Post-Commentation

Well, I've been back for a month now from my travels. I am a bit sad to reflect on that fact because it means that I am back to real life and school and everything. What better than to reflect? I just though I'd do a few closing-ish words.

I didn't learn as much Spanish as I certainly could have. Also, I just realized I should probably be writing this in Spanish so I can practice... Oh well. During the program, when we hung out after classes we would speak English. Sometimes the group would want to practice Spanish, but I would get frustrated because I couldn't express myself using Spanish. So, I would just ask in English. Looking forward, now that I have had some experience traveling and being abroad, I will focus more on the language piece if I have such an opportunity arise. After the program, when we were just traveling around, I didn't really practice speaking anything but English. The truth in hostels is that English is the main language. When traveling in more touristy areas in Southern Spain and to the Eastern part as well, English and other languages such as French and German were much more common because of the draw of the places we went. I am glad that Oviedo was not touristy like Madrid, Barcelona, or even Malaga.

I really enjoyed traveling and staying in hostels and sightseeing. We did meet some people that said they had been traveling for 3 years or so. I don't think I could do it. Not that they are rich and I just wouldn't have the money, their method was to travel until the ran out of money and then stay and work at a hostel for a while and save up some money before moving on again. I think that seems like a ridiculously extended vacation from real life. Which sometimes would be appealing, but I think would dread going back to reality the longer I stayed away. We also met some travelers going about all on their own. A German girl in particular was saying she found it really enjoyable because she could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to do it. I guess that would be nice. I was a bit horrified by the idea myself. Even while I was young, I preferred to be in the company of someone whether we were doing the same thing or not. I do like alone time now, but I don't now how extended seclusion from people I know well would do for me.

I was a bit cultured-out. After a while I was bored of seeing the gorgeous cathedrals, museums' famous works, and well known buildings. I was sick of learning about things and people. I think traveling would be very interesting for a person who knows some of the historic details of the area. As a non-history buff, I felt like I missed a lot of the meaning in things I saw. Taking guided tours were good because they give a small taste, at least usually, of deeper meaning than "this is an old building" or whatever. Before future travels, I hope that I can take the time to find out such interesting facts to make my experience more exciting no mater where I go. And I DO want to go. Next perhaps I'll start with a few things a bit closer to home though so it does not take 24 straight hours of traveling to get home. It is a good plan. :-)