A very merry Christmas

Yesterday I said goodbye to my family, who had visited for about ten days over the holidays. To be honest, I have not struggled too much with homesickness this semester, with the exception of a few days and Thanksgiving. When they left, however, I realized how much I miss them. And all of my friends. So much. We had stayed at a hotel right in the heart of Madrid for their last night, and when they left I moved my stuff into room my parents had been in so I could sleep for a few more hours. This sounds sappy, but even being in that room was hard. I could almost still feel them there— there was a luggage tag with my dad's name on it, an empty package of bronzer my mom had left on the ground, my dad's lenses cleaner, my sister's shampoo. It made me miss all of them even more, and when I left the hotel I kept seeing things that reminded me of them all over— weird stuff in stores my sisters would laugh at, a slobbering bulldog that reminded me of my dad's ideal pet, little Spanish babies my mom and I would croon over. I am really glad I had yesterday to just chill and work things out. It actually ended up being a great day. I read, caught up with some friends and went on a long run in the beautiful Retiro Park.

Homesickness kind of makes me rethink things... if I have people who love me so much and so much to do back home, why would I stay here for an entire year? I feel like I am being extremely selfish in this way. Spending so much money, missing people who care about me. But then I snap back into it. I remember by I came here for this long. I came here to learn the language, and I am well on my way of doing just that. This has also taught me to trust myself a lot more. I am here in Madrid for three days by myself, and I am A-OK with that. I have things to do, and the rest of the semester holds more for me to do and look forward to. This kind of realization makes me proud of myself in a way and makes me look forward to what's ahead. 

OK but about their visit. I checked into the Hotel Atlántico in Madrid (beautiful) around 11 after schlepping a 32845 pound bag across the city. I hurried to wrap presents and make things special and nice before they arrived about half an hour later. Needless to say, I cried my eyes out. Not because I was sad but more because it was kind of a shock to actually see them. I had been looking forward to seeing them for so long that when the time actually came, it was this huge wave of emotion. They were really jetlagged so after I showed them around the city and we had lunch at this awesome traditional Spanish restaurant, they took a siesta. The next day my parents as usual did not fail to make Christmas so great. They had a little Christmas tree in their room and our favorite Christmas music— the Charlie Brown Christmas album— playing in the background. We opened presents, went for a long walk in the park that day and went out for tapas that night. It was a perfect day, and I have never had a happier Christmas day.