here we go.

i am writing this with exactly twelve hours left before i hit the road. with exactly twelve hours before i venture out and see this world. i have twelve hours left to decide whether or not to bring my ipod. my umbrella. my journal. my belongings are strewn throughout the room, things tucked and pushed and shoved in crevices of that trusty backpack. twelve hours and the next chapter begins.  

all allusiveness aside. here we go. 

i cannot believe that four months have passed. four! this is something i cannot wrap my head around. the pace of time here is unbelievable (which will forever be a mystery, seeing as this spanish culture is so nice and slow and relaxed). time has flown. and four months have passed. 

all allusiveness aside. 

these four months have offered me so many things. they have offered me growth and clarity, a new culture and a new language, days of sorrow and days of joy. 

they have offered me a place that i have fallen in love with. i cannot get enough of it here. i feel comfortable, i have sunk into who i am. with the sights and the sounds and the feelings of this spanish culture, it is what keeps me alive. 

and man, this city has transformed. in the past few weeks it has melted into a christmas hub (which baffles me, since to me the christmas season always means bundles and loads of snow). this means christmas lights (ones shaped like horseshoes, christmas trees, stars, presents), lights on palm trees, roasted chestnuts, homemade apple cider (for which the spanish will always think we're nuts), and chilly evenings. i love this. 

these four months have offered me friends that i cannot get enough of. there's five of us. And while three of them are leaving or have already left, the memories we have keep us going. The Salamanca Sassies. 

these months have offered me a spanish family. one that im still learning to love in entirety.my host mom has definitely won my affection. she is a riot. she scolds me and laughs with me and at me and makes dirty jokes and tells people we sit around and get drunk all the time. she invites my friends over, she cooks like a queen. and even when you forget to call and tell her you're not going home, she doesn't get mad. she mends the tension with gifts of space heaters and velvet jammies. and when its her birthday and you buy her pink nailpolish she thanks you for the thought but reminds you that she only likes brown. haha. what a lady. 

these four months have brought letters from home. letters that always go on the bulletin board. letters with updates and reminders, with words and pictures. letters that transport you back to where you came from. good letters. hand written letters. real letters. 

and skype dates with family. man the days that i get to hear those voices are good. to hear stories from dark mongolia, snowy michigan, lively new york. those days are good. we pick up right where we left off. shit is still as funny as it ever was. and the realization hits that there will never be people in this life that you are closer with; that there will never be people that know you so well; that make your heart beat, your face smile, your blood run.  

these four months have certainly been packed. they have certainly been good. maybe they've been a little taste of what is to come in the next months. and if that is the case, i have nothing be excitement. 

things will definitely be different this year for christmas. it will be the first christmas away from home. the first christmas away from 3840. and while it is the one thing that i have dreaded missing (the christmas trees, the lights, the lazy days, apple martinis, chex mix, egg nog, dolly parton, santa pictures, egg souflé, twiced baked potatoes, stars strewn from the chandelier, family), i will know that this is what i need to be doing right now. that this is perfect.t 

but its time to put on my traveling shoes once again. these adventures. these friends. these salty days. these memories. these dances. these butterflies. these you only live onces. ...... these things happen when you live your life right. 

and so twelve hours before i leave again, twelve hours before i hit the road, twelve hours before i start runnin', here i go. :) it's time to hit the road with my two best friends from this trip, erin and emily. these lovely ladies. these shining ladies. these ladies that have become family away from family. 

first... the netherlands, amsterdam for an afterschool special.

next... belgium, brugge for the christmas market.

next... france, paris to ring in the new year.

next... ireland, dublin to celebrate another year of being alive.

and back to spain. to meet erins family. to settle back in. and (CROSS MY FINGERS) to welcome my dear and darling sister. to welcome the next five months. 

its time.