It started off as a normal work day—the way that I would’ve wanted it to end. Ruben decided to test me one last time and asked me to finish all the economic aid for the month. Two hours and forty-five signatures later, he smiled when I handed the completed forms to him: “Your grade just went up! You realize no other student has gotten to do this before, yes?” I had realized that. As special as this experience had been for me, it was nice to think that it was something special for Ruben too, that a student like me would come along with an extreme passion for her job and doing things well. Soon after, Ana, myself, Ruben, Auri and Luis [pictured left to right] headed out one final time to our favorite dingy bar for un café.
When we got back to the center, Ruben sat me down and read my student evaluation aloud to me, verbalizing everything I had done well over the semester. He turned to me and personally thanked me for working so diligently. I told him that honestly, it was a pleasure just to be able to come into work every day. I wrote down Ruben’s contact info (the man gave me his home address, home phone, and cell number!). As I started to write the Center’s address and stopped myself short, smiling. How could I ever forget it? I’ve written it down on a million social security applications, repeated it hundreds of times to the employees at the health center, and turned right on Calle Luis Buñuel from the metro stop every Monday through Thursday for the last four months. So even after hearing all those wonderful praises from Ruben, I felt pretty composed. Then he asked me how I felt about my internship with him.
And I started to cry.
Luckily I had written a letter which I promptly dug out of my bag as tears rolled down my cheeks. But even having had articulated what I felt on paper, what could I possibly say to quantify this experience? How can I tell this man and everyone else in the center, just how much they’ve changed me as a person? Even now I still have trouble placing my emotions—I’m incredibly sad to be leaving behind certain people (mostly residents) that I’m certain I will never see again. I’m shocked that four months passed so quickly and that I became so comfortable with my surroundings there. But more than anything I feel utterly indebted and grateful to the individuals I’ve met and the people I’ve worked with.
To have the pleasure of one person in this world changing your life is a blessing. To have 92 residents and 33 coworkers dramatically affect who you are as a person is something wonderfully unique to my situation. What still amazes me is how much one individual story of loss or triumph affected my view of the world; how someone’s struggle to escape their country changed my outlook on life; how someone’s welcoming and grateful smile made my work day that much better… Nothing could’ve prepared me for yesterday. No one could’ve told me how much this internship under the guidance of one incredibly generous and trusting boss could change my life the way it did. That they would put so much responsibility and faith on one American girl amazes me. And now she finally feels like an adult, like someone with a purpose and a goal and a desire to change the world around her.
Yesterday I said goodbye to my family, the people I’ve cared about on so many different levels for the last four months. I still can’t find words and I may never be able to find the appropriate ones to express how grateful I am and how much this has impacted me. But as I prepare to leave Spain, the most important consolation I have from this experience is that, like so many refugees who have walked through our doors, I’ll always have a home in CAR de Vallecas.
When we got back to the center, Ruben sat me down and read my student evaluation aloud to me, verbalizing everything I had done well over the semester. He turned to me and personally thanked me for working so diligently. I told him that honestly, it was a pleasure just to be able to come into work every day. I wrote down Ruben’s contact info (the man gave me his home address, home phone, and cell number!). As I started to write the Center’s address and stopped myself short, smiling. How could I ever forget it? I’ve written it down on a million social security applications, repeated it hundreds of times to the employees at the health center, and turned right on Calle Luis Buñuel from the metro stop every Monday through Thursday for the last four months. So even after hearing all those wonderful praises from Ruben, I felt pretty composed. Then he asked me how I felt about my internship with him.
And I started to cry.
Luckily I had written a letter which I promptly dug out of my bag as tears rolled down my cheeks. But even having had articulated what I felt on paper, what could I possibly say to quantify this experience? How can I tell this man and everyone else in the center, just how much they’ve changed me as a person? Even now I still have trouble placing my emotions—I’m incredibly sad to be leaving behind certain people (mostly residents) that I’m certain I will never see again. I’m shocked that four months passed so quickly and that I became so comfortable with my surroundings there. But more than anything I feel utterly indebted and grateful to the individuals I’ve met and the people I’ve worked with.
To have the pleasure of one person in this world changing your life is a blessing. To have 92 residents and 33 coworkers dramatically affect who you are as a person is something wonderfully unique to my situation. What still amazes me is how much one individual story of loss or triumph affected my view of the world; how someone’s struggle to escape their country changed my outlook on life; how someone’s welcoming and grateful smile made my work day that much better… Nothing could’ve prepared me for yesterday. No one could’ve told me how much this internship under the guidance of one incredibly generous and trusting boss could change my life the way it did. That they would put so much responsibility and faith on one American girl amazes me. And now she finally feels like an adult, like someone with a purpose and a goal and a desire to change the world around her.
Yesterday I said goodbye to my family, the people I’ve cared about on so many different levels for the last four months. I still can’t find words and I may never be able to find the appropriate ones to express how grateful I am and how much this has impacted me. But as I prepare to leave Spain, the most important consolation I have from this experience is that, like so many refugees who have walked through our doors, I’ll always have a home in CAR de Vallecas.
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