Families are Families

As I quickly approach my last moments in Sevilla, I find myself reflecting on my time here.  The past week has been filled with philosophical conversations between Keely and I and our host family as we prepare for the year ahead.  Elena and María left Sevilla last night to begin the next phases of their lives: Elena is moving to New York for a month, and afterwards will find a place to live in Segovia with her boyfriend; María will be living with her father for the next few weeks while she searches for a job as an au pair, hopefully in France.

My Spanish family

Charo spent the evening helping her daughters gather their laundry, pack their bags, and wiping her own tears.  The parallelisms to my own family were uncanny; I felt as though I was reliving the end of August in my own home when Kenzie and I packed up our lives to begin new adventures.  I think the most important piece of knowledge that I have gained from this experience is that families are families, no matter where you are.  Dinner included a carrot cake because Charo’s birthday is next Thursday.  We sang and cried and ate Elena’s delicious concoction while discussing the upcoming changes.

Mama and daughters

After dinner, Charo asked Keely and I for a talent show.  We gathered up our sheet music and came downstairs to find five shots of cherry liqueur on the coffee table, ready for celebratory toasts.  After I played a Ravel piece and Keely sang and Irish tune, we demanded some Spanish talent as well.  This resulted in Charo and Elena dancing flamenco for us while attempting to contain uproarious laughter.

Salud!

A class act

Dancing queens

 Keely and I finished the evening with Jess, Kerry and Kelsey at the best sushi restaurant I have ever been to.  I’m not sure why this gem is tucked away in Sevilla, but I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Last night with the girls

Best sushi in the world

My train leaves this afternoon but I will be accompanying Keely to the station this morning because Charo is bringing us there for the earlier train to Almeria.  We received an email from CIEE that explicitly told us to get to the bus or train station without our host families, as they were not obligated to transport us.  When Keely and I told Charo this, she said simply “I don’t care what they said.  I’m bringing you to the train station!”  I have the best Spanish mama in the world.

I am feeling pretty depressed about leaving Sevilla, but I hope that Córdoba eventually becomes my home in the way that this city has.  The upcoming task of apartment hunting in Spanish seems daunting right now, but hopefully it will be easier than I am expecting.  In any case, I am excited to start teaching and using my Spanish more, so hopefully that will help with this transition.  On to new adventures!