The Final Day
It was a bittersweet morning. Literally, the coffee was
bitter and the Maria cookies were sweet.
It was our last breakfast as a group at the dorms. I ate quickly,
rushing to be done so I could have more time to work on my presentation. I wish
I would have soaked in the moment more, savored my food and slowed down long
enough to enjoy one of the last group conversations we would have that day.
After lunch we all dressed up in our nicest attire and it
was finally time for the big presentation. I rushed over to the Leon center for
the very last time and found my seat amongst the array of chairs. To my
surprise there were many guests, including Magda and Manuela, who was skyping
in. Even a student from the language center which I had personally invited had
come to watch us present. When the presentations started all was silent and the
last day of our study abroad seemed to finally begin.
Although we had started our formal presentations, I did not
feel any sense of sadness until two of our group members had left and gone to
do their own travels. First Octavio left to catch his train for Madrid and
later Tarra left as well. There were many hugs and goodbyes as we realized
it could be a long time before we would reunite. However, it was not until after dinner that
we would all go our separate ways.
Once the hard part of the day had reached its close we dined
at a fine restaurant called Zuolaga. The appetizers, main course and dessert
were exquisite. To start with we had freshly-baked bread (or at least freshly
heated) and a traditional Léon drink. It consisted of tomato sauce, watermelon
squares and pieces of cured beef all combined in a tiny cup. Then we chose
either a fish patty or leek soup. In the words of Santos, either fish pudding
or leak pudding. After hearing Santos’ description I was unsure what to expect.
How could both vegetables and fish have the texture of pudding? Fortunately the
leek soup was delicious as well as the main course of sweet tender pork and
prunes which followed. For dessert we were each given a slice of cake which we
all believed to be cheesecake. However, after tasting we realized it had the
texture of flan with the taste of cheese so we are not sure what it actually
was. Our final dinner turned into a celebration of Juliana’s birthday, she
turned twenty years that midnight.
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