My Last Spain Blog - First Few Days Back In Seattle

It's so hard to believe that this time last week I was with my host family at my "grandparents'" house (well, this time Seattle time... This time Spain time, I was probably back "home" eating dinner") hanging out with everyone.  It's so crazy how at the beginning of one week you can be in one part of the world and by the end of the week be on the opposite side of the world.  What's crazier is waking up Thursday morning in Spain and going to sleep in Seattle that night.  After my crazy 18 or 19 hours of traveling, it felt really good to finally just collapse into bed.

Getting home was definitely an adventure.  I woke up around 5:15am to be downstairs in the Fundación by 5:45am.  The bus they provided for us left around 6:00am and we were at the airport by 7:45am.  By 8:00am I was at my terminal (T4) and in line to check my bag.  Everything went smoothly until it was time to take off.  We pulled out of the gate and started making our way towards the runway when pilot came over the PA system and told us that there was a problem with the right engine and we needed to go back to the gate so the mechanics could fix whatever the problem was.  I'm sitting there thinking, "Ummmm... why are you JUST now checking the engine?   How long have we been sitting at the gate doing nothing?  You totally could (and should) have checked them a bit earlier..."  So back to the gate we went.  We sat there for a least 30 minutes and after about that much time, the pilot told us that the mechanics had successfully fixed the problem and that they were going to check for other problems and then we'd be on our way in about 20 minutes.  TWENTY MINUTES?!  I think I said that a bit louder than I meant to because I definitely got some strange looks from people around me...  Eventually we managed to get off the ground and on our way.

The important part to remember in this story is that I had a connecting flight to make.  I went from Madrid to JFK (New York) and from JFK to Seattle.  My flight was supposed to land in New York at 1:10pm and my flight to Seattle was leaving at 3:55pm.  That's almost 3 hours, so I figured I'd be fine.  Well, I didn't take into account the 1 hour delay in Madrid or the fact that I would have to go through customs/immigration in New York (meaning I'd have to get my bag off a conveyer belt and then recheck it).  Being an hour late from Madrid, I arrived in New York about 2:15pm.  American Airlines was nice enough to check who had connections so they could give us our bright orange "Express Connection" boarding passes.  But unfortunately those passes did not make our bags come off the conveyer belt faster.  They helped get me through lines faster, but that doesn't matter if I don't have my bag first.  So I stood at the conveyer belt (walking in circles around it because I was so nervous and I didn't want to miss it) for at least 30 minutes waiting for my bag.  And apparently you aren't supposed to use your cell phones while waiting.  I wasn't even trying to USE my phone... I just wanted to check the time and I got yelled at least twice for it.  Yeah, that definitely didn't help my stress levels. 

I got my bag about 3:00pm and had 25 minutes before my plane started boarding.  And I still had to go through the customs line AND recheck my bag AND go through security again and THEN get to my gate.  Fortunately my bags had been tagged while I was in Madrid, so all I had to do what put it back on the conveyer belt and off I went.  I got to the security line upstairs and was scared that I was going to have to wait in the ridiculously long line.  As I asked one of the people working there where I should go with my bright orange boarding pass, I was trying to hold back tears.  I had 15 minutes to get to my gate and still had to go through security.  The line for the orange passes was also fairly long (apparently everyone in New York is catching a connection...), but I somehow managed to get through in a reasonable amount of time.  I finished putting myself back together (jacket, scarf, boots, belt, computer in backpack, backpack on back, etc...) and I SPRINTED to my gate (which I didn't exactly know where it was).

Turns out my gate was on the other side of the airport, which meant LOTS of attempted sprinting (I was wearing high heeled boots because they wouldn't fit in my suitcase and carrying a really heavy backpack.  Have you ever tried running with heavy backpack on your back?  It's nearly impossible...).  Down escalators, up escalators...  All those days of walking hills in Toledo did nothing when it comes to dealing with walking up/down escalators.  My legs were burning so badly (not to mention shaking) by the time I got to my gate... which was one of the furthest ones down the hallway once I got off the escalators.  I gave the lady my boarding pass to scan, and finally could relax a little bit.  I got there TEN MINUTES before they closed the gate.  I have never ever cut a flight that close.  But I made it, and that was the important part.

6 hours later I was landing in Seattle.  I looked out the window as we landed and I just didn't get the same feeling I got landing in Madrid each time I came back from a weekend trip.  I was excited to see my family and friends, but I really didn't miss much else about the United States.  My parents were waiting for my by the exit to baggage claim and I made my way to them as quickly as I could (remember, my legs were killing me from running in New York and my backpack was super heavy).  It was less of a run and more of a... waddle? scoot? skip? something...  Doesn't matter, I probably looked ridiculous regardless.  I all but collapsed as I gave my parents hugs for the first time in months.  It definitely felt good!  We then went to get my "maleta" from baggage claim and then we were on our way home.  I managed to stay up until about 10:00pm and then I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.  (*Funny story here.  I walked into my room for the first time and went to turn on my light, attempting to just hit it as I walked in like I did in Spain, but totally missed the light switch.  The ones we have in my house here and the ones in my house in Spain are different.  The ones in Spain were more like a seesaw, where you hit the top half of it it up to turn it off and the bottom half to turn it on.  The ones here are actual switches.  When I missed it the first time, I stopped and thought to myself, "Ok, that was weird..."  Things like that have been happening all the time!)

Friday morning I was a bit disoriented when I woke up.  I expected to wake up to the same room I'd been waking up in for the past three months.  I also woke up at 4:30am, so that might have had something to do with it, too...  Just a thought.  It's gotten a little easier the longer I'm home (what with the time difference and stuff).  It was hard this weekend though, knowing that my host family was going to be at the grandparents' house and I wasn't going to be there... for the first time in 3 1/2 months.  But I have kept myself busy since I've been home, and I'll continue being busy.  I've got plans every day until I leave for Mexico on the 24th.  And then I'll relax in Mexico and then I've got two or three days before I leave for school after I get back.  Once I'm back at school, it's back to studying I go!

