Life abroad

African Adventures [part.four]

2012-02-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

.January.10.11.
Today we set off on a big adventure. We were off to the home stay. We arrived in Mchezi and the kids came running. Precious!! We met Chris who is the head of the CBO and learned all about the organization and what they do for the community. They run an orphanage for children whose parents have passed away to disease. They have a tailoring program, poultry farm, home based care for HIV/AIDS patients, pig-ery farm, and a program for early childhood development. It was very interesting hearing about the different programs they have set up and over 5,000 people that benefit from this program! We then were introduced to their idea of a maize mill that they wanted to be the next project. Malawians do not have a problem coming up with ideas, but they do have a problem implementing these ideas. Thats where we come in. Throughout the afternoon we discussed costs and discovered that if implemented, we would break even within the first year! This equals a good investment! This then started the wheels turning of what we could do to help. We are currently still working with this project and are planning to start fundraisers to help pay for the mill.
Later that afternoon we were divided up for our home stay. Jessica & I were paired with Constance, a 28 year old school teacher! She was the sweetest woman!

She was so proud of her home and was so excited to have us there. She made us a traditional Malawian dinner of nsima, with relishes. She even brought out a special relish at the end that she had forgotten about... fish. She says, "This should still be good". I was skeptical, but tried a bite and swallowed it whole. Gross. I then downed a whole mango so I couldn't taste it anymore. Very interesting experience. She insisted that she sleep with us in the living room because she "couldn't have her guests sleep on the floor while I sleep in the bed". It was a very restless sleep, but I'm so glad we had that experience. It was so eye opening into the culture of Malawians and how they live.

The next morning Constance insisted that Jessica and I bathe together, aka splash ourselves with water and call it done. After her morning cleaning and making us breakfast, Constance took us back to the CBO house where we talked a little more about the maize mill. The kids were the best part. They loved looking at you and would giggle when you'd try to talk to them. It was such a great experience. We got back to World Camp later that afternoon and just took it easy.

.January.12.13.
Joe cooked an amazing breakfast and then we hopped back into the van and headed to the beautiful Lake Malawi, the 3rd largest lake in Africa. We stayed at Cool Runnings, ran by a superwoman, Sam. It was nice to relax by the beautiful lake. It is called the calender lake. It is 365 km long, 52 km wide and there are 12 rivers that run into it. So pretty! I loved watching the men fishing and all of the boats. A few of us went to the ciclid farm which was really neat, and then to the croc farm. Ciclids are caught in Lake Malawi and taken to the ciclid farm. They then are taken car of for a bit, then sent off to places all over the world. At the croc farm they raise the crocodiles and then kill them for their skin, that they ship off over the world. This area seemed to be more prosperous than in the city and I think it is because of the fishing industry. We had an amazing dinner and it was nice just to be able to hang out with everyone.

The next morning we took a boat to Lizard Island (but I didn't see any lizards) and were able to snorkel around! It was so pretty! It wasn't as clear as I was expecting, but you could see some really pretty fish! We had lunch and then Sam told us about all of the programs she has set up in the community. She has a soccer team (they have to keep up their grades to be on the team), runs a health clinic at the gate, and more. She sponsors elderly people that she feeds. She implemented this program at the school teaching them to pick up a certain amount of plastic a day which they can earn money from. Then by turning in this plastic, they could raise thousands of dollars! She does not like to just give the people stuff. She like to teach them. To install a new mindset in the new generation. She was an amazing woman and very inspiring woman.
We stopped at a market on the way back home and a few of us showed how good we were at bargaining (again, not me). Stocked up on African goods! We all had our last dinner together and packed up all our stuff! The next morning we headed off to the airport for our long journey back!

This was an amazing experience and I am so glad I was able to go on this trip. I can say that I am a different person than when I left. I look at things differently and can't seem to get those little faces of those precious children out of the back of my mind. I truly enjoyed getting to know everyone on the trip and can say we've grown together as a family with Africa now as our bond.

Zikomo kwambiri!!

African Adventures [part.three]

2012-02-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

.January.5.
Today we were able to visit Kirstof & Stacia Nordin at their home about 45 minutes outside of Lilongwe. They are peace corps volunteers and have lived here in Malawi for 15 years. They have created their home into a permaculture house. They are trying use their own lives and homes as an example to Malawians. What is permaculture you may ask? The idea began in 1984 by 2 men, Bill Mollison & David Holmgren. It is defined as the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems, which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. Their motto is "Live simply so that others may simply live." They are trying to change Malawians mindsets - again, in my opinion, Malawi's biggest problem and obstacle. They make their own fertilizer, from their compost toilet and debris that they use in their maize fields, which saves money and gives them a more fruitful crop. For their maize fields, instead of planting just one row of maize, like the rest of Malawi...

they plant 3 rows together in the same bed. They plant maize on the outer 2 rows and then ground crops in the middle, like beans, potatoes, etc. These ground crops keep the maize healthier and in the end they have a bigger harvest.

It was very interesting. All throughout their yard they have greenery and all types of plants growing that are edible. They have two 2 cement cisterns that collect rain water that they use to irrigate the crops. They have food all year round. Not one month of harvest like the rest of Malawi. They never go hungry! They have a few families that live on their land for free, but their payment is they have to use their practices in their own home. It's almost irritating in a sense that there are so many options for food but the locals see nsima as the only option. If they don't have nsima, they don't consider themselves full, and they think the meal lacks nutrition without nsima. They have the same option as the Nordins do! To never go hungry! And it's cheaper their way too! You don't have to buy fertilizer every year, which is expensive, and you reap so much more!! During a rainy season one time (people's hungriest season, because it is right before the next harvest, so they just ran out of maize from the last harvest, but can't yet reap the new one)a woman came to them begging for food. They had plenty of it and offered her some, but she refused it because they weren't eating nsima... CHANGE OF MINDSET!!

It was so neat to be able to see their home and how they live. If you're interested, check out their website, http://www.neverendingfood.org/ . We can put some of their practices into use as well!!

Afterwards, we went to the tobacco auction floor and were able to learn about the daily routine. The farmers bring their tobacco and then it is bid on and bought by companies (cash ONLY. loco.) then taken to their trucks and onto processing.

Very informative and interesting day!

.January.6.7.8.

SAFARI!!!

We left around 7:30 heading for Zambia!! After we got through the border/customs (craziest process ever. i love seeing all of the different customs i've been through) we were in beautiful Zambia. There were more mountains, it was more dense and the huts were different.

After riding on a dirt road for hours, we finally arrived at Croc Valley Camp in Mfuwe. Gorgeous place. It was right across the river from the park, so the animals can walk around freely. There were hippos and crocs in the river, elephants, baboons and other monkeys walking freely around the camp! So cool! Over our few days there, we went on 3 safari drives. We saw all types of animals and it was the best time!! The accommodations at Croc Valley Camp were so nice [after Joe & Ethan debugged our chateau for us :)], the food was amazing, and everyone was so hospitable.

The morning we left, the men that own the camp talked to us about the business side of running the camp. They are really great to the community though, which was great to hear. They employ locals and they buy local which helps put money back into the villages and community. They have an awesome operation going on! Check them out at http://www.crocvalley.com/

.January.9.

Back in Lilongwe! Today we took a tour of the city center. This consisted of several things. One- we climbed up this national monument (stairs and rickety ladders. not safe and never would be allowed to do that in the states.) to the tippy top and had the most beautiful view. So fun. Two- we visited President Banda's (the first president of Malawi) tomb that had been built right by the Parliament building and the 5 star hotel being built by the Chinese. We learned a lot about Banda and his reign. Very interesting.

That afternoon, a man named Alex from Jewish Heart for Africa came to the house to talk to us. Please watch this video that explains this awesome non-profit:

Not only does the solar panels provide electricity for the clinics, schools and orphanages, but also gives them electricity to charge their cell phones. Almost everyone has a cell phone, which is great. They skipped having the landline technology. But they have to pay to charge their phones then that money gets put back into the community to buy new parts when needed. It was great being able to hear about this non-profit in depth and what they're beginning to do in Malawi.

photos from last post

2012-02-10T06:53:00.000-05:00

{sweetGrace}

{my vendor at the fabric market}

{on the way to Wimbe}

{William's FIRST windmill}

{William's Grandparents}

{arriving at the primary school}

African Adventures [part.two]

2012-02-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

.January.3.

Last night I forced myself to stay up until 10 (a big feat) and I don't think I've ever slept so good! A small group of us went this morning to go get money exchanged (legally) and then went to the grocery store. After everyone ate we were going to go on a walking tour of 'old town' but we had to wait for the rain to stop. One of the benefits of going to Malawi during the rainy season (December-March)- everything is so lush and green! It's so beautiful! When it finally did stop, Reiner (a World Camp intern from Holland), took us out and gave us a tour around town and through a market. The vendors come up to you saying "My friend! My friend! Come look at my stall!" They love azungus (white people).
This afternoon a beautiful woman named Grace came and spoke with us! She was a primary teacher for 26 years and now works for the Ministry of Education teaching about HIV/AIDS. Grace herself is HIV positive and she told us that she like to tell people that are also positive, that "Your life is not over!! You can still live your life!!" There is free access to drugs that fight against HIV if they chose to access it. People don't like going into these health clinics to get the medicine because then other people in their village will know that they are sick. They would rather pay for the medicine so people won't know. It seems so backwards. We ran across this throughout our time in Malawi: People need to change their mindsets in order for a change to be made.

She also talked to us about the education system in Malawi which was very interesting because it is so different than our own. There is a teacher shortage (has been ever since primary education became free) so the teacher:student ratio in rural villages is about 1:60 & in the cities is about 1:100-200. Holy cow. Another thing I found interesting was that they teach abstinence in primary schools which is so great!
Grace has the sweetest soul and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to hear from her while we were there!!

After Grace left, we took a van a little ways to a local market. And I'm talkin lo-cal. No other azungus. Anywhere. Close alleys in between wooden stalls. People everywhere. Raw fish sitting on a stand. With hundreds of flies all over them. Plus the smell of fish. And who knows what else. Trash all over the ground that you have to walk over. Being the obvious minority with everyone's eyes following you when you walked by and calling you 'Azungu!'. Completely unlike anything I've ever experienced before. I'll never forget it. We walked through the market to where they sold fabric. Beautiful African fabrics! We all tried out our hand with bargaining {aka me says okay! to whatever price they told me. i'm not a good bargainer. sad.} and learned some Chichewea basics (the language of Malawi). When we got back to the house Lolli was there. He is a tailor & is amazing. We gave him our fabric, told him what we wanted out of it (skirts, dresses, pillow cases, napkins, bags, etc.) and he can make it! He's very talented. We had some good quiche made by John (the cook for the house. sweetest man), a debriefing meeting and then off to bed!

.January.4.

This morning we woke up and left the house at 8 headed to Wimbe Village! Wimbe is the village of William Kamkwamba, author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (everyone go out and read this now. thanks. you won't regret it). Once we got on the road and out of Lilongwe, it was absolutely beautiful! So spacious & lush. Random mountains jutting up from the ground. Fields (&maize) for miles. Huts with thatch roofs. Women with baskets on their heads and babies on their backs. Men on bicycles (a main form of transportation). Villages and trading centers along the sides of the roads (with barber shops, investment bankers, vegetable stands, raw meat hanging, kids running around). So beautiful.

We picked up Blessings in Kasungu, who was William's tutor. An amazing man. (Hoping that we get the book passed for the summer reading and we can get him to Boone/first time in America!!!) Soon after we picked up Blessings we turned off the lovely paved road onto a lovely dirt one. With the most awesome hugest potholes I've ever seen. Touche Malawi. When we would drive past a village people were so excited to see us. They would wave and smile so big (usually shouting azungu! so then more people would come out), a very cool experience.

We finally arrived in Wimbe, and headed straight to William's house. It was so cool to read about this place in his book and then actually see where things took place and to be able to meet some of his family. He unfortunately could not be there, but we were able to meet his father, some of his sisters, his cousins and his grandparents! We were invited into their home, which in Malawi is a big honor. Blessings acted as translator and it was amazing. William's dad showed us an award that William had won, and we saw his graduation picture and his picture with President Banda! You could tell that his dad was so proud. They showed us out back to William's room and the two windmills currently in their yard. The first windmill he built was moved down by Jeremiah's house, his cousin. Geoffery, another one of William's cousins, now maintains the windmills while William is at school. We were able to meet William's grandparents, which was an honor. His grandfather was born in 1919!! I would have loved to sit there for hours and hear his stories. He was a chief in a village not too far away, but William asked him to come back and live near their family.

With William's new fame things have been donated to him and his family, such as solar panels and electricity for his whole village! Most of us brought our books, so the kids and then his family signed them, which is now priceless! Success.

We stopped at the primary school on our way out of town and it was unreal. I think that is when all of us fell in love with Malawi. Kids come out of the woodworks to see azungus! Then when you try to talk to them they get shy and laugh and smile. A thumbs up is a good go to. After a few rounds of singing, we were able to see the library where William would rent textbooks that led him to build the windmill!

On our way back to Lilongwe, we stopped at the secondary school where Blessing's daughter attends. The school was fussing that her tuition had not been paid yet, so Blessings wanted to talk to the principle to say that he didn't have the money, but he would soon. We decided that it would be great to pay for her semester of school! So we did!! It was 8,000 kwacha which is about $50-55 USD. For a whole semester of school. SO so worth it!!

That evening a man named Chikabachi came to give us a Chichewa lesson. He taught us some basics which was very interesting (&hard) to learn. But it makes a big difference just trying to speak the language. All about immersing yourself into the culture, including the language.

For dinner we had our first nsima experience. The traditional dish of Malawi. Not awful, just bland and super super filling. It's just flour and water mixed together and then you eat it with different relishes. We had beans and some type of vegetable. An amazing, unforgettable day :)

Zikomo kwambiri.

African Adventures [part.one]

2012-02-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

It's here. It's has finally come time to put my experience into words. I honestly have been putting it off because I don't even know where to start. How do I put words to this amazing experience and do it any justice? Who knows. But I'm going to try. Partly because I want to share with you my adventures and partly because I have to for a grade :) Lets get started, shall we?

.January.1.

I arrived at the airport at 4:15am where Whitney & I flew to DC and met up with the rest of the group. We hopped on a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 13 hours.

No big deal. Long flights are ridiculous. There never is enough room to actually get comfortable, especially if you're like me and have the middle seat curse. However, the screens on the back of each seat did help to pass the time. Movies, TV shows, games, music -- they have it all! Side note: If anyone is looking for a beautiful ethnic woman, go to Ethiopia. These women are gorgeous. :End side note. We arrived in Addis Ababa then had to get another plane to take us to Lilongwe. Another 6 hours of flying time. Sweet. We stopped halfway in the Congo to refuel. Crazyness. Needless to say, we were glad to get back in the air and not stay there.

