Inspainity

It is an absolutely gorgeous Spring day.  Not a single cloud is present in the vibrant blue sky.  The breeze is blowing so softly, but enough to keep you cool under the intense sunshine.  Today I finally did something that I've been meaning to do for a while.  In past blog posts, I've mentioned a park in Salamanca called Huerto de Calixto y Melibea.  In this park, there is a water well covered in locks inscribed with names and dates.  It's enchanting.  You can find places like it all over Europe but this one is special to all of us who study here.  Today I took two locks to the park and threw the keys into the well:  One was inscribed with AIFS Fall 2011 and the other with AIFS Spring 2012.  It was sort of sad...it felt like something had ended.  I guess something is ending...all too soon.  Days like today, when Salamanca is blooming and beautiful, make me want to stay.  Days like today make me forget all of my frustrations.  Days like today put everything that is good in the world right in front of my nose so that it is impossible to ignore.  This upcoming week is going to be filled with studying, taking pictures, drinking coffee, packing, and saying good-bye.  I don't know if I'm ready for that last one.  One of the most gratifying things about studying abroad is the bond you build with people.  I have met some of my best friends here.  And I have met people from all over the United States who have voluntarily transplanted themselves all over Europe.  When I was in Prague, I met a group of girls studying abroad in Ireland.  In Barcelona, I met a young woman who was from Argentina but had lived with her parents in Des Moines, Iowa for ten years.  And during my last trip to Paris, I met a guy named Shale who was studying in Rome but lived in Chicago and had friends who went to Northern Illinois University.  If that doesn't tell you that our world is small, I don't know what else could convince you.  We talked about the Cubs, Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, and how amazing our study abroad experiences had been.  Deciding to study, live, or travel abroad is a very personal decision.  In Shale's case, he chose Rome not to learn Italian, but to eat pasta, drink wine, and travel around Europe.  I chose Salamanca to enhance my Spanish, but I got so much more out of it than that.  People go abroad to find themselves, ironically enough.  People go abroad for work, for adventure, for love.  I recently listened to a speech given by a psychologist studying human relationships and vulnerability.  She called herself "a story collector."  She listened to her subject's stories and grew to understand her own.  We are all a part of the great human experiment.  We collect stories...our own and those of others.  No matter where we've grown up, who we've met, and what we've done...we are all here on this tiny particle of cosmic dust called Earth.  We are that small.  But our stories can be as grand as we choose.