My final Spain post…for now...
I can’t believe this is my last post from my time teaching in the Basque Country. I know I’ll be back one day because the people here have now become my family and the country itself is now a piece of home to me.
For my final week, I tried to spend as much time as I could with my students and be fully present. I’m TERRIBLE with goodbyes and I didn’t want my emotions to get in the way of enjoying my last few days with them and all of the teachers. I told myself the emotions were so strong because the memories made there and the relationships built were even stronger and to look at it as a blessing that leaving everyone and the beautiful country was so hard. I’m a firm believer that hard things are good for you, and when making decisions, if it’s hard to do and terrifies you, then that’s the right one because it means you’re growing and learning more about yourself. It’s not always easy to remember that though when explaining to my students that I decided to not return the following school year. I still don’t think they quite understood because they asked if I could come over on the weekends when I’m free…so until they do, FaceTime is what we’ve settled on.
The teachers surprised me with a going away party, and had my favorite food, "tortilla de patata," or in English a Spanish omelet. They even got me a necklace with the Basque symbol, so I'll never forget my time here and can carry the Basque culture with me everywhere I go. I couldn't have asked for a better school and community of teachers to work with and learn from the past ten months!
On my last day of school, the entire school went on a long hike to San Juan, or in Basque Gaztelugatxe. The first two hours were straight uphill, and I have to say I’m very impressed with how well the students did and their motivation for the entire hike. We sang songs, the kids asked me a million questions and once we made it to our picnic spot, we roasted little mini sausages for the kids. I’m still a kid at heart and joined in on hide and seek and tag, which looking back now was terrible because we still had so much hiking left, but the memories were worth it!
I joined the older kids to the lighthouse, a smaller hike, but still just as hard as the beginning, and maybe even harder because it was uphill on gravel…but as always the views are what makes it incredible. I kept telling the kids how lucky they were for their backyard to be the beautiful blue ocean and green giant mountains, which to them is just home and nothing special, but one day when they come to Oklahoma like they say they will, they’ll understand just how lucky they are!
I’m sad that my time there is over and as I’m writing this now, I’m no longer there. It’s incredible to look back at all of the places I was able to explore and the friendships I’ve built all over the world. It’s bittersweet because I know I get to love people and be loved that much more, but to be so far away from loved ones no matter where I go is hard. I am truly lucky and blessed though to have such amazing friendships all over the world and to have so many places I can call home now!
Basque Country, you were so amazingly good to me, this isn’t goodbye, just a see you later! My next adventure is to come home for a bit and decide where I want to go next, until next time Spain, agur!
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