.January.2.

We finally arrived in Lilongwe in the early afternoon and were all pretty exhausted. First impression: it reminded me a lot of Nicaragua. It was hot, humid, luscious and obviously so different than North Carolina. Not like what I pictured. Previously when I thought of Africa, I thought hot, dry, dirt, cheetahs and elephants. Not the same.

It was about an hour drive from the airport to the house, so it was a great opportunity to see some of the landscape leading into the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe. Even just from the drive into town, you can tell how significantly different of a country Malawi is.

There were two things that stood out to me while driving into town. One: How within the first twenty minutes of being in the car, you could tell how drastic the gap was between the rich and the poor. There really is not a middle class in Malawi. We drove past several gated subdivisions with huge houses inside and then right up the road are mud houses with a thatch roof. Two: The fuel shortage. We drove past a gas station that had cars parked, lined up for miles waiting to get gas. We complain here in the United States when gas prices are rising, which is indeed a problem, but at least we are still able to get fuel when we need it. Very interesting. I found this video online that can give you an idea of what it was like:

After a tree literally falling directly in front of our van, we finally made it to the World Camp volunteer house. World Camp is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing simple, sustainable solutions to the complex problems of poverty and HIV in Malawi. Our group stayed in their volunteer house in Lilongwe along with their current interns. We divided up into rooms and began to rest and unpack. It was so nice to finally be there and be done with traveling for a bit. In the capital they have electricity, but it is pretty unreliable. So the first night we didn't have power until later that evening, which was fun and an interesting problem that is often run into. Candlesticks stuck in wine bottles? Genius. A lot of us played the beloved card game, Mofia, had a debriefing meeting and finally went to bed!

Happy 2012, I'm off to Africa!!

2011-12-31T22:28:00.000-05:00

That's right folks!! I leave for AFRICA tomorrow!! I can not believe it is actually here. I was so so busy with exams, and Christmas that it snuck up on me. In the first wee hours of 2012 (IN LESS THAN 9 HOURS), I will be boarding a plane headed to Lilongwe, Malawi for TWO weeks!!! I am beyond excited. I feel so blessed to be able to go on a trip like this and cannot wait to get there!!

I have to answer three more questions for my Malawi class, so without further ado, here are the final questions:

Question One: List the two greatest achievements of NGO's in Malawi.
Throughout our readings and research, we have found obvious achievements of NGO's in Malawi. In my opinion, one of the greatest achievements they've had is the education that they have given the local people which is priceless. They are able to help get children to school when otherwise, they might not have had the chance. They also have NGO's that give people knowledge on how to help protect themselves against AIDS and HIV, personal hygiene, and safe sex. Another important thing I believe NGO's have been able to do in Malawi is being able to provide aid to the people there. There are now more clinics set up than in the past which can provide different types of aid.

Question Two: List the two most common reasons why NGO's disband/fail.
One of the most common reasons that NGO's disband is when the mission is no longer appropriate and the non-profit struggles between it's original mission and with relative security. These are two constant, competing tendencies that can become extreme when organizations are under pressure, and ultimately lead to disband or failure. The second reason is the risk/survival analysis, finding the proper balance between organizational extension and risk taking and organizational security. There is a point where a line needs to be drawn between the public service mission and the organizational security which can be a struggle for NGO's and can also lead to disband or failure.

Question Three: Which is more challenging, managing cash flow in a non-profit or a regular business? Why?

Managing cash flows in a non-profit organization is more challenging than that of a regular business due to the fact that it may or may not be an unsteady inflow. This can result in a shortfall of cash during the year and force the NGO to alternative routes to resolve this problem. Some of the routes include reserve funds, liquidate assets, borrow money from a trustee, or a loan from a bank.

So my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. I probably won't sleep well tonight. You know, pre-trip anxiousness (I'm 22 years old and this still happens before every trip) and the fact that fireworks will be going off all night long (happynewyears!!). Also a fun piece of information:: Gray and I will have been dating for THREE YEARS in two days!!! :) :) So blessed. He is the best ever. He's being super sassy that I won't be here (typical) but I'm bringing him a baby lion cub in return for my absence. Fair trade.

Well, I'm off to go do some last minute things. Please be praying for me and my time in Malawi! Can't wait to share my new adventures with you :)

THIS is the confidence we have in approaching God:

that is we ask anything according to his will,

he hears us.

And if we know he hears us - whatever we ask -

we know that we have what we asked of him.

-1John5:14-15

New Adventures

2011-12-04T16:09:00.000-05:00

School has kicked itself into high gear as the semester is coming to a close. From this side, it seems like the papers, presentations and exams will never stop. But I know that in a few short weeks the world will be right again, and everything will once more be calm (PraiseJesus). I have had a wonderful semester back at App and can't believe it's nearing a year to when I left for the great adventure that was Spain. As I reminisce on my time there, I am so thankful for the beauty of other countries and cultures that I was able to see, the people I was able to meet, and the overall eye-opening experience I was blessed to have. I love Spain.

SO even though the semester is slowly winding down, I am gearing up for a new adventure :) One that will take me out of the country from January 1-16. One that will require me to fly over the Atlantic. One that will land me in SOUTHERN AFRICA!!!! Specifically, Malawi. I am going to Malawi, Africa!!!! I can not tell you how excited I am!! I am going with a group from Appalachian (about 10 other students) and we are staying mainly at a Non Profit called World Camp in their volunteer house. We are going to go on a safari (YES!!!) in Zambia and also go to Lake Malawi and stay a night there. The icing on the cake is that we get class credit!! It counts as three credit hours that will go towards my spring semester!
For part of our grade in the class we have to have a blog (perfect) and we are required to answer a few questions for class before we leave and then keep a daily journal while we are in Malawi. So instead of making a whole new blog, I edited mine a bit and am just going to add to it! So our first 2 questions for class are...

Question One: Why is Malawi poor?
I think that Malawi is poor for many different reasons. They have a very poor infrastructure, very bad corruption, undiversified exports, and limited natural resources. Malawi finds itself in a poverty trap. The total discretionary budget is $378.8 million ( 53.6%) of the overall budget. This represents $31.56 per capita for the provision of all services. This small amount is obviously inadequate to provide services that will be impacting. So quality of health, education, financing investments in agriculture and food security, and other services get put on the back burner and thus they are still in immense poverty. Most of the population lives in rural areas and agriculture is what a majority of these people do for a living. However, they have been farming on the same land for years which leads to a decline in the soil fertility and it stagnates the agricultural productivity. This results in an unstable food security situation. According to national data, 64% of the population live below the poverty line. Also, Malawi has an external debt of $3.23 billion which is taken from the very small amount the country does have that should be put into developing the country.

Question Two: What does it mean to be poor?
In my opinion to be poor means to not have the financial means to support yourself and lacking access to basic amenities.

and the second set of questions too because I'm late with the first ones (sorry Meredith!)...

Question One: What is the definition of a sustainable process?
A sustainable process is development that does not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their needs by fulfilling our own needs at present time.

Question Two: How does it encompass inter-generational and intra-generational equity?
The Brundtland Commission's interpretation of sustainable development brings together the equity between generations (inter-generational) and the equity within generations (intra-generational). The report stated, "Even the narrow notion of physical sustainability implies a concern for social equity between generations, a concern that must logically be extended to equity within each generation." Sustainability is what connects different generations. It requires people in industrialized countries to reduce their consumption of resources per head to a level that everyone in the world would be able to live on indefinitely.

Question Three: What is the difference between sustainability and sustainable development?
Most people fail to differentiate the difference between sustainability and sustainable development. Sustainable development is a term that ultimately gives priority to development, and growth. It is more of a business term. On the other hand, you have sustainability that is mainly about the environment and used more by environmentalists.

So, dear friends, please be praying for me and I am preparing for this amazing trip. I am so excited to see what the Lord has for me in Africa!!

Here's another way to put it:

You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.

God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you?

I'm putting you on a light stand.

Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!

Keep open house; be generous with your lives.

By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

-Matthew5:16-18 (The Message)

Manaña.

2011-06-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

Can't believe it's finally here. I leave Spain tomorrow. WHAT!?! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! Actually feels real. It hasn't really up until now. I'm actually going to be able to see Gray and my family in 2 days!! And then my homegirl Allie in 3 days (along with lots of other pretty faces I can't wait to see!)!!! Y'all just don't understand. 5 months is a long time. I'm so so ready to be home!
But I made some lists. So enjoy :)

So Ready For...

Not having to walk a bizillion miles a day and be able to drive again
Two words: Air Conditioning.
Milk and eggs that are refrigerated in the grocery store. It still sketches me out.
A Moe's burrito (plus lots of others. like an actual breakfast from ihop. or a jersey mikes sub. it's pretty much what kira and i talk about all the time)
A North Carolina summer.
Some Cornerstone Summit!!! So excited.

But I will miss...

Living at the sea
The pretty fountains all over
Tortilla de patatas (determined to learn how to make it though)
El castillo. (cool that i've lived by a castle for 5 months)
All my cool new international friends
Prime time European people watching (it's seriously the best)

Also there are things I won't miss...

Cockroaches (since it has gotten warmer here they seem to think it is okay to come hang out. false. and they're massive. Erin said it looks like they're on steroids. true statement)
Living in a city (over it. take me back to boone)
This small, dark apartment.
Jellyfish in the water (aka medusas in espanol)
Techno

Hogueras started a few days ago. If you read when I went to Valencia to see Las Fallas (you can read it HERE ), it is very similar. The cool artsy statues that they burn down at the end of the week. If you want to read in detail about it you can do so HERE or just google it. They also have firework shows daily. And let me tell you something - the Spaniards know how to put on a firework show. I don't know how to describe it. Not only are there fireworks, but there are these firecracker things that vibrate the ground. I'm not doing it any justice, but believe me it's awesome. I won't be able to see when they burn everything, but I am okay with that because I saw Las Fallas and plus I'll be home by then :)

Okay, I need to go pack so I can so say bye to everyone tonight!

Spain (/Europe), thanks for having me. It's been great!

America, I'M COMING HOME! SEE YOU SOON!!!

MyBooneFriend.

2011-06-14T07:37:00.000-04:00

First things first. Update: I have EIGHT days until I leave Spain! AHHHHH!!! What?!?! I know. I'm excited. It will definitely be a culture shock when I get back. Europe is way different than the States. But I think I'll do just fine :) Can't wait to give everyone the biggest hug EVER! :)

As you may know, my sweet friend Jaime came to visit me this past weekend! And what a great weekend it was! She arrived on Thursday night and we spent the evening eating yummy Italian food, sitting by the Mediterranean , walking halfway up the castle to see the city lit up, having good conversations, eating gelato (praisejesus), and passing out. The whole weekend we were on the same sleep schedule, which was so great!
On Saturday we went with some girls to San Juan Beach and had our own DIY spa day! Alicia (from New York) prepared the whole thing and it was really fun! We did facials out of oatmeal, honey and yogurt. Cucumbers and all. Some type of hair treatment with yogurt, olive oil, and an egg (ew). And an exfoliation scrub with strawberries, olive oil and sand. Each of these was a first for me. My favorite was the scrub cause it worked and felt so good!! Might just have to do that one again. Afterwards we showered, then got kebabs and ate at the harbor! Margaret was having a going away party since she was leaving the next morning. Hilarious. No words. Funny funny night. She has a 'ritual' where she burns her notes and books from the past semester of the classes she didn't like. So a little into the night we all hiked up to this place kind of overlooking the city and indeed burned her papers.
The next morning we rode with Margaret to the airport and said our goodbyes! She is now safely back in her favorite place in the world, Latvia. The apartment is a lot quieter and she is greatly missed! :) We spent most of the day at the beach. It was a solid beach day. Then we got gelato again (perfect excuse to eat it when a guest is in town! no more though. tri coming up) and hiked up to the castle! It was a beautiful day and did not disappoint.

We sat for a while waiting for the sun to set, but gave up because it sets around 9:30. Impatient and hungry. We showered and then went to a chinese restraunt at the harbor with my Texas roommate Elissa and her boyfriend Austin. Sooo good. Like I said earlier, Jaime and I were on the same sleep schedule so after dinner we were exhausted so headed home and went to bed.
On Sunday we had breakfast then headed out of town to San Paz to a market/flea market type deal. It was so cool! I really liked it. We liked looking through the old things and finding gems amidst all the stuff. Once we got back into town we had pizza, then walked around for a while until we had to bid adieu at the train station.
I'm so so happy that Jaime was able to come and visit and check a goal off her list! I really enjoyed our time together! Sweet friend, sweet conversations, and such sweet time together! So thankful for you Jaime!! :)

Moris is pokin out there (jaime's hair extension).

Off to the beach! Which is probably what I'll be doing for the next week! That and tri training. Ugh. Still can't believe I'm doing that. I might be crawling across the finish line. Hopefully not.

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

-Job37:14

Sky'sTheLimit.

2011-06-02T18:16:00.000-04:00

20 days. Passed the 3 week mark yesterday. Feelin good about it. These are a few of the things I'm missing right now:

The beauty of Boone, NC.

R.Giddings :)

Sheepie.

My Allisons

The Sibs & Los Tres.

Graybill :)

I've been playing this song a lot lately...

This Thankful Thursday I am very very thankful for Cornerstone Toledo livestream every Sunday. It is always so encouraging to be able to worship and be fed the relevant word of God! This past Sunday Bishop Pitts talked about the love of God. About how God is love. God's love is without qualification or conditions! You don't have to qualify for God's love! It's so much more than any type of love we can fathom. He has NO limits!!! The revelation of His love compels us to do more. Aspiring to reach more. To know more.

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure.

Oh how He loves us!!! God is love. This chica is thankful.

This is how God showed his love among us:

He sent his one and only Son into the world

that we might live through him.

This is love:

not that we loved God,

but that he loved us.

-1John4:9-10

Happenings.

2011-05-28T15:39:00.000-04:00

This past Tuesday we had our final presentation for our Business Spanish class. It went well & I am SO glad it is OVER! Praise Jesus!!! What would have been the final class on Wednesday, was cancelled! So after the presentation, I was officially DONE with classes here in Spain! (sothankful)

'So Caitlin, why aren't you coming home now if you're already done with classes?' Well I'll tell you. Way back when I had to book plane tickets, I had no idea all those classes in English ended in the middle of April. So I looked online and it said that the exams through the university ended on June 17th. So not knowing what classes I was taking, I had to assume I could have an exam then and booked my flight for the 22nd. I ended up taking only one class through the university (business spanish) and instead of a final exam, we had the presentation! So I was done May 24th!! I looked into changing my flight, but it would cost me over $600. To me that was just a confirmation that I was suppose to stay here. God's not done with me here yet!!
So for these next 25 days (yes, 25!!!!!!!!!) I am going to be at the beach as much as possible. I am going to be training hardcore for this triathlon (still can't believe i'm doing this!). I might be taking some day trips to other nearby cities. I might be going to a theme park for a day. Oh yes, and one other thing... I am gonna see THE Jaime Meier HERE in Alicante!!! YAY! As some of you know, she is studying for a month in Madrid. She talked her instructors into letting her come here for a weekend and I couldn't be more excited!! :) So that is something to look forward to!! And that is my month! I'm sure it's going to fly by. Just like this semester has. It always happens that way.
The weekend Jaime comes, Margaret is going back to Latvia & she is so so excited. She has been a good roommate, especially since she has never had a roommate before! I have learned a lot about Latvia, and have an open invitation to come and visit whenever I return to Europe! It'll be weird without her here, but I won't be alone when she leaves! Today a girl named Alyssa from Texas moved in!! She is taking one Spanish class through the university for the month and then hopes to travel. She seems really nice and I'm excited to get to know her better!

