Wander & Wonder
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Languages
  • Books
  • Food
  • Wander Being
  • Contact

A life blog

What a YEar (and a half?)

12/31/2022

0 Comments

 
The second half of 2021 and all of 2022 were packed full of new experiences and lots of learning.
​What a year 2022 has been. 
I visited the States for a month in summer 2021 and got to see family and friends after three years of being gone, which was wonderful. I was also able to get my 2nd covid vaccine and then a booster in January 2022. Yay science! 
 
In September 2021 I started my master’s degree at the UAM in Madrid and was constantly busy with readings, papers, and classes until March of this year. It was a one-year master so pretty intensive with all the things we were learning amidst trying to research for a master’s thesis.  I really enjoyed being back in school and fell in love with Madrid. I made several new friends from the program and just enjoyed the atmosphere and vibe of being a student again, though the stress did get bad at certain points, especially around the holidays last year.
I finished classes in April and headed to Alicante for two weeks of vacation before getting serious about writing my thesis to present in September. All was going to plan until I got covid the last weekend of May while I was still in Alicante and proceeded to be bed-bound for about two and a half months. It was awful and between the breathing problems, headaches, endless fatigue, and heart problems it caused (the last of which I’m still dealing with) I really don’t want to get it again. The nurse at the hospital at one point told me that I should be thanking my lucky stars for the vaccines, because without them there was a good chance I wouldn’t have survived……well then. I also was angry that I missed the little informal graduation ceremony and end- of-master get-together’s everyone had. Honestly, it really sucked.
So, with corona confining me for the summer and causing the worst brainfog I’ve ever had, I didn’t start seriously writing my thesis until the beginning of August, and I was still in bed most of the time. August brought me much needed relief as my symptoms finally began to lessen and I was able to begin taking walks outside and getting my muscles and body back in normal shape again. By the end of August, I was almost back to normal except for some lingering heart stuff. My thesis advisor was very understanding thankfully through all of this, and though we both thought I would have to postpone my turn-in and defense until February, she gave me the go ahead and I was able to finish it the night before the turn in date on the 6th of September. I was so happy to finish and so stressed haha I defended the next week to a panel of three professors and let me tell you the relief that washed over me after leaving that room-- my goodness was it intense. I was so proud of myself for doing everything in another language and was so happy to be finished, even if I hadn’t been able to do as extensive project/research as I had wanted to on my topic, I was glad it was done. The happiness only increased when I later found out my grade and started crying out of pure relief haha With the feeling of accomplishment also came sadness as I had to say goodbye to the friends I’d made in Madrid and in my program, as well as goodbye to the joys of being a student that I so love. Since I was (am) jobless, I couldn’t keep paying for the place in Madrid and needed to go stay with my family in Alicante. I said goodbye to my three roommates and my parents rented a car and we loaded it full and drove the 6 hours to their little apartment on the coast.
 It’s been nice being with them and not having to pay rent. We’ve had a lovely holiday season and plan to take a few driving trips in the spring together. I continue to job search and will keep doing so until I find a company that can sponsor me with a work visa. My current visa ends in June, so I can begin applying for a new one at the earliest in April, but I of course must find a job first. So, we’ll see how it goes.
 
Overall, 2022 has been a good year, one filled with new experiences both amazing and awful, realizing my limits, sickness, recovery and constant learning. I’m in a moment of limbo and just emotional weirdness, but I’m hopeful and very grateful-- so here’s to figuring out my next step in life and enjoying the chaos as it comes.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Nadia

    An aspiring polyglot and globetrotter, an avid reader, and a lover of good food. :)

    Archives

    December 2022
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    Auxiliares

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe
Copyright 2016
Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Languages
  • Books
  • Food
  • Wander Being
  • Contact