednesday, December 6th, 2017
TWO WEEKS PEOPLE!!! TWO WEEKS! I was taking a look, and with this entry included, I have now written 16 weeks’ worth of stuff! Obviously, that includes last week’s blitz of 5 blogs, due to my negligence (hehe), but it has been a blur, hasn’t it? I’ve always believed that one’s experience of the progression of times is always REALLY fast in the broad picture, but can be quite a bit slower in the small picture. Basically, if you think about your life, day-to-day or hour-by-hour, it can sometimes feel like a drag, but when you think about your life year-to-year or month-to-month, it feels almost like time is a blur, ya know? I don’t have any sort of science to back that up, but it makes sense in my head at least! 🙂
And with the last few weeks of being here in Sevilla, I’m falling prey to the natural urge to “make the most” of my time remaining. Though I have gotten to do a lot of really cool things while here, it is now dawning on me that there is still a LOT that I still haven’t done yet! For example, today (hopefully!) I am going to go visit the Fine Arts Museum that is in Sevilla! Apparently, it is supposed to be really neat. Also, right outside of Sevilla is the ancient Roman city of Italica! There is a huge aqueduct there with a theatre as well that was built back in the 1st century which I REALLY want to see. That is (hopefully) for tomorrow/Friday!
I also had a SUPER stupid moment too…way back in September, I told myself that I really wanted to see the Botanic Gardens that are in Sevilla. Denver is home to arguably (and to be quite honest, truthfully) one of the best Botanic Gardens, so I really wanted to see what Sevilla had to offer too! However, as is always the case, life kind of got in the way, and it wasn’t until this last week when I thought about going again. So, I brought up the idea to one of my friends who, without being TOO much of a jerk about it, was kind enough to remind me that it is now the month of December? And if you didn’t already know…flowers and plants don’t typically do so well in December in the Northern Hemisphere…because it is Winter. Yeah, I got a lot of smarts, that’s for sure.
And to that point…I have been quite frankly SHOCKED by how frigid it has gotten in Sevilla. I think I mentioned it before, but the weather here went from REALLY hot to pretty darn cold…REAL quick. This last Monday was one of the coldest days in Sevilla I have ever experienced…in the morning the weather was hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. And maybe having 80-90 degree days in October has made me become a wuss to cold weather…but it was FREEZING, okay!?!!?
Now with weather being one such example, it is becoming more and more clear that Sevilla, and studying abroad in general, has left quite an impression on me and has allowed me to grow and change in a variety of ways. Last week, I got the chance to talk to my friend Jenny, who is wrapping up her study abroad semester in Bangkok, Thailand. She mentioned how while she feels like she hasn’t transformed into a brand-new person by any means, she has definitely grown and changed in some regards…and I definitely agree!
I think that for some people, studying abroad or living in another country for a long duration of time can prove to be VERY transformative…however, I think the two of us have seen our respective environments influence our behavior into forming some new habits that we will most likely take back home with us. I, for example, have lived most of my life never enjoying or finding an inclination to drink coffee. If anything, I would go to Starbucks and order a chocolatey Frappuccino with whipped cream, which frankly, doesn’t even qualify for coffee. However, Spain is home to some FABULOUS coffee, and I am finding myself more appreciative of having coffee, with milk, in the morning! That is to say, I am going to watch a lot of my money back in the United States go towards buying coffee now (for better or worse). 🙂
And for this week, I’ll conclude with one last idea. And this might be a general piece of advice to those who might want to study abroad in the future. I think that a lot of people take studying abroad as an opportunity to travel around to a million different places…and listen, I don’t blame them! I get it, I TOTALLY do. Most of us have never had such an ability to go outside of the country and have the accessibility of four months to go to so many different places! What I will say is that I would suggest to everyone who is wanting to study abroad…is to REALLY try to restrain themselves from this temptation.
I think if we are talking about the value of an experience, and more specifically the opportunity to have a certain experience, I think going somewhere different, each and every weekend is denying that opportunity for one’s self. Confused? Let’s break this down: I am of the mindset that if one has the aspiration and desire of doing the whole “European experience,” and going to a flurry of different places in Europe, they will make that happen for themselves at some point in their lifetime. That being said, utilizing the study abroad semester as the time to do the “European experience” inhibits one from actually enjoying studying abroad. Vale?
I am pretty sure I mentioned it in my first blog, but I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity to go somewhere outside of the United States… while still being a student. Now that might not sound super significant, but it is a different and novel experience…one that you can’t get by going somewhere new and different each and every weekend. Now THAT is something that is once-in-a-lifetime.
I feel like I have grown a lot as an individual by staying in Sevilla and being a student. No, I wasn’t always doing things or traveling…and yes, sometimes there were days where I LITERALLY did NOTHING. Remember how I mentioned that I take notes every day? On October 28th, I wrote “Is it weird that I don’t even remember anything from this day?” On October 29th, I wrote “DID A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING HAHA.”
Okay, so while I may not have grown or learned much THAT weekend…I feel like whenever I went traveling…I learned a lot about the place that I went to…but when I stayed in Sevilla, I learned a lot about ME. Ugh how cheesy is that? Ew… I need to learn to write without making myself throw up for once. HAHA
Well, I know I started and wrote this blog mainly for myself, but I can actually track and see that quite a few people actually read these things too! So much love and thanks to all of you who have stuck around and enjoyed reading what I have to write, even if I don’t always make the most amount of sense. I think that I am going to write at least three more times, and conclude with one last blog, one week after I leave Sevilla. That’s kind of poetic, isn’t it?
Until next week… STAY WARM!!!