Abroad so far...

Five months in. My time in Spain is almost halfway over, which is crazy because it seems like I still have so much left to do and see while I'm here. I have changed though. Not that I can see it in myself but I can see it in my friends and professors, whose time here is a reflection of my own.  I can speak somewhat broken Spanish, enough to get the message across at least. I know what 4 degrees Celsius feels like and roughly how tall six meters is. I can order a beer, tapa, and ask for the check at a restaurant without stuttering and I can find the quickest way home on the metro anywhere in the city.
Spain has left it's mark for sure.
I don't freak out anymore when I can't talk to someone from back home for a couple of days, I've realized that as much as we try to hold onto things,  people grow up and apart and the relationships we had when we left won't be the same we come back to. And those that remain will be stronger for having lasted.
I know how to tell my preschool class to sit down, be quiet, and listen.
They ignore me.  But still I know how to say it.
I've met some incredible people. Some of the best-friends I've ever had and been lucky enough to land in a school that feels more like a giant family than work.
My backpack is tattered and coming apart from lugging my computer around to private classes and being shoved and squished into overhead compartments.
I've been in a snowball fight in Segovia, seen Flamenco in Cordoba, and drank scotch while watching the sun set in Sevilla.
I've used flamboyant hand gestures to ask for cough drops in a pharmacy when I've been sick and slept on the metro more times than I can count. I've been frustrated, angry, and lonely at times but getting through those days make the times when I'm taking a nap in Retiro on a Sunday afternoon all the better.

Living abroad so far has been challenging, difficult, and crazy at times, but I wouldn't trade any of my experiences so far for anything in the world.