GIJON:
The last week or so of the program was really hard. It seemed like I was just starting to feel at home in Gijon and then it was time to go. I went through a lot of phases of being a little homesick and then getting really sad about leaving Gijon.
Ines said goodbye to me the last day of school. I had gotten home a little early for siesta time and decided to actually take advantage of the break since I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Ines came into my room and woke me up and I was really drowsy when she told me she was leaving for her Dad's house and wouldn't see me again. That was probably my most emotional goodbye. I gave her a hug and thanked her for being my friend and told her I'd miss her a lot. She told me the same and then skipped off to her dad's car. It was quiet in the house after that with just me and Maite.
Exams went surprisingly well for how much I'd stressed out about them. I think the teachers might have taken some mercy on us after the last ones and I passed with flying colors. Funnily enough, Ines had helped me a lot because she was convinced I had to memorize the textbooks and made a game out of quizzing me.
We played a lot of frisbie the last week since we'd be leaving the beach behind. After exams, I went to the beach to play futbol but only a couple people showed up. I hung around the beach with the professor and her son until Alex met me there. Just in time for a monstrous hailstorm to strike:
We waited it out at first until it stopped and the beach was littered with chunks of hail the size of my big toe. I kicked a ball around with Isabel's son for a bit and it was super weird to feel warm sand mixed with ice under my feet. Then a second wave of hail came in and didn't stop.
Prof. Dulfano and Maia during the first storm.
Me and Alex took off to find cover and ended up trapped under a small overhang for about 20 minutes. The hail was blowing so hard that it tore holes in the canopy we were under and left welts all over our legs. Luckily, my umbrella provided a small shield or we would have been pelted even more. I'm told the hail is unusual for Gijon and it's a good thing because it was madness. We eventually found our way to a small cafe to warm up with some Cola Cao and pastries.
Stranded on the beach.
I went with Alex to her family's apartment to dry off before meeting some of the other kids to watch Spain's futbol match against Portugal. We bar-hopped until we found a bar full of rowdy Spaniards to watch the last few minutes in which Spain won in a tie-breaker. Everyone in the bar went nuts and there were people honking car horns and shouting throughout the night.
After that, we met up with some other kids to find a bar to hang out at. We met up with Tom (the English kid) and his friend from Ethiopia, Taré. The bar was a bit too mellow so me, Baya, Shelley, Alex, and Victor decided to check out the gay bar down the street. It was pretty dead when we went in but the stage was lit and we found out it was karaoke night. Two guys were singing and doing their own choreography and we befriended them immediately (one of them even took a liking to Victor). Me and Alex were the first to get on stage and busted out some Katy Perry (the English selection was a little limited). I'm sure our singing was horrible but everytime our group would get up to sing, people would join us and dance around the stage. It ended up being a lot of fun. We sang the YMCA, Summer Nights from Grease, and finished with "I gotta feeling" by the Black-Eyed Peas. It was a great way to end one of our last nights together and we didn't get home until 4 AM (Maite gave me a lecture about it when I woke up with bronchitis the next day).
The day after exams we had a small ceremony at the school where the dean thanked us for coming and our professors gave us bookmarks and played a video of our travels. Silvia and Laura (our professors) handed out diplomas to each of us and said goodbye with the usual kiss on each cheek. After that, we enjoyed churros, pastries, bocadillos, and hot and cold drinks out in the main hall. We had to say goodbye to a lot of the other kids and there were a few tears.
CUDILLERO:
The next day, me, Alex, Crystal, and Morgan decided to go to Cudillero - a small fishing village an hour away from Gijon. Maite was leaving for Portugal that day so I had to say goodbye to her early. We were both running around, getting ready for our trips so it was a bit hectic. She gave me some last-minute chores and instructions about locking up the house when I left. She had stayed up late the night before, making me an empañada because she was worried I'd starve while she was gone.
Then when I got to the bus station to go to Cudillero, I ran into Maite again, catching her bus to the airport. I had just finished telling Alex that I'd never gotten a chance to get a picture with Maite so she sprung at the chance and took a picture for us:
Maite said we look like sisters. Um.....
Cudillero was gorgeous. It's really small so there's not a lot to see, but it's a beautiful place to walk around. I think we mostly loved how calm it was and how nice the locals were. It was a holiday (San... Pedro? I think?) so there were a few vendors selling goods and other things. I bought a pair of little leather pouches for Maite and Ines as goodbye presents from an Ecuadorian vendor. We even ran into another kid from our group who had come with a friend. Small world.
We grabbed some popsicles and wandered along the harbor until we found some rocks to sit on and enjoy the view. Then we hiked up a windy trail that cut through the village to a lookout point on top of the hill:
Here are a few more pictures:
A marching band for the San Pedro festival.
The last day in Gijon, me and Alex had one last walk around downtown Gijon and visited the beach for the last time.
The mother statue. She symbolizes Spain during the
dictatorship, reaching out for her children who left
the country as immigrants.
We grabbed some gofres (waffles with ice cream on top) and sat on the boardwalk for a bit. Then we went home to pack for Barcelona. Here are a few pictures I took of my neighborhood and other parts of Gijon:
Alex on a sundial.
The front of the mother statue.
There was an oil spill near the beach. That's what the
lighter part of the water is.
My bus stop.
One of the trail-markers for the Camino de Santiago
right by my house.
The park I walked through ever day to catch the bus.
My house.
My room. Super nice, right?
Leaving Maite's house was really hard. I left the leather pouches I'd bought for Maite and Ines on the counter with handwritten notes inside thanking them for everything.
My hands started shaking when I went to shut the door behind me because I knew I wouldn't be able to go back in once it was shut.
I got to the bus station and met Alex and her host parents. It was sad to say goodbye to them too since they'd always been so welcoming when I'd gone over to visit.
The bus ride through Asturias was beautiful as always and made me even sadder to leave. Then it was off for the next adventure.
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