[Week 9] Recapping the Sabbatical
Alternative title: Dan looks back on the last nine weeks
A Note from the Author
I meant to publish this newsletter update with dramatic flair as my plane touched down in JFK on Saturday, but instead, I managed to catch the worst stomach bug and fever I’ve had in recent memory and was incapacitated until today. With that said, now that I can somewhat think again, I am still feeling overwhelmingly grateful, completely exhausted, and incredibly proud. I think it's too easy to call this experience a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but sometimes the easy answer is the right answer.
Now that this adventure has officially ended, besides getting to see my friends and family (and my bed), I'm most looking forward to reflecting on this sabbatical as a whole. So, in lieu of my regular weekly update, this week's update will be a more list-heavy retrospective of the last nine weeks, before I take some time to settle back into my normal life and collect my thoughts. Then, in the coming weeks, I'm hoping to share a few more longer-form reflections—think of those updates as the post-sabbatical postscript, as I try to make sense of what the last nine weeks taught and meant to me.
But this is it for live updates and, effectively, this version of the newsletter! Whether you read every single word or just skimmed through the photos, I can't express how much it means to me that you were interested enough in me, my sabbatical, and my writing to follow along. I hope you'll stick around for the post-sabbatical postscript, but in any case, ¡muchas gracias por leer esto!
By the Numbers
Days abroad: 64
Nights spent in hostels: 22
Cities visited: 13
Countries visited: 3
Flights taken: 7
Buses taken: 9
Trains taken: 21
Trains missed: 1
Most steps taken in one day: 41,905
Museums visited: 13
Hours of Spanish class taken: 154
Hours making pottery: 32
Botijos made: 8
Rainbows seen: 1
Words written: 23,532
(Relatively) Brief Reflections
I reserve the right to elaborate on these reflections in longer-form essays down the road!
People in Spain: I have been waiting the entire sabbatical to make this sweeping generalization: Spanish people are so incredibly friendly and kind. At least in my personal experience over the last nine weeks, I was continuously shocked not only by how patient people were with my broken Spanish but also by how actively encouraging they were, gently correcting me and cheering me on. Their generosity also extended beyond language: from multiple strangers wordlessly helping me carry my luggage, to my professors helping me handle some last-minute difficult travel logistics, I came away feeling so thankful for almost everyone I came into contact with. Relatedly, while I think I personally am decently friendly, my natural instinct is to be a little guarded around new people —I used to say I was a bit “prickly” in college—but this sabbatical has genuinely challenged the way I want to get to know new people and hopefully make new friends.
Learning Spanish: I have a confession. If I had to rank my goals for this sabbatical (as I stated in Week 0, they were to learn Spanish, do pottery, and figure out the meaning of life, or at least what I’m most excited about for 2024), I have to admit that learning Spanish was probably the first goal (as I had to learn a language to take a sabbatical through work) but honestly the least important when I was originally planning this sabbatical. I absolutely love learning most things, so Spanish was no different as an academic exercise, but I will honestly admit that I didn’t necessarily go into this sabbatical with a burning passion for Spanish in particular. However, besides providing my only semblance of structure for the last two months, learning Spanish during this sabbatical has given me such a deeper appreciation of the connection that occurs through a shared language, the joys of being able to gradually express yourself in another language, and the beauty of the Spanish language itself. There was a moment a few weeks ago when I thought, “Oh, I can totally see why people end up wanting to learn seventeen different languages,” and while I’ve not yet mastered Spanish enough to think about the next language, I am so excited to continue improving my Spanish going forward.
Diving deeper into pottery: From the amount that I think about, talk about, and spend on pottery, it may have always been evident that I am incredibly interested in ceramics. However, despite the magnitude of my excitement, pottery still felt like “just a hobby” before I left for Spain—something slightly frivolous that I do on the weekends to relax. But over the last nine weeks, between the many precious hours at Gerardo’s studio and the frequent visits to pottery exhibitions and museums, ceramics became a guiding theme of the sabbatical and a source of deeply meaningful experiences. In almost every city, I was able to have interesting conversations with friendly potters all over Europe, and, of course, in Salamanca, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn pottery (and life) lessons from one of the wisest people I’ve ever met. To put it bluntly, this sabbatical deepened and, at least to me, legitimized my passion for pottery, and I am brimming with energy to get back into the pottery studio.
Writing this newsletter: If I had to pick the single most important experience from this entire sabbatical, it may actually have been the writing of this newsletter. I’ve always said that I enjoy writing, but I could never consistently find the space or energy to write and very much felt like a fraud if I ever claimed to be a “writer.” But now, having written ten newsletter updates, my biggest sabbatical project feels like proof to myself that I can claim to enjoy writing. Perhaps more importantly, it’s incredible how having a weekly newsletter about your sabbatical forces you to constantly reflect and even live out your sabbatical a more story-worthy way.
Learning to rest: There’s not too much to say here, beyond the fact that like many people these days, I am not particularly good at slowing down and resting. But I rediscovered long, destination-less walks and quiet, writing-filled sessions in coffee shops as two of my favorite ways to be present and get reinvigorated about life, and here’s to hoping I don’t forget that lesson too soon.
Overall, I am sad to report that I did fail one of my goals: I did not figure out the meaning of life, nor did I actually figure out my life plan for 2024, or what my dream job is. However, I feel like I am leaving this sabbatical having become more me.
Top 3, Top 5’s
ONE - Top 5: Cities
Salamanca: No surprises here; I fell in love with the city that I called home for two months, with the best vibes.
Barcelona: The food in Barcelona was consistently amazing, and despite being completely cathedral-ed out after having traveled Europe for nine weeks, I’d gladly go back to La Sagrada Familia.
London: Like many New Yorkers, I have the annoying habit of comparing other big cities to NYC; in my opinion, London keeps up, with its deep-rooted history and culture.
