Hasta pronto Madrid...

I can't believe I'm doing this...writing my last blog. Okay, maybe I shouldn't be so dramatic. Just because I'm back in Delaware (yep, made it home safe and sound), doesn't mean I can't keep blogging. Anyway, my last few days in Madrid I spent exactly the way I envisioned spending them: with my Spanish family. Last Saturday, Olga and I planned to go to Parque del Capricho again with the girls, but a few things got in the way which, looking back now, are hilarious!

So, weather wise, the day started out great. Blue skies and few, if any clouds (you can see where this is going...) We hopped in the car, without umbrellas. Maybe we were hopeful despite the now menacing clouds. Olga goes to start the car and, whatdaya know? No gas. Or should I say...no diesel. Only one thing to do...walk to the gas station and get gas. Picture Olga and me walking along, minding our business heading to the gas station when a few drops start to fall. Now, you know how if you run out of gas in the U.S. they give you an actual plastic container with gas? Not so in Spain. We were given a plastic BAG in the shape of one of those containers (perhaps the Spaniards trying to make a joke?). Poor Olga then had to feed the diesel into the plastic bag (thankfully, gloves are provided). Then we started the walk back. Remember how it started to drizzle on the way over. Oh no my friend. It started pouring. There we were, running through the streets of Madrid with diesel in tow (imagine the smell of gas times, well, a lot...). But it doesn't stop there, Olga still had to put the diesel into the gas tank, in the rain! Needless to say, the park was then out of the picture. 

Panda babies born in the fall!! 

Margot playing on some sort of kid's toy thing at the zoo

But life goes on, of course. After filling up the rest of the tank at the gas station (thankfully the, literally, bag of diesel we got was sufficient to get us to the gas station), Olga decided we needed a pick-me-up. What's the perfect pick-me-up in Spain, you ask? Well, it could be many things: churros con chocolate, café con leche, helado. The list goes on and on. But, I had never tried horchata, so she took me to one of the best "Horchaterías" in Madrid. Horchata is a drink made from chufas, a sort of nut, only cultivated in the Valencia area. It is delicious!! Well, at least to me. I've heard people don't like it (personally, I think they're crazy, but who am I to judge). It sort of tastes like almond milk. Ergo, not much of a surprise that I really liked it because, if you know me at all, you know I practically live off of almond milk at home (seriously I think I need to go to almond-milk rehab...)

After that it was grocery shopping for us and then back home to make dinner. So, basically an entire day full of adventures for Olga and Megan and then a great dinner with Ali.

Allegra + play-car at the zoo

On Sunday, Olga, Allegra, Margot (the daughter of Olga's brother Iván--the name is short for Margarita. not exactly sure how to spell it, but that's how it always sounded to me), Olga's brother Adrián, and I went to...the zoo! It was too cute seeing the girls (Margot is 6 just like Allegra, actually she's only about three months older than her) run around looking at all of the different animals. My favorite part was the dolphin show, of course. But, even more than that, I loved the  drive around Madrid before even getting to the zoo. We had to pick up Margot and Adrián and go to her ex-husband's apartment to pick up their ID showing they're a "familia numerosa." Basically, Spain gives many discounts to families with three or more kids, so we got a discount on the zoo tickets (although Adrián, Margot, and I weren't supposed to get that b/c technically we're not part of Olga's immediate family, but, hey, the ticket dude just gave it to us so...)

Isn't this an adorable picture of Margot?

Me, Adrián, Olga, Allegra, y Margot in the front just after the mini-aquarium 

Anyway, because Olga had to do all of that driving around prior to getting to the zoo, I was able to see where her parents met, where she went to high school and met her ex-husband, the neighborhood she grew up in, etc. The best part: all of these neighborhoods are way away from the center and the furthest thing from touristy. I would never have seen these areas if it weren't for Olga. Yay! On a totally different note, if you're wondering why Olga and her brother Iván have Russian names, it's because her parents really like Russian literature. Not sure why Adrián is left high and dry with the only Spanish name haha. 

Dolphin show!

Alright, well I've put this off long enough. I suppose there's nothing else to do but give some sort of profound last statement about these nine months in Madrid (is it bad I'm actually doing this from my room in Delaware? Should I head back to Madrid so I can do this right? Hmm...) I can't believe these nine months have come to a close. Actually, you know what's funny? People always say "I can't believe x,y,z" about so many things we know are coming. I.E. I can't believe I'm graduating! I can't believe I'm turning 30 etc. It's funny how we can't believe things that we knew were going to happen in the future. A more appropriate use of "I can't believe" would be: "I can't believe I won the lottery!" or "I can't believe I'm having twins!" See what I mean? 

Well, whatever I guess I'll make the same mistake and say...I can't believe the most wonderful nine-months of my life had to come to a close. This spring semester has been so wonderful, in particular. I've really learned how important it is to surround yourself by loving and caring people. I'm so grateful to have formed such a strong bond with my home-stay family, and above all, with the best señora ever, Olga. In fact, I feel we really formed a great friendship and have so much in common. Age truly does not matter. I'm grateful for the small moments we had together: our conversations over a cup of tea, playing bowling on Wii (and me losing hopelessly), running through the rain with diesel in tow, and searching her apartment for her phone. And, there's no way I will ever forget our drive to the airport on my way home and our final goodbyes. After tea and coffee, we walked to security. I expected Olga to say goodbye there, but she actually walked through the security line with me. People were passing us when we got up to the front of the line. At the end I said: "Has sido mi madre española" (You've been my Spanish mother) and she responded "No soy tu madre española" (No, I am you're Spanish mom) Seriously, Hollywood would have eaten those moments up. I certainly did. 

It's funny that while I would change nothing about these nine months, these nine months have changed me so much. That's not to say I'm not still Megan. However, I think I've found a sort of inner-relaxation what maybe I could only find by living thousands of miles away. Since the age of...well, for quite some time, I've felt stressed and overwhelmed too much of the time. I've learned after living in Spain the art of "no pasa nada." Letting it go. Because, let me tell you, after years of not letting things go, you've accumulated a lot of shit (excuse the language, but I think it's appropriate here, don't you?) Anyone who knew/saw me last year would say, wow, you are a completely different person this year. I mean, I don't think I'm a completely different person, but I definitely think I see things very differently. 

And for that, Spain....muchísimas gracias. I've let a lot of things go this year, but there's one thing I'm never letting go, and that's Spain and the experiences I've had there. 

Por eso, no voy a decir <<adios>>, sino <<hasta pronto>> porque sé que dentro de pocos años (o tal vez meses) voy a volver al país que me enseño cómo vivir otra vez.