My International Experience

"God doesn't give you the people you want. He gives you the people you need. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you, and to make you the person you were meant to be." - Unknown

My international experience in Madrid, Spain through International Volunteer HQ is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I could have easily chosen Costa Rica, or the Philippines, or Peru. And yet, I ended up in Madrid. My expectations were low. I was only excited because it was my first time in Europe and four of my friends were coming with me. I truly underestimated all that Spain had to offer me.

I can write for hours about every little detail that happened to me while I was in Spain. I can tell you how I felt when I first left the airport, or when I first explored the city. I can tell you how I felt when I first watched the sunset and the sunrise. I can tell you the smell, the sounds, and the overall ambiance of the city. I can tell you how many times we rode the bus and took the metro just to get from one place to the next. I can tell you how many miles I walked -- and how I have never walked so much in my life. I can tell you how many beautiful parks and playgrounds I saw, and how the architecture is absolutely outstanding. I can tell you how I felt when I first went to my volunteer placements, and how honored I was walking around a park with a special needs senior, and how much my heart melted when a little girl I was taking care of at the daycare cried when I gave her back to her family.

Instead, I want to write about what made my international experience life-changing: the people.

In IVHQ, we stay in a house full of volunteers. I figured it would not be so scary; I already knew four other people. I didn't expect to make any new friends since I knew I would be spending most of my time with my nursing group. But, oh man, I am so thankful that our group expanded.

I am so thankful that I was placed in a room with three others girls that were simply amazing. They were so beautiful, inside and out. We were able to get to know each other's lives, families, relationship backgrounds, and laugh at the dumbest things we thought of.

I am so thankful to have bonded with two other Californian girls. It still makes me laugh that we originally connected so quickly simply because we are all from California. I am also so thankful for the two Canadian brothers that we met. They had completely different volunteer placements than us -- they worked in a farm while the rest of us worked with kids. Although Canada is not that far away from California, it was quite eye-opening to hear how different their society is compared to ours. They felt so different from us, and yet we still bonded closely with them.

The question that people would ask was: "would you even stay friends with these people?" And the answer, without a doubt, is yes. Within these last two weeks, we shared parts of our lives, thoughts, and emotions that are often left hidden. We were able to talk about our daily lives at home while creating a whole new experience in Spain. We were able to bond in a way that would have taken us months or years if we had not been living in the same house in a different country.

Getting to know them made me think: how many people out there live different lives than mine, and yet still think and feel and understand the same way as me? There's a reason why these specific people were in Madrid at the same time as I was, and started their international experience at the same time as me, and felt comfortable enough with exploring the beauty of Spain with me and the rest of my nursing friends.

I am a firm believer that people cross paths for a reason. The seniors, mothers, babies, coordinators, and new friends that I met were all there for a reason. My experience could have easily been different if I chose a different time period to go, or if I had been placed in different volunteer sites. And yet, what happened, happened.

It is what it is, and it was for a reason. What that might have been, I do not know nor will I ever truly know.

But I am grateful.

The relationships that I have made during my international experience will never been forgotten.