"Home"ward bound

And here I am now, on the train. What a week it has been. Lots of traveling, seeing the Spanish countryside through the windows of our rental Ford. Even though we were not able to spend too much time in each of the cities we visited, I feel like we got a good “summary” of Spain and Portugal. 

And of course, it was good spending time with my family again. We definitely have our ups and downs; it’s really inevitable when we’re all together. Short-temperedness and a tendency to be anxious are traits that we do share. And it would be a lie to say that everything is fine and dandy back at home, because things definitely are changing and we are all a little bit on edge starting new chapters of our lives. 

Looking back, I only wish we all spent a little more time relaxing together and enjoying the feeling of being a family rather than stressing about what to do next, which road to take, and how much we are eating. Maybe it’s just me; maybe it’s the fact that I no longer feel like a little kid around my family anymore; maybe it’s just because we are all growing older. But I don’t find it as easy to communicate without differing opinions, tempers, or unintentional offenses getting in the way. When there is down time in our hotel or apartment rooms, the wi-fi and iPods and laptops take priority over conversation, filling the room with nothing more than silence. 

I don’t want to end this post on a negative note. This week of traveling has been anything but negative, though; it was a really, really good time and I loved visiting all of the places on our itinerary. And as with every experience, it was an opportunity to get to know the world better, to get to know my family better, and to get to know myself better. 

Now I’m going back “home”, back to beautiful Sevilla. The upcoming months will be filled with more exciting events – Eileen is visiting me next week, the following week is Feria (for part of which I’ll be going to Madrid and Paris), Cadiz in early May, and then after three of my classes end Sherry will be visiting for two and a half weeks. So even though I’m a little sad to see my family go after this nice week of traveling, I am looking forward to the weeks to come. Only a month and a half til I go back to the US, and I can’t believe it. But I plan to make the most of the time I have left, and hopefully (dutifully...!) keep you posted on this blog.