The one big thing I've learned from being home is how at home I felt in Spain.  Yes, my host family helped, but the feeling extended beyond my "home" life.  I loved being surrounded by Spanish all the time and being forced to speak it when people didn't know English (even if they did know English, I tended to speak Spanish anyway).  I finally found a place where the grass ISN'T greener on the other side.  I can totally see myself living in Toledo (and Spain in general) in the future and being very happy.  Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen!

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Thank you to those of you who have faithfully been reading my blog (and also to those who check in once in awhile).  A blog is not much without its readers.  I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it!  Check my profile for other blogs as I head back to school.  I have discovered a love of blogging and I intend to keep writing!  <3

Day 102 (or so)... My last day.

There aren't words to accurately express how lucky I feel to have had the opportunity to live in Spain for the past 3 1/2 months.  I have known since I learned about study abroad that I would go to Spain.  Originally I wanted to go to Barcelona, but I am soooo glad that I ended up in Toledo.  Toledo has been perfect for me; a smaller city, located only 45 minutes away from Madrid, with lots of history and so incredibly beautiful.  I remember how nervous I was about flying to a foreign country without friends or family, but all that nervousness seems silly now.  I credit my host family with part of why I stopped feeling nervous.  I was also very nervous about what they would be like, but I quickly learned they are a lot like my own family.  I immediately started to feel right at home, something that would continue throughout the whole time.  Towards the end, it got to the point where my "mom" felt comfortable enough with me to scold me for not cleaning my room or drying my hair after I shower.  I was struggling with everything one day and she even joked that my head is only for holding my hair.  Yeah, you could say we have a good relationship! :)  My "sister" and I quickly bonded over her English homework when she'd come ask me for help.  She will forever be Tom to me (I know that joke makes no sense to all of you...).  I will also never think of the word "hiato" the same again and I'm holding on to those Photo Booth pictures!  My "dad", I realized, is extremely similar to my own dad (corny jokes and all), creating an automatic bond for me.  One of my favorite memories with him was when we all went to wander around the local mall and while everyone else was shopping, we sat playing Angry Birds.  We got very into it!  And there was the time when we played Guitar Hero...  That was a lot of fun and quite odd for me, to play it in Spain.  And I, of course, can't forget about my "grandparents"!  They, as I'm sure you could have guessed, were also amazing.  It did not take them long either to treat me as their own granddaughter.  My favorite memories with them were sitting outside with my "grandma" and my "mom" before lunch in September and part of October (while it was still warm) just talking about everything and my "grandpa" always trying to stuff me full of food before we even ate lunch(!).  And being protected from bees, watching them try to kill the bees and flies.  That was hilarious!  Anyway... I could go on for hours and hours about my host family, so I'll leave at that for now.  Feel free to ask me any questions and I will (of course) be more than happy to answer!

I get so caught up talking about my host family that I forget there was more to my experiences!  There was also a school aspect to this whole thing... You know, the study part in STUDY abroad.  As a recap, I took Literature, Philosophy, Service Learning and Art History here.  My Literature and Service Learning classes were definitely my favorite ones.  Philosophy was HARD. Really hard, but I think I have at least managed a B (at least a 8'0 for those who don't use the ABCDF system) in that class!  Going to the Residencia for my Lit class might have seemed pointless in relation to our class, but it was definitely very interesting talking to my "abuela" for an hour each week.  The other experience I'm not going to forget is going to the school out in Polígono each Tuesday for my Service Learning class.  That was such an eye-opening (sorry for the cliché-ness) experience for me, to see how other countries learn foreign languages.  You'll have to go back and reread my blogs for the details on those experiences because there's a lot of them and I don't really want to retype all of them...  Art History was also interesting because we actually got to go see (in the morning) the buildings we'd talk about that afternoon.  Only one of many reasons why I love Toledo.

Another important part of the past few months have been my friends.  I have wound up in a different friend group now than when I got here, but I think it was all for the best.  Everything happens for a reason.  You stick any group of people together for a long time and there will always be drama, but I think it was kept more or less to a minimum.  While I'm sad that we weren't mixed in with Spanish students, I have met new people from all over the U.S.  Lots of new people to go visit! :)  I also learned that just because you are friends around Toledo or around school doesn't necessarily mean you are fit to travel together.  But in order to learn that lesson, you have to travel together at least once.  I love all my new friends I've made here and I sincerely hope that they won't lose touch when we all return to our "real" lives.  As cheesy as it is (and as "high school") as it may be, I'd like to make a few shout outs:

Kami - You have been my friend from the start here.  I'm really glad that we have stayed friends through the whole time! Thank you for being a good travel buddy and for putting up with me! :)  I'd better see you every once in awhile when we get back to school!

Elle - I am glad I met you and that we got the chance to go see Granada/Córdoba/Barcelona together.  I am sorry for whatever it was that happened with us, but I hope that we can still talk occassionally once we are both back in Denver!

Moriko - I wish I'd met you sooner because you are so much fun to be around!  You are crazy and goofy and such an amazing storyteller.  You, me and Kami had so much fun in London, which is definitely been one of the highlights of my travels.  When you get married to the Rock, I expect a wedding invitation.  And when you buy your cubbord under the stairs, I expect an invitation to the cubbord warming party.  I also wouldn't mind meeting your giraffe (assuming he hasn't been eaten by your pet bengal tiger yet...).  Stay in touch, ok?

Grace - I'm sad we didn't get to hang out as much, but I enjoyed the times we did!  Fortunately, we go to the same school, so we can hang out whenever tenemos la gana :)  I'm still laughing at the statue by the way...  Each time I read your comment, I can hear you saying it as I read it!


