Kiss the joy as it flies, to live in eternity's sunrise

The days and, above all, the nights are getting hotter and balmier in Granada. Each and every way you turn you find more skin and more sweat and that means more cool showers and trips to the beach. Even the bugs and lizards stop by to tell you it's way too damn hot to be outside. My only option in this summer's sun is to stay out late and sleep off the heat of noon time; find a pool to sink into and this last weekend the fiesta de San Juan - a celebration that lasted all day and all night on the most beautiful beaches in Spain. (San Jose - Cabo de Gata)

diego, marina, migue, ana

Now, my weeks are filled with "goodbye" parties and one by one, each person I've grown close to this past year will return to their respective homes; places new for some and old for others. We will pick up where we left off or start anew. All with different perspectives and truths and our memories jumbled up in suitcases, backpacks, and sealed tight to never let them escape us. I have my brother's visit to look forward to, and our adventure ahead of us. The plan is Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Bordeaux, London, Amsterdam. If I don't stay on top of things, we might just sleep through all the morning flights.

Well, unprecedentedly and just as I had imagined it, my exams are over and I can count my days left in Granada on my fingertips and with shaky hands. I knew it would happen this way, I just didn't know how. I suppose that's the one thing you never do. You can always imagine the way things will pan out; the reference point is your own (realistic, idealistic, imaginative, positive, negative). There's really infinite possibilities, but no matter how hard you try, even the best card dealer couldn't tell you which cards he'll lay down next. But damn is it a rush when you come out on top. A royal flush. Here are the faces of mine:

cómo os voy a echar de menos...

Charline

Diego

Maria

Cristy

Flor (and me)

Aaron, Aaron and I (at our fancy program dinner)

Diego and I

And introducing.. Señorito Rumba Rumbo Krathos Peligro Tolón Small

(The fifth addition to our family)

Patio Jam Session

and finally some friends and flamenco

I'm packing up all my stuff and not be able to believe where all the time has gone. Scattered in notebooks and between cracks are postcards and ticket stubs, notes and scribbled pictures; each a piece of a different story that I'll hold onto forever. There's only pasta left in the cabinets and we're out of sugar. My walls are bare just like they were when I got here but have more smudge marks and peeled-off paint. There's Rumba sleeping in my suitcase. I'm debating every other item I pull from a drawer and tying my body in knots to let loose. I look for words to express everything around me and tell people how much I love them and I draw blanks. There's too much love here and too much emotion and change. I'll start talking more about concrete things next time so that I don't spend one more hour staring at a plank computer screen. And so that I stay here right now and enjoy all that I am so damn lucky to have while it's right in front of me.

What luck. What destiny.

Much love,
Jen