Saturday, June 1, 2013

Caminante no hay camino

¡Hola!

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy, I've been packing, planning, taking finals and traveling so there hasn't been any chance for bloggage.  I'm going to have to do some retroactive blogging now, but just for a minute I have to bring it to the present for a little bit of reflection.

This is my last night in Cádiz and I just said, "Hasta mañana," to my host parents for the last time.  Rewind four and a half months to my first night here, after hours and hours of travel (and my first tortilla española) when I said goodnight to them for the very first time.  I can't help but think of all that has happened in those months, how much I have changed and grown, the invaluable friendships I've made and experiences I've had.  I feel so very grateful to have had this opportunity and to have shared it with wonderful people. 

That first night I went to bed incredibly overwhelmed and feeling like crying, mostly due to exhaustion, but also probably because I was a little terrified of my uncertain future--I had no idea what to expect from the coming months.  Now here I am, suddenly at that day four and a half months later, feeling like crying again, but this time for happiness and in awe of all of the wonderful things that I've been able to experience.

I'm not saying it's been all rainbows and butterflies, there have been a good deal of challenges and obstacles to maneuver, but overall this has been an absolutely, unimaginably wonderful experience and I cannot believe that it's coming to an end.  Tomorrow I'll take get on the night bus to Madrid and say adios to Cádiz, but none of it feels real yet.  From Madrid, I'm off to Berlin, when I start the month-long European travel extravaganza! 

Life, man.  Life.

Entonces ya está.  Ya me tengo que ir y seguir con la vida.  Me parece que las palabras de Antonio Machado son muy adecuadas en este momento de mi vida, "Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar."  Somos todos caminantes, haciendonos nuestros caminos cada día, y ahora cambia la ruta de mi camino.  No puedo quedarme aquí, ni lo querría, porque hay que seguir caminando.

¡Así que brindemos a nuestros caminos y a la extraordinaria cosa que nos llama la vida! ¡Salud!

Carly, la viajera