What a YEar (and a half?)

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.