This past Wednesday was my little brother's 18th birthday. (Okay, he's not so little anymore. He's bigger than me.) I wish so badly that I could have been there to celebrate him, BUT that just means a bigger celebration when I get back!! :) Daniel, I love you and miss you a lot!! I'm so proud of you and so so thankful you are my brother!! Praying for you and CAN'T WAIT to see you so soon!!!!

So much sass.

UnoMesMas.

2011-05-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Holy Mackerel!!! In exactly THIRTY days I will be HOME!!!!!!! One Month!!! That's all!!!!! How in the world is it already one month left?? I felt like it was just yesterday when I was one month in!! (& at the same time I feel like I've been gone for centuries) I'm not complaining though! I am beyond excited to see my boyfriend again and my family and friends!!! I have had such an amazing time here in Spain (still not over!) and memories that I'll have with me for the rest of my life!
I just thought this was an important day and wanted to post my happiness so I won't forget! I would love to write more, but like I said yesterday, I have this big final presentation tomorrow, so I need to finish it and get some good shut-eye!! :)
God is beyond good and I am so so so blessed!!!

I've thrown myself headlong into your arms—

I'm celebrating your rescue.!

I'm singing at the top of my lungs,

I'm so full of answered prayers!

-Ps.13:5-6 {TheMessage}

NothingShortOfThankful.

2011-05-22T18:38:00.000-04:00

While I should be working on my final presentation for my Business Spanish class (for Tuesday), I am instead choosing to blog about Rome. Makes perfect sense. I'm so over this class and can not wait until Wednesday when I am OFFICIALLY done with all my classes!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Okay, so Rome. It's my favorite place I've been to in Europe. By far. I love history and Rome is the definition of a historical city. But lets start at the beginning...

Day One

We woke up and got ready for the big day. The guy who worked at the hostel saw that we were up early (no one else was up) and prepared breakfast for us an hour earlier than normal! Saweeet! We took the metro the airport, checked in and hopped on the plane, jet-setting to Italy. The flight was fine and we were oh so excited to finally be in Rome! We took the public bus to the metro, and then the metro into the city (savvy money savers) to where we were staying. Our Mom was so nice to find and finance where we stayed! It was this little bed & breakfast right near the castle and the Vatican! (Thanks again Mom!) It took us a little bit to first find it and we were both tired, starving and delirious. After we checked in we decided what better to do in Italy than eat! I know you were thinking the same thing. Don't lie. So we ventured out (starving, weary (carlie's favorite word) travelers) and found this legit pasta place.

Perfection in a picture, I know (well 2 pictures). Story of my life. But what you don't know is that I was very sick. I sadly only ate about 5 bites (with carlie forcing me) (but don't worry, I took it home and ate it later). I had an awful headache and was nauseous. I think it was brought on from lack of food and sleep. But Carlie, on the other hand, hand no problem what-so-ever and ate it like she had never eaten spaghetti before in her life. Our waiters were thrilled to help us with our Italian (seriously. 4 of them came out of nowhere) when we asked how to say Ibuprofen. We found a pharmacy, got some meds, then went back to the room. I felt bad that on our first day in Rome I had to feel bad. We took a nap which was so needed. When we got up I felt a little bit better and ate my pasta. So good.

We didn't want to waste our whole day, so we set off to be exploradoras. Like I said, our room was right near the Castel San Angelo (beautiful), so we walked past it and then towards Piazza Navona. The streets were so pretty. On the way to the Piazza we stopped and got our first gelato (aka- heaven. i will never eat simply 'ice cream' again. only gelato). We sat by a fountain eating perfection, listened to music by the cutest old Italian man, watched people breakdancing, and walked through a mini market with paintings. Everything was so alive. We decided to keep exploring, so we walked to the Pantheon. It was closed when we went, but it was really cool! It's Rome's best preserved monument. It was built back in 126AD as a temple to all the gods. Hence the name. All (pan) of the gods (theos).

We continued walking and saw the Tempio Adriano (a once magnificent temple built in 145AD, dedicated to Hadrian (emperor)), and the Parliament building. It was fun just walking around and seeing Rome. We found this pizza place for dinner. Yum! We were still so tired, so we headed back and hit the hay.

Day Two

So at our B&B we had breakfast in bed. Kutos to whoever came up with that idea. I'd like to take my breakfast in bed from now on. The little Italian woman who worked there, named Dorina, spoke no english. We spoke no Italian. She was super nice and would come in talking in Italian to Carlie and I, give us our breakfast, pat our arms, still talking and walk out. Her daughter worked there some and knew some english, which was needless to say, very helpful. Anyways, we ate our breakfast (consisting of toast, a croissant, juice and coffee) and prepared for a day full of sightseeing. Today was the day for the Vatican! We got there and it was so massive and pretty! We got in line to go into St. Peter's Basilica when a man told us 'Can't wear shorts inside'. Opps. Didn't even think about that! So we decided to go see how long the line was for the museums. It was very long, so we went back to our room, changed out of our scandalous shorts and headed back to the Vatican. Take 2. We waited in line again and were cut by some suppppper rude people, right at the front of the line! I informed him and his friend that there was a line, and he just waved me off. Jerk. It ruffled Carlie and I's feathers, but we quickly forgot about it when we walked in and saw the splendor of the Basilica.

This place is unreal. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the whole world. The Basilica was built above the tomb of Peter, who was also the first Pope. There are also a lot of other past Popes that have been buried here, including the recent John Paul II (you can see his body. weird). We walked around in awe for a while then ate our leftover pizza from the night before while sitting under the columns in St. Peter's Piazza. Success.

We went back over to the museums to see if there was still a line and great news - no line! Thanks Jesus! AND we got in with the student discount!! This always makes me the happiest! There were 10 museums all clustered together. Overload. We made our way through them, perfectly timing our steps so the english tour was directly behind us. Just addin knowledge to the noggin. Basically the grand finale is the Sistine Chapel. We sadly weren't able to take pictures, but even if we were, I don't think you could capture how beautiful it was. It was amazing!!! I can not imagine having to paint all of that!! Touche Michelangelo!!

After we finished the museums we took the metro a little ways. We got gelato (whatelse) and walked over to the Spanish Steps. Did you know that they are the widest steps in Europe?? Me either. We went and found some shade so the weary Carlie could rest. THEN the best thing ever happened!!! We stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain. We love the Trevi.

Love at first sight. This is THE BEST place ever to people watch. You see all kinds of things: people getting engaged, little kids, punk middle school aged kids, trashy Americans, too much PDA, cute Americans (who wore chacos, naturally), sassy Italians, people lounging on rocks eating their gelato, self-pics, guards patrolling way too seriously, Asian photoshoots, and much much more!! We walked around for a while, came back near the Trevi, had a great dinner, then back to the Trevi to continue people watching! We were waiting for them to turn the lights on, but we also didn't want to miss the metro (it stopped running at 9). So we took the metro back to our side of town and found a place for Carlie to have her tiramisu she'd been craving. Apparently if you order a coffee at 8:45pm, they think a shot of espresso is just the ticket. Noice. Even nicer for Carlie later that night when I was so hyper and she wasn't :) shelovesme.

Day Three

Words Carlie & I perfected in Italian: Ciao, Arrivedercci, Scusi, Grazie, & Burngiorno. Words we did not perfect: whatever Dorina said to us in the mornings. We understood Burngiorno and Prego... My go to is when in doubt, smile. Works like a charm :) Today was ancient Rome day. We took the metro to the Colosseum and right when you walk outside, there it is. In all its splendor. We were pretty much starstruck and did what anyone would do... whipped out our cameras and started taking pictures! Duh.

We decided to share the audio tour (so worth it) and we got to skip the long lone!! I loved listening to all the history and facts. While we were up there walking around, there was some sort of police appreciation day going on down on the street that we were watching. Everyone was dressed to the nines and it was cool to watch. Noice! Once we left, we found a restaurant nearby for lunch. Annnnd my card got declined... splendid. We used the last of our cash to pay and decided to go to the Roman Forums (our ticket for the Colosseum covered the Forums too). We should have gotten the audio guide (but didn't have $$) because after a while everything just looked like different sized rocks. If (& when) I go back to Rome, I really want to go back here and get the guide because I think it would be so interesting!! It used to be the center of Rome - the heart. With temples, churches, houses, government buildings. Coolest. We walked around for a long time and then headed back to our room. We skyped Dad and he rescued us from starving in Rome (Thanks Dad!). After showering and getting ready, we headed over to the Trevi area to find someplace for dinner. We ate at this cutest place called That's Amore. Our food was so good! Our cute Italian waiter loved us and referred to us as the sisters throughout the night. 'Are the sisters done? Would the sisters like some coffee?'. Perfect.

Afterwards we walked to the Trevi to see it all lit up. She's a beaut. We people watched for a while (our favorite thing) then started to head back to our room. When we were walking we got stopped by police and a second later all of these race cars sped right past us!! We thought it was cool, but didn't pay it much mind. Well once we got near the castle, we found out it was this huge race called the Miglia 1000! The checkpoint for that day was right in front of the castle! We have to walk right past it to go home, so we stopped to check it out (plus we knew dad would be having a field day). We were standing on our tip toes trying to see over people, when I looked over my shoulder and caught eyes with the security guy and he motioned for Carlie and I to go through to the VIP section!!! Believe it. We were directly by all of the fancy photographers! We took a ton of pictures for Dad until the last car checked in.

Just so you can get a mental picture :)

Day Four

Today was our last day of breakfast in bed :( Sad. We walked a little ways to an area called Trastevere. It was really pretty there! It was quiet and not as touristy as the center of Rome is. We walked around for a while and guess what we stumbled upon?? An Italian wedding. I forgot to mention that I have a best friend getting married and that's the whole reason Carlie and I went to Rome. To see her get married (justkidding).

We stayed and drank cappuccinos nearby as we watched the action. I loved it. We explored around the area for a while, then meandered over to the old Jewish district and had sandwiches on a park bench while watching little boys play soccer. We walked through some more ruins and around the Forum to get to the metro. We decided to go to the catacombs and from the map online, it looks like it is accessible from the metro. Well it's not. We walked probably 2-3 miles, no exaggeration, in the heat, with no map. We were not very happy. And the area where we were was suupper sketchy. We finally found it (with help from a nice old lady) and it was really cool! We didn't really know what to expect. We went to the Catacombs of San Domitilla, the supposed largest catacomb in Rome. It was all combined over 11 miles of tombs. It's made up of 4 layers, getting smaller with each layer. Like an upside down pyramid. We had a tour around some of it and it was very interesting. And cold. So cold. We found out how to take the BUS back to the city and had the biggest struggle to date. You have to pay for your tickets on this machine in the bus and it only take specific coins. Well I didn't have these specific coins, so I'm asking people on the bus if they can give me 2 twenty cent coins for 4 ten cent ones. All the while being swung around the bus like a rag doll. I dropped coins and then it ate some of my money. Carlie and I were a hot mess. Finally a man just paid for us haha! We were that pathetic. We were so so thankful and grateful for that couple that took pity on us and helped us. For real.

What better thing to make your day all better than some gelato?! That's right! Gelato at the Trevi for sadly, the last time. We did some souvenir shopping nearby and bargained a little bit. We had our last Italian meal :( I had spaghetti and Carlie had fettucini alfredo. yummm!

When we got home we packed and got a little bit of sleep.

Day Five

We had to get up so early to get to the airport on time. The guy who met us when we first checked in offered to get a cab to go to the airport. We agreed and when we went down that next morning we didn't have a cab, but a personal driver. Fancy! Driving in luxury to the airport! Our flight back to Valencia went fine. When we got back to Spain, it was sadly very cold! So instead of sightseeing, we spent some time in Starbucks. Works for me! We grabbed lunch, then played cards in the train station until it was time to go. Our train back to Alicante was the most shaky thing ever. Carlie and I thought it was going to go off the tracks! But don't worry- we made it successfully back!

We had such an amazing time in Italy and just being together!!

look closely...

Thank you for sticking through and reading all of that. Guess what??

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY AND I'LL BE ON A PLANE COMING BACK HOME!!!! :)

can't wait.

FavorFallingLikeRain

2011-05-19T19:13:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I have not forgotten about you! I may or may not have waited to blog until this Thursday so I could tell you how thankful I am for my sister (along with our glorious adventures). Thats right! This Thankful Thursday I want to share my heart and let you in on a secret (but actually not so secret). I love my sister. This is Carlie:

She is the sassiest sheila out there. And she is my best friend. I am so blessed to have Carlie as my little sister & I'm SO SO glad she was able to come see me here in Spain! I am thankful for Carlie's heart. I am thankful that she is in love with Jesus. I'm thankful that she wants to share that love with some middle schoolers next year through the great ministry of Young Life. I am thankful that we both are in love with Boone and go to the same university. I'm thankful that we've grown so close over this past year. I'm thankful for her silly, goofy and crazy personality. There is nothing like the bond of sisterhood and if you have a sister, you can probably agree!

Carlie, I love you so much and you are my BSF. I am proud to call you my sister. I can't wait to hear about your adventures at the Gap. Praying for you. Miss you. Can't wait to see you so soon :) Lylas...but really haha

So I know what you want to ask. How was your time with Carlie? Well I'll tell you. It was so. much. fun. Like Carlie said in her guest post (here) the 10 days flew by and I can't believe she's already gone! Here is a quick recap of her first few days in Spain:

Her flight got in around 11 (yes, we might have cried in the airport) on the 6th and she was delirious. It's true. She pretended to be a dog on the bus back into the city. Then laughed at herself and proceeded to do it again! Crazy girl. Her first day here was crummy weather. So we had a typical Spanish breakfast (toast and coffee. yup that's it. again - still missing the full irish breakfast!!!) and we wandered around the town. We stumbled upon a beautiful cathedral in the historic district, a kite festival, and I showed Carlie my favorite coffee place on the water (she loved it. duh). My Turkish friend Selin cooked for us this night and it was ah-may-zing!! We had pasta with yogurt and this spicy stuff (sounds gross, but not), this patatoe salad sort of thing and cucumbers. I may have forgotten something, but it was really good! After dinner we had Turkish coffee. It's a small cup (like espresso) with the grounds at the bottom. When you get to the grounds, you turn your cup onto the plate, wait a few minutes then when you pick the cup up there are shapes and lines on the inside (from the grounds) and in Turkey they read your fortune for you! Selin is not an expert, but she read Carlie and I's fortunes and it was so fun!! The next day was beautiful so we decided it was the day to conquer the castle! The castle is the main attraction everyone takes their guests to when they come to visit. It's great and free - yay! We hiked up to the top and it couldn't have been a prettier day!!

