When you’re not sitting across from someone else, you’re sitting across from the rest of the world." One month ago, I flew across the world to face a few of my biggest fears: spontaneous decisions, being alone, and the MCAT (again).
I arrived in Madrid two flight delays and 31 hours later. In the first of two trains I needed to catch to travel from Madrid to Almansa, I collapsed in exhaustion in a small corner next to the bathroom. Spanish Elements 1 had taught me to count to 100, but my speaking skills still weren’t even good enough to find my seat or ask for help. The conductor spoke at three times the speed of my Spanish professor, and I had no idea where I was headed. If that weren’t bad enough, it seemed as though I should have already switched to my second train. I had never felt so terrified and so isolated. A nice man offered me a tissue as I wiped away my tears, “Where are you going?” Finally, someone who spoke English. “Almansa, but I think I missed my connection.” “That’s my hometown, and where I’m headed! It’s the next stop, just follow me. Don’t worry, you will love it. It is small but perfect. There are 200 bars, but just one laundromat,” he laughed. When we arrived in Almansa, his wife and parents offered to drive me from the station to the hotel. I was a bit skeptical of a possible kidnapping, but the thought of a 1.5 mile uphill walk in 100 degree heat convinced me to trust this family. I made my first friends in Spain, and I learned that people wanted to help; all I had to do was ask. Solo travel in a foreign country is sink or swim: deciphering Google Maps offline version, learning to communicate in pantomime, gauging who to trust and learning how to making new friends. Since I had the mornings off from my MCAT teaching job, I roamed the streets of Almansa armed with a camera and the few Spanish words I’d picked up from my semester long course. Practicing my Spanish with whoever would talk to me, I discovered a culture of strong familial ties and an appreciation of leisure I’ve come to admire. During my long weekends, I travelled to different cities in Europe. Each place I visited — Madrid, Paris, Valencia — pushed me out of my comfort zone in a different way. Fears of language barriers, getting lost, and being kidnapped, quickly dissipated as I met so many kind people: a hotel owner who taught me Spanish over breakfast every morning, an AirBnb host who took me to taste real french pastries, another solo traveler looking for someone to take basic pictures with. I drank cheap wine in front of the Eiffel Tower, had a picnic in the gardens of Valencia, and learned how to dance the flamenco. Every day, I grew I little more confident, a little more independent, and a little more openminded. I read voraciously, wrote occasionally, ate simply (and alone), and drank tastefully. Ironically, being by myself allowed me to think more about my relationships with others — both the people I met and my friends and family back home. This trip taught me to enjoy real moments of solitude and self reflection. When you’re not sitting across from someone else, you’re sitting across from the rest of the world.
0 Comments
|