It's not "adios," it's "hasta luego..."

And just like that, the past four months of living in Sevilla have come to an end. This morning I left bright and early from my good friend, Marta's house after staying there for a week after the program ended. And boy did she spoil me this past week. I had so much time to relax, go to the movies with her (in Spanish of course), tag along with her and her friends and eat so much amazing food! Life in Spain just looks a lot different when you are living with a young married couple as opposed to elderly grandparents. I feasted on peanut butter (haven't had that in 4 months!), cookies, homemade spaghetti, pizza, bruschetta, crepes....I told Marta she needs her own cooking show, "Cocinando con Marta." We had an absolutely amazing week together and I am so thankful for her friendship here in Spain. She was truly a blessing.

This chapter of life studying abroad came to an end this morning with yet another train ride out of Sevilla, this one just happened to be my last. The only way I can describe how it feels right now is surreal. I cannot believe how incredibly fast time can fly these days. I'm starting to sound like my grandma... "Hard to believe...time flies," she always says in her think Swedish accent. And boy is she right. I know as much as I want to, I cannot just sum up these past 4 months in a quaint, one sentence phrase. It will definitely take a lot of time to decompress and process while I jump back into another culture shock, reverse culture shock that is in my own U.S. of A. Hard to believe, but I've been told that that adjustment process is actually the hardest because life has moved on while you've been away and no one can fully understand the life you've lived across the world. But I am thankful for some great transition time before that reality strikes with some more traveling around Europe! Up next-Madrid, London, Ireland, and Sweden.

As hard as it was to say goodbye to my beloved, Sevilla today, I look back on some of the most incredible experiences, complete with lots of growing opportunities and meeting amazing people. And I am very thankful to fondly look back on my life here as well as look forward to the next great chapter that God has for me.

I definitely see myself coming back to Sevilla some day in the future. It will always have a piece of my heart. Seville's famous symbol is the "No8Do" motto that can be found all over the city on street signs, potholes, buses, etc. The legend states that King Alfonso X gave this title to the city of Seville when his son tried to take over the throne and they still stayed faithful to him. It is a hieroglyphic meaning, "No me ha dejado," or "It (Seville) has not left me." The "8" represents a "madeja" or skein of wool and when put together, the letters and symbols make the same sound of the sentence, "No me ha dejado."

And so, I am leaving Seville with that same mentality. It has not, nor will ever leave me. As my spanish señora kept saying, "it's not 'adios.' It's 'hasta luego....'"

Hasta luego, mi querida Sevilla.