Monday, May 24, 2010

FAREWELL



Alas, the time has come to bid a reluctant farewell to Córdoba.  Our Wild & Crazy Adventure has been an incredible life experience.  It is difficult to put into words the extraordinary things that you experience and learn about yourself when you leave everything that you know behind and plunge yourself into another culture.  You find yourself re-examining perspectives.  Different may not be wrong, it’s just different.  We will miss the people that welcomed us into their homes and hearts becoming our friends and extended family, sharing their culture and teaching us not only how to be “Spanish”, but also, how to be “Andalus.”  We will miss the narrow Old-World cobbled streets that have become all but common place in these past 21 months.  We will miss the “Wow” that we feel every time we wander down the silence passages of a church steeped in art or walk past the Roman Temple excavations.  “Old” can no longer be quantified and you realize that 200 years is a mere scratch in surface of history.  We will miss the tranquil rhythm of life that beckons you to tarry in a quiet plaza and enjoy a cup a something in the shadow of a church.  We hope to bring some of Spain back with us, not only as memories, but in lifestyle.  And so reluctantly, on Wednesday, we will gather these memories and bid farewell to this town that has become a home to us.  Returning to Portland is both exciting and daunting.   A lot has changed in our absence, including us.  But it will be nice to be surrounded by the familiar again and to see family and friends.  The next chapter in our lives, whatever that may be, awaits.  So as we go, to paraphrase Dr. Seuss, we will try not to be sad that our adventure is over, but rather, be happy that it happened at all.

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