We had a picnic at the top before heading down to the sea for some sunshine!! The next day we hit up the beach again and then walked around some shops for a while. We went out to dinner and in total excitement for Italy, we ordered pasta. Well it was covered in a sauce made of 4 different types of cheeses. Not normal cheese, but names you can't even pronounce. It. was. so. gross. We didn't even come close to finishing because it was that gross. The next day I had class, so we went to campus and I gave Carlie a tour of the campus and then she waited until I got done. We then picked up our bags from the apartment (and sneaked in a few minutes to watch some of The Lizzie McGuire Movie in preparation for Rome, naturally) and headed to the train station. We rode the train to Valencia (2 hour train ride) which is where we flew out of the next morning. We stayed in a nice hostel right in the center of town. After we checked in, we walked around a little bit, ate dinner and then went back to rest up for our big day - Travel to Rome.

I'm ending this post here because I am getting weary (i'm sorry, it's 1am here!) and I want to give full details when I tell you about Rome!! Until then, I hope this little gem can hold you over! :)

SURPRISE!

2011-05-15T15:50:00.000-04:00

So... I'm sure you're wondering what this cliffhanger surprise is...
well: It's me, Carlie, here in spain. YES. guestpost.
Tomorrow morning I leave. Caitlin and I have had such a blast together. I'm not ready to leave yet, these 10 days flew by. It seems like just yesterday I flew in and we ate pasta salad in her apartment late at night. I know that Caitlin will soon write about our time together and all our travels, adventures, and hilarious stories, but hopefully this is good enough for now!

After a few days here in Alicante (days well spent at the beach, castle, and around the city) we flew to ROME, and just got back today. Rome was so beautiful and with so much to see and do in the city, I think we conquered a lot. I have concluded: after my time spent in this beautiful city in Italy that I want to be a couple of things:
1. A nun. (inspired of course, by the Vatican) and because they're everywhere around here. They are so cute and are always with fellow nun friends.
2. A gladiator. Brave, tough, and valiant, fighters. Why wouldn't you want to be a gladiator?
3. A tour guide in the Colosseum. More realistic way to learn about and teach others about ancient times I suppose
4. A Vestal Virgin in the Roman courts for the Emperor. Basically all they have to do is sit around in beautiful outfits, help out around the palace, sit by wonderful fountains, and look at pretty flowers all day. Great life.
I'm so glad that I got to come to Spain to see my sister. I miss her alot and alot in America, she is my best pal. Our trip to Rome was the best and, needless to say we will remember it forever. We are grateful to our parents who support us mentally and financially in our travels! SISTERFRIENDSFORLIFE.

Caitlin and I came up with a list of travel tips if you ever decide to go to Rome (A cliffhanger until her next blogpost)

Travel Tips to Rome by C&C:

shorts and tanktops are hoochie in the eyes of Italians. Wear clothes if you want to divert some eyes
Bring good walking shoes!! You walk so so much.
Don't rush through the Vatican museums . At least not as fast as we did (woops)
Study basic Italian words before going. We knew nothing, which was sometimes a difficulty (thankfully a lot of people spoke English--Score!)
Only buy one water bottle because you can refill it all over the city by these fountain things with spickets. You might question them, but don't- just accept a cool drink of water.
Motto: "When in Rome!" - use as frequently as possible
you may at the men dressed up as gladiators, but don't take a pic with them unless you want to pay 5 Euros and be ripped off. A lesson we learned in NYC...scam. only take a pic from afar if you cant resist like me
If you want to visit the Catacombs, find out which bus to take...DO NOT take the metro or you will have to walk too far to find it. and we didnt have a map.
Say no to people trying to sell you stuff. As for the people hassling you outside of the restaurants, be sassy and they'll leave you alone to look at menus.
Start fresh when going to the Roman Forums. Go ahead and get the audio-guide or you will have NO idea what rocks were what. Also bring sunscreen and fill your water bottle!

Duces Spain!

-Carlie

Ireland.

2011-05-06T07:25:00.000-04:00

First and foremost you HAVE to listen (not necessarily watch) to this while reading this post:

And once it's over and you're still reading, you can play this one:

Day One

Okay, so you know those people you see at the airport at check in, with their suitcases open while they're cramming things into every inch of their carryon? And then weighing it multiple times to see how much further they have to go? That was Erin & I this morning. I accidentally paid for a 15 kilogram bag instead of a 20 kilogram. Great. And it weighed 20 on the dot so it would have been perfect, but no. I ended up wearing a sweater, jacket, carrying my sweatshirt, wearing Erin's boots, and almost wore my sweatpants over my jeans (luckily, that didn't happen). Erin was wearing her sweatshirt, jacket and carrying her other jacket. We threw away all of our shampoo & conditioner and stuffed our backpacks to the brim. It was finally the correct weight and we were slowly getting through security and of course they decide to go through all of Erin's stuff. Perrrrfect. Then we were those people sprinting through the airport (because the screen said 'Final Call') with all of our layers on. We were a hot mess. Once we got to the gate, they hadn't even started boarding. Naturally. I think I passed out on the plane. That humming of the plane can put me to sleep almost every time.

We got to Dublin, took the bus into town, found our hostel, left our bags (check-in was at 2) and had our first Irish breakfast down the road. First impressions: not impressed. I don't know what it was we thought we were going to see in Dublin, but we were really let down. We had imagined Ireland as super green, mountainous, stone everywhere- but Dublin was just another city. So what did we do? We hopped on a train to Don Laoghaire (pronounced dun leary. doesn't look like that, I know). In the movie P.S. I Love You they mentioned it and since it was only a 30 minute ride, we decided to check it out. However, once we got there, we found it was a little harbor town with nothing there. Beautiful, but we walked around and then decided to go back to Dublin and not waste our precious time in Ireland.

Dublin is famous for the Guinness Storehouse. This is where we headed once we got back into the city. It takes you on a step by step self tour through the brewing process. At the end, you are in the Gravity Bar where you have a 360degree view of the city and a complementary pint of Guinness. Personally, I find the stuff disgusting. But the views were awesome, and the tour was pretty interesting!!

We then walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral and then through the Temple Bar area. There is indeed a National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, but unfortunatly it was closed :( Sad day. Headed back to the hostel to check-in and we had the nicest room! No bunk beds - actual beds with duvet covers!! I was in heaven! So spacious and so clean. If anyone ever goes to Dublin - stay at The Townhouse/Globetrotters. They're the best. After we unpacked a bit, we went out in search of food. We settled on Subway. Trying to save that moolah.

At our hostel they had a table with tons of brochures. So we looked at some of them and found a tour that would take us to the west coast and down to see the Cliffs of Moher for only 35Euros! We booked it that night and went to bed early to rest up for our next day's big adventure :)

Day Two

We woke up early, got ready and went to meet our group. We took the coach (nicer bus system) to Galway, which is on the opposite coast line. It took a little over 2 hours! Our tour guide told us later that Ireland is about the size of Maine. Crazy. The drive was so pretty! As soon as we were out of Dublin, it was exactly what we expected to see! So green, hilly, the picturesque stone houses and so so beautiful!! Erin & I kept saying 'This is what I expected.' Once in Galway we switched to our tour bus and started driving to the family's farm (it was a family ran tour company). We drove along the coastline and through some small villages which was all absolutely beautiful!! We got to their farm and were able to see their baby lambs and calf before going on a walk. SO CUTE!

friends :)

Our guide led us up the mountain behind their farm telling us about the history of the area. The area is called the Burren Mountains (burren means 'rocky place' in Gaelic) because these mountains are basically a lot of rock. Well the tops of them at least. It was so neat and humbling to be sitting at the top of the mountain in the sun and looking out at the valley that led to Galway Bay. Beauty. God is good.

It was a great and beautiful hike. Headed back down to the farm and talked to the tour guide's dad- aka his farm. Cutest Irish man in a sweater. I wish I had taken a picture. Then we had homemade apple pie (the momma made it) with real cream - Y.U.M.

We loaded back into the bus and then drove through a town called Lisdoonvarna which is where a big matchmaking festival takes place every September. So if you're single and wanna be hooked up with an Irish man - go here in September. We stopped in a town called Doolin for lunch which is home of traditional Irish music, although we didn't even hear any. It's right on the coast line where you can see the Aran Islands (which Erin loved) and Galway City across from Galway Bay.

After lunch we drove to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced mow-er). This place is unreal. 668 feet straight down. I'm confident when I say it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. By the way, the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Ireland is rainy and cloudy most of the time, and our tour guide, Michael, kept telling us how lucky we were because days like this don't come around too often. I'm so thankful we were able to see the cliffs when it was sunny!

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord.
-Ps.96:11-13

Amazing. Back in the bus, headed towards Galway City. We stopped a few times for photo ops. One of the stops was at a castle built in 1525. It was called Dunguaire (dun means 'fort' and guarie is the person it was built for. so it means Fort of Guaire). Very cool.

We arrived back in Galway after another pretty scenic drive and had a little over an hour to kill before the coach left for Dublin. We walked around and had tex-mex for dinner. Duh. I really liked Galway! It was a lot smaller and cuter than Dublin and right on the water- always a plus! I tried to stay awake for as long as I could on the bus, but eventually fell asleep. When we got back to Dublin, we were exhausted and went back to the hostel to go to bed! Such a great day!! We felt like we actually saw Ireland, not just another city. And we learned about the history of Ireland which I think is really cool. :) I love that kind of stuff. Oh and when we got back to our hostel, there had been a leak in our room, so we were upgraded to our own private room! Like a hotel room! But going from 8 girls sharing a bathroom to 2 is quite the luxury!! We had nice beds and it was just so great :)

Day Three

If I didn't convince you to stay at the hostel we stayed at, let me tell you about their breakfast. You don't just get cereal and toast here. You get a full Irish breakfast! What does that consist of you ask?? I'll tell you. Cereal, juice, coffee or tea, fruit, toast, baked beans, tomatoes, fried egg, sausage, ham and hash browns!!! FO FREE! So good!!! I love breakfast, so this was the JAM.

For our last day in Dublin/Ireland we wanted to go to the Wicklow Mountains (outside of Dublin) where they filmed some scenes of P.S. I Love You. But we planned it too late, so there were no more buses going out there after 10. A nice lady who worked at our hostel told us about this town called Howth about 30 minutes away that we should visit. So we did. We took the DART (the train) to this quaint little fishing town. We really loved it there! We got coffee in this little market and walked around exploring. In the harbor we actually saw real life seals!! So cool!! They weren't very cute though.

It was kind of cloudy and cold, but we didn't let it hold us down. There was a hike you could go on around the island (actually a peninsula) or half of it or whatever you wanted to do. We walked for SO LONG! It was a lot bigger than we thought. But the weather cleared up, and it was a beautiful hike!

We finally got back to town, had lunch, explored the market from that morning, and then it got cold again so we got back on the train to Dublin. We went to a souvenir store and Erin stocked up haha! We went back to our hostel to rest for a bit. We wanted to go to the Temple Bar area which is famous in Dublin. So we grabbed dinner and headed first to a bar called Whelan's. This is more of a local bar and we found out about it because it was also in P.S. I Love You. Can you tell we like that movie? Great place to people watch. We found out it is where upcoming local musicians come to play. Once the door to the stage area opened we went in there and watched some tank wasted people dancing (sad, but funny). Some might be better described as just rocking. Then a lot more people started to dance too. I liked it because it wasn't booty dancing or gross, everyone was just dancing to the music. Like the kind of dancing you do in front of the mirror by yourself. It was cool. But by 12 the musicians hadn't even started setting up, so we decided to go to the Temple Bar to check it out. It was the most packed place ever. Ridiculous, but cool to see. We tried to find a place with traditional music, but no luck :( So we headed back to the hostel and went to bed.

Day Four

Got up, had another amazing full Irish breakfast (yum.), showered, packed, checked out and took the bus to the airport.

This trip was so much fun!! I really really enjoyed getting to travel to such different places and get to experience their cultures! Erin & I had so much fun. We laughed basically the whole trip. Minus the times when we were so exhausted and didn't talk at all. Which is good too. It's nice not to have to talk all the time. Good quality. I'm glad we travel so well together! So happy and thankful for this trip!! God is so good!!!

Oh, and PS- MY SISTER IS COMING TODAY!!!!!! I'm so so so so excited!!!! :) :)

I can not believe I now have less than 2 months until I go home! Where did this semester go?! 49 days and counting...

Lovely London.

2011-05-03T18:29:00.000-04:00

Fact: I love London. It's true. Maybe it's because we had more time there, so we didn't feel the need to cram everything in all in one day. Or maybe it's because of the nice accents. Or maybe it's because they have awesome things like Royal Weddings. Or perhaps of the free water at restaurants. Or all those things combined into one lovely package and then some!

Day One

Like I said, Erin and I pulled an all nighter before our flight hoping to catch some shut-eye on the flight. Of course a school group (my guess is 8th grade?) piled onto the plane. The scattered themselves all over and then felt the need to shout to their friends sitting 6 rows ahead of them & behind them. Not so lovely. We are on a plane kids, not a bus. Needless to say, we were quite happy to land in England.
If you've ever been to London you fly into Hethrow because it's right in the city and easily accessible by metro. Well no one told us. So we flew into Stanstead. We had to take a bus which took about 45 minutes to an hour to the metro station in the city. Not so bad cause we were able to see the country side a little bit and also saw the stadium and other buildings for the 2012 Olympics!! But then our stop for our hostel was outside of town. Which wouldn't have been bad, but it was the complete opposite side of town! (Note we were running on no sleep) We didn't plan all that too well. Oh well. But geewizakers we were exhausted! Little Miss Erin was nodding off a lot of the tram ride. She'd jerk herself awake, tell me she was nodding off (like i didn't notice), and then 2 seconds later, her chin would be at her chest again. I love watching people doing that in class. It's so funny! Or when they're resting their head on their hands and it slips off and they practically jump out of their seat? Perfect. I've been there too. Oh they joy of not being rested.
We weren't able to check into our rooms until 2, so we left our bags at the hostel and headed across the street to a restaurant called The Swan and had a delicious breakfast. We discovered here that people tip in England. I have been spoiled here in Spain because you don't tip! It's so nice! So we had to keep reminding ourselves throughout the remainder of our trip to tip! We walked around the town we were staying in (it was called Hammersmith) and finally were able to check in. After a shower and a nap we decided to meander downtown and see whatever there was to see.
We saw Buckingham Palace, St. James Park (beautiful), Trafalgar Square, and of course the telephone booths.

