(Actually it's been 9 months, but I figured including that in the title would lead people to make completely unrelated and false assumptions.)
I have been a terrible, terrible blogger. I abruptly stopped posting, failed to provide closure, and even unintentionally let my guiriguia.com domain expire. I need a proper patada.
But as I sit down to write possibly the last Guiri Guía blog post, I realize why I've been such an unreliable blogger since my flight from Spain last July. There are several indications to help me lead to my conclusion: this sick feeling in my stomach as if I've eaten too many migas, this urge to grab the nearest box of pañuelos to sob into, and the need to pour this glass of Campo Viejo (that I thankfully found at Kroger). The reason that I've been putting off this final post is actually quite simple. Ending this blog is the official end to an era I haven't been ready to let go of.
There were so many posts I wanted to publish. The all-Spanish post. The future plans post. The posts-I'll-never-write post. And the final farewell to Murcia post. But my time was cut short, and I had to unexpectedly leave Spain.
Instead of finishing the blog as soon as I returned to West Virginia, I avoided it, blaming it on anything and everything. Grieving my grandfather's death (that one was completely acceptable). Reverse culture shock. Jet lag. Missing my friends and fiancé. Having to start Craig's visa application. Adjusting to living back at home. Wedding planning. Starting my first teaching job. Learning how to survive my first teaching job. And then the list just grew and grew.
But here I finally am. We'll just say I'm finishing this blog with the Spanish mentality. It gets done when it gets done. Muy tranquilo.
So to fill in the gaps between the last post and the conclusion of this one...
I've moved back home where I am a Spanish teacher at a local middle school. (So yes. An English teacher in Spain and a Spanish teacher in America.) I'm actually also certified to teach English Language Arts, but I've found that I much rather prefer teaching foreign language. My students are great and make me proud when they speak quickly trilling their r's. Better yet when a few speak with the Spanish theta (aka lisp).
Craig moved back to Jersey and is still waiting for his US visa. We haven't seen each other since the day I left Madrid in July, but any day now we expect a letter from the US Embassy informing us of our interview date. Within the next 3-5 weeks I should be flying out to meet him London. After our interview, he should receive his visa the same day, but he won't arrive to the US until a week before our wedding, which is July 21st.
I've been taking evening Spanish classes at the local university. Last semester I took The Culture of Spain class, and every Tuesday I woud escape from reality and teleport to Spain for a few hours. We'd watch Almodóvar and even chew on some chorizo in class. And to top it off our central text was a novel by my favorite Spanish writer, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
In my spare time I've been cramming in any wedding planning, lesson planning, and grading. And that's pretty much it.
But once in a while, when I get the chance, to help me get through work and missing Craig, I reflect on the past two years and how they've affected my present and future: my friendships, my career, and my future marriage. I think back to the very start of my viaje to Spain, waiting impatiently for my visa. I think back to the days that I had trouble adjusting to the Spanish lifestyle and language. I think back to the month that I had to make the decision to leave after first year and accept a job in the US or to stay in Spain a second year to see where my relationship with Craig would take me. And I think back to the moments where I finally felt that I was fitting into my surroundings.
It was all a short story, with its beginning and rising action. The plot even peaked with a proposal (I never thought I would live out a screenplay of a chick flick). And though I seem to be composing its ending, it's a story that will continue to weave itself throughout the rest of my life.
And because I love creating videos, I couldn't finish this blog without a final video, a montage of my favorite moments with my favorite people to my favorite song related to Spain.
I have been a terrible, terrible blogger. I abruptly stopped posting, failed to provide closure, and even unintentionally let my guiriguia.com domain expire. I need a proper patada.
But as I sit down to write possibly the last Guiri Guía blog post, I realize why I've been such an unreliable blogger since my flight from Spain last July. There are several indications to help me lead to my conclusion: this sick feeling in my stomach as if I've eaten too many migas, this urge to grab the nearest box of pañuelos to sob into, and the need to pour this glass of Campo Viejo (that I thankfully found at Kroger). The reason that I've been putting off this final post is actually quite simple. Ending this blog is the official end to an era I haven't been ready to let go of.
There were so many posts I wanted to publish. The all-Spanish post. The future plans post. The posts-I'll-never-write post. And the final farewell to Murcia post. But my time was cut short, and I had to unexpectedly leave Spain.
Instead of finishing the blog as soon as I returned to West Virginia, I avoided it, blaming it on anything and everything. Grieving my grandfather's death (that one was completely acceptable). Reverse culture shock. Jet lag. Missing my friends and fiancé. Having to start Craig's visa application. Adjusting to living back at home. Wedding planning. Starting my first teaching job. Learning how to survive my first teaching job. And then the list just grew and grew.
But here I finally am. We'll just say I'm finishing this blog with the Spanish mentality. It gets done when it gets done. Muy tranquilo.
So to fill in the gaps between the last post and the conclusion of this one...
I've moved back home where I am a Spanish teacher at a local middle school. (So yes. An English teacher in Spain and a Spanish teacher in America.) I'm actually also certified to teach English Language Arts, but I've found that I much rather prefer teaching foreign language. My students are great and make me proud when they speak quickly trilling their r's. Better yet when a few speak with the Spanish theta (aka lisp).
Craig moved back to Jersey and is still waiting for his US visa. We haven't seen each other since the day I left Madrid in July, but any day now we expect a letter from the US Embassy informing us of our interview date. Within the next 3-5 weeks I should be flying out to meet him London. After our interview, he should receive his visa the same day, but he won't arrive to the US until a week before our wedding, which is July 21st.
I've been taking evening Spanish classes at the local university. Last semester I took The Culture of Spain class, and every Tuesday I woud escape from reality and teleport to Spain for a few hours. We'd watch Almodóvar and even chew on some chorizo in class. And to top it off our central text was a novel by my favorite Spanish writer, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
In my spare time I've been cramming in any wedding planning, lesson planning, and grading. And that's pretty much it.
But once in a while, when I get the chance, to help me get through work and missing Craig, I reflect on the past two years and how they've affected my present and future: my friendships, my career, and my future marriage. I think back to the very start of my viaje to Spain, waiting impatiently for my visa. I think back to the days that I had trouble adjusting to the Spanish lifestyle and language. I think back to the month that I had to make the decision to leave after first year and accept a job in the US or to stay in Spain a second year to see where my relationship with Craig would take me. And I think back to the moments where I finally felt that I was fitting into my surroundings.
It was all a short story, with its beginning and rising action. The plot even peaked with a proposal (I never thought I would live out a screenplay of a chick flick). And though I seem to be composing its ending, it's a story that will continue to weave itself throughout the rest of my life.
And because I love creating videos, I couldn't finish this blog without a final video, a montage of my favorite moments with my favorite people to my favorite song related to Spain.
King of Spain from Ashley on Vimeo.
Thank to all of you who read over the past two years. Guiri Guía wouldn't have been a blog without your individual hits that added up in the bottom corner of this screen. Each and every one kept me writing.
Gracias a todos y hasta luego.
My final piece of advice to a guiri:
Keep that inner-guiri with you wherever you go, even when you're no longer a foreigner. Even when you go back home.
