I write this post from Nashville. More specifically, from a couch at a friend James’ house.
For me and hundreds of my fellow program participants, the return from Spain is complete, with the full spectrum of emotions to match. A sensitive soul named Emily Dickinson once wrote:
I years had been from home,
And now, before the door,
I dared not open, lest a face
I never saw before
Stare vacant into mine
And ask my business there.
My business,–just a life I left,
Was such still dwelling there?
I suspect everyone who leaves home for an extended period of time — those like first-year college students, expats, inmates and members of the armed forces — experience this uncertainty as they consider their return. They wonder about the changes they’ve undergone in the new environment and how absence has altered their relationships at home.
At the end of the poem Dickinson flees the door, scared to confront the stranger she fears is behind it. For me, it’s just the opposite. The arrival has been so highly anticipated — and the welcome so warm — the door practically threw itself open.
I’ve seen great old friends and even made new ones. I’ve celebrated with my aunt and cousins and visited home to see my parents and sister (fresh off her own adventure in Ireland). I’m grateful to have such a community of loved ones.
What else am I grateful for? That my hunt for work has ended already. This week I accepted a marketing position with an excellent healthcare company in Cool Springs — it’s a great group of folks working towards a meaningful mission in an important industry right here in the city I love. I start in two weeks, and I can’t wait.
Of course, I’m also thankful for the free time. At this moment I’m watching Uruguay and South Korea match up in the first game of the World Cup knockout round. Later today, the U.S. team plays Ghana.
Today’s match is reflective of the trip I took. Spain loves soccer. We watched it all the time. Furthermore, I actually met two girls from Uruguay and two others from Korea when my friend Justin and I were in Paris. The former were impressed by how many sites we had seen in two short days. The latter laughed at all of the things we’d missed.
On the other hand, this moment is so indicative of my return. I stayed in this very house for several weeks last summer while preparing for my departure. And just as now, my personal belongings were spread out between my upstairs room, my aunt’s house, a storage unit and many other locations. At least it’s all in the same city.
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So that’s how the journey ends. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed writing about it. Thank you so much for all of your emails and even letters while I was gone. I really enjoyed them.
Finally, if you or anyone you know is considering a similar adventure, please send them my way (and tell them to keep an eye on this website).
The three weeks I have left in Spain (yes, only three weeks!) are shaping up to be quite eventful.
Thursday, my 100 fellow participants and I will attend the closing event thrown by the local government officials who organized our program. It will be the first time we’ve all been together since last September. I expect improved Spanish, less nervousness and great stories.
Friday, I take Spanish federal government’s official exam in the Spanish language, called the Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera. The test is not required by my program or any job I’m currently pursing. It’s just that I came here with the goal of learning Spanish, and I want to see how I’ve done. I’ve elected to take the exam at level B2, the 4th on a 6-level scale known as the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (of which the 6th level is pure native fluency). The B2 level indicates a general command of grammar along with the ability to “interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity with native speakers” and “produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects.” In short, it is language proficiency. It will be a long and difficult test. But, special thanks to my professor David, I think I’m (as) ready (as I’m going to get).
This weekend will be my last full weekend in Herrera, and spending time with the professors from the high school is the order of the day. These are many of the people who made my life in Herrera truly wonderful. They welcomed me from the first day, humored my early attempts to communicate in Spanish, and have ultimately become very close friends. It should be a great time.
Next week is my last full week of work. I’m going to read my classes Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss.
The weekend of May 29th and 30th, we’re going to celebrate a proper send-off with my American and British friends in the immediate region. These are truly treasured friends, folks who have lived, like me, deeply immersed in tiny villages across the spanning landscape of southwestern Spain. They’re the ones with whom I shared the ups and downs of life here, the daily struggles and triumphs that we all came for. They’re the ones who I traveled to see, and the one’s who joined my adventures to Portugal, France, Holland, Belgium and many, many sites here in Spain. This trip wouldn’t have been the same without them, and I’m looking forward to one last get-together before we part ways.
Justin, me, Cheri and Laura, atop the mountain above the town of Cabeza del Buey
Monday the 31st is my last day of work, which will be followed by about one week of time to collect my belongings, finish my goodbyes, and get myself to Madrid for my departing flight.
June 7th, I board a plane from Madrid to Philadelphia. Rather than take a connecting flight to Nashville, I’ll stop to visit my grandparents (and buy a car from them). The 15-hour drive back to Nashville will be a long-awaited and deeply appreciated opportunity to reintroduce myself to my country. After months as an unofficial ambassador, attempting to share our culture and language with my friends and colleagues, I’m ready for one final journey for deep breaths and reflections on what makes us the United States of America, and what that should (and, perhaps even what it shouldn’t) mean for each of us. Then, just like that, I’ll be home.
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PS – A long gap between blog posts means I missed a few key events, including a great visit from my Nashville-based buddy Stu Ross and fun trip with my regional English-speaking friends to the small town of Cabeza del Buey (pictured above). Another such oversight was a truly legendary visit from my Mississippi-gone-Barcelona friend Josh Brister. Fortunately, in this case, Josh said it better than I could in this blog post. Claims of test-tasting a 400 euro pastry are 100% true.
Nick and Josh, Herrera in the background