To sum up my all of my experiences, I made a list of things I have learned while I was here (from my "family", from school, from my travel experiences... everything).  There's a lot of them, but I hope you enjoy them!
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Things I’ve Learned
 

- Buy slippers for around the house (bare feet = getting sick)

- It’s ok to change clothes when home for long periods of time

- All siblings are the same around the world

- Party doesn’t start until at least 2am (unlike the rest of Europe apparently)

- Food here is AMAZING!  My "mom" and "grandma" are fabulous cooks!

- Hugs aren’t unwanted… I just have to ask for them.

- Class schedules are so strange… 2 sessions of the same class in one day??

- Buy a hairdryer.  Wet hair = getting sick.

- Do not sleep with my window open.  Open window + sleeping = getting sick.

- Professors (mine at least), are much more lenient here.

- First impressions CAN be wrong

- Who your friends are makes a huge difference on your experience – find the right ones.

- Pay attention in class and do your homework and the tests are relatively easy. (which I guess is true everywhere...)

- I’m more confident in navigating strange airports and traveling (in general) alone.

- When traveling over a weekend, double check where the hostel/hotel is before booking it, sometimes price isn’t everything.

- Also, while traveling… Make a list of things to see (a.k.a. do your research) or else you won’t see half the necessary things.

- Public school education (at least what I experienced while volunteering) sucks in the later elementary school grades.

- Old people are fun to talk to.

- I am definitely in love with Don Quijote.

- No matter which way you walk in Toledo, you are always walking up hill and you will always end up in Zocodover.

- Toledo is a beautiful city and super easy to navigate by bus.

- Always leave 2 hours to get to the Madrid airport (Barajas) from Toledo for bus time and Metro time.

- If connecting to another bus in Madrid (rather than an airplane), make sure to double check what station you are leaving from.  Most do NOT leave from Plaza Elíptica (as I learned the hard way…).

- Always remember to bring address of hotel/hostel with you.

- Spaniards really love their boots.  (Yaaaaaaay boots!!)

- I was a Spaniard in another life.

- I love their meal schedule – I love eating a big lunch and a lighter dinner.  This surprised me since my favorite meal is usually dinner.

- It’s ok to sleep during the day. (Yes!!! Go siestas!!)  I may have adapted this custom a bit too much...  I get teased for sleeping so much!  My (biological) mom says (just like she does at home), "They only tease you because they love you!"  So maybe it's a good sign?

- I suck at planning trips.

- Travel with the right people – make sure all are flexible and can go with the flow <-- SUPER necessary.

- It is possible to be “home”sick

- I’m going to miss my host family

- My grammar is better than I thought it was (to start with)

- I can pass as a Spaniard if I remember to use the accent.  (GraTHias instead of GraCias)

- Computer is “ordenador”, not “computador”.  Cell phone is “móvil”, not “teléfono”.  Pen is “bolígrafo”, not “pluma”.  Car is “coche”, not “carro”.

- I struggle with pronouncing my “r’s” (something that has become something of a joke with my host family…).

- It’s ok (here) to have a drink once in awhile.

- London is beautiful in the fall

- I miss snow/rain.

- Cliques are everywhere, not just in high school or the United States.

- I don’t like philosophy.

- I really enjoy blogging (can you tell?? :P )

- I could totally live here.

- I don’t miss much about the U.S. (except for friends and family, obviously)

- They talk REALLY fast on game shows, but I can understand most of it now!

- I am now addicted to Spanish TV shows: Águila Roja, Homicidios, El Barco, Pasapalabra, Atrapa un Millón, Sálvame, etc…  I will continue watching them in the US, but online! :)

- They scream/argue a lot on talk shows.  About the same topics.  My favorite was when they spent a good hour talking to a woman about why her ex husband didn't invite her to his wedding.

- The TV is always on.  While eating, studying, working… basically everything except while sleeping (and sometimes even that, but not on purpose!).

- Sizing uses the same letters as the U.S. (S, M, L, XL), but they are always actually one size smaller than labeled.  Or so I have learned.

- There are a lot of (seemingly) random holidays.  I don’t mind, but it would be nice if my school would actually observe them, too.

- Summer weather is HOT.  Too hot…

- Winter weather isn’t too cold (for me), but it is for them.

- I am treated like one of the family.  For example, being scolded for not dressing appropriately for the weather and being told to pick up my room.

- Bus drivers are usually very nice if you forgot to recharge your bus pass (not that I’ve ever done this…): they’ll let you ride anyway.

- Heels + cobblestone = bad idea.

- Rain + cobblestone = slippery.

- Heels + rain + cobblestone = near death.

- Buses never come when they are supposed to.

- Always leave 30 minutes before class starts (for me), leaving time for the bus to be late.

- Early morning flights suck.  And never count on public transportation to the airport to go exactly as planned.  It won’t.

- When someone is yelling, it doesn’t always mean that they are angry.  Sometimes they just like discussing things in loud voices.

- Sometimes they do get angry, though.  It comes on really quick, but they get over it just as quickly.

- Finals week sucks more when abroad.  More distractions and things you’d rather be doing… Like traveling.  Or SHOPPING! :D

- Telling a "family" member something means telling everyone.  Which I don't mind, but it certainly took some getting used to!  It was always disorienting, at first, to walk into my "grandparents'" house and have my "grandma" ask me about something I knew I hadn't told her.

I'm sure there are many more things I've learned since I've been here, but those are the ones I can think of.  Check back occasionally because I'm sure I'll be updating it as I think of more.

