Spain

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." - Andy, The Office


In 2009, I did a really crazy thing.  I was admitted to a study abroad program in Sevilla, Spain for the summer.  That May, I boarded an airplane with several strangers.  Little did I know that these people would become my best friends over the following six weeks.

During the six weeks that we spent in Spain, we saw more cathedrals than we ever wanted to.  We lived without air conditioning in > 100 degree weather with a woman with a penchant for leaving meat out on the counter and who never actually learned our names.  We took weekend trips to various Spanish beaches, Italy, and my personal favorite, Portugal.  We tasted all kinds of interesting foods, but we loved to meet at one particular Burger King to grab hamburgers when all we wanted was a little taste of home.

Comfort food.

I could do anything in Spain.  I went places alone.  I skipped medication dosages when I'd had a little too much red wine.  I was unafraid.

Spain's official beverage.

Why were things so different in Spain?  Why do I have a hard time sleeping at night in my own bed stateside, but I never missed a night of sleep in Europe?

I don't know the answers to these questions.  Sometimes when I'm feeling particularly anxious, I think to myself "Just pretend you're in Spain."  It kind of works, if only for a second.

My mission in life currently is to find the inner peace here that I had in Spain.

I am in Sevilla in my mind!