Dear Ms. Qiao's AP Spanish Students,
Thank you all so much for allowing me to virtually step into your class for a few weeks! I know we did not call very often, but I hope you learned some tidbits about the Spanish and Galician cultures, as well as some fun phrases and idiosyncracies with the languages. I titled this article "Hasta Luego en Lugar de Adios: See You Later Instead of Goodbye" because this reflects a cultural attitude here in Spain. I rarely hear the word 'adios.' Instead, people always say 'hasta luego' when ending a conversation, no matter how long or short. It doesn't matter if you have only been in the elevator with a random person for thirty seconds or if you have been in a deep discussion for an hour, it is always 'hasta luego.' Perhaps this attests to this hidden outlook Spanish people possess, where it is never a permanent goodbye, as there may be a time when you cross paths again. I'm not fully sure. However, I felt it was fitting to end our journey together on this note. Who knows, maybe we will all cross paths again one day. As my time in Spain has taught me, life is very unexpected, and that is okay.