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The word "bittersweet" has a new meaning for me.  I've never been so torn to go home before.  I miss my family a lot, of course, but I feel like I want more time here.  I half expect to wake up Friday morning (my first morning home) thinking the past few months have been a dream, but when I automatically start speaking Spanish, I'll realize it wasn't...  I honestly could not have pictured a more perfect way to study abroad.  I have some great new friends, new experiences and I am definitely better for it.

"Strangers are just friends waiting to happen."  In a lot of ways it's hard to believe that only a few months ago, my host family and I were strangers.  That has definitely changed and I know that I have made friends for life in them.  We may live far apart, but I fully intend to stay in touch with them and visit when I can.  One of the most touching moments for me was when my "grandma" said to me a couple months ago something along the lines of, "You know you will always have a home here, right?"  I was so touched that everyone let me into their hearts so quickly.  I knew leaving would be hard, but this is way harder that even I imagined.

I just want to say thank you Spain, from the bottom of my heart, for teaching me so much and for being such an amazing country.  Please don't forget about me when I leave because I will never forget you and everything I've experienced this semester.  I promise to come back and visit as soon as I can.

¡Hasta la próxima!

Sarah <3

P.S.  Enjoy some of my favorite photos from my time in Toledo!  I didn't include my travel photos or else this blog would go on forever.  Maybe that could be a metaphor for me wanting my time in Spain to go on forever, if I don't want to end my last blog?  Hmmm....

My "abuela" from the Retirement home (the Residencia) and me at our end-of-semester celebration!

My completely and totally amazing host family (minus my "brother" and "grandparents").  This picture was taken at my "grandparents'" house.  My "mom", Belén, my "sister", Belén, and my "dad", Antonio.  I am unable to describe how much I'm going to miss them when I leave tomorrow.  I have their Facebooks, so I'm sure we'll stay in touch :)

A beautiful shot of a sunset from Madrid while at an outdoor mall with my host family.

Shot of Toledo from a lookout point during our tour on our first full day in Toledo!

Zocodover Plaza at night.  It's even prettier during Christmas time with all the lights on the trees :)

Probably one of my favorite pictures of my host sister and me.  This was our first outing the local mall and my host mom told her to take me through some of the stores.  We agreed that she'd try on anything I suggested and I'd do the same with anything she suggested.  I'm definitely going to miss spending time with her!

One of my Last Posts (from Spain)... Weird.

Well, my last weekend in Spain is officially over.  My last weekend spent at my "grandparents'" house, my last weekend eating with everyone in one room, my last weekend watching a movie as a "family".  So many "last's"...

My weekend for the most part was fairly uneventful (in a good way... I hung out with my host family mostly).  Thursday night and Saturday nights were the nights I went out.  Thursday night I went out to dinner with Moriko, Grace and Bárbara.  We met up at the Fundación and then walked over to a pizza place that's not far from Zocodover.  I love them.  They are so funny!  We laughed, we ate, we talked and then caught the 11pm bus back home.  Saturday was the more interesting of the two nights...

I met up with Moriko, Kami and Grace at 11:30pm and we headed to O'Brians.  Saturday night was the big soccer game between Real Madrid and Barcelona, so everyone was packed into the bar to watch the game (Barca won btw).  We watched the end of the game and then made our way upstairs and had a drink (or two or more for some...).  We hung out there and chatted for a bit and then made our way to one of the discotecas (called Camelot).  We were there until 3:45am.  While we were there, there were these two guys that kept asking all of us to dance.  They rotated through all of us!  One guys started dancing with me and said, "¡Eres guapísima!"  That means, "You are so beautiful!"  Psh.  Thanks, but no thanks dude.  You are creepy.  I'm going to go and dance with my friends in the opposite corner now...

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful.  We danced the night away and I was home by 4:00am.  At some point Moriko lost her phone and at 4:30am the guy who found it called me since I was on her recently called list (never find I was already asleep....).  Apparently he found one of the Notre Dame girls and gave it to her, but not before calling everyone on her contact list!  I thought that was funny...

Sunday was spent at my "grandparents'" house, like usual.  This was the last time eating with everyone and the last time seeing my host brother.  It's weird to think when he comes home next, I won't be here.  I have to wonder if me not being here will be as weird for them as it will be for me.  I'd like to think they'll miss me as much as I'll miss them.  I'm not going to lie... I'm definitely in that stage where I almost don't want them to host another student because that means I'll have to share...  Lol.  They are THAT amazing :)

Monday was my last Lit class and that evening I went shopping with Moriko for gifts for my (biological) family.  It was really hard deciding what to get them!  Tuesday (today) was spent wandering around the Mercadillo (the clothes market that is there every Tuesday morning) with Kami, Moriko, Grace and Christina.  Then I came home for lunch and then wound up going back to Zocodover to finish my gift shopping (intending to go alone, since no one wanted to go with me), but ran into Maggie and Maria and we went to see the one of the oldest synagogues in Europe (NOT the one I'd seen before).  After that we stopped at this really cute tea place and had tea and then finished our shopping.  I'm now home waiting to see what tonight brings.  I'd like to think we'll do something special (a.k.a. something all together besides watching TV, which is what we are doing at the moment) for my last night, but something tells me it will be a typical night.  Which isn't necessarily a bad way to end either!

Hi ho, hi ho, off to Rome I... went?

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update my blog.  I know you are anxiously awaiting each one... Am I righrt??  Well, aren't I?  :)  This week has been finals week and therefore I've been rather preocupied lately.  But now that it's Thursday and I've only got one paper to finish for tomorrow, I have time to update everyone on Roma!

For one, this trip started off amazingly because we didn't have to sleep at the airport.  We did have to get up ridiculously early, but I'd rather do that than sleep on a cold, hard airport floor all night.  Done that two too many times already.  Not a good descision in hind sight...  Anyway, got up super early to catch the 5:15am bus from Toledo to Madrid and got to the airport around 7:30am.  Our flight was at 9:15am, so once we got through security we had time to stop and get breakfast.  We boarded the plane around 8:45am and off we went to Rome!

