So Close and Yet, So Far

Dear Reader,

The music for today is by John Mclaughlin and is most famous for being performed in the Movie "Enchanted." The song is basically the theme song for our last week here in Spain as a group from Brigham Young University. Although, half of the story is not mine to tell. You may never hear it. Sorry.

The half that can be told has to do with being so close to home but yet being so far. We finished up classes on Wednesday officially with our "closing ceremony." Our professors spoke and we sang. The professors cried while we sang. The professors said goodbye after we sang. Then we ate lunch. Anyway, these few days (Wednesday through Friday) have been full of roller coaster rides of emotion. There is that bitter-sweetness that comes every time you move from one place to another. On one hand you are excited to go, but on the other you don't want to leave the friends and family you have in the place you are leaving. We have gone out with a bang here.

Molly is a Pro at rowing a boat. 

Thursday was a great time in Madrid as we explored the park behind the Royal Palace, called Casa de Campo. Fun fact: it is where the dedicatory prayer for the missionary work in Spain was said. We never did find the hill where the prayer was given, but we didn't really know what we were looking for anyway. We meandered through the many trees and trails in the park and eventually found the lake we wanted to see.

After sitting on the shore for  awhile, we decided to rent boats and take them out for a spin. With our two boats that we rented, we had a grand old time. We turned on music and listened while circling the fountain in the middle of the lake. We all took turns rowing, each person showing their style of doing so. We won't say who was turning in circles and who wasn't. Mostly because we are all professional rowers and don't go in circles...ok, it might have been me. Anyway, we had a great time there on the lake.

Part of being so close yet so far is knowing that we are going home, but not realizing how much time we had to enjoy our time together. It is pretty amazing how close our group has gotten. As we have mentioned to each other, no two people in our group are extremely similar or automatically become best friends because of some big thing in our lives. It can be explained like this: we are a group with people from Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Phoenix, Utah, and Las Vegas. We are studying very different things like business management, music, biology, accounting, public health, neuroscience, mechanical engineering, and psychology. There are sophomores, juniors, seniors and super-seniors. All of us are in different states of dating life: engagements, relationships, breakups and even never-been-kissed. Some are sporty, others are not. A few have lived abroad. We are of different faiths. That is just the tip of the iceberg that represents our differences.

That is a meter-long sandwich. We ate two of those for lunch. 

Despite all of this, we are good friends after having lived together, sharing classes, being tired together and laughing until our abs hurt. We have learned a lot and there is nothing we would trade this experience for. It is impressive how much progress we have made, too. We have all improved our proficiency in speaking Spanish and we have all learned the do's and don'ts of living in Europe.

The rest of last week in Spain included seeing good friends from Madrid, going to the temple, eating tapas and playing games with our friends here in Alcala. Now we are off to meet our next adventure: the holidays! I am very grateful to have shared all these great times with amazing people. We now have something that we cannot forget and cannot be replicated. To you, reader, I say get out and enjoy the time you have wherever you are. Take time to laugh with friends and see the beauty in the places that are all around you. Surprises will almost always await you where you least expect it.