When I was 11 my parents flew my sister and I to Spain alone in the summer of 2012. There we were in a foreign and unfamiliar country with as much as a carry-on backpack and the little spanish we knew. Throughout our labor intensive journey through the airport and unique experiences in Spain, Matilda and I learned to adapt to the spanish culture and operate independently.

I remember looking one last time at the rainy June weather in Boston through the thick oval shaped windows of the airplane. It was 8:58 p.m. in Boston and our flight’s departure time was at 9:01. We sat exhausted in the scratchy and uncomfortable seats of the Iberian plane filled to the maximum with people.  The smell of hand sanitizer and congestion wafted in the air. The folded up ticket in my hand read “Destination: Madrid Spain.” I couldn’t help feeling excited for what Spain had to offer from the delicious food to the foreign people I would meet. I took one last look at the beautiful Boston and knew I would soon be saying hello to wonderful Spain. Before we knew it, our plane was sailing in the clouds above the dry hills and small towns of Spain. After landing, I knew we had to face the difficulties of reading airport signs in spanish and passing through customs. The anxiety was crawling up body and creating butterflies in my stomach. I walked up stiffly to the transparent booth where the customs official sat. My sweaty palms grasped onto my passport, mind trying to recite what I was about to say to the official. I finally reached the booth hoping I would understand the questions I was being asked and answer.
“Hola,” I squeaked with a quiet voice.

I have been to many customs booths in my life, all with someone to stand by my side and answer basic questions for me. It has never occurred to me that answering questions alone in spanish would be so difficult. Especially for a 12 year old girl going to a foreign country with no adult assistance, this was one of the first times I realized I am the only one responsible for me. At this point I just tried to answer the questions as best I could.

“¿Cuántos días vas a quedarte en España?”
“Ummm…...dos semanas....”
All my hesitation and poor spanish speaking skills just reminded me why I came to Spain.
“¿Por qué vienes a España?” This I knew the answer to.
“Para aprender el español,” This made both of us smile and my passport was stamped.

At the pickup area where families wait for their loved ones, Matilda and I were greeted by the beaming smiles of my aunt we call “Tía Loca” and grandmother we call “Yaya.”  This was just the beginning of our life changing traveling experience. There was so much to observe just by looking at my ethnic spanish relatives from their tan olive skin to the roman sandals they wore around.

Despite the fact that Matilda and I stayed in the small apartment with my grandmother, our yaya treated us independently. My grandmother is active but unlike young people, she does not have the energy to be entertaining us all the time. It was up to us to leave her quaint apartment and explore the ancient cobblestone streets of Toledo, Spain alone. There was so much to do in Spain, even a refreshing evening stroll through “El Costco” was enough for me to be entertained. The strong aroma of freshly made churros and chocolate through the streets lingered in the air. I could hear the sound of spanish guitar playing faintly from the balconies of the narrow european apartments. I loved to listen to people talking with one another in the streets and test my knowledge on what I could understand in spanish. I loved browsing the souvenir shops filled with colorful fans and spanish soccer jerseys. I loved touring the historic “Catedral de Toledo” and attempt to ask a question about the unique architecture inside. We got lost exploring the streets with no map or satellite as a reference on our phones. Just for pure enjoyment, our curious minds led us winding through the busy streets of Toledo with no sense of direction.
Learning spanish in general is a lot harder than you think. It is almost a routine to get caught up in a sentence answering a question without knowing how to complete it. As the younger sister of my almost fluent older sister, it is frustrating listening to how well my sister, Matilda could respond to questions in spanish so fluently. It is a frustrating learning experience that takes patience and time. My current spanish speaking abilities are improving over time when taking harder spanish courses and going to Spain over the summers. I hope that sooner or later I can call myself a fluent bilingual speaker in spanish.

As a 12 year touring the ancient sites of the city, I was introduced to some of the responsibilities you have when you grow older. You are held responsible to know where you are going and the time you are expected to be somewhere. I was held responsible to hold my own money and passport in the airport and in the crowded streets of Toledo. I held responsibility to work independently and not rely on a parent or relative to take care of me all the time.

The time my sister and I traveled alone was a trip to remember. It taught us some of our most valuable life lessons including how to think independently and act responsibly. I learned not only how to improve my spanish speaking ability but how to be trustworthy to my relatives and own parents. I have noticed since that trip, my parents have treated me like a young adult instead of a child who constantly needs to be supervised. Despite the fact that I came to Spain to “learn spanish,” I also learned about the similarities and differences between the the spanish and english culture and many life skills along the way. My whole journey to and in Spain was a trip to remember and I will never forget the important life lessons I learned there.