We actually had dinner before 10, which was new, but welcomed. Walked back down towards Buckingham Palace then back to the hostel where we slept like little babies.

Day Two

Erin and I were rested and prepared for a day full of sight seeing. We wanted to see the changing of the guards, but unfortunately just caught the tail end of it. So we headed down to Westminster Abbey where William & Kate would be saying their 'I Do's' 4 days later. So beautiful!!

We rounded the corner and saw the House of Parliament & Big Ben!

We grabbed lunch at what came to be our favorite restaurant called Eat. right on the river. Afterwards we went and rode the London Eye!

Super blurry, but this is hilarious. Our 'pod' was told to get in the photo zone for our picture.
Nobody responded, so Erin & I slowly went to the edge and smiled.
We laughed at this picture for quite some time.

After that great experience we just wondered around London. We walked around Covent Garden, Chinatown, Picadilly Circus (aka the weak Times Square of London), found the US Embassy for Erin, and sat in the sun at Hyde Park. Being a tourist is a tiring job, so at the end of our long days, once we were through with dinner, we were tired and just wanted to go back to the hostel. So that's what we did. Oh and the only place to get wifi at our hostel was the first floor bar. Yup. The first floor was a bar, then the rest were rooms. Weird set up but they make money from it. I was very thankful our room was on the second floor and we couldn't hear all the noise downstairs!

Day Three

We started our day out by going to see the London Tower and the London Bridge (aka the Tower Bridge).

We explored the 'Old London' area, saw Shakespeare's Globe, ate at our favorite place (Eat.), saw St. Paul's Cathedral, and went to Abbey Road. Abbey Road holds a special place in our hearts. I am almost 100% percent positive I laughed the entire time we were there. When we arrived we watched as people crossed the road, over and over, in slow motion trying to capture the perfect shot. It was a lot funnier in person than me writing about it. You'll have to just take my word on it. They also don't tell you that this road is very busy. So sometimes when cars would stop for you to cross, you couldn't get the right picture because they were in the way. So you'd have to cross again... and again. Funniest thing.

Me crossing Abbey Rd! Haha

Something really great is it's all recorded. There is a camera set up outside of Abbey Road Recording Studios which shows you live footage of the crosswalk and an archive of the past 24 hours. I just glanced at it again and saw people doing handstands, about 6 men dressed up in suits, and a bride and groom. No lie. Check it out if you want some entertainment. Check it out here!

After that, we went and saw Kensington Palace and walked around Hyde Park. We saw the Peter Pan playground, but they wouldn't let us in because we were over 12 years old and didn't have kids with us. Lame. I love Peter Pan. Then we had the most brilliant idea to find some of the Harry Potter sites in London!! We ventured to Kings Cross Station and indeed went to Platform 93/4!! Yes, It was AWESOME!

I'm transferring to Hogwarts. Sorry, App.

We went to this place called the Australia House, which the interior was used as Gringotts bank. But they were having some sort of event and we weren't allowed inside. Bummer. We ate at a lovely burger restaurant then proceeded back to the hostel for the evening.

Day Four

Today we slept in. Luxury. We hit up two museums which we weren't very into. They require patience and a love for that kind of stuff. Which we didn't have then. We ate and then walked down to Buckingham Palace and sat in the sun on the fountain. Everything was so pretty because of the preparations for the wedding. The processional streets had been lined with these huge British flags and the news cameras were finishing up their bunkers all preparing for the big day. I really really wish we could have been there for the wedding. It would have been unreal. But we were there days before, so it'll have to do :) We went to this 300 year old pub near our hostel, on the river called The Blue Anchor, then next door for dinner. We went back to the hostel early for 2 reasons. 1- The Madrid vs Barcelona match was on and Erin wanted to watch it and 2- We had to leave our hostel by 2am to take the city night bus (metro doesn't run at night) to Liverpool Station where we had to catch the coach to the Stanstead airport. Told you it was inconvenient. Our flight left at 630ish.

Overall, I really really liked London. There was always something to do. I loved the parks and how historic the city was. I for sure want to go back. Thanks for reading all that. Geez, I wrote a lot.

MADRID

2011-05-02T15:09:00.001-04:00

I'm back after 10 days of traveling!!! :) It was so much fun! While I was gone I decided to journal so I would not forget the amazing things I did and saw & could tell you all about my trip! Lets start out with Madrid...

Day One of Madrid

We love early flights. It's true. All of our flights but one, were at 6-7 in the morning. Nice. Erin, Selin and I flew out of Alicante at 630 and arrived in Madrid around 730. We hopped on the metro and made our way to the hostel. We checked-in and had some free breakfast (we're pros at finding the free stuff.) and decided to go exploring since we weren't allowed into the rooms until 3. We saw Puerta del Sol (like a plaza), Teatre Real (theatre), Palacio Real (the palace - which we were going to go in, but the line was ridiculously long), Plaza Mayor (another plaza) and eventually back to the hostel. We had lunch then went back to the hostel for a nap.

The city is so much bigger than Alicante and it's also older. I really liked all of the buildings- they're so old and pretty! They're more of what I pictured coming to Spain. There's also a lot less graffiti which makes everything look a lot nicer.

After our little siesta Erin and Selin wanted to go check out the Real Madrid stadium (futbol for those of you who might not know). So we headed over there, but the line was realllly long, so they decided to try again the next day. I'm not a huge futbol fan, so I decided I wanted to spend that 15euros on something else. We took a rest at Starbucks (i love big cities because they have Starbucks. yesss), waiting for the rain to pass. It didn't, so I waited in the rain for us to get into the Reina Sofia Art Museum. There was a line because from 6-8 you could get in for FREE! Yes, please! Told you we're all about that free stuff! I don't know a whole lot about art, but it was a really neat museum. We were able to see work by Dalí and Picasso (basically the only ones I could recognize) which was really cool!

We were very tired at this point but we settled on a kebabs place for dinner. Our waiter tried to rip us off which was not fun but Selin set him straight informing him the correct price we would be paying. People can be such jerks. Then we went back to the hostel to finally go to sleep! :)

Day Two

One of my favorite things about hostels is that some of them have free breakfast. I actually only book the ones that include it in the price. Even if its just cereal, toast and coffee like this hostel in Madrid, it just makes me happy. :) So after our free breakfast we left and went to the Royal Palace. I loved it!! I love history and old stuff like that, so I was super content. It kind of reminded me of the Biltmore House, which if you haven't been - you should go. My favorite part of the palace was the ceilings. Each one was so intricately painted with so much detail! Plus it was built after Versailles which is my dream place to go to one day. So naturally I loved it!

Pretty ceilings!

Afterwards, we went to Starbucks and hung out for a while (duh). Then Selin and Erin went back to the Real Madrid stadium and I headed to the Parque del Retiro. B-E-A-UTIFUL!! The sun had come out and I really enjoyed walking around. The flowers were blooming, everything was so green, there were fountains everywhere and it was a great people watching spot.

I hung out there for a while then headed over to the Prado Museum. It was so big! I enjoyed it more than the Renia Sofia because they were paintings that had a story versus modern art which I don't get. I saw Goya, Rembrandt, Velázquez and more! I met up with Erin and Selin there and we also met up with Devin! He got to go home early, so he was in Madrid for his early morning flight the next day.

Erin joked (but also serious haha) that she only wanted to do 2 things in Madrid- churros and cave bar. So we had to mark them off the list. There is a famous chocolatería called Chocolatería San Ginés that has the best churros that you dip in chocolate (that is hot). World famous. It did not disappoint. Soooo good!! Devin chose an Italian restraunt called Gino's for his last meal in Spain (of course, Italian). We bid adieu to Devin and went to find this bar Erin really wanted to go to. Its called the cave bar because the inside of it mimicked the inside of a cave! It was pretty neat!

The flight to London left at 6am, so Erin and I decided to pull an all nighter since we would have had to leave the hostel at 2am to catch the night bus to the airport. We were so so exhausted, but it was worth it.

Overall I liked Madrid. I think I was ready to see something other than Spain though at that point. But I really enjoyed my time there. A very beautiful city :)

RainRainGoAway.

2011-04-21T17:24:00.000-04:00

THANKFUL THURSDAY! :) Next year I am living with some pretty great girls. 2 are former roommates from 135A {a.buck & r.gidd} that I lived with for 2 years and 1 is a babe from Brazil{r.meida}. I am so so thankful that I did not have to worry or stress at all about finding a place to live and that it's all taken care of! The girls found it and all I had to do was send an e-mail to our landlord and BOOM come August we'll have a beautiful house in the mountains!! God is so good!! Thank you ladies for working everything out and keeping me in the loop! I can not wait to live with each of you and can not tell you how great it was not having to deal with all that while here in Spain :) Can't wait!!

Today was super rainy. Thunderstorms and all. Kind of nice. I just packed for my big trip tomorrow! (which I should still be doing right now...hm.) I am so excited!! Erin, Selin and I will be in Madrid -the capital and heart of Spain- for 3 days. Then, Erin and I will be flying up to jolly ol' London for 4 days and on to Dublin, Ireland until the 1st of May when we return to Alicante!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!! :) :) Please pray for safe travels and protection while we're gone.

I won't be blogging until I get back, so I hope everyone has a good Easter! How great is our God that He died for our sins?! He sent His son to die in my place. So now everything is washed away and my slate is wiped clean. Praise the Lord!! So thankful. I hope this Easter You are reminded of how great His love for YOU really is! He loves you.

I have had the Donald Lawrence gospel song, Matthew 28, stuck in my head for the past week. Takes me back to ASU Gospel Choir days. Enjoy :)

HosannaInTheHighest!

2011-04-19T18:56:00.000-04:00

Forewarning: This is long due to my lack of blogging. Lo siento.

Since it has been a while (my b) I'm going to give y'all some highlights of my past week and a half...

- 2 Saturdays ago, a group of us took the tram out to San Juan Beach which was about a 10 minute ride. I really really liked this beach because it was a lot bigger than Alicante’s, the water was waaayy cleaner {you could actually go swimming in it}, and it was a lot less crowded. We were there for most of the day and it was so great! :)

-Then on Sunday, Devin, Shensheen (Devin, Selin & Adriana’s Korean roommate!) and I went to the English speaking church. It's actually a branch off of the church we had gone to the past 2 weeks! I really liked it! There were probably less that 25 people there, so it kind of made it feel more like a bible study. The pastor is 83 and the cutest.thing.ever. I think the thing that I liked most about it was how nice everyone was! After the service was over, they had coffee and coffee cake for everyone and we were able to talk to some of the people there! They were so hospitable and I can't wait to go back! Success!! After church, Devin and I knocked out papers, presentations and more! Oh my! Way to be on top of things and oh so productive.

-Pre Thursday (the day when I was officially done with exams {praisethelord}) I prepared presentations (in total from being in Spain I have done 6 presentations and still have 1 to go. unheard of.) and studied for my exams! That night, once classes were done, a group of us went to this nice little Chinese restraunt for dinner (which was really good) and then Adriana and I went and got coffee and talked in the park for a while! It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of classes!!

-This past Saturday, Adriana, Devin and I went to this little island called Tabarca, off the coast of Alicante. You have to take a boat to get there (takes about an hour), and I have never felt that seasick. {I imagine thats how Joe feels like on a surfboard? haha} I was so thankful to get off! The island is pretty small, but so beautiful!! I felt like I was in a movie! (storyofmylife)

We were there all day, just walking around and exploring. Perfect day. I love exploring. So peaceful and nice. And then the boat ride back (which I was dreading), was FINE!! Thank you Jesus!! :) The day was finished off with Tarintino's pizza, which is ah-may-zing!

-On Sunday, Devin and I were going to go back to the english church, but instead, stayed in the city to see what the hype was all about (there was indeed hype going on). We checked out mass in a beautiful cathedral in the historic district and then a little later followed the music to find the first of many processions. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, ending with Easter. Processions are held in the street which are usually at night, but begin in the morning of Palm Sunday. People are carrying statues, people with palms, there are mourning women, children handing out candy, klu klux klan outfits, floats with sculptures and models of biblical scenes, and music. It is said that on Easter the processions are very colorful and the church bells are constantly ringing (If you want to know more, google - Semana Santa in Spain). These processions are amazing. I was watching some tonight too. I love watching them! I have some videos which I will put up soon because pictures just don't do it justice. Until then::

-I've also started training for the tri!! Yay! I am now a member of a local pool (kind of like the YMCA) and have begun swimming! I'm biking on campus at the gym when I go for my one class a week (yes, please!) and running the days in between! I'm getting super excited!! Once I swim a few more times (/when the sea gets a little warmer) I'll start practicing in the sea because this race is in the open water. No pool. (Gulp.)

I'm probably forgetting things to tell all of you lovely people, but it is time for me to go to bed. I'll write more soon. I promise. Plus, I have a big trip coming up (I LEAVE EARLY FRIDAY MORNING!! YAY!), so there will be a lot to fill you in on :) ¡Buenas noches!

Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its decent,

the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise

over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

"Blessed is he who comes,

the king in God's name!

All's well in heaven!

Glory in the high places!"

Some Pharisees from the crowd told him,

"Teacher, get your disciples under control!"

But he said,

"If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise."

-Luke19:37-40

{TheMessage}

Cloud Nine.

2011-04-14T15:07:00.000-04:00

I am FINISHED with my IBP classes!!!!!!! YESSS!!!! I conquered my first exam. 2 essays. nobigdeal. Then I faded fast. It is my absolute favorite time of the month (sarcasm.) and today my body decides to freak out. Not the best time! I still had to study for my other 2 exams (I had 3 today)! I was dizzy, light-headed semi-nauseous and had the biggest pain in my stomach/side. (& this has never happened before. soo glad it decided to start today. not.) So I curl up on the grass (which is still wet from the morning) under the palm trees in the sun, praying it would go away!! I'm singing 'Shout Unto God' by Hillsong in my head, trying to pump myself up. I finally got a sandwich, forced myself to study and went to the next exam. It went so well! 9 short answers. And by the time I got done, I felt so much better!! Thank you Jesus! Headed over to the last exam and knocked it out! AND NOW I'M DONE WITH MY EXAMS AND I'M SO HAPPY :) :) :)

I'll probably post tomorrow and tell you all about my past week and my adventures :) But here is a ThankfulThursday post for you -- :)
There is so much to be thankful for :)

This morning I was reading Matthew 6:25-30:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you

—you of little faith?

