In T-Minus Three...Two...One!

Fifteen days….GULP!!! 

In the past week or so, I have found myself doing something very strange on a daily basis here in Spain; using countdowns. 15 days left in Spain. 2 weekends left in our apartment. 5 days until our holiday vacation to Morocco. 4 more lessons to teach my D1 students that I went to London with. 2 weeks to finish my Impact Project. And a shout-out to Julz, only 6 jars of Nutella left at Spain’s price. The lists go on and on, and the days continue to fly off the calendar.

I have begun this practice as well during my time in Spain, at the request of one of my cooperating teachers. “It’s kind of fun for the students,” he said. It’s nice to know what’s coming up and what they have to look forward to. On his own website, my cooperating  teacher has countdowns extending for as few days as the next weekend, to as many days as a year in advance for his students’ IB graduation exams. The impact of these countdowns however has been very unique, and unexpected, on me.

Out of the seven of us here representing Gustavus, three of us are 9^th Semester Seniors. When we put our feet back down on American soil, we will be more or less done with our college education, and it will be time to be adults…whatever that means to each of us. I like to think that it isn’t a sudden experience and that we are well-prepared, but we truly won’t know until it becomes a reality. On top of finishing school work, applying for teaching licenses, finding a place to live, and deciding whether or not more school is in store for us in the near future, we have to make some crucial decisions about our lives for the foreseeable future. My ability to handle this pressure ebbs and flows with each passing day (and a tick off of my countdown).

Usually, for those of you who know me the best, this is a typical occasion for me. I thrive off of my stress levels, am very “Type A”, and am always thinking about the next thing that needs to be accomplished. I love countdowns because when they hit zero, it means I have accomplished something significant. But being here in this place has encouraged me to begin thinking a little differently about life. As a result, I am starting to really appreciate the small things while here in Spain, and am starting to look past the daily grind to which we subject ourselves. I’m starting to truly notice the view we have off our balcony, the food at the school, the hour-long conversations I have with my other cooperating teacher on a daily basis, the value of public transportation, and the mile-long walks with which I get to start and end my days.

\I figured my fellow student-teachers would have to agree as well, so I interviewed my roomies.

Julia: I think I appreciate not having to tip at restaurants…or perhaps the fact that toilets have two buttons (one for #1 and well, you get the picture!), all in an attempt to save some water.

Sara: “Definitely the sound of the waves outside of our window…at all hours of the day.”

Drew: I love being able to go running on the beach barefooted – next to the Mediterranean no less – whenever I want to.”

Christopher Columbus' Tomb in the Cathedral

This past weekend, we had an incredible time in Sevilla, perhaps the most gorgeous city in all of Spain based on my limited experience. What I found most meaningful for me however, was not the ability to see Christopher Columbus’ tomb, climb to the top of the cathedral tower, or see the second oldest bullfighting ring in the country. Instead, it was the time the seven of us spent having conversations, meeting new people, and enjoying the time we had in a new place. I spent two hours each day just talking to random travelers in our hostel, hearing about their adventures and thinking about how much I would love to do that one day. For example, I met Jessica, who hailed from Vancouver, Canada and had just decided one day that 6 months in Europe would be interesting. So she picked up her bags, and simply caught the next flight to Amsterdam with an “I’ll figure it out” mentality.

It is stories like this that have opened my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities for when my next countdown terminates. Could I teach abroad? Could I handle a backpacking trip through Europe? Could I set aside my plans of settling down close to home and try something just because? While I don’t have those answers yet, Spain has taught me to be more open-minded and to think about the possibilities within the improbabilities.

So while all of us miss home and look at the countdown as a chance to see family, witness snow, and endure sub-zero temperatures again, we are still trying to soak up everything we can experience in our limited time left here in Spain. While seeing Christmas decorations in London last week definitely made me homesick, I am looking at this whole countdown thing in a whole new way.

Thanks for reading!

Chris Stewart