that past few weeks have been pretty great. the weekend after my trip to scotland, i flew to paris where i met up with katie, emma, katie's friends from scotland, and a few other kids from brown. we had a looovely weekend that included kanye west, cheese fondu, and plenty of crepes. it was great to see so many familiar faces, though i wish we had done more sight seeing. i ended up going to the eiffel tower and the arc by myself on sunday before my flight home. definitely not as exciting as sharing the sights with someone else! but that just means i'll have to go back to paris...
clancey and her parents came to madrid the following weekend. pants and i had so much fun! i was really happy to see her and hear all about school and things that i've missed. she saw the main tourist attractions in madrid (though there aren't too many...) and we just chatted and chilled out the rest of the weekend. it felt like a vacation to me because i actually got out of my apartment and did things, plus i stayed with her family at their swanky apartment for two of their three nights, and i hope clancey enjoyed her stay too! weird that she won't be around school next semester. she graduated two days ago. happy graduation pants! she's a real person now.
that thursday was thanksgiving. IES hosted a dinner for us at the hard rock cafe which was not so tasty but definitely fun and made everyone think of home. missing thanksgiving with my family wasn't as upsetting as i had thought it would be, probably because clancey was here. i was glad to hear that i didn't miss much at home, though.
now i just need to get through three more exams and one final paper before i pack up my backs, say my goodbyes, and head back the new jersey. i am sad to leave my roommates, who i've come to love, so it will probably be a teary goodbye, but i am so so so excited to go home. i miss my parents, my dog, my cat, my bed, oatmeal, movie rentals, the movie theater, small world coffee, driving, my cell phone, my best friends, cuddling on the couch by the fire, international food, princeton university campus, thomas sweet, brown, american radio stations, home-cooked meals. i'm just ready to go home. i've had an INCREDIBLE experience: my spanish has drastically improved, i overcame absolute and complete homesickness, i met some amazing people, and i've gotten a taste of a really cool culture. this is something i'll never again have the opportunity to do, and i am so thankful that i came to madrid.
but now, after almost three and a half months, it's time to go home!