Kami, being the super smart girl she is (I mean that literally, not sarcastically, just for the record!), thought to get directions to the hostel BEFORE we got there.  I can't believe we hadn't thought of doing that sooner...  So we got off the plane and immediately knew which stand to go to in order to start our journey to the hostel.  We had to take a bus to a Metro station and then walk from the Metro to the hostel, but it really wasn't that bad.  I actually did a good job at booking the hostel for once (if I do say so myself...)!  The hostel was more like an apartment than a hostel, but with 6 people sharing a room.  The staff was really nice (and had a dog!!) and the rooms/bathrooms were clean.  We never once worried about bugs or anything.  The first night (Friday night), the guy who checked us in made everyone dinner... for free!  But before dinner, we went to go explore the colloseum (sp?) for a little bit.  We wandered around, took our pictures and headed back to hostel to rest a bit before dinner (we were exhausted from getting up so early).

Dinner was really good!  He made pasta with some sort of red sauce.  So we had pasta (of course, we were in ITALY!) and wine for dinner :)  After dinner, Kami and I headed out to my friends' apartment.  We got to the nearest Metro stop with no problems (we are metro EXPERTS now!), but we were supposed to take bus number 3 which stops right near where they are, but we couldn't find it.  So we ended up grabbing a taxi instead.  Which was fine because it really wasn't that much.  So the taxi dropped us off and I knew the number of their building and apartment.  We found it and started pushing the button to ring up.  But no one answered...  So we pushed it again.  Still no answer.  So we waited a few minutes, then Kami pushed (and held) the button for a few seconds.  Still no one answered.  So I texted Alison who texted Kali who came down to let us in.  But she came down a few doors to our right.  You know why?  Yeah.  We had the wrong building.  Even though it said "281" on it AND had their apartment number on it.  So eventually we made our way in and chatted with Kali and Kristy for awhile.  Alison had a friend from home visiting, so we didn't see her all that much.  We were going to go and get gelato, but we waited too long and all the places were closed.  So we just went back to their place and talked some more.  Around 11:15pm, Kami and I headed back to the hostel.  We waited for the bus for 30 minutes, but it never came.  So once again, we managed to find a taxi to take us to the metro station.

Saturday morning we got up and saw the Vatican.  That was incredible!  We got to see the Sistine Chapel upclose and in person.  To have learned about it before and then to see it in person was amazing!  We wandered around some more and then grabbed lunch around 12:30pm.  By 2:00pm (sorry guys :( ) we met up with Kali and Kristy, who were going to show us around Rome a bit.  So we went and saw other touristy things and got these HUGE donuts with nutella on them.  Oh my gosh, they were heaven!!  Right after finishing the donuts, Kami and I got gelato (a must when in Rome, of course).  She got pistaccio and I got tiramisu.  It was delicious!  From there we wandered around a little bit more and then walked a ways back to their apartment (it was POURING earlier, so we wanted to get back before it happened again) and wait for 8:00pm when we were going to meet up with Lindsay and Leticia for dinner.

It was sooooooo good to see Lindsay!!  I missed her in London, but I'm really happy I got a chance to see her in Rome!  I hadn't seen her since early June when I left for the summer.  We found this cute little place near where we met up and ate.  It was really good!  I missed Italian food!  Dinner was all around just a lot of fun.  Lots of laughing and story telling.  I was really happy that Kami got along with all of my friends.  She and Kali have a lot in common... particularly Lost.

After dinner they wanted to go see the Trevi fountain at night, but Kami and I had to head back to hostel and sleep because we were getting up at 2:45am to make our 6:15am (yes.... AM) flight.  As it was, I only got 1 1/2 hours of sleep...  So we said our goodbyes (only for a few weeks because we were all DU students) and went back to the hostel.

Normally I would end my blog here saying that we made it back and whatnot, but there is a story to be told here.  A ridiculous story.  We had bought tickets for the bus back to the airport when we first arrived because there was one leaving at 4:30am which worked perfectly with our timeline.  So we got the station, walked all the way around it looking for where the bus would pick us up and stood waiting in line to get on.  When the bus came, the driver said something in Italian and everyone started moving away from the bus into the building.  We figured they just hadn't bought their tickets yet, but as it turns out, this was not the case.  Oh, they had their tickets, but apparently you need to show your ticket to a person who gives you a boarding pass.  The passes are colored depending on the time the bus leaves.  So by the time we figured this out, only Kami got a pass for the 4:30am bus and Elle and I got one for the 4:50am one.  The 4:50am one was going to get us there too late, not leaving time to get our visas checked or through security.  We couldn't convince anyone to switch with us, so (for the third time this trip), caught a taxi to the airport.  We got there at the same time as the 4:30am bus!  So with barely enough time to spare, we made it to our flight.  Finally.

Upon arriving in Madrid, we all went to the Metro together, but they went the other direction than I did because they were staying in the city to go to a museum for a class.  I only wanted to go and sleep (definitely almost wrote that in Spanish...), so I headed straight back to Toledo.  And sleep was what I did.  I slept until lunch and then slept until we left my "grandparents'" house.  The rest of my evening looked something like that, too.  Lots of sleeping went on :)

I'd write about this past week, but realistically nothing exciting happened.  I studied, I took tests and I wrote a paper.  Go me?  Anyway, I am done now and only have 5 1/2 more days until I'm back in Seattle! :)

3rd To Last Weekend In Spain

My oh my!  Where has the time gone?  I can't possibly have just finished my 3rd to last weekend here, right???  But, but, but, but I just got here!!!  It can't be almost time to leave already!! :'(  My calendar must be lying to me.  That has to be it. ... Right?

