Stories from Spain: Impressions from the Airport
BY Anisa - 2018 Washington World Fellow
Leaving Seattle was very difficult for me because I’d be leaving my twin sister and my family for six weeks. After parting ways with our parents the other Fellows and I began to get acquainted with each other. “What’s your name?” And “What part of Washington are you from” were questions that were thrown around like crazy.
Before we got on the plane, everyone was pretty much in their own worlds still. Yeah, we walked around the airport with partners, but there was still a sense of togetherness we lacked. On the plane, was a different story. Being in a metal box in the sky for ten hours positively forced me to interact with the others and get off my phone. Before the plane took off I remember offering everyone in the group a piece of gum for our voyage. They laughed at me and politely accepted.
On the plane ride some of us got closer than others. I remember looking to my right seeing Luis and Michelle talking about really difficult classes they took this past school year. I remember Daniel falling asleep on me and feeling super sorry about it later. Our individual personalities began to come out as we began getting more comfortable with each other.
On our plane ride from Amsterdam to Madrid, the silence that was once there dissolved and relationships that would last for these six weeks had been created. Our sense of togetherness had finally begun to form.
