Hola a todos!
It’s time for the penultimate blog post of my trip. I have three more days of work, two more nights sleeping at my Spain “home,” and many “lasts” for my summer that have already passed. It feels surreal and so sad that I am leaving so soon. I am also exhausted, tired of the heat, and missing my people at home a little extra these days. The good news is that I get to see my family and show them around Spain in just two short days. So, my time here is not ending just yet, and I will have some much-needed rest and relaxation time in some beautiful new places like Barcelona and Costa Brava!
I started off my week with some bucket list items. We ran back tapas at La Concha on Monday, and enjoyed some fresh fish tostadas. I also had my first Madrid rooftop experience with the EUSA group and tried out an all gluten-free Japanese restaurant in the city (of course, on ramen day, it was 100 degrees out, but that didn’t stop us). Non-bucket list bonus was a new gelato place with lots of vegan flavors (it was good enough to go three days in a row last week). I also enjoyed lots of yapping time with my host mom at dinner, soaking up our last few moments of quality time together.
Then for the weekend, it was off to Andalucia, south of Spain, for a bit of city hopping. Eager to see as much of Spain as we could in the short time we had left, my friends and I planned 24 hours in Málaga followed by 24 in Granada for our last weekend in Spain. We set off with the goal of packing as much fun, sightseeing, and activity into our last weekend, and it was a huge success! Even blisters, sweaty uphill climbs, and double-decker bus sickness couldn’t stop us from having an amazing weekend.
After post-train McDonald’s and a refreshing shower, we headed to the beach to see the sunset and enjoy a fancy wine night with friends. I was already blown away by Málaga, especially at sunset. It’s the perfect mix of a beach town and a traditional Spanish city, with both beautiful ocean views and stunning architecture.
The next morning, we grabbed some coffees and acai bowls and set off for some sightseeing. It was a weekend of castles, miradors, and hills! We started at the Alacabaza in Málaga, and fueled by Aquarius, headed up a steep hill to the Castillo for a breathtaking city view. We then enjoyed a chill afternoon on the beach (though chill might not be the right word because that was the hottest sand I’ve felt in my life).
Then it was off to Granada! We walked up another steep hill to walk around the Albaicín neighborhood and to catch a glimpse of the sunset at la Plaza de San Nicolás. Granada is the home of free tapas, so we took advantage of that before a lovely Italian dinner in the city. The next day was full of more hills to climb and sights to see. We walked around the Alhambra Palace and gardens, and I was amazed by the architecture, greenery, and views!
Now, I am back in Madrid, tired out from my long weekend, but trying to soak up the home stretch of my trip!
In terms of success, my biggest at-work-win happened today! As it sunk in that I only had a few more days left in the office, she kept telling everyone how much she was going to miss having me around to help out. In a workplace where praise is hard to come by and “success” is very abstract, this made me feel like I was truly an asset in my internship this summer. I think that the biggest culture difference in “success” at work is that there is a lot less emphasis on success being a competition about who makes the most money, gets the most praise, or gets the most done in the day. Here, success is somewhat about pulling your weight at the office, but also balancing work with other aspects of life, supporting each other, and ultimately, helping our clients to the best of our ability. Maybe my American is showing, but it is also nice to also have your progress and hard work validated by praise and encouragement in moments like I had with my supervisor today!
See you on the other side of study abroad, blog!
Hasta luego,
Rachel💌