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Final Remarks

By crstein1

It seems a bit as if I just pressed pause on my life at home.  Although I know it's not true, some part of me expects that I'll go home to the exact same situations as how I left them in January.  Part of this feeling comes from the fact that the weather hasn’t been too summer-ish, and I can’t associate this time of year with the warm summer, beach-weather that I love so much.  But part of the feeling also results from the time-warp of being abroad.  While I’m off exploring the world, understanding each day to be a new adventure, home has remained constant, with little variation.

To end my trip in Spain, I went on one last adventure: the Camino de Santiago.  The Camino is a traditional pilgrimage that dates back to medieval times, where pilgrims would make the long journey, from their various different homes, to Santiago de Compostella, a city in Northwest Spain.  In Santiago de Compostella, the relics of Saint James, an apostle and a major biblical figure, can be found.  The tomb of the saint is said to possess special powers, such as the ability to cure sicknesses or relieve sins.  Some people still walk along the medieval route for religious purposes, while many other people walk the Camino for cultural or historical reasons.

So there I found myself, as well as three other students, spending a week walking through the countryside in Northern Spain, on the same roads and routes that thousands of others have traveled before me.  Just for that week, time slowed down a bit, and I passed the seemingly endless hours of walking by reflecting on my time in Spain.  Overall it’s been amazing, and it’s come to a bittersweet end.  I’m sad to say goodbye, but I’m excited about the return to normalcy in my life at home in New York.