Sometimes, what you've been out there searching for forever is in your hands

Hello everyone!! I have been meaning to do one last blog post for nearly a month now, but life has been a little crazy. It has been a little over a month since my return from my semester in Spain, and I will admit that it has been the most overwhelming month of my life. I returned home to my wonderful family, and we spent most of my first days home at the ball park watching the SEC baseball tournament. We do this every year, and luckily it is a pretty low-key activity for someone as jet lagged as I was! My first weekend home included the 21st birthday celebration of my sweet friend Shelby, which was a wonderful night for all of us! I found out at the beginning of June that I had been accepted into the nursing program at UAB, which caused so many emotions that I'm not even sure I could list them all. Initially, I was struck with the reality of not returning to Charleston in the Fall. For the first two days, I smiled through the tears as people congratulated me...I truly felt that everybody except me was excited. It took me a couple of days to deal with the situation, and I am now as excited as everybody else! UAB is in the top 5% of nursing schools, so I'll be getting a great education in a city that I do love and have always considered home. Now comes the time to order books, scrubs, lab coats, and stethoscopes! So, I am back at work and back in school this summer...and I'm struggling with the following question: How does my study abroad fit into my life in America??

I want to start every sentence with "When I was in Spain..." or something similar. I am constantly reminding myself that the people around me don't necessarily want to hear about my semester 24 hours a day. I wouldn't say that I have had a lot of reverse culture shock, but I definitely noticed things when I first returned. As I walked through the Miami airport, I came upon a group of about 4 workers, who were speaking to each other...in English. I literally stopped walking and just stared at them...I couldn't believe that I could understand every word they were saying. I went and bought a real Diet Coke and a People magazine with AMERICAN DOLLARS (this blew my mind), and then I realized that I didn't know who half of the people in the magazine were. I hadn't heard of the movies they were in. I had a minor freak out about American culture, and I will say that I felt left out of some aspects of America for a little while. It is hard to relate your experience to people who ask how your semester is...whenever somebody said, "How was Spain?", I really wanted to reply with, "How long do you have?" Summing it up in a couple words is nearly impossible, so I found myself searching for the most powerfully positive word and delivering it with a huge smile. There are absolutely things and people about Granada that I miss, but there are so many good things about America too! I miss the wonderful friends I made while I was over there. I miss Nati and her amazing cooking and sweet smile. I miss being able to hop on a plane/bus/train and be in a completely different country. I definitely miss the slow-paced life of the Spainards. Even though I complained about this while I was over there, I constantly feel rushed here in America. Overall, I am thankful everyday for the amazing opportunity that turned into an adventure of a lifetime. I have been working on my scrapbook (I printed 450+ pictures....madness), and there are moments when I can't believe it all happened. I saw so many places, met so many people, and learned so much about life, Spanish, and myself. I will never forget my experiences in Europe, and I can't wait to return.

I also want to say how amazed I am at the people who read this blog! I have had so many positive comments, and I still can't believe that anybody read it! I cannot thank you enough for coming on this journey with me. It was truly a pleasure! I have even had some requests for another blog, but I'm not sure what I would write about (maybe getting rid of the weight that came as a consequence of all that good food I ate....). Thank you all for keeping up with me, praying for me, and giving me an outlet to share my experiences. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and it is safe to say that I found my "something beautiful"...turns out it isn't always so far away :)

GRACIAS! and Besos :)

Shannon

Shelby's birthday--so special she got TWO cakes!

Girl's night in Tuscaloosa!