The biggest thing is not knowing anyone. I have one friend from my study abroad trip who's teaching in Madrid. Other than that, I've got to start over in the friend department. I remember suffering through this same feeling in Korea, but I still had American coworkers I saw on a regular basis, which is how I ended up with such a great group of friends out there. It would be a little strange if I started trying to hang out with my 10-year-olds or their moms.
Last night I met up with a friend of a friend for coffee. She was meeting some more of her friends too, only most of them didn't speak English. No problem, I thought. Turns out the Venezuelan accent is a bit different from the Spanish I'm used to, so I did a lot of smiling and nodding. I did understand a great quote from Picasso: "Mi madre un día me dijo: "Si te haces soldado, serás General; si te haces monje, terminarás como el Papa." En cambio, me hice pintor y ahora soy Picasso." This basically translates to "My mother said to me one day 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up the Pope.' Instead I became a painter and now I'm Picasso." Kinda pompous, huh? They are all students here (two studying criminal law and two getting MBAs) and were really nice and patient, while translating along the way. Hopefully I'll see more of them and improve my Spanish.
It does get pretty lonely here. Even talking to friends and family via the wonders of Skype doesn't quite have the same effect. I hope I get to stay in Spain a little while longer this time. It was way harder leaving my friends in Korea than I thought it would be. I've still got a few more months til Alasdair moves down...I hope I manage to meet some friends by then! And I've always got a free sofa for all my old friends if they want to come for a visit!
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