It's all coming together.

In the last few days, I have had a fair share of breakthrough moments.

I emailed Miguel, my professor from Toledo the other day to let him know that I would be back in the area, to ask him for some advice, and to find out what he knows about the town that I will be teaching in. I was ecstatic when he replied to tell me that:
1. Numancia de la Sagra is small, and I should live in Toledo city and take the bus every day. Or, he said, there are probably some people that work at the school that drive from Toledo (I hope this is the case, as the bus only leaves Toledo at 6:45 and 8:45am. WOAH. Can't miss it!)
2. He sent the bus schedule.
3. He has a friend that rents apartments in Toledo and that if I tell him what/where/how much I'm looking for he would talk to him to see what he can do for me!!
4. I can stay at the residence hall of the school until I get figured out, for 25E/day. This seems like a good deal.

...There was such a weight lifted off of me when I read this email. Seriously, joy filled my heart when he suggested that I live in Toledo. That was my place. I was glad that I would be close, but now that I will be there, I am that much more excited! It was also nice to hear that I have somebody over there who will have my back. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rely too heavily on anybody. But the thought of going to another country with no place to live and no idea of how to find one was a little disconcerting. And all of Miguel's words were like music to my ears! (...or, like something beautiful to my eyes- because I read them, I didn't hear them.)

Secondly, I GOT MY VISA IN THE MAIL TODAY!!!!
Originally, I thought it was a letter for my mom. She is always getting certified letters for work, so I didn't really think to check the UPS envelope when I saw it on the porch. I just set it aside for her. Once she got home, she opened it, and couldn't figure out what it was. "This is for you!", she said... and immediately I knew what it was! My visa!! I was shocked, I must say. I only applied for it on July 8, which means that in EXACTLY 2 weeks, the visa had arrived to my doorstep. I find that rather amazing. All of those wait times must just be government code for "We'll get to it when we get to it, and don't bother us about it in the meantime." BUT WOOO! I could go ANY day now if I wanted! (But trust me, Sept 22 is early enough!)

Thirdly, I can clearly see that it is time for me to leave my job. It's hitting me like "senioritis" in a way. Every day it is getting harder and harder and wake up and go. I don't really feel like doing much when I'm there (let me remind you that I am filing all day. Nobody notices whether I file 100 or 1000 papers in a day.) I have begun to realize that when I leave, nobody will do my job, it will just back up. So what's the difference if it starts to back up now or in a few weeks? I am getting really sick of the way things work there, and I am just ready to be done with the whole scene. I no longer want to spend 40 hours of my week in a jail-- a place that was designed to make you feel a disconnect from the outside world. I hate the way that place is having a negative effect on my attitudes. I still haven't told my boss when I plan on leaving. I haven't even told her officially that I am going... but I am pretty sure that somebody else probably has. I tried to keep this thing under wraps, but when so many people ask me on a regular basis, "When are you going back to Spain?", I just had to tell them. Slowly but surely, every milestone that I had once held in my head about when I'd share my news has come and gone: Getting accepted, getting the visa, buying the plane ticket, deciding when my last day will be. I have chosen my day, but I don't want to share it quite yet. As long as I give them 2 weeks, it'll be okay.

While these next few weeks might seem like torture for me, I am beginning to realize that the time has definitely come to move on in life. And every step forward makes me a little more excited and hopeful of what's to come.