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| Beach babes |
Today my Maryville College community is in mourning. We lost the life of an international student and though I did not get the chance to meet or know him as I am here in Spain, I can say that I can only begin to imagine the pain that his friends at Maryville are feeling because I can say from experience, that the friendships that you make in a semester abroad are special and different than any others in the world. I extend my deepest sorrows and a heart open in hoping that they will all be able to find some solace in the joy of getting to know such a special life that ended entirely too soon.
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Smiling but
we're close to tears |
When I heard about this tragedy all I could think of was how fragile life is and how vulnerable we all truly are. It is so easy to feel invincible abroad, to feel like life is not "real" because every moment is kind of like a dream. But life is real and in that manner, I have realized that I need to be more conscious of not only my choices, but my interactions, and in letting the amazing people who I have become so close with know just how special they are to me. Life is not a guarantee, its a gift and we have to treat it as such.
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| Yeah... We're pretty tough |
Yesterday I said my first official goodbye and though everyone likes to say its only a see you later, that's not good enough. As true as I know it is, because I WILL travel more, and I WILL make an effort to see these people again, these thoughts do make the end of this dream world any easier. Walking home last night I truly felt the weight of how important these people have come to be in my life in the past few months. They are my family and my friends, we have grown close because of our similar situations and we have been able to share whole parts of ourselves and I have realized how amazingly different and yet similar we are. We all have a passion for life, travel, and now for this experience, and that alone has been enough to make us closer than I can describe.
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| Camo swag |
This weekend was long and I am exhausted and a bit sun burnt, but I am so filled with joy and memories that I am lucky to have. We started off the weekend with an animal themed party at Alexia's. The night was passed on the balcony crammed close together, talking, singing, and laughing to the point of tears. You know that laughter that goes so long and is so deep that by the time everyone is done laughing no one remembers why they were laughing in the first place? That was us in that moment and it could not have been more beautiful.
Saturday was a long day that started early with paintball!
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| Chelsea makes good fires |
We woke up and made our way out to the field. I am covered head to toe in bruises (and they hurt!), but it was the best thing ever! We got so into it and I'm so glad that I got to do it with all of them. We also looked pretty cute (scary and tough also, duh) in our paintball suits and the pictures make my life! Naturally Angela, Zoe, Sara, and I painted up with stripes on our faces before starting!
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"To forever and love and Erasmus and happiness"
-Tarah |
After an hour and a half of "war" we were exhausted, but the day had just begun! We rushed home, showered, packed, and hopped on a bus to San Sebastian for a girls camping night! We roasted hot dogs over the fire, ate wannabe s'mores (sin marshmallow because we couldn't find any), and talked the night away. It was such a cold night and we definitely didn't sleep well but it was a great night and an interesting experience to say the least!
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| Vamos a la playa |
We woke up the next morning, packed up camp, and headed to the beach. The day was PERFECT beach weather! The water was a bit cold, but the best part was just lying out, taking in the sun, and talking.
By the time the bus made it back to Pamplona, we were beat but that couldn't stop us from heading out to one last dinner with Jose before his bus this morning. Needless to say, I slept really well last night haha!
These experiences are what really make this time the best time of my life and I can't wait to spend this last month here living the life and loving every moment. As the mentors have said "Once Erasmus, always Erasmus" and though Erasmus is only Europe, the idea is still the same, and I know that the sentiment could not be truer.
This weekend was long and I am exhausted and a bit sun burnt, but I am so filled with joy and memories that I am lucky to have. We started off the weekend with an animal themed party at Alexia's. The night was passed on the balcony crammed close together, talking, singing, and laughing to the point of tears. You know that laughter that goes so long and is so deep that by the time everyone is done laughing no one remembers why they were laughing in the first place? That was us in that moment and it could not have been more beautiful.
