As I sit here on the beach in 32 degrees heat, in the middle of January, suckling away on a strawberry flavoured Calippo writing this, I can’t help but wonder what life would be like if I were at home right now. Obviously, I can’t give it too much thought because ha-ha let’s face it, I’d be miserable. Not having the choice to lounge in the sun to pass the time between lectures doesn’t sit right with me. To be able to go out as much as humanly possible without any repercussions was merely a dream for me; now, it’s a reality.
Chill pint Tuesdays, Wild Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Frenzy Fridays, Saturated Saturdays, with Sunday and Monday to keep you grounded, is a concoction of heaven and hell itself.
Of course, I know Erasmus isn’t about drinking and partying every single day, it’s about the people you meet, the friends you make, and the trips that you organise (normally over a beer). And above all else, studying and immersing yourself in a totally new culture.
But, as the smoke starts to clear and college work starts to pile up, I do believe it’s time to lock in. And, believing it’s time to lock in and actually locking in are two completely different things.
My Spanish has definitely improved since moving to Alicante. For example, I know ‘Vamos a la playa
A mí me gusta bailar
El ritmo de la noche
Sounds of fiesta.’
It came to my attention one night, as I sat on my bean bag sipping tea and watching The Muppets Movie, that when people talk about their Erasmus experiences, they only ever mention the parties, the late nights, the chaos, the “best days of our lives” stuff. But no one talks about the quiet bits, the wholesome little pockets of me time you stumble into amid all the madness.
Homesickness hits hardest seeing my friends meet up; going for drives to McDonald’s, my family sitting around the fire chatting till hours of the night about absolutely nothing and everything all at once. I have to remain tough, when they’re trying to make me jealous by sending me videos, etc. I flip the camera around and show myself parachuting out of a plane or bungee jumping into a canyon or whatever random side quest I have gotten myself into.
All in all, these last two months have been astounding. It has exceeded my expectations tenfold. I have gotten to grow as a person, broaden my horizons, become more independent (despite being robbed twice), but hey, all of these ups and downs, pits and peaks, turn out to make great stories that I will never ever shut up about, and ye will never, ever stop hearing.
