Querido Toledo (Dear Toledo),
This is the last time I will write a blog post from within your city limits. This coming Friday I will be leaving this amazing country and moving out of my tiny room in the apartment I have called home for the last few months.
There aren't enough thank you's in the world that I can say to your city. You have taught me so much and you have filled my soul to the brim with new experiences, new friends and new understanding. I remember getting on the plane that freezing cold day in early January in Pittsburg with nothing but a dream and a really heavy suitcase (but really it was so heavy I had to pay extra to get it here). I remember watching the screen in front my airplane seat with a GPS of where our plane was, watching the United States slowly sink further and further into the distance. There was no turning back now.
Luckily from the moment I landed all the way until I fell asleep that night (more like passed out from jet lag), I was greeted with nothing but warm welcomes. Your city walls scooped us up and held us tight, making sure we knew we were cared for even if we weren't home. You blessed me with a big, loving and chaotic host family that guided me through my time here. Each member of this family has made an impact on me and my greater cultural understanding.
Although you have taught me countless lessons Toledo (some harder to learn than others), I want to list some of the big ones that come to mind:
1. Everything is figureoutable
A word of my own creation. When I came here I was so worried about how I was going to communicate with my family, how I was going to get to the university, how I was going to do laundry, etc. and what I have learned is those are all things that don't really need to be worried about. Why? Because I will figure it out. I have now experienced what it is like to be dropped off in the middle of a country where I don't even speak their language and the truth is you CAN figure it out. You take everything one step at a time, you ask people around you, you speak in charades if you have to and you will figure it out.
2. Life is long, you have time
When I knew I would be studying in Europe I thought to myself "ok I have 4 months to see ALL of Europe". Obviously for reasons of time and money and distance I quickly found that is impossible. I kept worrying that I was wasting my time if I wasn't trying to see everything all at once. But then I realized, I am only 21 years old. I have literally my entire life ahead of me. I can come back, I can explore new places and this is not the only chance I have to travel. I have all the time in the world.
3. Traveling is not as luxurious as my/anyone's social media makes it look
Is traveling an incredible amazing satisfying experience? Yes. But is it easy? No, far from it. When you see all the posts of beautiful far away places and cute cafes and fancy dinners it's easy to romanticize the experience. But (at the risk of sounding like the most spoiled brat on the planet) traveling can be work. The whole point of traveling is to take you out of your comfort zone and when you leave your home country for months on end, being out of your comfort zone day after day after day can really to wear you down. You see the cute photo of the delicious coffee I drank, but you don't see the frustration of our waiter when he/she can't understand our accent so it takes awhile to order. The most basic activities that you don't think twice about like eating, sleeping and talking all become new challenges.
4. There are pieces of language that everyone understands
A smile, a laugh, a cry and that panicked "I have no idea what you just said" face will be understood no matter where you go.
5. Little signs from home will always sneak their way into your life
One night when my host grandmother was cooking, she was about to tell me something and then forgot what she was going to say. Then she said "Sería una mentira" which means "It must have been a lie". This is something that my real dad says ALL the time. Any time we are about to say something and then we forget what we were going to say he says "must have have been a lie". It was a small but wonderful moment that made me feel at home. Another moment was when we were in Gran Canaria and one of my friends started playing Van Morrison on her phone. She didn't know it but my family has a tradition where every time we go on vacation, we listen to his music. Another small moment that snuck its way into my day that gave me a feeling of home.
6. Words that end in -ma in Spanish are masculine!
Anyone who has tried to learn Spanish knows this rule makes NO SENSE to our non native ears but none the less we have to learn it. I think after being corrected everyday for the past 100 days or so I might actually have it? But really this lesson is a greater symbol of how much Spanish I have learned here. More than just growing as a person, my languages skills have improved drastically.
Although there are a million more lessons I could list, I'll leave it there. I will never forget the time I spent here in Toledo as long as I live. I am thankful for everything I have learned here and am excited to bring all of these new stories and understandings home with me.
Hasta luego Toledo (until next time),
Mara
Some photos of me showing love to city of Toledo from across the river Tajo.