As I sit in the airport waiting for my flight, I am given some time to think back on the past few days, as well as the past semester that I have just spent here in Spain.

Our last two days of class in Caceres went well. I finished up my finals on Wednesday and was pleased with both of them. I know I did better on one of them over the other, but I was just relieved to be done. They weren't anything too stressful, and I knew going into this that the teachers would be fairly lax, but I didn't want to risk anything. The night before my finals, we all went to a bar with our advisor Toni and enjoyed some tapas and drinks. It was a fun last little get together with just our group since we would be having the huge exchange student party the fallowing evening. After class on Wednesday, I spent the afternoon sorting through some of my things and began packing. It was a long task of trying to squeeze everything that I bought on top of everything that I had brought originally, but I managed to get it all in. Later that night, Ginny and I went into town to look for some wine and then meet Sean and Andrew for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised to find not only good wine, but nice employees that were willing to help us. This entire semester we have had a bad taste in our mouths because of how we have continually been treated by store workers here in Spain. But, that night we must have found the right store because we were immediatelygreeted and helped by a very nice man who owned a wine shop in the old part of town. Once we were done shopping, we went back to the giant burger place that we had eaten the first weekend we were in Caceres. We decided it would be a good way to end it since that is the way we started our trip. We met Sean and Andrew around 8 and ate our enormous burger before heading to the big ERASMUS party that was being held for all of the foreign exchange students in Caceres. I wasn't expecting the party to be as nice as it was, but when we arrived, there was a huge crowd of students not only from our group but also from all over Europe. All of our professors were dressed up, and they even had the event catered. It was such a great night and it was really fun to be able to hang out with Toni and our other group members one last time. We spent the rest of evening hanging out and talking until Ginny and I decided that we should probably head back home to go to bed.

Thursday seemed to fly by before I knew it. I woke up still in shock that it was to be my last day in Caceres. I got ready that morning and packed a little more before heading to school. I walked to the center of town and took the bus from there since I wanted to get one last good walk in and take in my surroundings to try and burn those memories into my mind. I only had two classes that day, and we basically just hung out with the professors and went over some last minute things. It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to the professors that we have had the honor to learn from this past semester. They have all been so patient and kind to us, and we all really appreciated it. It takes someone with a lot of heart to want to try and work with foreign students. Since none of them knew English, they knew it would be challenge, but they all welcomed that challenge full heartedly. Its sad to think that I will probably never see them again, but I feel so lucky to have been able to come here and learn from them.

After class, I came home to finish cleaning up my room and eat lunch one last time with our family before Ginny and I took the bus to Madrid. As much as I had hoped that our last day would be one to remember, it was rather disappointing. Although I am still so glad that I was able to do a family stay during my time here, these last few months have been a little hard. When our previous roommate, Bengt, had his last day here, Mame made a really nice meal to send him off. There was wine, good meat, a dessert, and we sat in the dining room to make it more formal. When Ginny and I came downstairs to eat, it was a rushed, sit in the kitchen, very plain meal. We sat at our little fold out table and ate our food while Carmencita took over the entire conversation and talked with her mom for the remainder of the lunch. Ginny and I sat in silence, making attempts to add in the conversation, but only to be shot down by Carmencita. She was clearly ready for us to leave, and obviously wanted to make a point by having the lunch conversation be simply between her mom and herself. Considering Carmencita is 28 years old, and still lives at home, its even more frustrating to see her act like that. I cannot believe how immature and rude she can be. Ginny and I have been as polite as we could be these past few months, and ever since she found out that we talked with our advisor about problems at the house, she has gone out of her way to make us feel unwelcome. After eating, Carmencita went to work and simply yelled an "adios" to Ginny and I as she ran out the dorm. I wasn't exactly expecting kisses and hug, but a little eye contact would have been nice. Ginny and I were fairly hurt and annoyed as we went upstairs to finish up our packing. We got all ready to go and Mame took us to the bus station at 5:30 to catch our bus at 6:00. We said our goodbyes and thanked her for the past semester. Although Mame was, and has always been, kinder to us I was surprised that I wasn't one bit emotional as she left. It was more a feeling of relief than sadness. After the rest of the girls in our group came to the station, we boarded our bus and went to Madrid. The trip went along as usual, but when our driver put in the movie that we would be watching, we were surprised to hear English coming out of the speakers. Not only was the movie in English, but it was also one of my favorite films, Cheaper by The Dozen. Needless to say, all of us girls were super excited, but I don't think the rest of the bus shared in our joy. Once we got into Madrid, Ginny Maren and I took a taxi to our hotel and spent the rest of the evening in our apartment style room. It was a really nice hotel and a good choice for our last night before coming home.

The following morning we got breakfast at the hotel and took the shuttle to our terminals. I said goodbye to Ginny and went on to terminal four to wait for my flight. It made me sad to see Ginny go, but I know that we will continue to stay in touch. I'm hoping to be able to go and visit her this summer, and since we will both be 21 this fall we have already made plans for going out.

It has been a crazy past few months. I am still in shock that I will returning home in the next few hours, but am so incredibly excited to be back to normal life. I know that this semester has shaped me into the person I am now. I am both nervous and excited to see what it will be like to be with all of my friends and normal routine back home. I have learned so much not only about myself, but also about the world around me. The different cultures and types of people in the world, and the way that the US differs. I have come to realize that just because I was raised a certain way with certain beliefs and traditions, that does mean that they are any better than anyone else's. That the world is a huge place with so many opportunities to expand your mind and knowledge. I hope to continue the passion I have for growth and learning, and be able to share it with others. I know that I cannot fathom all the things that I have done and learned during my time here, but that things will be revealed to me throughout my life. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to have been here and done the things that I have done. I can only hope that when I read through these journals in the future, I am able to re-kindle the joy, growth, yearning, and courage that I have gained from my experience studying in Spain.