School’s Out for Summer
Well, I would first like to mention that there is hope for the Spanish youth. Although they have quite a bad reputation for being out of control adolescents, one little Spanish boy made my day – as I was walking to school to take a final, a little boy, he couldn’t have been older than three, picked a flower from the ground and gave it to me. It was absolutely precious, and was by far the best part of my day. Simple gestures of kindness always make me smile. Plus, I am officially finished with my semester at Suffolk University. I am so happy the school portion is over! No one likes to burn the midnight oil studying. It’s a wonderful feeling to have no real obligations hanging over my head, at least until Monday when I get back to the States. Although I’m happy to be done with school, I’m heartbroken because Danielle isn’t staying for the weekend. She leaves tomorrow! It was our last day and night in Madrid together – so sad.
Choni’s Gift
After our exam, Danielle and I headed home. We had been so swamped with studying for exams that we hadn’t had time to get Choni a farewell gift. Being that it was Danielle’s last night, there was no more time for procrastination. Every place Danielle and I visited in Europe we brought Choni home a little trinket, but we wanted to give her something special for her to remember us by. So we took a quick photo with her, went to a store nearby, got a nice frame, printed the picture and gave it to her. It may have been last minute, but it worked out perfectly in my opinion. I think she appreciated it too. Plus, the flowers Danielle and I got Choni for Mother’s Day were in the picture too. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.
Last El Cabañon Visit with Danielle After a little shopping, Danielle made our last trip to El Cabañon for tapas and our last pitcher of sangria together. I will definitely miss tapas and sangria – if not my number one favorite characteristic of Spain, they rank very high on the list. It was a beautiful day, so Danielle and I sat outside. I still love El Cabañon, but it’s not the same without Jenny, Mark and David. After a bit, Danielle and I were joined by T.J. and Paul. It was a wonderful, relaxing afternoon. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Danielle and I headed home, ate dinner and then headed out to meet Jenny and Mark at Mark’s new work and say our goodbyes.
My Spanish Friends…
Mark’s new work is located at Metro Columbia. On our way to meet them, Danielle and I found it necessary to get Jenny a baby gift! I’m not sure if I already mentioned this, but Jenny just recently found out she was pregnant. She’s about three months along, and she’s ecstatic about it. So Danielle and I ran into El Corte Ingles, picked out the cutest little baby outfit and bib, got it wrapped and finally arrived at Mark’s work. His new restaurant is really nice – much fancier than El Cabañon. Danielle, Jenny and I were seated on the gold couch, had a few drinks (don’t worry Jenny’s drinks were non-alcoholic) and had a merry ole time.
We have really gotten close to Jenny and Mark these last few months. I will really miss them. We exchanged e-mails, so we will definitely keep in touch, but that little pond that lies between us called the Atlantic Ocean is a real bummer. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to see Mark and Jenny before I leave on Monday, but time will tell. They both work all day and are usually worn out by the time they get off work, which I completely understand, but it makes meeting up hard. Well, the night ended as a total success, and when Mark got off work, we all said our goodbyes and headed to catch the Metro.
