Final Post: Back Home

The last week in Zwolle went by like a blur. Between packing, studying for exams, and trying to squeeze in every opportunity to spend time with my host family and the SPICE group I didn't have much time to think about the fact that I was leaving. I thought I was ready to come home until a couple days before I left. I was so excited to see my family and friends from the States, but I definitely wasn't ready to leave Zwolle for good. I wished it was just a summer break and that I'd come back in the fall again. The last couple days were so fun! I had the whole SPICE group over for a birthday party on Saturday and it was one of the last times the whole group was together. On Monday, Zwolle had their liberation day celebration...it was a whole day or free concerts with several food stands and clothing stands, it reminded me of a fair or carnival, it was very fun. They had 4 or 5 stages with different singers and DJs. All day we walked around and switched from stage to stage. That night we went to one of the SPICE students' house, Brianna, just to rest for a little while. Her dad offered to make us delicious fish and veggies with wine and stroopwaffle mcflurries for dessert. I was reminded again of how hospitable and kind the SPICE community was; not just my host family, but all of the host families were so generous and inviting. On Tuesday I finished my exams, did some last minute packing, and then went to the goodbye party with the entire SPICE group and our families. It was a good time to see everyone, but just a little overwhelming. I hate saying goodbyes, especially to people I was just getting close to and would most likely not see again. Afterwards I went out with several of the SPICE students and our Dutch friends. We were out until about 2 am, but it was the perfect last night in Zwolle of talking and dancing! Nothing can beat Dutch style dancing at the Joffer! Several students had said they were going to leave by midnight, but a heavy rainstorm hit around midnight and since no one wanted to ride their bike through it, the party lasted a couple hours longer :) The next morning my host parents got up with me at 3:30 am and brought me to the airport. This just shows how sacrificial they were. I always felt like part of the family and they even told me they considered me a daughter and when deciding what to do they would always think "What would we do for our daughter...'' Thinking back on the memories with them makes me miss them quite a bit.

The long plane ride gave me plenty of time to reflect on the semester and look over my pictures and journal entries. They brought back so many good memories, and made the fact that I was leaving Zwolle for good finally sink in. After the long travel day back to the States, my roommates picked me up in Omaha and took me out to dinner at the Cheesecake factory and shopping for graduation dresses at the mall. It felt like I'd only been gone for a short break/long weekend. My roommates and I picked up right where we'd left off sharing funny stories and catching up about each other's lives! The last weekend was so fun at school! It was difficult to see everyone again on Thursday, because I felt like we were back after summer, and then the next day everyone was leaving for the summer...this quick transition made the reality of being home and graduating sink in - it was a tough reality to swallow though. I was so excited about all I'd experienced in Europe and so excited to see everyone from Dordt, I didn't like all the changes happening so quickly. 

Now that I'm home and with my family, I'm able to reflect more on my experience in The Netherlands. Everything seemed familiar at home, just slightly different. Little things like using bigger cups or forks than I was used to grabbed my attention. I have little reminders of Holland, especially living in Pella. Yesterday relatives who used to live in Holland visited and was able to serve this Dutch coffee time, it was so fun and a good reminder. I hope I can continue to be reminded on my amazing time in Europe and share stories with friends and family...I just hope they don't get sick of listening to me, because there are plenty of stories and memories to tell about! 

Barcelona!!!!!!!

Barcelona!! Definitely my favorite place, besides Zwolle, that I’ve visited on SPICE. The city is absolutely beautiful, it’s a center for modern art - not the impractical, interpretive type, but the type that mixes bright colors and unique shapes in the architecture - this style was started by Gaudi, who’s the famous architect who began the work of Sangrada Familia and Park Guell (google those places and you’ll see what I mean). His work reminds me of castles in fairy tales. The city is clean, has many green parks, and trees and flowers along the streets. It also has great, unique shopping! The best part is probably the beach though. We stayed in an area called La Barceloneta (google.map it!), which is the triangular section of Barcelona along the beach. We were about a 5 minute walk from the beach, so we could go back and forth between our apartment and the beach during the day. 

The trip was so relaxing. Each morning we slept in a bit, walked along the beach or through the market, spent the afternoon on the beach, and dressed up to go shopping or to dinner in the late afternoon. This was the perfect place to spend my birthday! I got to share my birthday with a friend I met on SPICE, Katie. She definitely added to the fun of the day. After skyping my mom in the morning. We set off to the beach for much of the afternoon, then dressed up to go shopping in the city along the famous “La Ramba”, and finished the night going out to eat to an authentic Spanish restaurant where we were served a seafood paella (a rice dish with a mild sauce, and yummy seafood). They served the seafood - shrimp, mussels, clams - still in their shells which was new for me, but all part of the authentic experience! We ended the night with homemade Spanish Sangria and games in our apartment. The only thing I missed was of course celebrating with friends and family from back home...and surprisingly birthday cake. 

After getting a little burnt the first day, I realized I needed to cover up a bit with a scarf and hat...This is how I spent day 2 on the beach :)

The beginning of our birthday outing..shopping!

An opera house designed by the famous architect Gaudi 

Beautiful park on La Ramba

First course of our Spanish birthday dinner

Our seafood paella 

Lekker! 

And Birthday Dessert 

Overlooking Barcelona from Park Guell 

Overlooking Park Guell 

Picnic area in Park Guell 

Thankfully there were some escalators to aid in our climbing the hill up to Park Guell 

Some beautiful sights from our beach walk the last night 

Beach walk on the final night

Some of the workout equipment to found

Perfect way to end the trip!

This trip was much too short (meaning I’ll have to come back again to see everything :) ). Now on my way back to Zwolle and realizing all I have to do this next week before I leave, it probably was the right decision. I’m feeling very bittersweet in leaving Zwolle in less than a week. I’ve enjoyed my time here so much! I’ve formed wonderful relationships and made so many lasting memories. I also can hardly wait to hug my mom and little sister, Lizzie at the airport and spend a final weekend as a college student with my roommates and friends from Dordt. I do think this is perfect timing, I jsut can't let myself think I’ll never come back.