the grand finale

Hello my wonderful readers!

I am so sorry for the delay in my posts, so much has been happening between my last few days in Zaragoza, my flight and dropping my sister at college! There is so much that I wish I could tell you, but I cannot put the words together.

My final days in Zaragoza were joyful and tearful, and my last day was filled with knowing glances from Silvia, my family and my friends. On Saturday, we had a small get together so that I could say goodbye to all of my new friends and to the city of Zaragoza. I was devastated that I would not get to say goodbye to my two of my best friends from school, Laura (the 18 year old from the picture), and Sergio, who sat in front of me in class. They had already made plans for the night. We went out to the Discoteca, Sala Green, and India and I spent the night talking and dancing with about ten of our closest friends from school. I had a Semaforo, the delicious smoothie-ish drink that I will miss terribly, and Laura called me while we were there. I ran to the bathroom to talk to her and she was sobbing! She said that she was never going to see me again and that her dream of visiting New York would never come true. While this was happening, a group of boys came into the girls' bathroom to listen to my American accent and I could hardly understand Laura over their shouts of "Hello American!"

At the same time that the boys were yelling and Laura was crying, a random girl came out from the bathroom stall next to me and started crying on my shoulder about how much she would miss me... I had never met her in my life. While I had a crying stranger on my shoulder, yelling boys and a crying friend on the phone, a group of my friends who were leaving came to say goodbye. Bea, one of my good friends and classmates started crying too and I gave out lots of hugs and kisses while Laura waited on the phone and stranger-girl continued to wipe her tears on my shirt.

Well after that stressful experience, I said goodbye and cried with the girls outside of the disco and then we went to the Gran Casa mall to get dinner. Luckily, Bea came with India, Claudia, Silvia and I so I had a little more time before I had to say goodbye to her. On our way to Mcdonald's in the mall, I saw lots of classmates who I got to say goodbye to, and when we walked into Mcdonald's, I saw Sergio! I got to say goodbye to him and then sit down for dinner with Laura as the only person I longed to see before I left. As we ate, we cried a little and India and I talked. When I turned around, Laura was walking in with Susannah behind her. They planned to surprise visit me after I got off the phone with Laura, and we had twenty minutes to hug and cry and talk about our time together! Everything worked out perfectly and I got to say goodbye to all of my favorite people.

After dinner, I got a series of running hugs from Claudia and India as we attempted to part our separate ways. When Silvia and I got home, we had a slumber party in my room and talked and hugged. My bags were packed and STUFFED full of clothes and I was as prepared as I would ever be for a 6:00 wake up call and an 8 hour flight.

The airport was stressful but I miraculously made my flight in the nick of time despite the directional section of brain having been inactive for most of my life. It's true, I've been going to the same school for six years and I still couldn't tell you how to get to it, but apparently I can find my way to Gate 74 in the Madrid airport. I had said goodbye to my incredible host mom back at home, and now I teared up hugging Silvia, Laura and Mariano, my host dad who drove me to Madrid.

After the eight hour flight and my reunion with the fam and the dog, I realized how many things have changed. Not only to I accidentally go in to give kisses on the cheeks, but my pickiness when it comes to foods has almost gone away. One of my first meals at home was a grilled mushroom! Now that is a big step for me. I use the Spanish phrase, "Ay Bah," when I drop things and I even find enjoyment in the fact that I gained 8 pounds eating ham and deep fried foods in Spain! My ear hurts when I sleep from when India and I got our cartilages pierced, and sometimes I sing Nelly Furtado's, "Manos Al Aire" around the house.

The biggest change though, is that I now have a group of over 100 friends and family member in Zaragoza who would be ready at anytime, to take me into their homes and raise me like a daughter. I can only hope that a little bit of the kindness and generosity that can be found in every resident of Zaragoza rubbed off on me. I am so blessed to have a second home with my sister Silvia and my mom Marimar, who said that whenever I need it, there is a space at the table for me. The transition has been hard, but I can think back and be grateful for my amazing experiences that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

And I can't wait to go back and visit!!!
Besicos...
Maddie