And as I was curled up in a ball in the grass I was listening to the birds. There were so many, just flying around & so happy. I was looking at these birds and thinking of how pretty their song was, and I remembered this verse. I'm not really a worrier, but how reassuring that I know God will take care of me and there is no reason to worry!! God provides food for these birds to eat. And us?? We are so much more valuable to him than birds!!! And the lilies in the field?? The lilies in the field are dressed better than Solomon in all his glory! If that's how God dresses a flower, won't he take care us too? We have such little faith when we worry! We need to seek FIRST the kingdom of God! And everything else will be given to us! Praise God from who all blessings flow! I am so so so thankful for a God who loves me and has put my feet upon a rock!! Dios es Amor!

This is by the beautiful Victoria Carlson. I met this pretty girl at Wildhorse Canyon back in 2007.

She is a very talented photographer. For real. Legit.

I love looking at her work.

Check her out here.

Thanks Tori! :)

Un buen día.

2011-04-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

Today is a special day. I am officially 1/2 way through my study abroad!!!! AHHH!!! I can not believe that it has gone by so fast!! I have lived in a foreign country for 2 and a half months. Crazy. I love it.
So to commemorate this day I want to take a look at my Goals for Spain (You can see it here, if you wish) that I made before I left the States and see where I currently stand.

Goals For Spain:

meet a guy named raúl and take his picture. -- [this has surprisingly not happened yet!! i have heard of a raúl lurking around, but have yet to meet him. still on the list.]

pass this semester and make my dad proud. -- [in progress! classes end on thursday and i have a strong hunch i am going to pass. aren't you proud dad?!?!]

travel as much as possible. -- [the only places i've traveled so far, are sevilla (awesome) and valencia (for las fallas). but i already told you about my exciting upcoming adventures to Madrid, London, Dublin, & Rome!!! i am also hoping to add Paris to that list for the beginning of June!!!]

find a legit church. -- [again, in progress! i like the spanish speaking church. it's legit. but this weekend we're going to the english speaking one, and i'm very excited!!]

watch some bulls run. -- [unfortunately i will not be here for the running of the bulls. it takes place in july from the 7-14 in Pamplona and by then i will be back in the good ol' USofA. maybe i'll try and make myself go to a bull fight instead...]

hit up the beaches. -- [check! i did that today actually! and yesterday... annnd i'm going tomorrow... it's such a hard life here. man. (ilovebeingtan)]
open some cool letters and packages from the USA (hint hint). -- [i really am so grateful and excited when i get mail. it makes me so so happy!! thank you if you've sent me a letter or package! or even a comment or message online! it really means a lot!!!]

buy awesome clothes and become a local. -- [while i have bought a few new things (not a lot) i don't think i'll become a local. i mean, come on! i never bought that leather jacket! so now i'll never fit in! haha joke. but i know things that tourists don't necessarily know, but i kind of stand out in my nike shorts and tshirts. they don't wear stuff like that here. i get the weirdest looks. but i have accepted this sad fact. life goes on.]
eat new things. -- [yup! something thats been really cool about meeting people from so many different countries, is the different cuisine everyone has! last night my roommate, Margaret, made me Russian pancakes (really really thin US pancakes with cheese in it). Selin made us a Turkish meal (LOVED it), & Adriana made us some for real good Venezuelan Arroz con Pollo. i try and get new things when i go out to restaurants. and i have a really big thing to tell you all at home. i hope you're sitting down... ready? i like chicken. it's true. sometimes sketches me out, but i like it! and i now know how to cook it which is even better. (this makes gray very very happy) for those of you here or who just don't know, i'm a vegetarian. i was raised a vegetarian. not one of those hippies that goes to college and decides to make a statement, but raised to not eat meat. i eat dairy and i like most fish. & in the past, i've always tried different meats, but i would never order it or cook it. i liked trying things in the kitchen of b&j :) BUT NOW I'M A CHANGED WOMAN. y'all aren't gonna know what to do with me when i get back!]

never turn down an activity. no regrets. -- [i turn down activities. opps. i can't hang with my friends that go out late until it is indeed morning. so i turn those activities down. i'd rather sleep and wake up before 12 :) ]

SO, I am excited for the next half to come because it holds... the end of classes (praise jesus!!), our awesome adventure through Europe, my sissy coming to see me :), more beautiful days of summer, hopefully my dad and broha coming to see me, and finally getting to see my boyfriend that i miss so much!!! A lot to look forward to!!! Praying for a great remainder of my trip!! :)

It's been a good day.

I was created

to make Your praise,

Glorious!

-Martha Munizzi

SouledOut

2011-04-07T04:18:00.001-04:00

THANKFUL THURSDAY! whooo hoooo :)
This Thursday I am SO SO SO thankful that next Thursday, I will be done with 4 out of the 5 classes. All of the english ones, done. Boom. Even though they were not that hard, they all required a lot of busy work and it was hard to be motivated for them. So I am so very thankful that they are ending! And thankful I will only have one class left. Which is Business Spanish. Which I don't like. But it's okay cause God is good and I'm in Spain :) I hope your Thursday is blessed beyond measure!!!

I run in the path of your commands,

for you have set my heart free.

-Ps.119:32

LoveCameDown

2011-04-04T20:10:00.001-04:00

Tonight a group of us went out to dinner to meet Kira's dad who is in town visiting for a few days. It was so nice to just sit and listen to his many stories. He was really nice and treated us to dinner!! SO GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! He was telling us to watch out for his baby and take care of her (which we will continue to do) and all things a dad says about his daughter and I almost started crying. No lie. It was the sweetest thing. Annnnddd, I miss my dad. {Dad, if you're reading this, I miss you. I will always be your apple eating buddy, roller coaster rider, running partner and (oldest) #1 daughter :) Thank you for supporting me while I've been here. I really really hope you and D can come visit me! I LOVE YOU!!}

Something really cool happened that I forgot to write about (I have no idea how I forgot). My friend Anna, from Minnesota (I LOVE her accent!!! Take me back to Castaway pleasseee!!!!!), told me about this church that she went to a few weeks back. If you recall from my list of goals for Spain (HERE) number 4 was to find a legit church. So since I had yet to find one, I recruited Devin to come along with me 2 Sundays ago, to check it out! It is called Iglesia Cristo Vive. It's pretty legit. Mind you, it's in spanish so I can only understand about 50-60% of what is going on, but I really enjoyed it! I even recognized a few of the songs! It really reminded me a lot of Cornerstone Mexico, which made me very happy! :) Devin and I went back this past weekend, & saw some familiar faces from the first time we went (such a nice thing). We also heard of an english speaking church in San Juan (basically like a suburb of Alicante) and we're trying to figure out where it is so we can try it out hopefully soon! Fact: this has been a blessing :) Thanks, Anna!!

A few weeks ago, my YL leader shared a song with me and I am now currently obsessed. Please watch this video. It is for real awesome.

I love listening to the lyrics of this song. Wether I am high on a mountain or low in a valley, I am forever a daughter of God! His love has set me free. I put my trust and hope in his unfailing love. Unfailing. Meaning always able to supply more; inexhaustible; constant; incapable of error. That is the type of love He has for us!!! And we are called to shine HIS unfailing love across the nations!! I hope this song tugs at your heart like it does mine! God is for real so good!!!

Fun Fact:: In Mexico when people answer the phone they say 'Bueno' which literally means, good. I always thought it was really funny. But here in Spain when they answer the phones, they say 'Dime' (dee-meh) which literally means, tell me. Or 'Diga' which means, speak. I just smile whenever I hear people answer the phones, because it's so different! At home I wouldn't answer the phone and say, Speak! Hilarious. Just thought I'd share :)

Con Amor :)

2011-03-31T17:57:00.000-04:00

This Thankful Thursday: I am so thankful for my boyfriend :) This is Gray--

Gray is my best friend. I miss him so so much. I won't get mushy gushy on you (your welcome) but I wanna tell you how thankful I am for him. Through this study abroad experience, he has been nothing but supportive and encouraging. I can't imagine going through all this and not having a boyfriend who didn't support me. Even when I'm being a baby- complaining to him, wanting to come home (yes, it's true. I do have those days. It's rare), he encourages me to enjoy this season that I'm in! Which I need to hear from time to time! Obviously it's hard being over 4000 miles away from each other and not being able to talk a lot, but we have already grown so much! (Thanks to our main man::Jesus!) I am so thankful for who Gray is. He is confident in himself and in our relationship. He is competitive (in the Elliott blood). He is passionate (about life, Sheepy, and the Lord). He is strong-willed & determined. He is fun. And he is silly. :)
Thank you Gray for supporting me and being there for me! I can not wait to see you on June24 and give you the biggest hug ever :) :) :) I love you!!!

Okay, so this past week hasn't been too eventful. I've hit up the beach a few times, {which has been so nice!! It is so beautiful here! And it's actually getting hot! YES!!! Starting on my tan early! Sorry Boone friends for your cold, rain and fog! Wish you were here! :) } I conquered another presentation, and I started training for my triathlon. WAIT, WHAT!?!? Yup. Me. Triathlon. June. 2 days after I get back. Boom. The thought of it makes me nervous and it doesn't seem like a reality yet. But, alas, I'm doing it!! I'm signed up, so there's no turning back!! I went running yesterday (success) and attempted to go swimming today (what I am most nervous about) but got turned down. Apparently I have to have some kind of special card? and special pool sandals. Lame. Estan locos. And it's not like at the SRC at App where there's not many swimmers and always open lanes. Here there are 6 lanes with 4 or more people swimming hard core. I was so intimidated!! So maybe take2 some time next week...

Also this week we finally planned our Semana Santa trip (means Holy Week - aka Easter Break- aka our spring break)! Devin, Erin and I will be going to Madrid (where we'll meet up with Kira!) for a few days then fly to jolly ol' England (London, to be exact!) then hop on over to Dublin (YAY!) and then back here to Alicante!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!! Then 5 days after I get back, Carlie comes!!! We'll be here in Alicante for 5 days and then we will be flying over to ROME for 5 days!!!! AHH!!!! YAY!!! I absolutely love traveling (minus packing, ugh.) and can. not. wait. for. all. this. greatness. to. occur.

Cool: I don't watch a lot of t.v. here. But lately I will turn it on when I am eating or something. And what I have found is so great. A lot of our American TV shows (HannahMontana, America's Funniest Home Videos, Scooby Doo, etc) are here too! But they are voiced over! And it is the funniest thing!!! All I do is laugh because they are so ridiculous. One time I found this channel that had movies on it. And guess what gem I found?? Bring It On. Yes, voiced over in spanish. Hahaha it was so funny.

Not cool: I have a class that is super boring. Not interesting. But I have to take it. No big deal. Well there are a group of students in this class that deem it necessary to talk during the whole class. Not like whisper to one another, but full out talking. Over the teacher!! I've never seen such a thing!! It makes me irritated, because the teacher never makes them stop! It is ridiculous. If you want to socialize, leave the class!! So the teacher is talking super loud, trying to talk over them, but there's no point, because then they just talk louder! Insane!! So frustrating!!! Luckily I only have 2 week left of my business classes! :)

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

let us be thankful,

and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

for our "God is a consuming fire."

-Heb.12:28-29

Video of La Crema

2011-03-24T19:49:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share a little video with you to show you how cool all of this was. I edited it a little bit, so bear with me.

(ps- anyone know how to put the video right on here? can't figure it out!)

CLICK HERE FOR MY AWESOME VID. :)

Please excuse the following:

Adriana & I continuously laughing
My constant 'OH MY GOSSSHH'
The shaking of the camera
The awful McDonald's sign that happens to be in the direct middle of my video... great advertising...
& the bad sound quality.

Please look for the following:

Hilarious & random comments
Taking a family snapshot (while talking to them in english. i'm dumb.)
The temperature on the McD's sign rising
& the amazing amounts of people watching from everywhere.

ENJOY! :) :)

(PS I'll be adding pictures soon to fbook)

ThankfulThursdays!

2011-03-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

So I had this awesome idea: ThankfulThursdays! Every Thursday I will be posting something that I am thankful for.

‘So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. -Colossians 2:6-7’

The Message says, ‘And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.’

There is so much to be thankful for :)

This Thursday I am beyond thankful for opportunities. I have been so blessed in the past to travel to many different places, and this is no exception. This is such a cool opportunity I have been given to truly experience another culture! Not just visit for a few days, but to live here for 5 months!! I don’t want to take advantage of this time in my life, because I know June is quickly approaching. I want to travel and go as many places as I can!! So thankful for my Dad who encourages this mindset! For real. So blessed.

So early on Saturday morning, (legit early. we saw the sun come up. Sad that I haven’t seen that in a while) Devin and I rode the bus to the airport to get the rental car! My first rental car! {You don’t have to be 25 like you do in the States :) } And my first driving experience in a foreign country! It wasn’t really that different, other than the road signs. The highways were very similar, they drive on the same side of the car as we do at home and it’s a manual, like the trusty Explorer (which I miss. There’s nothing like just getting in your car and driving somewhere). We picked up Adriana and her boyfriend, Jon, and hit the road. We were about 15 minutes out of the city and lo and behold our car breaks down. Shuts off. Donezo. We then proceeded to wait about an hour for the tow truck and a taxi, headed BACK to the airport where they gave us a new car. Of course that happened, haha but it was all part of the adventure!! It took about 2 hours to get to Valencia with the help of the GPS (which Devin borrowed from a German friend. Thankfully he found out how to switch the language from German to English because I would have probably been crying if that thing was yelling at me in German. That GPS was the biggest blessing, can’t even tell you). We parked outside of the city and rode the metro into town. Good call, Devin. We came out of the metro into the hoards of people, in town to celebrate Las Fallas.

Let me tell you a little bit about this wonderful festival. It is officially dedicated to St. Joseph, patron saint of the guild of carpenters, where it’s said this tradition came from. In the springtime, the carpenters would burn their torches and other wastes from their workshops, and from there it has taken off. Now a days, this festival is a display of art. People spend over a year building these huge monumental figures! They vary in size, but the big ones are bout 6-7 stories high! The whole festival lasts for about a week, and goes out with a bang (literally) with La Crema, or the burning of the figures.

This is the day that we came for. When we got there we pushed our way through crowds of people and saw a few of the fallas. They were so cool!! I wish I could have seen how they were made! All traffic was stopped for Las Fallas, so it was a pedestrian paradise.

We stopped for lunch, then for Starbucks (praise jesus, ilovestarbucks) and continued making our way through the city looking at las fallas. The whole time there are firecrackers going off, which are super loud and I was constantly jumping. The little kids got a kick out of scaring people. Punks. We had dinner and around 930 started waiting to see the finale at 1am. They began burning the little ones earlier (with each burning there were fireworks or mascletás), then the bigger ones, saving the biggest and first place falla for last.

