Turns out our very last orientation was their very first orientation. They are all students that are either going abroad for 1 or 2 months this summer or for the upcoming school year. At first, it was kind of strange, and our group sort of just stayed separated and we talked amongst ourselves. But then, of course, we had to do a bunch of ice-breaking activities. The first one we did was this name game but it was so ridiculously hard. Even after two days with them, I still don't know most of their names...whoops.
After the normal activities and lunch, our little group went sailing!! Now mind you, they were TINY little sailboats. There were only 6 people in each boat (4 students, one volunteer, and a sailor). At first I was terrified to be honest. I mean I've been out on a boat sooo many times, considering I used to own a boat, but it's not the same as sailing. The first 30 minutes or so, my friend Simon and I were freaking out the whole time because we kept thinking the boat was going to tip over. But after a while, we got used to it, and it actually got really fun. Each one of us got to steer the boat for a while, which was kind of hard to be honest. And our sailor/guide was so nice and so funny. He was this (not gonna lie) ridiculously attractive Spanish guy with dark hair and a beard and everything. I thought he was like 25 but then he started talking about Bachillerato and when I asked how old he was, he said 18! I swear the people in Spain all look a lot older than they are.
Anywho, later we did more activities which were pretty lame but at the same time fun. It always works out that way. We complain and whine and say we don't want to do these lame activities that don't actually help us, but I think in the end, we always end up having a lot of fun (we just don't want to admit it).
After dinner, our little group prepared an activity. It was this really strange sort of "game" where there was a king and queen of a society that doesn't talk, they just make certain little noises that mean different things. Simon and my friend Alison were the king and queen and the rest of us were the other members of the society.
When the Spanish kids came in, they had no idea what was going on. We had a circle of chairs and candles around the circle with the lights off. They had to take a seat, but then we had to go around the circle and try to get all the guys to sit in the chairs and all the girls to kneel on the floor with their shoes off...WITHOUT WORDS. It took quite a while but we finally accomplished it. Then we had to feed them (crackers with mayonnaise, wasabi, and pate) and give them drinks (lemon KAS with mayonnaise). God it was so funny.
The whole point of the activity was to see how they reacted. Most of them were frustrated, annoyed, tired, and confused. All of the girls also thought it was sexist. But the thing is, it wasn't like that. We were a highly advanced society that didn't have to talk to understand each other, but we made up certain gestures and sounds to be able to communicate with other societies. And the women sat on the ground, took their shoes off, and were able to drink directly from the cup without being served because in that society, the ground is sacred and so are the women, and they are the only ones that are able to come in direct contact with the ground.
It showed them that they're going to be confused, they're going to be frustrated, they're not going to understand, but that things aren't always as they seem. It showed them what it's going to be like to live in a foreign country for an entire year. I mean no, it definitely didn't prepare them for the reality, but it helped, so that was pretty cool.
We finished that activity at about 12:30 AM and a lot of people went to bed, but the rest of us stayed up for a while in this room at the hostel just talking and singing and laughing. It was so awesome to be able to hang out with the Spanish kids 1) because they're the best and 2) because it's cool to see them beginning their adventure. A few of us even stayed up til about 4:30 AM, which probably wasn't the BEST idea, but hey, it was pretty dang fun.
The next day, we woke up and did more activities, like always. For one of the activities, our little group had to prepare posters with a "timeline" in the form of a river. On the sides of the river, there were rocks and trees. Inside the trees, we had to write the good moments along the way and when they happened and inside the rocks, we had to write the bad moments and when they happened. Then we had to present it in front of the Spaniards, which I didn't mind doing, because I LOVE talking about my experience here in Spain.
One of the really awesome things was that one of the volunteers after told me that all of the Spaniards had said that they thought I was one of them at first. They said that if the volunteers hadn't have said that I was a foreigner, they never would have known because I talk so well. Even the volunteers kept telling me that I speak ridiculously well and I don't have an accent. It's so satisfying to hear that. I work so hard, and I'm so glad that it's actually paying off!
Saying goodbye that day was SO hard. It's always hard to leave orientation, because it's fun to be with the students and volunteers and people that really understand what you're going through. But this time it was even harder to leave because 1) we had met some really amazing people that were really fun to be with and 2) it was our last orientation.
Leaving that orientation, a sort of depression washed over me. It was awesome to see how excited all the Spaniards were and to help them out, but at the same time, it was kind of hard to watch, because I was jealous, to be honest. I was jealous because I remember when that was me, and now my year is ending. I was jealous because there are a lot of things I took for granted and a lot of things I wish I could do better.
It's such a confusing time in the trip because half of me is ridiculously excited to go home. Half of me is counting down the days and wishing it would just be here already because I can finally see my friends, my family, my home, and because I have a bunch of awesome new things waiting for me, like a car, a job, a puppy, etc. But the other half of me is terrified. It's going to be so hard to say goodbye, because this is my home now. These people who used to be strangers are now my best friends, my family.
And the thing is, it wasn't so hard to let go of everything back home because I knew it would be waiting for me when I got back. But this time, I don't know who I'm going to see again, what I'm going to do again, where I'm going to go again. And that's hard to accept. I don't know how I'm going to do it. That was the one downside of this orientation...it reminded me of everything I have to let go of.
*tomorrow I will add photos*
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