Monday, July 27, 2009

se acabo

So I am sitting here in my room, all alone, and all of my things are in suitcases. It's such a weird feeling. I can't really believe that 6 weeks has passed already. I mean, I knew it was going to be short, but this was just too short.

The last few days have been full, but good.

Wednesday was my last day at work. It was such a weird, awkward day. I didn't like it. It was so strange to say goodbye to people. Part of me feels like I'll never see them again, and part of me feels like maybe I will. It's kind of strange. But if I come back to Toledo, I definitely want to volunteer there. I don't know. I just feel like there were a lot of people that I didn't get to say goodbye to either. Every day, different ladies come to serve in the comedor. I would have been saying goodbye for a whole week. haha.

Anyway, on my last day we had a "party". haha. We just bought coke and chips and olives/pickles/etc and hung out and listened to music and what not. Then we played that weird 80s trivia game again. So difficult! haha. But it was fun. I was kind of disappointed because I was so quiet on my last day. I swear I have my days.. some days I can be really chatty and have good conversations, and other days I struggle to understand, let alone start any good conversations. So that was one of the more difficult parts of the experience.

After I was done with my internship, I still had a paper to write. It had to be 5 pages, and my topic was Immigration in Spain. Oh man. Miguel, my professor, told me to have it by Wednesday if I could, but Thursday would be alright too. I knew it wouldn't be done by Wednesday, so I was aiming to have it done on Thursday at 4:00, which is when he leaves. Well, Thursday came around, and 3:00 came around, and I still only had 2 pages. I went to lunch, and he came over to ask if I had anything for him. haha, whoops. I told him that I hadn't finished it yet, and he gave me until 8:00 to email it. Thank goodness!! haha. Anyway, I spent the rest of the afternoon working...up until 7:55. Then I emailed it. It was horrible. I honestly was almost embarrassed that he would have to read it! haha. The ending was crap, and the citation was horrible, and it was a page short. And I had no central argument. It was basically just a string of thoughts that connected to each other, without ever really supporting any particular idea. But apparently Miguel liked it enough, because I got an A. haha. I couldn't believe it. He was like, "It was good. I liked your ideas. But the ending was kind of.................... superficial?" haha. I agreed, and grimaced, and bit my tongue..because I didn't want to tell him that the ending was written 3 minutes before the email was sent. But hey.. I can't complain about an A!

We got our grades on Saturday, and I got an A in the class. I was happy. But I was kind of upset about my evaluation from my boss. After we got our grades we had a chance to talk to our professors, so I went to see Miguel to find out what Montse wrote about me in my evaluation. It was horrible! haha. I got a 63% .. a D. I don't think I've ever gotten a D on ANYTHING before! I was like, "are you serious?" haha. Miguel told me he was surprised about a few things, and said that he was going to call her when she gets back from vacation. haha. I think that is funny, because honestly, after the class is over, what does it really matter? ... But I was just so taken aback by the whole thing. I mean, at times I felt like she didn't like me.. like when she told me I couldn't come to work after she left for vacation (which got sorted out), and how she would always give me this stupid look when I was trying to explain something but struggling with a word, or how she would laugh at me if I didn't understand something. haha. She always got annoyed over language problems, when everyone else would either slow down, or explain something in different words if I didn't understand. But whatever... no use worrying about it now. A D. That's unfortunate, but thankfully I still got an A in the class. Don't ask me how. I guess Miguel takes those evaluations with a grain of salt.

Friday I went to the pool with Jessie, and we swapped pictures from Sevilla. They are so fun. I have looked at them over and over again. haha. That was such a good weekend. Anyway, Friday was our last chance to hang out before Jessie left for Ireland. I honestly can't say how awesome it was to have somebody here in Toledo that I knew. And, even more so, to be able to go back to Sevilla with somebody who was there with me. It would have been a totally different experience! It was just such a coincidence. And, even though we didn't hang out much in Sevilla, we're totally friends now. haha. We'll definitely stay in touch from now on!

Ok, so remember how I told you about the cd of Spanish music from my coworker? And about The Sunday Drivers, the best band on that cd? .. Well, my friends and I have been listening to them for the last couple of weeks and loving them. And Thursday night, we were in a bar, and we saw this guy who looked like a musician. He had awesomely huge hair, and cool shoes... and I was like, "he has to be in a band... I bet he is in the Sunday Drivers..." just because it's the only band I know. Well, then on Saturday, we were walking somewhere, and saw the same guy driving. I was like, that has to be the guy from the Sunday Drivers. Because it's Sunday, and he's driving... haha, except that I quickly realized it was Saturday and felt stupid. Despite this, we looked up the Sunday Drivers online when we got back to the room, and HOLY CRAP. It was him! haha. Jose Luis had told me that they live in Casco, and that it would be easy to see them around, but I didn't believe it. haha. And I for sure wasn't planning on it actually happening. But the fact that it did makes me laugh. haha. And, just so you can experience the Sunday Drivers, I am going to post a video at the end of this post. They're fun.

Anyway, on Saturday, we also had a "graduation" thing. We got certificates, haha, like diplomas for completing the course, and then had a reception in the terrace. It was nice. It was like my final graduation... which is just a little bit hilarious. I can't really believe that I'm done, but I am glad to be. And who knows what will happen next! ... I stopped in to the University today to give them my application, and they told me to email a letter of intent, and that after they receive it, they'd email me back to let me know. The only thing is, the positions in Toledo are full (triste!!), so I'd have to go to Talavera de la Reina or Ciudad Real. I think I told them I'd prefer Talavera de la Reina, but I'm not sure. haha. I don't know anything about either of those cities, so it was a shot in the dark. We'll see what happens. .... I also applied for a job in Pittsburgh as a bilingual office assistant. So we'll see what happens with that, too. I honestly feel so torn, because I feel like I could do either of these things and be completely happy. I am struggling to know which of these is God's will (if either, or, if any). But now everything is out of my hands, and we'll just have to wait and see! At the very least, these are both exciting options!

Well, I think I am going to get going soon. It's almost 10:45 and I have to check out by noon. I want to take a little nap before I do. I have to move into a hostel, which I can only check into at 1, so I will have some time to waste before I get there.

I don't really have many plans for these next few days. I'm going to wander around the city, and take pictures that I have failed to take in the last few weeks, and go into churches and buildings that I should have gone to before. I might go to the pool again, to work on my awesome tan. I promise it's getting good! haha, I actually have color! Also, I am going to meet my friend from work for coffee (or something similar, because I don't like coffee) on Tuesday, and that should be good. I'm glad I won't have to be TOTALLY alone for 3 days. haha. But we'll see. I am really just planning on taking it easy and resting before I come back home and start working (immediately! the day I get back!).

Well, as promised, here is a song from the Sunday Drivers. It's my favorite..haha. It's cute.



un beso,
Rachael

2 comments:

  1. Ah! Can't wait to see you! I'll pray for those jobs (which both sound amazing). Give me a call when you get back (or I'll try and call you, whichever). See you soon, Love, Caitlin

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  2. Hey raquael!
    I've been thinking about God's will a lot lately and if it is God's will for me to move to Spain because the adjustment seems so daunting when I feel adjusted here and good things are happening... I too felt completely torn.
    But then I realized that maybe it's not where we are but how we live our lives. The same things that give meaning to my life here (building relationships with people that are considered "marginal") will give meaning to my life anywhere. And I really want to go to Spain - especially because I can right now. So I will - and if it's really not God's will, swine flu will break out or something and I won't go. (but I really hope not!)

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