(1st Place Falla they burned at 1)

We skipped out on seeing other ones burn and the parade, because the big one was suppose to be spectacular, and we wanted a good view. We were not disappointed. After much anticipation, at 1am there was an awesome fireworks show. We were really close to where they were shooting them off from and you could feel your whole body resonating. It. Was. Awesome. Coolest thing. Then within seconds this massive monument was engulfed in flames. Crazy. I think I was laughing the whole time. We watched this beautiful thing burn to the ground with some type of Valencian national anthem (? not sure) playing in the background. It was a really awesome experience!!

We then ventured back to the car and drove the 2 hours back to Alicante. I was exhausted. The 2 lovebirds were sleeping in the back, so Devin stayed awake and talked to me to keep me awake. We talked about his upcoming wedding in July (!!!!!Yay!!!!) and how we wished our significant others were there. True story. Overall this road trip was definitely a success and I would totally do it again!!

Cool: MY SISTER IS COMING TO VISIT ME IN MAY!!!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am!!! My sister is my best friend. She is crazy, beautiful, hilarious, in love with Jesus and now a triathlete. :) The Sassy Sheffield Señoritas will be hitting up Spain together!!! I’m counting down the days. This is way cool.

Not cool: I’ve been eyeing these 2 pairs of boots in this store window for weeks. They are so cool and edgy. They are knee high, and flat like a regular boot (not a heel like my last sassy boot-mistake). So I finally went in to the store yesterday cause I have some extra mulah to spend and knew I wanted these boots. Well I waited too long. They only had one pair of each boot. One was way too big. The other fit me in the foot, but not on my big calves. So now I am boot-less. I haven’t decided if I want to hunt some down or not, because it is getting warmer now and there aren’t as many in the stores. So it would truly be a hunt. We’ll see. It was very disappointing. Not cool, Caitlin. Should have gone in when you first saw them.

Filled with wonder

2011-03-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

I'm filled with wonder, awestruck wonder, at the mention of Your name.

Jesus, Your name is power, breath, and living water-

Such a marvelous mystery!

Holy ,holy, holy! Is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is, and is to come!!

With all creation I sing, Praise to the King of Kings!

You are my everything, and I will adore You!!

My amazing church back at home, Cornerstone Summit, is part of the Cornerstone network and since our services are not online for me to watch, on Sundays, I watch the live streaming of Cornerstone up in Toledo, Ohio! It has been the biggest blessing! Today Pastor Jeffery Smith preached and it was so good. I had to share.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

-Romans 8:29-31

God foreknew me. He knew me before I got here. Everything about me! He knew my likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, successes/mistakes, loves/hates, personality, sins - EVERYTHING - He knew it all, before I was even born! (Jeremiah1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.)

God predestined me. He believed and invested in my destiny!! After he foreknew me! After he knew that I would fail him! He still believed in me! He invested His son for me!

God called me. God voted and selected me. God is intentional and he intentionally came after me and my heart. Again, after knowing everything about me.

God justified me. He acquitted me of all charges. He released me of all the charges held against me! God didn't care what the witnesses had to say. He made His verdict!!

God glorified me. God raised me to a heavenly dignity! Ephesians 2:6 says 'And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.' We were raised with Christ! He elevated us to a whole new level of living!

Then Paul asks a rhetorical question: If God is for us (which obviously from everything he just told us - HE IS), then who could be against us?!? The Message says 'With God on our side like this, how could we lose?...And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger?'

God's love is overwhelming to me. The very essence of God is His love! He loves me so much! But you know what? He loves YOU so much too :) His love for YOU is so strong, never-ending and genuine!! He has not given up on you & He wants your heart!

I am going to tell you about my awesome road tip... because it was awesome! And Las Fallas was awesome. But not today. Today I am reveling in His everlasting and non-failing love. It is so great, so deep, so strong & I am filled with wonder.

Oh praise the one who paid my debt

& raised this life up from the dead

estoy enferma.

2011-03-15T09:30:00.000-04:00

It's true. I'm feeling under the weather. No bueno. So I am not going to my 2 classes today (which I'm okay with me because it's also raining). I will instead drink lots of OJ, get some much needed laundry done, work on some homework, and watch the season finale of The Bachelor online. (Yes, I have gotten sucked into the Bachelor. Only this season though. It's addicting. Annndd I like it.) Praying that I feel better soon!! (I might even sneak in a siesta!)

I wanted to write about my Sunday, because it was so so nice!! It started off with some sweet Jesus time. Fact- there is no better way for me to start my day. It was a whopping 18 degrees (i hate celsius. so aka 65 degrees fahrenheit)!! The past few days had been dreary, so I was happy to welcome the sun with open arms (literally. i have a farmer's tan now haha)!! I headed down to the water and it was a little windy, so I sat by the harbor, watched the boats come in and out and read one of my Spain travel books (thanks D!). I love the water!!!!

I wish each of you could see the water here. Its so beautiful and so blue!! If I were to try and describe it, I would say it's blue similar to the Bahamas (not as clear), but with more green in it. I love spending time down there. So peaceful and relaxing.

I headed to this cafe and it's so cool because the back of it has no walls or windows or anything and you can walk to the edge, look over and you're on the water. There are walls on the sides of the cafe, so it blocks out the wind. They have tables lined up near the edge, because thats where it's sunniest, so naturally that's where I sat. It was so great!!! I ordered my fav, go-to drink : Cafe con leche. Mmm. And this cafe plays classical music. Nothing better. I really like classical music. I felt like I was in a movie: Sitting in the sun right on the Mediterranean Sea, slight breeze, working on my chacos tan (carlie would be so proud!!), sipping my cafe con leche, classical music in the background and reading a book. Can you picture it?? Like a movie, right? :)

I'm reading Wicked by the way. My sweet friend AlliB, let me borrow her copy, so I could indeed defy gravity in Spain!! (Thanks so much Alli!!) I saw the Broadway play this Christmas with my family and was/am obsessed with it. So I started reading the book. It is pretty different from the play, but I like it.

Cool: 100 days until I return home to the good ol' USofA. Kind of bittersweet actually. Sad because Spain is awesome, and I really like it a lot here. Also sad because I've met so many cool people. But sweet because I am already so excited to see Boyfriend and my fam. Also sweet because some of my greatest friends here are the other people from App, so I'll still get to see them when I get home! :) I am enjoying this season I am in and not getting ahead of mysellffff :)

Not cool: Last week I had to go buy some shampoo and conditioner. So I am trying to find the most reasonably priced one that also isn't soap water. I finally chose some. You know the bottles that say 20% more! 40% more! I got those. They were on sale, and I got extra! Perfect, right? Wrong. I get home and was putting them in the shower. The light in the bathroom illuminated the bottles and they were not even full!!! I got jipped. Not cool shampoo bottles, not cool.

Stay tuned for this weekend's wild adventures.
Can you say, Road Trip? :)

pro.cras.ti.nat.ing

2011-03-10T11:57:00.000-05:00

procrastinate:
To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
To postpone or delay needlessly.

I should be finishing my part of the business plan right now butttt procrastination seems to be my middle name this week! I'm sitting on campus waiting for my class to start and finding funny videos on youtube. Take that stupid business plan! :) This one is hilarious. I first heard it during ZUMBA class last semester (why don't they have zumba in Spain??? I miss it!! /laughing while trying to keep up with the pros- meganbaker).
If you want to watch it, click here.

It's been a crazy week. I have completed 2 presentations and one exam! Check! Plus I think all of my teachers got together and decided to give homework in every class. Preciate that... not.

CARNAVAL! So fun. Craziest thing I've ever seen. A group of us dressed up as greek goddesses (aka white dress+belt. perfect & easy). One of the main roads, La Rambla, was closed down and there were stages set up for mini concerts. There were candy stands on the sides of the road and a lot of dressed up people. Not like Halloween in the States where girls use it as an excuse to dress slutty and guys don't really do anything. EVERYONE was dressed up. Youngsters to old people. And they dressed up in groups. You might see 8 girls as ducks, or 10 guys as priests. Funny. We walked down to a park near the port. I.have.never.seen.so.many.people. Seriously. It was sooo packed!! Definitely fun and definitely an experience!! (I'll put up pictures on fbook soon)

Boyfriend is out in Utah right now snowboarding it up with Shreddex. Totally wish I was there because it is apparently straight powder. NICE!! 3 parks in 3 days. He's a happy camper :) In Wilmington this weekend, the Elliott family plus my Dad and seester are competing in the Azalea Triathlon!!! The Elliott's are all competitive and athletic. I'm convinced it's in their blood. They are all gonna rock it!! And I can not tell you HOW PROUD I am of my Dad & Carlie!!!! They've been training hard, and I wish (so badly) I could be there to swim, bike & run along side of them!!

{GOOD LUCK MamaE, DaddyE, GRAY, SAMMY, CAM, DAD & CAR!!! You are ALL going to do SO great!!! I'm PUMPED for the tri in September(/scared out of my mind)!!!!! :) :) Wish I was there!!! Love you all!!}

I'll try and post again soon. First things first: Business Plan. Ugh.

My Life Be Like Ooh Aah, Ooh Aah

2011-03-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

I have many favorite things in life. It's true.
One of them being strawberries (YUM! especially during summma time!).
Another being Nutella (needs no explanation. if you don't like it, i think you're crazy).
And as I sit here writing to y'all I have indeed combined these two favorite things of mine!! AND IT'S SOOOO GOOD!!!!!!! I have a feeling that I will be buying a lot of strawberries throughout the duration of my trip. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Just thought I'd let you in on my new discovery :)

OKAY, so on Saturday a group of us went to this town called Elche for the day. It is about a 15 minute train ride outside of Alicante and it was really fun! Basically it's just a smaller version of Alicante, minus the ocean and insert a creek (looked like a lazy river) with a lot of palm trees everywhere. The parks were beautiful and we had some amazinggg gelato!! Yes, please!

Success.

Other than that, not too much has been going on. Classes are going well. Next week we'll be half way done with our International Business classes (the ones taught in english), which is VERY exciting because they are all pretty boring. Except Cross-Cultural Behavior. I like that one.

On Tuesday Kira, Erin and I hit up the gym. Which is awkward here because not a lot of females work out. The gym here is funny. It is this tiny room crammed full of way too many men, weights, equipment, (only 2) treadmills, and mats in between the equipment if you should choose to do abs...awesome. So as I'm running on one of the treadmills, I avoid all eye-contact and stare at the air vent the whole time. Perfect. Men here are kind of creepy. They just stare at girls way too long. So it's awkwarrdddd.

(Jams in the Gym:

Kid Cudi- Erase Me (tanks to my bruder for dis one)

Baby Bash- Cyclone (haha throwback. it just makes me laugh)

Shakira- Rabiosa (a solid find. what's better than shakira? right seester?)

Duck Sauce-Barbra Streisand (i'm convinced there's nothing better for cardio)

these are just a few for your listening pleasure!)

So today instead of the gym, Erin and I ran on the beach as the sun was setting. So great. Now I'm sore, but the good sore. I'm going to try and run again tomorrow so I can keep eating strawberries and Nutella :)

Starting tomorrow til the 13th there is a Carnival here in town. This is what one website says about it, "Like all over Spain, Alicante hosts a colourful carnival prior to the start of Lent. The highlight is on Ramblero Saturday, when the city's main thoroughfares, La Rambla and El Barrio, fill with stunning costume parades, music and dancing." SO not too sure of all this entails, but I am very excited about it!! I'll post pictures of what our costumes end up being!

Kind of forgot about this, haha sorry!
Cool: There are a lot of people that sit at little tables on the sides of the sidewalks and sell lottery tickets. When they are not actually selling them, they are yelling out what type of tickets they have to the people walking by. There is this one guy that I always walk past who sounds exactly like Sebulba from StarWars. Like, I'm 99.9% sure it's him. Every time I walk past I get the urge to go talk to him about podracing. Which I have no clue how you'd say that in spanish, so I don't. But he's legit.

Not cool: The bus. I really really dislike the bus. It's expensive (even with your bus pas. i miss the free Appalcart) and all the times I need to get to campus it's crowded. Like Appalcart times 7.5. It takes about 25-30 minutes to get to campus with all the stops. I hate how crowded it gets. Today I literally spooned with 2 separate people (I was there first and they plastered themselves to me. ew). I wanted to cry. They are working on the Tram to open a stop where the university is, and I can't waiiitttt. I saw them testing it today, and I almost jumped for joy. No lie. No me gusta el autobús.

I praise You because I am fearfully

& wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

-Ps.139:14

BeautifulThings

2011-02-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my marketing class went on a field trip to a guitar factory about 45 minutes outside of the city. I am kicking myself for not bringing my camera, because the drive was SO beautiful!!! Alicante is in this pretty mountain range (I have no clue what it's called) that we drove through yesterday. My friend Daniel said the mountains must be in our blood, because we can't get away from them! I like that. I love the mountains! And how different they are in different places. It's so cool.
There were all different types of houses (little ones, 2-story super nice ones with pools..must be nice) and some of them would be in the middle of their blooming almond tree fields. I don't know the first thing about almonds, but when they are in bloom, they're this beautiful light pink color and they were all over the place!! (There were also a lot of olive trees) We drove to the last town in the northern part of the province of Alicante, called Muro. This guitar factory is called Alhambra and they hand make around 50,000 guitars each year! I thought it was really interesting walking through the factory and seeing how they make these beautiful Spanish guitars! I've always loved that show on Discovery Channel, 'How It's Made', so it was like seeing that in real life! Really cool experience. Then our teacher, who just happened to be playing the guitar since he was 11, agreed to play us a little tune. He was pretty legit. Who knew? I want to learn to play the guitar. Maybe I'll take lessons when I get back home...

On the drive back to Alicante, a lot of people fell asleep. I wasn't really tired, so I put my ipod in and enjoyed looking at the towns and rolling hills. When we were getting closer to the city, the sun was beginning to set, which is one of my favorite things ever. Picture this: These mighty mountains jutting up from the ground, the sun beginning to set in between these mountains, and off to the left there was a piece of a rainbow, so beautiful and bright. All the while I'm listening to 'You're Beautiful' by Phil Wickham (which i looove) and all I could think was, 'Hey God, this is so beautiful! YOU are so beautiful!!' Y'all God is SO good!!! I just can't get over it!! I'm so thankful for his forgiveness and for his mercy! So thankful for this opportunity!! So thankful for his love.

I don't know really how to end this. Watch this video if you haven't heard this song before. It's awesome (videos kinda cheesy). God is good.

The Lord has done GREAT things for us,

and we are FILLED with joy!

-Ps.126:3

Seville!

