A partial exam forced me to be in BCN these last days; it was a short visit but intense, as all the other times I was “back to reality”.
This time the weather was worse in BCN than in AMS, but again, as it happened in the previous time I was “back to reality“, the issue about the coming future came up (what to do this summer and what to do after it).
BCN, see you in a month!
AMS, (it’s 99% sure) this is my last month!!
Just eight days after my arrival to AMS after a wonderful trip, I flew to BCN on Monday 17th in order to spend the same amount of time - eight days - “back to reality“. During these days I’ve done quite many things, among them meeting my friends, two among them which I hadn’t seen since I’m “Erasmusing”, and my relatives, since it was my brother’s birthday.
What I have realized is that they have been the days in which I have thought the most about my future (i.e. what I’ll do once my Erasmus will come to its end) since I moved to AMS at the end of August.
I have to admit that facing “the reality” again it has been healthy, which doesn’t mean that the “Erasmus experience” is harming my health… uhm, the issue is getting tricky! 
… ehem, I mean that it made me realize how “switched off” I’ve been in AMS.
In a way, being back (my real) home allowed me to clear (a bit) my mind regarding what will come further that (mental) abyss towards which time is pushing me…
..yeah, I’m starting to realize that I will be able to fly before reaching the edge!… yeah, I won’t fall! I’ll bridge the gulf!… yeah, I’ll fly over that ocean of nostalgia!… memories help oneself to fly when you look towards the future, memories only push you down when you try to fly looking backwards…
I stayed two weeks in BCN in order to do an exam, spend a nice time with relatives and friends and, as a consequence, take a breath from the “Erasmus experience”.
I would say that these Christmas holidays were both different and similar from all the previous ones - new circumstances, people missing, the most open future ever, the same eternal questions in your mind, new worries and challenges but the usual Christmas environment, meeting close people again, the passing-time feeling… -, while the yearly New Year’s welcome was just different - another place, people, experience, environment…* -, however the wish was the same:
Feliç 2008!! - ¡¡Feliz 2008!! - Happy 2008!! - Gelukkig 2008!!
(*): …and without swallowing twelve grapes at midnight!!
As a surprise to my father (it was his 50th birthday) I spent last weekend in BCN.
I arrived at Barcelona’s airport on Friday night (one hour delayed), where my family was waiting for me. In the same night, but in a bar, some friends were waiting for me too. So, after meeting my parents and my brother and getting to (”my real”) home, I spent the whole night with some friends. We had some beers (Estrella Damm, of course!) while we were chatting about what has been happening there since I’m in Amsterdam and about how my Erasmus is going. We finished our night - it couldn’t be otherwise - in an old city center disco that’s very especial for us; and once it closed (6am) we walked back home while chatting about some other things, as it used to be, (however, this time the conversation focused on “los estefilococos y otras bacterias más resistentes”).
Consequently, on Saturday morning I did nothing more than sleeping as much as I could; not enough though, since I went to my cousin’s 18th birthday party . At night I had a beer with several friends.
On Sunday morning I went to see my brother playing football. In the afternoon, it was my father’s (surprise) birthday party; a large amount of relatives showed up at home.
On Monday I went to my university, in fact, I even attended a class (it may had been my unique class at UPF for the whole year!). It was nice to meet friends and classmates there, but at the same time it was odd, since I had the feeling of “living” for several hours what it would have been in case I hadn’t done an Erasmus. Something similar I felt when biking to (and returning from) UPF, I remembered what it used to be my regular bike route for three years.
So, I have to say that it was a bit shocking to meet again the people, and be at the places, that belonged to my daily life.
At the moment, while typing this words after being in BCN, it seems to me that my Erasmus in Amsterdam is a parallel world connected to the “real world” by plane (and, in another way, by this blog).
