The Reign is Over

I will never forget my yearlong stay in Spain. It has been more than a month since my return home and already I'm yearning to go back.

I arrived back in Michigan on June 21st. I was happy to be back in my homeland. However, even though it was a comfortable feeling, it did not feel real to me that I had actually left Spain. When I said goodbye to my friends it seemed like we were just saying "See you later" not a "Hope I will see you again someday." I arrived home and knew it would be a hard adjustment going back to my American lifestyle, but I had to adjust.

The days of acclimation in Michigan passed. I got back into my American lifestyle rather quickly, and I enjoyed watching the World Cup even though soccer is not that popular in the States. Of course I rooted for Spain. I watched a lot of soccer while I was abroad and got to know all the players' names on the Spanish team. Then on July 11, 2010 Andres Iniesta, a player from the team FC Barcelona, scored the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup. It was Spain's first World Cup championship. It was an amazing game which I viewed with my family and some cousins from Ohio. I can only imagine how happy my friends and family in Spain must be. I talked to some of my friends via Facebook and they told me about the impressive celebration that was going on because of Spain winning the World Cup in soccer. I know now how Spaniards like to party so I can imagine what it must have been like. Just three weeks before the championship game I was in Barcelona. If only I could have extended my stay somehow. However, as the Spanish expression says "Es lo que hay," it is what it is.

I can honestly say that my exchange experience in Spain was life changing for me. I have become more independent now and appreciate my family and the US more. I do love Spain (especially Barcelona) with a strong passion though and I miss my friends dearly. I can't wait to see these friends again, but who knows when that might be. I still keep in contact with them and will continue to do so. I learned a lot about a different culture. Visiting other countries makes you appreciate your home country in a different manner. Travel really opens your eyes to the wonders of this magnificent world.

Thanks to all those who read my blog while I was on this epic journey.

-Ryan

Last Days

Today I went to a theme park called Port Aventura with my friends. We had a blast. Tomorrow is my last day in Spain and when I say my goodbyes. I will write more about this later. See you soon everyone.

Traveling through Spain

I just came back from a heck of a trip. In my last post I talked about a trip around Spain I would be doing with my mom. It all began with the Camino de Santiago. My mother was walking the Camino also known as the Way of St. James. She was walking the Camino Frances (one of the many routes to Santiago) which begins at Roncevalles a small village just before the French border and of course ends in Santiago (she's crazy (just kidding mom).) Well I met her in Sarria and we completed the last 100km of the camino together.

To get the compostela (certificate) that says you completed the Camino de Santiago you must complete the last 100km. My mom was happy to see me and we soon began walking. For me the first day was a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg walk. We did about 20km of walking or more each day. However, we did walk 30km on the second day which was a real killer. Here's how a normal day on the camino went: my mom would get up at 7, she would wake me up and then go to the bathroom to wash up. I would take advantage of this time and stay in bed pondering how much time I had before my mom would come back and I would have to get up. After I finally got myself up and got ready we would hit the camino.

Looking good for Santiago ;)

It's amazing we would walk for hours. Hours, hours and hours of walking. My mind wandered; there was too much time to think. It was fun being with my mom. We talked about so much stuff. I remember the first ten minutes of the the camino I was going crazy and couldn't stop talking. Part of the camino is self reflection. You are alone for such a long time that you think about your life and who you are. With this time you, hopefully, become a better and stronger person. I think my mom changed in this way because she walked alone for many days. However, there are always pilgrims walking along with you that pass you or you pass them. Pilgrims from all over the world come and do this camino. I met Americans, Germans, Frenchies, Portuguese, Italians, Brasilenians, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Chinese and of course many Spaniards. I have to say that the Spaniards were the friendliest.

We usually got to the albergue (hostel) between 3 or 5 p.m. After arriving exhausted to the albergue we would wash ourselves and our clothing. Then we looked for a place to have dinner. After dinner we would go back to the albergue to prepare for the next day and then we would go to sleep.

Signs for the Camino de Santiago

The time passed and I don't know how I did it or how my mom did it but we arrived to Santiago. It actually wasn't that eventful arriving into Santiago. The garbage workers were on strike and there was so much garbage in the streets. We had to suffer from the stench while approaching the Cathedral.

