Saudade

saudade: /saʊˈdɑːdə/  noun: a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia.

-Oxford Dictionary

It’s been a month of great change for me here in Madrid.  I wasn’t sure of what to write about until I really began reflecting on this last month.  Most of my IES Abroad friends have left and I go to an empty “Colegio Mayor San Agustín” now, I spend between 6-12 hours in the Universidad Complutense library preparing for the final exams I have left, I took the DELE exam (the official Spanish exam), my boyfriend came to visit me for a few days, I joined a choir with my Spanish friends yesterday, I went to the hospital for having my first allergic reaction two nights ago.  Ok, so maybe I have too many things to write about… Which is why I don’t want to go too deep into the things themselves, but rather, I hope to be able to convey the saudade I feel through some pictures I snapped in different moments on my journey here this months.

I feel like I’ve established a life here and seeing my IES Abroad friends leave has made me look at the fact that I won’t be here forever, that this experience will come to an end, and I will go back to my life in the United States.  I love my life in New York and I know that what I learn here will never leave me because I have grown so much in the past four months.  Regardless, I am glad I still have two months to go…

Adios,

Sofía