Today, it is raining in Andalucia.
As I walked through the park this morning, I puffed air into my hands, attempting to warm up. The monk parakeets were quiet, their usual shrieking hushed in the early light, and I could already spot tourists meandering their way along Plaza de España. I walked along the Plaza for a while, watching the violinist and the Flamenco dancer, the enamored tourists smiling at the shows. I was smiling, too, despite how many times I had seen it before. Was there ever any possible way this could get old?
Parque Maria Luisa has been there for me countless times this semester: when I needed a breath of clean air, when I wanted a place to draw, or simply when I wished to watch the ducks swim. She has been exceedingly kind to me. The city of Sevilla as a whole has been exceedingly kind to me.
I do not know when I will be in this park again after I leave, I realize suddenly. There is such little time left here in this city which has welcomed me with open arms.
This month has been a blur. It’s insane to consider that I started it in foggy Prague, clutching warm mulled wine in my fingers as I watched the iconic astrological clock open and perform its charming rotations of saints. Prague was a beautiful experience, filled with endless built-up moments of mirth and joy. I got to stare up at the rose window of the purely gothic cathedral of St. Vitus, buy honey from a local market in a cobblestone square, and learn the incredible history and mythology surrounding the Jewish quarter of the ancient and complicated city. The next weekend, I was in Granada, staring up this time at the muqarnas-style honeycomb dome of one of many palatial complexes in the Alhambra. This is a location notorious in nearly every history and culture class I am taking this semester, the iconic last Moorish stronghold of Spain, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I nearly shed a tear upon getting to see the gorgeous architecture that I had only read about in reality. I had this same feeling in Cordoba, when our group toured the awe-inspiring Mezquita and walked along the ancient Roman bridge. It is rare for the pictures of the pages you study in school to ever come alive around you, and it was an opportunity I will remember with great fondness for the rest of my life.
Outside of Sevilla, this month was filled with richness and culture, and within Sevilla, this month was indulgent. The opera tickets that I booked the day I landed at the Teatro De Maestranza finally came to fruition, and I got to witness the absolute wonder of seeing a production of opera in the city that is often considered to be the opera capital of the world. When the two leads harmonized, every sound I had ever heard before, no matter how rich or beautiful, paled in comparison.
Next came the shark tunnel in the Sevilla Aquarium. I am an aquatic fanatic, with a long-standing obsession with all ocean creatures, particularly sharks, so to get to see the deepest and widest shark tank in the Iberian Peninsula was such a treat. I got to gaze at the underbelly of a blacktip reef shark as it literally swam over my head. Guys. This is huge.
This was a month filled with craning my neck trying to get a better view, and I take this as a good sign. The small crimp in my spine means that there has always been something worth looking up for.
Today, it is raining in Andalucia, and very soon now, it will be snowing in Illinois, and I will dash freezing out of the O’Hare airport into my mother’s car, where she will be waiting for me with a jacket and hat and gloves. Come Christmas Day, I will distribute the contents of my now near-bursting suitcase to my family and friends. And I will take my collection of photos and paper reminders from my time in Europe and press them all carefully into a scrapbook, events and images arranged in chronological order, and I will put it on a shelf and use it to reflect on the few beautiful months I got to spend here with such a wonderful program.
I doubt I am done with Spain. This experience has opened my eyes to just how massive and incredible the world is, and just how badly I want to see all of it. This new and irresistible desire, paired with the fact that I have realized how capable I am of fulfilling it, has left me feeling like I can go pretty much anywhere and do anything. I’m so grateful I’ve had the chance to find this aspect of myself. I think it may change the trajectory of my life.
So I guess with that, I only have this to say:
Goodbye, Sevilla, and thank you for teaching me to look up.