I wish I could say I did exciting stuff this weekend, but I didn't.  And I don't want to lie.  In fact, I've been told I'm too truthful sometimes.  Anyway... getting sidetracked.  This weekend.  I quite literally slept the majority of the weekend.  10 to 11 hours of sleep a night and then naps during the day.  It also helped (my sleeping desires) that I was sick.  Again.  With another sinus infection.  Gahhh what is going on with my body??  I know I'm prone to sinus infections, but two in one month?  That's a lot, even for me!  And it was even worse this time.  Last time I was just stuffy with a headache.  This time, my body decided to add in plugged ears.  And only one side of my nose was stuffy at a time.  That's even worse than being entirely stuffy, sometimes (until you can't breathe at all and wish your nose would give you at least one way to breathe... but the grass is always greener on the other side, right?).

I saw the doctor (after going to his office to find him since I missed him at the Fundación) on Wednesday and he confirmed what I already knew; I had a sinus infection.  He gave me three more meds (two the same as last time, one different, though I couldn't tell you what they do, except for the antibiotic).  One is a small box, one a medium box and one a large box.  My "mom" took them out of the pharmacy bag when I got home (I really am turning into a walking pharmacy... Ugh.) and lined them up on my desk.  She stepped back, looked and them and started laughing.  I looked at her like, "What are you laughing at...?"  And she answered, pointing at each of them respectively, "Primer plato, segundo plato y postre!"  ("1st course, 2nd course and dessert!")  I gave her a look (and a sigh) that said, "Gee thanks..."  and laughed, too.  Sometimes it's harder to get out of her, but she is also pretty goofy.

That night, I started taking my meds.  All three of them.  I felt better at first, but Friday night I decided it would be a good idea to go out with some friends.  Yeah, clearly my head wasn't working as well as it should have been.  I woke up Saturday morning feeling as bad, if not worse, as I had on Tuesday (prior to being officially diagnosed).  My head hurt (maybe from the (legitimately) little bit of alcohol I'd had Friday night... I was scolded when I got home.  "You shouldn't be drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics!"  Right.  Forgot about that...) and I was stuffy again.  And my left ear was plugged.  Just my left one.  That, no matter how you look at it, sucks (the having just one ear plugged part).  With both ears plugged, at least you can't tell as much.  But when you can hear perfectly out of one ear, the fact the other one is plugged is emphasized.  That's how I was all day.  Even after taking the antibiotic and decongestants.  Since it was the weekend, we were at my "grandparents'" house, so naturally, I fell asleep.  (In case I haven't said this before, they have the comfiest couch I have ever had the pleasure of sitting (or laying...) on.  It's no wonder I keep falling asleep when I'm there!)  Each time I was caught with my eyes open, someone would ask me how I was feeling.  It's so nice to know that I'm cared about.

Sunday I felt better, but I was still a little under the weather.  I took it easy and somehow managed not to fall asleep for too long.  Sunday really was rather uneventful (which was exactly what I needed!).  Monday classes started again, which was rough because I hadn't had class since last Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving)... Random no class day for my Art History class.  So I dragged myself out of bed at 8:30am, got dressed, fell back asleep until 9:20am, had 5 minutes to throw together my backpack, put on my shoes, scarf and coat (because I'm scolded if I don't bundle up properly... I'm still scolded for not having gloves with me) and ran out the door to catch the bus.  Lit was fine, we just rehearsed our performances for Wednesday (we are putting on a performance with our "abuelos" as a end-of-semester-party type thing).  I don't see the point, but if it affects our grade, I'm in.  After class I went home and worked all afternoon on an essay that's due Wednesday.  For essay-writing-breaks I worked on study guides for my Philosophy and Art History tests.  I was actually productive!  Go me!  Monday night meant Águila Roja, so I watched that with my family, and then I fell asleep on the couch.  At 12:15 my "mom" woke me up and told me to go to bed since I was falling asleep.  So off I went.

Tuesday (today) was an interesting day.  It was my last day at the elementary school out in Polígono.  The students I don't think have quite realized it, yet...  I have realized once again why I love the 3rd grade aged kids: They are still eager to please.  But my favorite moment from today was actually during the 5th grade class.  The teacher asked me to work with one of the "trouble" kids on his homework and an additional activity (to keep him busy and not disturbing the rest of the class).  I actually don't mind doing things like that... Even with some of the harder kids.  So I went over to his desk and got down on my knees to help him.  The first thing he did (and this was sooo adorable) was go over and grab me a chair.  I couldn't help but think, "Awwww that was so nice of you!"  My opinion of him immediately started to change and only continued to improve as I worked with him.  He might struggle a little bit, but with a bit of prodding he knows more than he thinks he does.  We finished his homework and moved on to the second assignment.  They are learning the names of family members, so he was to draw his family and label each person.  While he was drawing, he told me about his family.  By the sheer number of family members he has, he has to be a gypsy.  He told me has 63 cousins and 137 family members in total.  Anyway, he told me about his family asked about mine.  I told him it's just me, my mom and dad and my younger brother.  He listened and kept drawing.  When he finished, we still had time before the end of class, so we played a mini board game he had with him.  We talked (quietly) and laughed (quietly) and I swear he let me win.  He is really a sweet kid.  I'm realizing that I think I'm finding my niche when it comes to classrooms... I don't know if I'm meant to be the sole teacher in the classroom.  I seem to work very well with the "trouble" kids one-on-one.  In Sra. Colyer's class it was Aidan (among some others).  In the 3rd grade class here, it's a boy name José.  And now this boy (I can't remember his name at the moment...) in the 5th grade class.  I like working with them.