San Sebastián: Any city that makes me this excited for every single meal deserves to be in my top 5 cities ever; I just wish the weather had been a bit nicer, but I can’t wait to come again in warmer weather to enjoy the beaches as well.
Lisbon: I have to admit that by the end of my trip, I was very ready to come back home, but despite it being my final city, Lisbon still awed me with its unbelievably beauty, with its many colors, tiles, and ocean views.
Honorable mentions: Madrid, for the best museums; Alba de Tormes, for the serenely beautiful views from its castle tower; Leeds/West Bretton, for being home to the peaceful yet stunning Yorkshire Sculpture Park
TWO - Top 5: Bites of Food
Smoked eel with confit tomatoes and burrata - Taberna Laredo (Madrid): Something about the simplicity of this dish, and particularly the sweetness of the tomato, continues to stick out to me, even weeks later.
Tortilla de patatas - Mantequerias Pirenaicas (Barcelona): For the longest time, I had a hot take that I didn’t really understand the appeal of tortilla de patatas, but it all made sense after I tried it here—I’m a convert.
Jamón ibérico - La Favorita (Salamanca): After being convinced to buy the best, award-winning, hand-sliced jamón ibérico, I understood what the hype was all about—what I don’t understand is how the jamón tasted sweet, in addition to being unbelievably rich and nutty.
Ravioli de langostino en salsa Martini - Bar Antonio (San Sebastián): The fact that I walked in to this tiny restaurant and had a spectacular bite of food—creamy, savory sauce over a tender shrimp encased in handmade pasta—for five euros really exemplifies the best of San Sebastián’s unparalleled food culture.
Smoked cod’s head - Fallow (London): Between it being one of my two favorite fish (the other being mackerel) and the novelty of a whole massive fish head coming out on a plate, I enjoyed the entire experience of fishing pockets of meat covered in a buttery sriracha sauce out of the cod’s head.
Honorable mentions: Tinned fish at Quimet & Quimet and Entre Latas (Barcelona), sirloin pintxo at Gandarias (San Sebastián), full English breakfast at Regency Cafe (London), chicken ruby (curry) at Dishoom (London)
THREE - Top 5: Memories
For brevity’s sake, I won’t rehash the stories here, but I’ve labeled the weeks from which these memories come from!
Making four new friends in line for Quimet & Quimet [Week 7]: The experience of being late to the restaurant after missing my train to Barcelona, willingly talking to and befriending strangers, and being able to have a mostly coherent conversation in Spanish feels like the single biggest departure from my non-sabbatical life, in that it’s not something I would normally do or even have been able to do before this sabbatical. It feels like the most indicative moment of just how much personal growth I experienced during this sabbatical. Honestly, it still gives me chills when I remember the moment when I realized that Ana had talked the host into changing their party size from four to five.
Going to my first pottery workshop with Gerardo [Week 2]: I’m partially cheating here, because the real memory is actually all the time I got to spend with Gerardo. As I’ve hopefully made incredibly clear, the opportunity I had to keep working on my pottery skills during this sabbatical (not to mention the opportunity to meet one of the greatest people I’ve ever met) was so much more spectacular than I could have ever imagined, and it all started at this first university-organized pottery workshop where I was nearly hyperventilating.
Exploring the Florian Gadsby exhibit and sculpture grounds at Yorkshire Sculpture Park [Week 4]: I know deciding to get on an overnight bus from London to Leeds six hours before the bus ride may not seem that crazy to some of you, but to me, it really did feel like a very impulsive, but adventurous decision. However, this felt like a turning point for me in the sabbatical—I knew even before going on the sabbatical that I wanted to go see the Florian Gadsby exhibit, and this was the moment when I started to actively seek out the things and experiences I wanted. And then, when the Yorkshire Sculpture Park ended up being one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been to, I also began to reflect on how to properly rest.
Admiring the views from the Alba de Tormes castle [Week 5]: If my experience with making new friends in Barcelona was the key memory of the sabbatical from a growth perspective, this moment of sitting quietly alone atop the Alba de Tormes castle was the key moment from a sheer awe and gratitude perspective. It almost felt absurd that I was there, sitting alone at the top of a 900-year-old castle, in a town with less than 6,000 people, simply admiring the stunning views in the middle of Spain.
Sitting in Plaza Mayor, having tapas [Week 5 / Mid-Sabbatical Review]: As I said before, tapas are a way of life, and I’m fully converted—I even made tapas my final meal in Salamanca before I left. Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is also definitely the prettiest Plaza Mayor ever, and that feeling of sitting in Plaza Mayor, sipping coffee or snacking away is something I’ll probably be chasing for the rest of my life.
Sights, Bites, and Other Delights
To be very clear, Lisbon was absolutely stunning, and I had a lovely time exploring the city, continuing to eat good food, and trying to relax before I have to return to my normal life. I've snuck in a few Lisbon stories into the captions below.
What’s Up Next & Acknowledgements
By the time you read this, I will hopefully be recovering and settling back into my regular life—I go straight back to work (with my first project being with an all Spanish team, at that!), have a Broadway show scheduled for the following week, and start back up at a bigger and better pottery studio in April. As I said, I will take a bit of time before I share the post-sabbatical postscript: some longer-form reflections, similar to the Mid-Sabbatical Review.
I also just wanted to publicly say thank you to the people who helped make this sabbatical happen. To all the friends and family who shared recommendations, encouraged me during the low points, inspired me to go on such a big trip, and supported me: you know who you are, and hopefully I’ve made it clear that I am very thankful for you!
That’s all, folks!
thanks for documenting the journey dan 🙏🙏
so proud of you for this journey, and happy you're back safe & sound! can't wait to hear more post sabbatical deep life thoughts <3