Home sweet home :)

Well who would've thought getting home would be the most ridiculous adventure of the past 9 weeks. Not much sleep happened the night before we left for the airport. We got up around 5:15 to finish packing and to have time for the 3 of us to take showers before breakfast at 7 am. Keep in mind this was around 10 or 11 pm home time. Anyways, our flight left on time from Madrid to Atlanta. 10 hours , 4 movies, 1 episode of Castle and a couple of plane meals later we arrived in Atlanta! Much to my surprise going through customs went well... no thanks to the passport control lady and security lady, but it went smoothly for the most part. We got to our gate and our flight was on time... everything was A-ok! I went to get a frosty because, well it's been a couple of a months since I had one. As I was inhaling it on my way back I could see my friends in the distance not looking too happy. Unfortunately our plane was delayed an hour and a half. Well then it was delayed again... oh it gets better... it was canceled. Dr. Jensen ran straight to the help desk only to find that they had put us on a flight leaving the next morning. We were't going to have that... I mean we were a 2 hour drive and a 40 minute or less flight away from Birmingham.. so she tried finding a shuttle... nothing was working. Finally, the only angel Delta has saved us. She somehow managed to get all of us on an 8:30 pm flight. Now, keep in mind that this flight would be leaving at 2/3:00 in the morning to us. So, we were all irritable and exhausted with bloodshot eyes.

We were happy at this point...

Megan and I in the airport in Madrid

Molly and me on the plane!

So, things were looking up... until the storm clouds rolled in. We could feel another delay about happen... sure enough. To make a very long story a little.. less long...we didn't end up leaving Atlanta until midnight. We were all to our being awake for over 24 hours mark and we just wanted to be home. On a lighter note, a Samford graduate sat next to me on the plane to Birmingham. He actually had gone on the same Spain trip as me about 7 years ago with the same professor that was on the plane with us! It's a small world after all. On another great note, our luggage was sitting there waiting on us when we got to the airport. I was honestly in and out of that airport in less than 10 minutes! Carlos picked me up and I stayed at Ericca's that night. There was no driving home at that point. The next morning I had a little car difficulty, but all is well now. Had a cup of coffee with my Starbucks fam, and got to see Kelley!

Now I'm home with my WONDERFUL and chaotic family. The house is a zoo and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've had my sweet tea, now just waiting to have some BBQ sometime soon. Ironically, my first meal back in the states was Japanese food last night. Doesn't make much sense but it was delicious. The poor waitress thinks I'm crazy though. I looked pretty rough and tired, and managed to order my food in Spanish... didn't even think twice about it. I wondered why she was staring at me awkwardly... then it hit me. Oops.

Mom, a very tired Courtney, and John at Kobe's

I can't believe I'm home. It's a bittersweet feeling still. I keep thinking that I have to get up and walk 30 minutes to get somewhere, but no I can jump in my car if I want to! It really is hard to believe that my journey to Spain is complete. There are things I miss already, but I can honestly say that I'm more than happy to be where I am now. I learned a lot about myself while I was gone and about the things that are most important to me in life. There are so many things I took for granted, even the small ones that I will be grateful for now. I'm thankful for my family and my own traditions. I have such a strong desire now to learn more about other cultures and explore more into my own. I'm walking away from Spain with a new sense of independence, the knowledge of a new language and culture, a deeper respect for change and differences, and a deeper respect for myself. My family and my friends continue to be my rock even when I'm on another continent. God bless them, and God bless America :)