Since I seem to be a month behind on my blog and the summer course starts tomorrow, I thought I'd do my best to sum up everything that happened at the end of the year long course in one post. I'll do my best to keep it short, but it's a lot of ground to cover.
The dread DELE test for which we had prepared all year long came, was incredibly grueling, and went. To celebrate the completion of this grueling ordeal, we went to Port Aventura, an amusement park in Cataluña. It was a long trip to get there, but through it I enjoyed the company of Chelo's cute little son, who was a real ball of energy. It felt good for me to be back in an amusement park--the adrenaline rush of a roller coaster, the smell of the brakes, the sound of the cranks at the top of each drop. It felt like being in southern California again, although there were some key differences from my usual haunts there. For one thing, its theming was based around places, not fantasy, and it almost made it even more enjoyable.
When I beheld the section devoted to China, my breath was taken away. It was so lovely with its tiled roofs and spacious dimensions. Even though I rode just about everything in the park, my favorite part was doubtlessly the show Chinatown. Not only were the various acrobats and contortionists beautifully put together in ways that captured the imagination, it was tied together by a lead "magician" who mixed Spanish, Catalán, English, and French with a natural subtlety and flair that captured the show's delightful mix of everyday life and fantastical acts.
The next evening, we were finally taught how to make paella, the national dish of Spain. It's amazing to see the process, the ceremony surrounding its making. To make paella really is a social event as much as a culinary one.
That Friday we had our Clausura, or graduation ceremony. Donning orange and blue ribbons, we marched in to Pomp and Circumstance and heard beautiful music from a variety of groups, including the local choir and some of our resident Oakwood music majors with their rendition of "Pie Jesu." While the teachers handed out the diplomas, they said something nice about each student. My tutor said, ha, that I was like a sponge designed to absorb the Spanish culture. Strange emotions came while hugging all of the teachers on the platform--I can see why they were crying. I'll certainly miss them when I leave. The evening finished off with horchata and fartones, some students leaving the very next day.
I spent the weekend having lunch at the house of some of Jenny's friends on Sabbath, then going on a doomed excursion to Peñíscola. It was the first time it had rained on that excursion in 30 years, and we had to go back early. Fortunately, I'll be going with the new batch of Americans this Sunday, so I'll write more about the place itself later. It's known for its lovely beach, and the castle that looks out over the water--the home of an obscure pope at one time.
Then, on Monday, we had our last dinner together as ESDES for the year at China Long, one of our favorite restaurants. We had a good time, laughing, singing, and even dancing until there was this collective sense of, "Wait. . . I've still got to study for finals this week," and we returned to the school. As soon as I emerged from my exams that week, I headed up an excursion to Sagunto for the German group that had come--the first official part of my work for ESDES. I actually learned some things about the town I hadn't known before, like Hannibal's siege of it and the existence of a museum I'd never visited there before.
It was hard to watch all my classmates leave, Jenny in particular. I tried to cram as much time together with her as possible before she left, hosting two sleepover nights in a row, watching movies and laughing into the night. Then, she left. . . and then I wasn't an ESDES student any longer, an American. I was now just another volunteer, a part of the life of the campus.
As for now, the campus is filling back up with Americans again. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on everything else before too long, but for now I just want to take a moment to wish everyone who's just returned from a year abroad luck. . . and that they never forget what they learned in their host country.
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