Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

*sigh* As the guy who gave the graduation speech said - is there anything more sincere than a sigh? I don't think any other sound could describe my feelings better at this moment. I warn you - what you should expect from me today is a very emotional entry full of song quotes. In fact, I'm writing while listening to a playlist I've created especially for this entry.

However overdramatic it might sound, today is my last full day in this beautiful city. Today, when I woke up, I couldn't help but remember that it was the last time I would walk the way to my faculty... and that tomorrow will be the last morning I will wake up in this room, which is probably the best one I've ever had in my life (well, apart from the one in Dublin - now that's what I call luxury!), and the one in which I've worked the hardest to turn it into a real home. As the kind of person who sees every place she's ever been as something temporary, I try not to take too many things with me so that moving is not such a nightmare. Therefore, my rooms hardly ever have a personal touch and always feel a little empty. Well, this time I've made an effort to decorate my room, and I think I succeeded in making it look personal and cozy. But most of all, the thought that was running through my head was that tomorrow I will be leaving Salamanca... and I don't know when or whether I'll be coming back...

As many of you know (not to say all), I graduated on June 5th. I've already finished my studies - now I'm officially a translator/interpreter (or trapreter, as I like to call it). Many people look forward to this moment - not having to struggle with exams anymore, finally being adults, not having to face the money problems most students go through... But for me it means something different. Maybe I was born old, or maybe I'm just a teenage girl on the inside, but I never wanted this to end. I've always felt that these would be the best years of my life. Being a student is the perfect balance between being free and independent and still having no big problems or responsibilities. People are usually not that strict; the excuse "But I'm just a student" always works. You're still learning, so no-one expects you to be perfect. You're mature enough to make your own choices and enjoy every new experience, but also young enough to make mistakes and get away with it, not to mention still be enthusiastic and curious about the world. Now, I feel that this fun, carefree stage of my life is coming to an end, and I'm not ready. I'm not ready to let go of my youth... I'm not ready to say goodbye to Salamanca.

For me, the fact that I'm done with my studies means nothing but uncertainty. Just like Gabriel and Anna, I feel that I'm

"Heading for another life in a new world far away"

Actually, that song could be the perfect soundtrack, especially because it's called "Into The Unknown". That's where I'm going. I could go back to calling this blog "Destination Anywhere". Remember that entry I posted a few weeks ago bitching about Germany and the Germans? Well, in the end I decided to follow my heart and not my head or pockets and decline the internship. I won't be spending my next year in a village in the middle of Germany, sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day and going home when it's already dark. That's not the kind of life I want for myself. You could say this year has been about letting go, just like the last season of Lost (another very appropriate title, huh?) according to my friend Audrey - both in my personal and professional life, I've decided to let go of what I had to find something better. But, truth be told, it will be difficult to find something better than this all. How could I leave a city to which I've felt a much stronger connection than to my own hometown, if I can call it like that?

I've shared so many moments here in Salamanca! Some were good... others not quite that good. But right now, it's difficult to think of the bad moments. And even those were, in their very own way, special. The first year, for instance, was full of new experiences - living away from home, sharing a room and a bathroom with a stranger (or rather two), hearing different accents, knowing what it's like to party until 8 am... and why deny it, also the first hangovers in my life. All the while, feeling that I had made the right choice. This city was to me the most beautiful and impressive I had ever seen in the world (and it still is!), and Translation and Interpreting was absolutely made for me. Of course, there were also some disappointments. People who appeared to be my friends turned out to be completely the opposite of what I expected... but this also made me realize who my true friends were.

My third semester here, though, was a little bit darker. Many friendships came to an end, while I became close to people I didn't feel drawn to in the beginning. From that time, I especially remember spending a lot of time with my German/Austrian friends in Peccata Minuta, the café in front of my faculty, releasing the tension a certain dominatrix caused us. Oh, and struggling to get a grant and the freakin' European Health Insurance Card (that one sounds familiar, doesn't it?) Later, probably the biggest change in my life, the one that meant the end of an era and the beginning of a new one arrived - Dublin.

Months after my Erasmus in Dublin, I came back reluctantly for a third time. That was probably my messiest year. Sleepless nights caused by a certain film I wished I hadn't seen, sharing my first flat in the very heart of Salamanca, beginning to have doubts about my career choice... But then, the second half of the year brought many improvements. It began with me becoming a runaway and seeking a hiding place with my Li'l Mushroom (who I got to know back then, by the way) and then moving to Tokio HoteI (nothing to do with the band), getting to know the surroundings of Salamanca a little better (see entries entitled "Discovering Salamanca"). If there were two things that kept me going, apart from the friends I made, those were defintely Consecutive Interpreting and Japanese - the only two courses I enjoyed. Apart from that, I think the people in the International Office still remember me as the most annoying student ever. How many times I went there asking about the exchange programs with Germany! Luckily, insisting so much was not in vain and I got to know my destination for the year after in April... Würzburg.

I won't say anything about my time in that German city, since I think the section "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria" already says it all... Besides that, all you need to know is that Würzburg brought me a lot of changes in my private and personal life, even bigger than the ones in Dublin.

Leaving that blank year behind, I think I can say that this last year has by far been the best of all, probably even better than the first one. Although at the beginning I didn't recognize the city I used to love, soon I began (re-)discovering new sceneries and secrets, as well as a lot of new people. The flatmates I had in this first semester were probably the best ones I've ever had in my life (not that the ones in the summer semester have been bad at all, though!), and like I said, this house has been the closest thing to a second home I've had. Regarding my social life, I've met a lot of interesting people, be it in the faculty, outside or through the Internet. To name a few, this semester has been full of evenings in the cinema with Tabea, Mr. Briegas and Mammen Moon; karaoke sessions with Satan & The Freaks; snacking and partying with Natalie and other girls from the facutly... And this has been also a really intense year university-wise. I've learnt how different the world looks through the glass of an interpreting booth, discovered my passion for giving speeches (especially if they are about morbid topics) and found out that being expressive and dramatic can be useful for an interpreter. Moreover, I've begun to understand the value of a good bottle of water. Oh! And how could I forget my first paid interpreting session, thanks to which I got a Within Temptation DVD, new headphones for my iPod and a Dutch conversation guide?

Yes, I will miss this all. I still feel that there are many things I didn't have the chance to do, such as asking the fiddler in the Plaza del Liceo to play a song for me, trying the chocolate fondue in Valor or visiting the park named Würzburg. Or in other words...

"Never thought this day would come so soon; we had no time to say goodbye. How can the world just carry on?"

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened", they say. More than that, as the future is still very uncertain and I don't know whether I might come back to extend the agony for one more year, I'd rather fast forward a little on that very same song I've just quoted and say that

"This is not our farewell"

And to finish this emotional and dramatic entry, I'd like to present all the readers with this beautiful song by a band that seems to have one line for every single moment of my life. It might not fit completely to this topic, and it is indeed a sad song, but I feel that deep down the message is positive. Hope you enjoy it!

"The memories ease the pain inside; now I know why... all of my memories keep you near"

I think I'm choosing this phrase as the perfect closure for this post. Meanwhile, this blog will come with me wherever I go so that I can keep you all updated. Thank you very much for reading!