Rather than going straight home for lunch like I normally would on a Tuesday, I had to go to the Fundación for a mandatory meeting.  The meeting was just to fill out evaluations for the overall program, our host families (if applicable... needless to say mine was a glowing review and then some!) and various classes (the ones that applied to you).  Then we got to go.  I got home a little after 3:00pm, ate lunch, and worked on my final notes for my presentation in my Service Learning class this evening.  I totally wasn't paying attention to the time and I would have missed the bus if my "mom" hadn't looked at the clock and informed me I should go get ready.  She totally saved my butt today.  The other presentations were a lot of fun to watch and listen to.  But they were all over the maximum amount of time we were given, so class lasted 30 minutes longer than it should have.  As much fun as it was to listen to everyone's presentations, I was so happy to get out of there.  All I wanted to do was get home, finish my essay and relax.  And that's exactly what I did. :)

And now, it's time for bed!  Longggg day tomorrow!

Thanksgiving in Spain

So yesterday was Thanksgiving and the first year that I've been with my family.  I didn't think it would matter so much to me that I wasn't there, but it did.  I miss all the craziness of Thanksgiving with my grandparents, uncle, aunt, cousins, parents and my brother.  Celebrating here is usually nonexistent, but the Fundación did their best to help us celebrate.

I wasn't planning on going originally, but my friend Grace convinced me I should go.  So at 8:00pm (still on Spanish time, remember) I headed over to meet up with my friends.  At 8:30pm dinner started.  We all walked into the cafeteria and saw a turkey, mashed potatoes (or the Spanish version...), green beans, gravy, stuffing (yes, they had stuffing!)... but no pumpkin pie.  The food was not nearly as good as what I'd eat normally, but considering that they cooks were making food for a holiday they don't celebrate, it was pretty good.  I sat with my friends Kami and Moriko.  We had a good time sitting and eating and laughing.

We finished eating and realized that they'd already given us everything and that there was not going to be any pumpkin pie.  So we decided to head over the bar next to the Fundación with our friend Rebecca and get sangria.  We sat at the bar for a long while just enjoying the sangria and talking about the cute guys near us.. using the fruit system that Kami and Moriko came up with while we were in London.  I still don't understand the hierarchy of their fruits.  I know the cutest fruit and the ugliest, but everything in between still doesn't make sense to me.  So Rebecca and I just sat there listening to Kami and Moriko use their fruit comparisons, shaking our heads at the ridiculousness of it all.  At 10:45pm we all headed to our bus stops to catch the bus home before they stopped running at 11:30pm.

I got home and realized that I'd missed the first 20 minutes of El Barco!  Fortunately my "dad" informed me that nothing had happened yet and I hadn't missed anything.  So I quickly changed into my pj's and joined them in the living room to watch.  It was really funny... both my "mom" and "dad" were really tired, so they kept falling asleep during the show.  My "dad" would wake up and look over at my "mom", and then poke her to wake her up and give her a hard time for falling asleep.  It was really funny (to me, at least) because it was like a game to him.  She'd wake up for a second and then within 30 seconds she was asleep again.  And he just kept poking her and poking her... I had to laugh!

After El Barco ended, we all (as you probably could have guessed) went to bed.  This was by far the strangest way to celebrate Thanksgiving, but it was still fun.  I did, however, still very much miss my family.

Post 3 Week Traveling Spree

I feel like the first thing needed for this blog is a deep breath.  This has been my first full week in school (and Toledo) since the end of October.  That is a long time to be away (and not to have class).  When I got home on Sunday, I was so excited to know that I won't be going anywhere (overnight) until the beginning of December when I go to Rome.  Time to relax, enjoy time with my host family and see my other friends.

To start the week off, I turned in an essay on Monday (having written it the night before since I was in Paris...  amazingly it didn't take me too long!).  Class on Monday was alright.  We talked about the first and second acts of the play we are reading.  It's complicated, but became a bit clearer after talking about it in class.  After class on Monday I headed to talk to my "abuela".  I don't know what it was this week, but it was a really long hour...  Anyway, I headed home for lunch and then didn't have anything until 9:00pm.  At 9:00pm I had to be at the Fundación for a dinner with Arcadia people and the program director from Granada who was supposed to come with us to Morocco, but ended up not being able to make it.  I think almost all of us (the Arcadia people) went.  The dinner was alright... They had made it sound like the point of the dinner was so the director lady could get to know us.  But that ended up not exactly happening.  A bunch of the Fundación people came with us, too, and they wouldn't let us mingle with them.  All of us sat on one end of the table and the adults at the other.  So much for mingling...  In my opinion, the whole dinner was rather pointless, AND I get better food at home.

Tuesday was a fun day.  In the morning I went out to Polígono to the elementary school, like every week.  The kids knew that I had been in Paris the previous weekend and wouldn't stop asking me questions about it.  They are hilarious.  Anyhow, the 3rd graders were angels as usual (mostly).  They were learning the words for clothes this week (trainers, shoes, jeans, trousers, t-shirt, hat, etc.).  I really love the way that their teacher teaches them new words.  I'll have to remember that and use it in the future.  The 5th grade teacher, on the other hand, is awful.  Though, somehow, they managed to get slightly more done than last week.  Everything I've said about those classes before was only reinforced again this week.  2:00pm can't come fast enough once I'm into the older classes, but it does eventually.  I went home for lunch and was happy because I wasn't going to my class that night.  Instead, I was going to see a play in Madrid with my Literature class (so I was still going to A class, just not my Service Learning class).  The play we saw is the same one we are reading in class.  It was sooooooo funny!!  We hadn't read the whole play yet, so we didn't know how it was going to end (we'd barely finished the beginning).  The actors did a very good job at keeping the audience entertained.  The best characters were definitely the squires of the nobles because they were the craziest... they would randomly start dancing and/or singing and make everyone laugh (especially us!).  The whole experience was a blast!  We got back after dinner time (but the Fundación had given us bag dinners) and I talked with my host parents for a bit, watched whatever TV show was on and then went to bed at 12:00am.

