A few weeks ago, my friend from back home, Lauren, sent me an email discussing homesickness, and what it meant to her. She had explained to me that she had learned, in one of her classes, that that being homesick has two meanings: 1) to long for home, and 2) that one is actually sick of being home. She said that for people who have traveled and fallen in love with different places, this double meaning would hold true throughout their lives, and now that I’ve lived somewhere new, I may forever be destined to be homesick in both ways.
I still have another two and a half weeks left before I have to head back home, and just thinking about leaving breaks my heart just a little bit. I’ve been in Granada for the better part of four months, and this city has become my home. Not only that, but the people that I have met here have become family to me. I know that sounds cheesy, but oh, it’s so true, and I will miss them as much as I will miss this marvelous city.
Back to the topic at hand, though. Yes, I am thrilled to go back to the states to see my friends and family, because I have suffered quite a few bouts of homesickness in regards to them, but I also need to remind myself of the homesickness for Granada that I will experience upon my return, as well as the culture shock (yes, that’ll happen to me once I’m back home!). I will have to constantly remember that I’m no longer in Spain, and the siesta time isn’t implemented, or that the lifestyle and the pace of the people around me is not what I’ve grown accustomed to here. It will probably take me a while to readjust to the life I've known, as opposed to the life I've lived for the past few months. Either way, I will still hope to squeeze in a little bit of siesta time every once in a while.
In short, I will miss everything about this country that has become home to me, and will forever remember it as a place where I was able to grow and flourish in a way that one can only do while abroad. I also have high hopes of Granada being a place where I will most definitely return to later on in life, because I have truly fallen in love with it.
Until then, Granada, you have my heart.
Yelitza Rodriguez- CEA MOJO Granada, España