The word la despedida literally translates to farewell or goodbye, but in Spain, it's not just a word but more of a cultural practice. Spaniards tend to take forever to complete it; for example, phone conversations consist of a good two minutes worth of despedida, and leaving a party starts an hour before you actually leave. So you can imagine what la despedida is like after a year abroad.
Thursday night we had our fiesta final for our program. It was really special and tons of fun. Saying goodbye to some of my professors was so sad. I cried (of course), and that was the beginning of many tears. Yesterday morning I woke up early and went with my roommate Jessica to the airport. Seeing her go was the first time I really believed it was over. I returned to my house, gathered my things, said goodbye to my senora, and left for Grace's house. I'll be staying here until Tuesday. Later on in the day we went to Isla Magica, a theme park in Sevilla. I needed it after the emotional night and morning. We had a blast! Last night we all went out for the final time as a whole group. It was really sad and such an emotional night. Sarah D. was the first to leave (her flight was at 7am this morning). We all got churros on the bridge at 3:30am, and then said goodbye to her. It's going to be a tough next few days...
Update on Feria:
For Feria I decided to cop out on Sevilla and hit the beach. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so beachy, but we had a fun time anyway. I went with my professor Magdalena and her daughter Sara. She has become a little sister to me, and we spent most of the week together. On Thursday we came back to Sevilla and spent Friday together at Feria. It was packed and very noisy, so I'm glad I wasn't at my house the whole week. While at the beach, Magdalena, Sara and I played games, took long walks on the beach and really bonded. We went to mass at the local church - stunningly beautiful. Magdalena has been such an important part of my year here; it's going to make it really hard to be away from her in the future. I'm really going to miss her a lot.
End of classes:
My classes all ended pretty well for the most part. I started my final papers ahead of time so I wasn't too stressed out. In case you want to know the topics:
Contemporary Literature: "Fue una lucha feroz." (Analysis of a scene of sexual violence in "La familia de Pascual Duarte")
Novela y Cine: Los Santos Inocentes - Translating the novel to the screen
Social Justice: Representation of Moroccans in Spanish Media
Plans for the next week and a half:
Leave Tuesday for England. My aunt Christine is picking me up and I'll be staying at her house in the English countryside for a few days. Then I leave on Friday for Mt. Holyoke. It's graduation weekend, so I am going to say goodbye to all the seniors. I'll eventually be home on Sunday night, May 24th.