Santiago

Santiago was a nice city despite the garbage. The Cathedral was a mystical sight. It had some parts in which it was covered in green moss that gave it a cool effect. Santiago is located in the comunidad autonoma of Galicia. In this comunidad it usually rains. Fortunately we had good weather and it was nice and sunny the whole time in Santiago. In Santiago we got our compostela-- they spelled my name wrong so I guess that means I have to do the camino all over again. Santiago finally came to an end and we headed to Madrid.

Cathedral In Santiago

We got lucky in Madrid. On the Saturday that we arrived the UEFA championship was being played in Santiago Bernabeu, the soccer stadium of Real Madrid. The game was between Inter Milan (Italians) and Bayern Munich (Germans.) I was rooting for the Germans because Inter Milans had eliminated FC Barcelona in the game before. My mom and I visited the stadium on the outside. It was madness. People were trying to sell tickets, I heard prices from 400 to 800 euros. I think there were more Italians than Germans. Unfortuanately, Inter Milan won 2-0. That night I struggled going to sleep because the Italians were partying in the streets ALL NIGT. The next day we got better rest and in Madrid we visited el Museo del Prado. I did not like Madrid so much this time around. I prefer Barcelona because it has the sea and is more modern. Madrid is an older city but has some cool sites like the palace and the Plaza Mayor. Our visit to Madrid finally came to an end and we headed to a much smaller city about 30 minutes away called Toledo.

UEFA Championship

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Toledo was an interesting city. Feli had told me before though that Toledo was a city that could be seen in an hour. We spent three days there and all I can say was that she was right. We stayed in the old center of Toledo. Toledo is known for its work in swords. In many Hollywood movies such as "Lord Of The Rings" the swords come from Toledo. So of course I had to get one of these "souvenirs" to remember Toledo. I ended up buying a pocketknife... which only brought us trouble. Let's rewind a little bit. In Madrid I had bought some nice new jeans and I was happening to be wearing them that day I bought the knife. I bet you can guess where this is going. New jeans+new knife =? Well I don't know how my knife got open in my pants but it did. From then on my knife wasn't known as "my knife" it was known as "J Rip" (jean ripper.) I was mad, but fortunately my mom had a sewing kit which she used to fix the hole in my pants. After she was done I was actually happy that J Rip had made that hole in my pants-- it gave it a nice effect.

Not only did we buy a knife in Toledo we also bought two antique reproduction gun. They were nice guns, made in Spain of course. We didn't get so lucky here. After my mom arrived back to the States she sent me an email telling me that she had to leave the guns at the airport. Even though the Guardia Civil packaged them for security (even though they were not real) she would have had to pay 55 euros because they were a second piece of luggage. She said no and left them. That kind of made me mad but I was happy to hear that J Rip had made it safely to Michigan ;)

My mom and I were exhausted of the traveling to tell you the truth. It was a lot. Usually when we are traveling I have my brother and my mom has my dad. But this time it was just my mom and me. She talked often about how she couldn't wait to go back home and see her kitties and her husband. I just wanted to go back to Sabadell and see my friends again. However, I wasn't just quite ready to head back to Sabadell we were going to Andalucia (southern part of Spain.)

My mom and me

In Andalucia we arrived to our first destination, Seville. It is my second favorite city in Spain. The girls- I mean the sights there were amazing. The Guadalquivir River passes through Seville. Seville is not like Madrid where there are no bodies of water just pure city. This is one reason why I love Barcelona. Barcelona is right next to the Meditteranean Sea. However, in Andalucia the climate is sooo hot. I saw many cool shirts that said "E=M(C)^2" It was sooo hot that I followed some kids and jumped into the Guadalquivir River. Later my mom saw that there was a sign saying "Prohibido Banarse" (no swimming.) It was quite refreshing. In Seville we saw some great Flamenco. I really wanted to go up there and dance with them but refrained in my seat observing the spectacle. We also entered the huge cathedral of Seville which was quite impressive. We climbed all 35 levels of the Giralda (bell tower.) It was here in Seville that I also tried "caracoles" or snails. I ate the whole bowl because my mom did not want to help. All I can say is they were different.

Cathedral of Seville