Once upon a time there was girl named Rose that needed a change of pace. She loved her family, friends, and her job, but wanted to do something new and different.

Rose decided to move to a far away place to meet new people, try new foods,

Rose’s Year Away

and see new sights. But it wasn’t as easy as picking up her things and moving. Rose needed to find a new job and a place to live. She needed to find someone to watch her puppy for a year while she was gone.

Once Rose did all of her research, she decided to move to Spain.She knew some Spanish, and had never been to that country before. She was very excited to go, even though she knew she would miss her family, friends, and dogs very much.

When Rose got to Spain she realized that everything was different. The Spanish she had learned was not the same Spanish spoken in Spain. Everyone talked

very fast, and it hard to understand what anyone was saying. She also looked different then Spanish residents, and felt out of place a lot.

Many times Rose felt alone. She couldn’t joke with her neighbors because she didn’t know the language enough. She could go to movies or watch television without getting headaches because it was very tiring to try and translate what the characters were saying. When people on the street would try and talk to her many times she would have to respond with “no se” meaning “I don’t know.”

This was the first time Rose felt like shecouldn’t be herself or easily make friends.She never realized that maybe this is how

others felt when they moved to new country by themself. Rose had a new appreciation for people who uprooted their entire life to havea better life somewhere else. She was only moving for a year, and couldn’t imaginehow it would feel for someone who was moving to a new country permanently.

Rose ended up getting used to her life in Spain. She tried her best to learn the language and fit in to her new life. She loved her job, but found it easier knowing that she would return to the United States. A year ended up flying by, and although she was happy with her experience she was also extremely excited to return to her country where she felt at most home.