Blog Post 25.
The world is full of so many good tiny things.
After three sleeps (“three days and a wake up” is what my dad would say) I will be leaving Cádiz, heading home. Today, my host mom here, Isabel- with whom I don’t have a particularly magical relationship (but we get along really well and don’t cause one another any trouble)-, made a carrot cake for me. She has been baking about one gluten free bizcocho (basically a cake-sized pastry) for me every week and really gotten good at it. She knows that, though I love them all, the tarta de zanahoria is my favorite so that’s what I had after my other favorite, tortilla de patata at lunch only moments ago. She told me she plans to make another one and pack it up so I can put it in my suitcase and carry it home for la Navidad. I said she could just send me with the recipe, but that led to a discussion about the inferiority of American sweet wine and culinary oils. She insisted- a small extravagance that I could not decline.
Other things too: the woman in Paris who let me know that my scarf had fallen off my chair at breakfast with Madison one day; the giggle of a little girl on roller-blades -probably the same age I was when I became obsessed with roller-blading- after wiping out hard directly in front of me in Plaza Mina two afternoons ago; the lavender-lilac spectrum that saturated the sky right after sunset last night (feeling like a call from home, part of me projected on this new little world that is now so familiar); an acquaintance taking time to pull me out of my studies for a little human interaction instead of walking by; having time to journal and write these blog posts.
I have learned to live on less. Here, I eat what is served (so long as it’s gluten free), I drink cafe con leche instead of a medium double-shot dirty chai with oatmilk. I rotate the same three pants and the same five shirts and take short showers, turning the water off between tasks. I have found walking aimlessly, running and sitting in a plaza with a friend to be great sources of entertainment and joy. I don’t think I’ve ever lived particularly extravagantly, but I’d say the value of near-pure simplicity has made itself more present lately.
And it’s not because Spain is a particularly “simple” place, either. Here I’ve seen a materialism (particularly manifested in vanity) that rivals, if not surpasses, that of the US. I have come to know a rigid adherence to certain social rituals that limits change (for better or for worse) and can cause complexities. It’s not all siestas and sangria, either.
More so, it’s just that the overall experience I’m living here- an experience different from that of many other abroad students I think- has been an impressive change of pace for me. At first, this was scary and distracting. But once I stopped fighting it, I let it show me around and now I’m looking at some things slightly differently. It’s great because there is no end to the simple joys this world has to offer- if you look for them you will find them.
More to discover in the days, months and lifetime after this moment.
Kulani Sol 