Wednesday morning was abnormal because I had to go to the library for both my Literature class and Philosophy classes (at the same time).  It sounded interesting at first because we were going to see the 1st editions of the books we had been talking about in (for me) both classes.  But in the end, it turned out to be completely pointless.  The activity we were expected to do involved writing down the title, author, what year it was published/written and what language it was in.  For those of us in Philosophy, we were expected to write down all the information for all 19 (yes, 19) books.  Most of them were in Latin, so we couldn't understand them anyway.  When they are in Latin, it's really hard to tell what is the title and who is the author.  Not to mention the dates are in Roman numerals, which I can't read above 99 anyway.  Later in class, we didn't even do anything with them.  My professor read over the answers and told us that they are there if we ever decide we want to use them.  Ok, thanks.  That's not going to happen for me.  In Lit, we talked about the 2nd act and also our impressions of the play.  That was a fun class because we all wanted to talk about the squires.  After class I went home for lunch and rested until I had to leave again at 5:30pm.  Philosophy class was business as usual and then I came home again.  Nights around here are pretty relaxed (if you haven't noticed) and nothing particularly exciting happens, but I enjoy them :)  It's my chance to talk to my "family", and my "mom" in particular.  I think nighttime is definitely my favorite part of the day.

Thursday was fun, too.  I had class at 11:30am and it didn't take very long, which was nice.  While waiting for lunch, Moriko and I went wandering around the shops in Zocodover.  I ended up getting two scarves for 5€, which isn't so bad!  I didn't bring any scarves with me from home, so my neck was getting a bit cold...  Lunch rolled around and we met up with everyone to eat.  After lunch, we still had an hour and a half before class, so we continued wandering around.  3:30pm rolled around and we went to class.  It looked like we were going to get out early, but of course that wasn't the case.  On the bus home, Moriko and I decided we wanted to go the mall.  So we stopped by my house to drop off my backpack and then hers so she could do the same thing and then off we went to the mall!  It was really fun just wandering around and looking at all the clothes.  I wound up buying 2 long sleeve shirts because I only brought two with me from home (what was I thinking?!), one of which is my "lounge around the house" shirt, so I really only had one to wear out of the house.  It was time for new ones.  They weren't terribly expensive, so I bought two.  I also needed a new pair of pajama pants... again.  The last pair I bought here turned out to be too small around my legs (even though the waist fit fine) and I wound up with a huge hole in one leg.  So the ones I bought at the mall this time are HUGE, which is alright because they are just pajama pants after all, AND they are flannel!!! :D  And they are Disney!  I love Disney!  We got back from the mall around 8:30pm and I ate dinner and then watched El Barco with my family (the first time in 3 weeks!) and then went to bed because I knew I was going to be up early the next morning.

Friday was Segovia excursion day with the Fundación.  How I ended up going is actually a funny story...  I was talking to my "mom" at some point during the week and she asked me what I was up to this weekend.  I told her nothing that I knew of, but probably nothing on Friday since my friends were going to be in Segovia.  She all but shooed me out the door, telling me to put my name on the list.  So I did.  And I'm really glad I did!  Segovia was one of the cities I wanted to go to, but was afraid I wouldn't have the time and/or money to get there.  It's biggest attraction is the Roman aqueduct.  I had learned about it in various Spanish classes and was eager to see it in real life.  It was amazing!!!  It is held together with pure gravity and no cement or anything and it's been like that for around 2000 years.  Besides the aqueduct, we also saw that Alcazar (got a tour of the inside, too) and climbed it's tower.  150 stairs.  Really really steep stairs.  We were all huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top.  José Luis told us that they once brought a group here and they were stuck behind a group of old people trying to climb the stairs.  He said it took 20 minutes to get to the top.  We just laughed at that and were very glad that it wasn't us!  From the Alcazar we made our way towards the aqueduct.  We passed many plazas and a number of churches.  For a better idea of what the walk was like, check out my album on Facebook.  When we got the aqueduct, we all stopped and went, "Woah."  We got a brief explanation about it (how it's only held together by gravity and no cement or anything between the rocks and how it's been there for at least 2000 years or so) and then we were allowed to go off and take pictures and whatnot.  Then at 2:00pm we were escorted to a restaurant (with "eh" food) for lunch.  After lunch, we had 30 minutes to wander before making our way back towards the bus to come back to Toledo.  We got back to Toledo much earlier than we thought, so Kami, Moriko and I decided we wanted to go see Breaking Dawn ("Amanecer" it's called here) in Spanish.  So we went with another friend, Bárbara, and headed to the mall (again).  I think we decided that it was wayyyy better in Spanish.  Bella actually had emotion in her voice!  It ended and all of us were like, "What are we going to do until July when the next part comes out?!"  We enjoyed our Spanish movie experience.  My favorite part was how they assign seats in the theater, so you don't have to get there ridiculously early to get good seats.  That was quite nice.  I wish we did it that way in the States.  I got back around 12:00am and only my "brother" was home.  I tried to stay up and wait for my "parents", but I was so tired that I crashed around 1:00am before they got home.

Saturday was just a normal weekend day, we went to Paraíso to my "grandparents'" house where we ate lunch and they did some house work stuff.  I fell asleep and ended up sleeping most of the afternoon.  Which turned out to be almost a good thing because I was going to go out with Kami and Moriko.  But they accidentally missed the last normal bus and wound up waiting at least an hour for a late night bus to come by, but I'm not sure whether it did or not.  After waiting for an hour, I got cold and headed home again.  My "parents" were really confused when I was back so early...  Haha...  Anyway, when I got back I couldn't feel my toes, so they told me to go climb in bed.  I did and was asleep almost immediately.