Spain made it to the FINALS of the World Cup.
The game was against The Netherlands.
We headed to Madrid, because something of this magnitude needed to be celebrated in an equally epic way.
I have never seen so many people in my entire life. The streets were completely filled with red and yellow as far as you could see.
The game was intense.
No one scored until the final minutes of the game.
At last, the moment everyone was waiting for:
And the city exploded! The eruption from the crowd was insane!
Everywhere in Spain.... the entire country was on its feet!
In Segovia, in Madrid, in every province, town, plaza, house, and bar.
SPAIN WON!
Spain hasn't been in the finals of a world cup in over 65 years.
They have never won.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
Dancing in the streets, fireworks, getting showered in champagne, running with flags, every car in the city honking horns, people hanging out of windows, climbing statues, jumping in fountains!!!!
We jumped up on the statue in the center of the Plaza de Colon and joined the crowd in a rousing chorus of:
OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ, OLÉ, OLÉ!!!!! OLÉ! OLÉ,OLÉ,OLÉ!!!!!! OLÉ!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did not sleep that night. No one in Spain slept that night. Class the next morning? Who cares? No buses til 6:30am? SO WHAT?!!!!
I am still recovering, utterly exhausted even after 2 days, but Spain winning the World Cup is definitely one of the greatest memories. It was absolutely incredible, so much fun, and something I may never get to experience ever again. The whole country is still celebrating. Everywhere we go people still cheer, still dance, and are going to be talking about that night for a very long time.
This entire trip is such an incredible adventure. Getting to come while the World Cup was happening was one thing, but to be a part of the country that won? ... There are no words. But I feel like I understand what it means to be a Spaniard so much more now. There is a connection you have to your country; you are proud of them when something like this happens. I am becoming attached to this place. We read a poem about Salamanca in my lit class the other day, where the author was talking about how he felt when he came home. This has become my home, my family, my neighborhood, my futbol team, my cobblestone streets. I will treasure these memories forever.
