Reflection

*Coruna crew :D Andrea, me, Stefano and Rafal (last night in Krakow)
*Polish vodka can be dangerous...Stefano, Andrea, me and Iza...Night #1 in Poznan Dec. 30th

*Poznan crew :D me, Stefano, Alessandro, Cecy, Iza and Andrea



So, I have yet to post about Berlin...the last part of my 18 day absolutely unforgettable trip.
But it will come.

For now...I just want to reflect a little bit on my trip (Rome, Florence, Poznan, Krakow, Auschwitz, Berlin) as a whole.

I really couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my last trip of the year. The people I was with....the hospitality I was shown...the cities I saw...

Imagine that there were like 50-60 students who got together in a village (Kornik) outside of Poznan, Poland to spend New Years Eve together. Everyone at the party was some how connected to La Coruna....either they studied abroad together in Coruna, they were from Coruna, or they were "friends of".

Stefano-
tu familia es increíble. muchísimas gracias para tu hospitalidad...que me invitaste a pasar las navidades contigo y tu familia valió mucho para mi. Tienes mucha suerte tener una familia tan amable, así cerca. Antes nunca en mi vida había visto una familia como la tuya. Estoy muy contenta que podía pasar tanto tiempo contigo y conocerte mejor antes de marcharme. Seguramente vuelvo a visitarte y tu familia en Roma. Espero que vengas a California a aprender el ingles ;). "Claro que Yes"

you're family is amazing. I can't thank you enough for your hospitality...inviting me to spend Christmas with you and your family really meant a lot to me. You're so lucky to have such a loving close-knit family like you do. I've never seen a family like yours in my whole life. I'm really glad I got to spend so much time with you and get to know you better. I will definitely come back to Rome to visit. Hopefully I'll see you in California when you come to learn English ;).

Andrea-thank you for encouraging us to come to Poznan. Really it's because of you that we came. It was sooooo cold but sooooo worth it :). It was great to see you again. I'll come to Reggio to visit and I hope to see you in California too!

Iza-you're such a nice person. thank you soooo much for all your help in Poznan. I'm so glad I met you and that we were able to spend New Years Eve and time together in Poland. You helped us out so much with everything...we really appreciated it. I hope you also go to visit in California!

Cecy-you rock for coming all the way from SD to take this trip with me and I can't wait to see you tomorrow in Coruna!

the twins: Andrea & Alessandro- it was great to meet you both. I'm glad you came on this trip with us. I hope to see you both again in California...or next time I'm in Italy.

I left Berlin this morning to return to La Coruna. Everyday, it hits me more and more that my time here is running out...It's hard to explain how it feels. Last night...we were out...Stefano, Cecy, Andrea, Alessandro and I....and it felt like I was already going to be going back to the States the next day....Like as if this trip was going to end my whole year despite the fact that I still have a week and a half left in coruna....

I guess I feel a mixture of...happy, sad, educated, motivated, emotional...It's a good feeling...but strange at the same time.

While I miss my family and friends in Cali...it's been so long I can't imagine seeing everyone again after a year....

I will also miss life here in Coruna and all the amazing people I've met. Most of all Luis, Sergio, Abel, Lorenzo, Stefano, Davina, Michael, Sebastian, Dietram, Ryanne, Andrea, Ramona... You all come to my mind first but there are many others who I'll miss as well.