¡Adiós, España!

Our 2 years in Spain came to a screeching halt, or at least that's what it felt like last week. We departed Rota on Wednesday, 28 July, and made our way to Illinois, traveling a total of 25 hours. We're very sad to be leaving Spain, as we've enjoyed our time there very much, and we'll greatly miss the wonderful friends made over the last couple of years. We carry with us some incredibly fond memories... of new experiences, traveling, Spanish food, beautiful beaches and sunsets and, most important of all, special friendships.

Upon discovering we were going to be stationed in Spain, I was excited, and yet somewhat nervous for various reasons. It was our first overseas assignment and there's so much planning that goes into an overseas move, especially when one's job doesn't even exist, as was the case with my husband's new job at the time. He was going to help start a new Air Force organization on a Spanish Navy base, which had its own set of challenges. We knew we'd be out of our element and comfort zone with no idea what to expect.

Although we knew months in advance where we'd be moving and what my husband would be doing, his official orders were slow in coming. Anyone in the military can tell you that nothing... I mean NOTHING... gets done without a set of orders in hand. We eventually received orders about a month in advance of our arrival in Spain. There was much to be done in very little time, but somehow it all fell into place and we arrived in Spain, weary from travel and suffering a bit from culture shock.

We still talk about the welcome we received upon touching down at the airport in Jerez, Spain, about 20-30 minutes from Rota. There were people waiting to escort us and all of our luggage to the base. They'd managed to secure a house for us, stocked our kitchen with snacks and drink, ordered pizza to be delivered for dinner and put toilet paper in the bathrooms. It was, hands down, the warmest welcome we'd ever received at any location, and we were greatly humbled.

In the weeks and months to follow, we learned a great deal about the Spanish language and culture, attempting to soak it up as quickly as possible, knowing we'd only be there for 2 years. My husband and I took a Spanish language course together and I followed up with another course. Our kids made friends quickly, as did we, which is the beauty of living on a military base, particularly in an overseas location where communities are naturally tight-knit. We lovingly referred to Rota as "Mayberry," due to its small size and the "everybody knows everybody" atmosphere.

My hubby's job ended up requiring lots of travel, more than we'd anticipated. We managed just fine, but really wished he could have been around more to enjoy our little slice of paradise. The weather was fabulous 9+ months out of the year and we eventually moved into a house with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. See Rota? It's located on the top left side of the map, along the coast. That's where we lived.

The travel opportunities were incredible and we took advantage of that every chance we got, which wasn't always easy considering my hubby was frequently away from home. We ended up adding several countries to our "Places Visited" list... Gibraltar, France, Portugal, Germany, England, Monaco, Italy, and Egypt. Of course we visited many locations within Spain too... Sevilla, Granada, Ronda, Cádiz, Arcos, Cape of Trafalgar, Punta Umbria, Huelva, etc. We feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to visit these amazing places. We saw horse racing on the beach in Sanlúcar, took in bullfighting in El Puerto de Santa María and enjoyed wine tasting at bodegas in Jerez. We did our best to bloom where we were planted and embrace the culture whenever possible.

We found ourselves invited to occasional gatherings of Spanish Navy personnel. Now there's a statement I never imagined I'd utter! The Spanish were always very warm and welcoming. Many of the officers knew English, as did several of their spouses, however, there were those who knew no English, which made me very thankful for having picked up some Spanish (albeit "cave man" Spanish); otherwise conversation might have been quite challenging. The whole "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is so not true. I'm living proof! I might be just a tad slower at learning than I used to be, but I can definitely learn!

Friendships were formed quickly and easily, as I mentioned before, which was such a blessing for me. With the boys in school all day and my hubby frequently on the road traveling, life could have potentially been very lonely and isolating on teeny tiny Rota Naval Air Station.

I attached myself quite literally to a group of fabulously fun girlfriends, mostly Air Force with a sprinkling of Navy gals who reached out to me as I reached out to them. We did a whole lot of things together... took Spanish classes, went on trips and explored new places, shopped at the gypsy market and local malls, drank tinto and sangria, lunched in a number of places, attended Bible study, sat in one another's back yards around the fire pit, attended military functions, went to each other's kids' birthday parties, worked out, took walks, scrapbooked and rubber stamped and hung out at the beach and the pool. We also complained, complimented, celebrated, laughed and cried together. Thankfully there were more laughs than tears. Military spouses are a rare and special breed of women, and I loved spending time with my little circle of chicas (girls).

These special women (and their families) are the reason it was so difficult to leave Rota. I loved the location, view, weather, food, travel opportunities... all of it! But I loved the people more. These people are the ones who entertained our kids when we were busy with our move and had multiple things to accomplish. They brought us dinner or invited us into their homes to dine with their families. They gave us thoughtful farewell gifts. They took care of tying up loose ends after our departure by storing items to give to the family moving in behind us, delivering donations to various places when we didn't have the time, etc. They loaned us vehicles when ours were being shipped back to the States. They drove us to the airport at 5am and they sat outside in chairs to wave good-bye, holding signs that read "Adios, Campbells!" and "We will miss you!" as we drove out of the neighborhood. And they hugged us and cried with us when we said our good-byes. These are the kind of people we are grateful and proud to call "friends." ¡Adiós y muchas gracias por todos, amigos! (Good-bye and many thanks for everything, friends!)
So now we're currently staying in temporary lodging at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois (near Belleville in southern Illinois), getting ready to close on a house we're buying in a nearby town, and awaiting the delivery of our household goods in a few days. We're starting a brand-new chapter in our lives and, while we're sad to no longer be among friends in Rota, we're very excited about what the future holds for our little family in Illinois. We already know lots of people here, as Scott is headquarters for Air Mobility Command, our bread and butter. We're looking forward to seeing familiar faces, cultivating friendships and once again blooming where we've been planted.