2011-02-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Seville was a success!! It was so much fun! Here's how it went down...
(sidenote- when i say 'we' i am referring to erin and i)

Day1:

We got to the airport at 5am and after several complications (who knew that to print your boarding pass it would cost 40Euros?!?!? Yes, you read that correctly. 4-0. To print a single ticket. And I was forced to check my CARRYON bag. an additional 35Euros... i was pretty upset) we boarded our plane and in less than an hour, arrived in beautiful Seville!! We took the bus into town and were instantly happy once we were dropped off. It was b-e-a-utiful! Fountains, and pretty, old buildings! So we obviously started taking pictures.

(The first statue we saw!)

We walked around and found our hostel, which was pretty nice (Nuevo Suizo, if anyone needs a good one in Seville), left our bags there and began venturing around the city. We walked down to the river, saw the Plaza de Toros (the bull ring which held 14,000 people=huge!), walked up to the top of Torre del Oro (the Tower of Gold), and experienced some real-life gypsies (scam). Then we went to the amazing Cathedral. Here are a few pictures that don't even do it justice:

Like I said previously, it is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the 3rd largest cathedral in the world!! It was so great. And we got in for the student discount = an even better experience! We had our own personal tour guide (thanks to my trusty RickSteves guide book- thanks B&J!!!) and saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus (interesting fact: he set sail for America from Seville), some beautiful stained glass, and a great view from the top of the tower we hiked up! Afterwards we HAD to stop at Starbucks. Duh. We don't have one in Alicante, so I was very very excited.

(Caitlin is very hard for Spanish folk to pronounce/spell.)

Then we headed over to Plaza de España, which is this beautiful, giant semi-circled building. We couldn't exactly figure out what it is used for, but it had a moat and ton of pretty tile, so we didn't mind!

We were VERY tired (since we had been up since about 4 that morning), so we headed back to the hostel, later went and grabbed dinner, and finally to bed!! :)

Day2:

We woke up and headed to Alcázar, which is the oldest palace in Europe that is still functioning. It is a lot bigger than it looks, and the gardens were massive. It was really cool. I personally loved the walls that surrounded the palace. It looked like something you'd see out of a movie! We then met up with Aaron and his friend, Zenia (pronounced like Xena the Warrior Princess). After walking around the city for a while, we went our separate ways to get ready for our evening! We went to see traditional Flamenco dancing!!! SO COOL! I am now obsessed with the Spanish guitar. I wish I could play like that. It's insane. Boyfriend and I are currently training to become the next top Flamenco dancers. Watch out world.

(Typical Flamenco consists of a male and female dancer,
a singer (who you can't really understand), and my favorite, the
Spanish guitar player.)

(¡Baile!)

We hit up an Italian restaurant and then a few bars around town. It was so nice to meet Zenia and so so good to see Aaron!!

Day3:

We said our goodbyes to Aaron and Zenia the night before because Aaron had an early bus back to Morocco. So Erin and I walked around a bit and then headed back to the bus stop that goes to the airport. Our flight went smoothly and we arrived back in Alicante Sunday afternoon with no problems!!

Erin is a great travel partner and I am SO glad she came with me! :) Thanks Erin!!!

It was a great trip and I am planning to put up the rest of the pictures on Facebook very soon! Thank you for reading! :)

check it.

2011-02-17T14:31:00.001-05:00

This is my friend Aaron.

We've been friends since freshman year.

We're blood brothers.

He is in Morocco for 12 weeks.

& this weekend, we are meeting up in....

SEVILLE!!!

Erin and I are flying out at 7am (so early) tomorrow morning to spend the whole weekend in this great town in the south of Spain! We are meeting up with Aaron sometime on Saturday (pumped.), and then we fly back to Alicante on Sunday afternoon!! I've heard this place is beautiful and I am so looking forward to spend some time there!! It is home to Flamenco dancing(check), bull fights (which i can not make myself go to. those poor bulls... maybe i'll just hit up the museum), and the Cathedral of Santa Maria of the See (which is the largest Gothic cathedral, and the 3rd largest church in the world!!). You will be hearing about this great adventure (plus a few pics if your lucky.) sometime next week :) ¡Hasta luego!

A Rainy Tuesday.

2011-02-15T10:08:00.000-05:00

It’s raining. I didn’t pack for rain. I’m flustered. My sperrys are soaked (they were my best shoe option for today, other than my sassy boots, which were NOT happening (their first appearance was a tragedy. blisters, etc)). I’m wearing my snowboard jacket (which is way too warm for today) but it’s the only waterproof thing I have here. I opted last minute not to bring my rain jacket, and am now regretting that decision. Before I came here, I looked online and it said ‘there is NEVER any rain, maybe only 20 days a year!’ Well I don’t know who wrote that, but they lied. It’s rained about 5 days since I’ve been here (three weeks today!). Which isn’t that much, but it is to me, because I can’t properly dress myself. Bueno.

ANYWAYS, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I hope all of you reading this had a great day with those you love! :) I think it’s a kind of cheesy “holiday” but I was still sad that I couldn’t spend it with my novio. We had a little get together at my friend Adriana’s apartment, and it was very fun! There is a handful of us who have significant others that are not here & a handful who currently do not have any significant others, so it was nice to be doing something all together! A night filled with great food, and laughter (trying to teach Kevin (a French friend of ours) American “pick-up lines”. Ex: (picture in French accent) What up shorty? Lemme holla at you! Can I get your number? Hilarious.)

Okay, so you know how animals have their natural habitat? Like pandas in China, or hippos in Africa?? Well the Mini Cooper’s natural habitat is definitely Europe (I have yet to venture out of Alicante, so yes, I am making the assumption that it is like this all over Europe). This car seems to be designed for Europe (which makes sense, because Mini was founded in England)- sharpest turns ever, parallel parking in about 5 feet of space without hitting other cars, weaving through traffic, etc, etc… I love Minis. So Euro. Minis in the US just don’t compare. Sorry American Mini lovers!

(By the way, this is not Alicante.)

I decided it would be funny to write something that is cool and not cool whenever I blog! It is going to be about anything – my life, classes, whatever. Anything is fair game. Chances are I will have a lot more ‘cools’ than ‘not cools’. So hopefully you’ll like them! :)

Cool: Pretty much 99.9% of the cars here are manual (aka: a stick-shift). It’s pretty much the coolest thing ever. Kira and I want to go to Italy, find the Ferrari factory (or finding the Aston Martin factory in the UK would suffice) and test drive the most beautiful cars in the world. We’ve made friends from both Italy and England, so I’m holding out hope that this is a possibility.

Not cool: Having to watch where you walk all the time. Alicante is a city. Locals love their dogs here. You mostly see the little (chi-chis (as Erin likes to call them)) dogs, not really as many big dogs. Since it is a city, there is not a lot of grass. So these dogs do their business on the sidewalks. Great. Not many owners clean up after their dogs (#1- understandable, but #2??? Come on people!!!). So you constantly have to watch where you walk, so you don’t step in something you will regret. Not cool.

We love because He first loved us.

-1John 4:19

laying my burdens down.

2011-02-11T16:28:00.000-05:00

First week of classes? Conquered. Here's a rundown on the 5 classes that I am taking (I added one since I last blogged).
1. Quality & Environment International Management Systems
Such a mouthful. My teacher in this class is super nice, but the class is ssuupperrr boring. Bless his heart. I wish I wasn't taking it, but I am biting the bullet because it is transferring back as one of my core business classes, which is awesome. I think it is going to be easy, just hard to be motivated for it. There are about 6-8 of us in that class. Really small. But it's in english and it ends in April- Praise the Lord!
(Side note: I am in the International Business Program (IBP) here at the University. The classes in this program are taught in english. Coolest part is that the classes in this program end April 17. Like over. As in done with exams and everything. I am more than happy to participate. 4 out of my 5 classes are in this program.)
2. Entrepreneurial Initiative: Starting & Running a Business
I have this great thing called a stipend. It's awesome. So thankful for it. Because of it though, I am required to take an entrepreneurship class. I think it could be very interesting, but it is too early to tell. Hoping it's awesome.
3. Cross-Cultural Business Behavior
I can say that this is my favorite class that I'm taking. I think it's very interesting to learn about different cultures all around the world and how those should be approached from a business point-of-view. The teacher is indeed a spanish version of Rita Skeeter. No lie. If you don't know who Rita Skeeter is, then you should invest some time into reading the Harry Potter series. As my old roommate (s.e.c.) would say, 'It'll change your life.'
4. Marketing in the European Union (EU)
I also think this class is going to be very interesting. In the first few classes we are just going to be reviewing the basics of marketing as a whole before we focus on the EU. The teacher is nice and he LOVES handouts. Any opportunity there is - he's got a handout for us. For something that could have easily been put on a slide... "Go green" apparently hasn't hit Spain yet ... We are going on a field trip next week (?) to a guitar factory and I'm pumped. I love field trips. I don't even know the last time I've been on a field trip. But I'm so excited! Haha
5. Business Spanish
This class is hard. It's in spanish, which makes sense since it is for the local students. But who knew someone could talk so fast!?!? You know back in the day when we had cassette tapes? And when you would fast-forward it sometimes it would play the song super fast in a high-pitched, chipmunk-like voice?? This is my teacher (but not so high-pitched). So I spend the two hours in the class trying to dissect and comprehend what she is saying. Four of the other App students are in that class with me, so we are hoping that with all of us put together, we can pass. This is my one class taught by the University. The university classes go until the middle of June. So after my business classes end in mid-April, I will indeed have ONE class until the end of May (exams go until mid-June). It.is.awesome.

The University of Alicante is very different from good ol' Appalachian State University. I think this is a European thing, but everyone carries around a pencil pouch. It's great. And for their notebooks, it is not college or wide ruled, but all graph paper. I think that is also European. Who knows. They serve alcohol on campus at the cafeterias. So crazy. The computers in the library are ancient and huge. But my favorite thing is the coffee vending machine (may quite possibly turn to an obsession). Yes, I have seen them in the States, but these are on point. So cheap and so good, every time.

God really has just been teaching me a lot and opening my eyes since I've been here. One awesome way He's been moving is in my wonderful relationship with my boyfriend :) I am so grateful that Christ is our rock and our foundation! I truly believe that He holds all things together and I feel so blessed! I miss him so much and obviously wish I could be with him(/or him be here, which would be awesomeee), but I'm choosing to be thankful for this time in our lives and in our relationship! Praying that He does some amazing things in these next few months!!
My sweet sweet YoungLife leader wrote on her blog about a week and a half ago about Libby Ryder. Libby is 27, a new mother, and a wife. In July, Libby was diagnosed with cancer. I went to her blog and have been so blessed through reading her story - her testimony. She is genuine and real about her struggles and triumphs. It's so awesome to see how she is impacting so many with her faith and how the body of Christ comes together. Her story is so awesome, because GOD is so awesome!! Be praying for her and her family, and for positive results for her upcoming PET scan!!
Libby's blog is here: http://libbyryder.blogspot.com/

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...

Consider him who endured such opposition

from sinful men,

so that you will not grow weary

and lose heart.

-Heb.12:2,3

The Confusion of Classes.

2011-02-05T06:29:00.000-05:00

SO technically the first day of classes was on Thursday, but I OFFICIALLY begin classes on Monday! Craziest thing. On Thursday we were told to attend a meeting held by the Faculty of Economics (aka the business school). When we got there they said if we were in the IBP (International Business Program) then we didn't even need to be there- our meeting was on Friday. Annoying, but whatever!

Then we went to try and figure out our Spanish classes. Back in the States (go america!) we had to do this "fun" activity where we had to find classes that were offered here at the University of Alicante (fun fact: people talking about the university call it the uni. Ex: "You're going to the Uni tomorrow?"). We then had to go to the different chairs of those departments at App (ex: the chair of Marketing, or Economics) and have them sign off on the classes and tell us what they could transfer as at App. So on Thursday when we are trying to figure out our classes, they tell us that the classes offered in Spanish are in a separate program (this program they have set up for international students taking spanish taught classes) and will cost 135 Euros per class. Whaatttt???? No thanks.

Long story short- very frustrating process when each place you go is telling you something completely different than the last. But good news is that I think it is all worked out! We found a Business Spanish class (which most of us were going to take) that is being taught by the University (aka- no extra $$!). So I will be taking only one spanish class and 3 business classes. Business Spanish, Entrepreneurial Initiative, Cross-Cultural Business Behavior, and Marketing in the European Union! Yay school! So keep those prayers coming for my classes beginning on Monday!

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here! I feel like I'm on vacation! It's really funny because most of the locals are still in their pea coats and knitted scarves like it's freezing... when it's actually about 70 degrees. Boyfriend would definitely be in his boardshorts :) Us chicas are about to head down to the beach and soak up some rayyssss! (IN FEBRUARY!!!!) Yes, please!!!

I'm going to try and upload the pictures I have so far onto Facebook later today. (I apologize in advance for all of the scenic pictures!) So be looking out for them! :)

This can hold you over in the mean time-

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep...

How priceless is your unfailing love!

-Ps. 36:5-7

One Week In!!

2011-02-01T10:22:00.000-05:00

First and foremost- GOD IS SO GOOD!!! I am constantly finding myself in awe of what He is doing here in Spain. He has blessed me with great friends, a great roommate, and a great, safe flat! A few things I'm thankful for: my Latvian roommate who is hilarious and full of joy; Skype!!! (so i can see your beautiful faces!); Nutella (needs no explanation); my new space heater for my room (please and thank you!); Ryan Long's album Arise which is always on repeat (& Mark Wagner's song, There is Hope)(please look these up, they're AWESOME!); and the Starbucks VIAs that the Elliotts gave me before I left! (I like all flavors if anyone was wonderingggg) :)

So I've been here for about a week and I can say that my Spanish skills are slowly improving! My English skills on the other hand are getting worse by the day! True story. No bueno. I blame this on the fact that I am speaking broken English to my roommate and others. I'm not going to tell you how many times I've had to edit this post, because it's too embarrassing. So I just laugh at myself all the time and am banking on when classes start (on Thursday!), I'll immediately become so fluent, I will only speak Spanish until I leave in June... We'll see... Haha

Since I am not good about blogging every single day about my activities, I am going to give you the highlights of the past few days. These will include cool adventures, hilarious moments, and just great things.

There are a few things that Spaniards love. One is PDA. They love PDA. All the time. Any where. Doing anything they want... nasty. Another thing they love are boots. Mainly for the ladies. But everyone has them! So I of course went and bought a pair of sassy boots! Have yet to wear them, but hopefully soon. Lastly, they love leather jackets. Erin and Kira (my great App friends) are pros since they already had leather jackets! It is going to be my next purchase and I believe paired with my sassy boots, I am well on my way to becoming a local (which you'll remember was one of my goals for Spain!).
One of the coolest things so far, has been to meet so many cool people from all over the world. Kyle and Daniel (2 of the App boys) have a roommate, Luigi (confirmed that he does have a friend named Mario, fyi), from Italy. Last night us girls had the guys over for a pasta night. Luigi gave us constructive criticism on our pasta-making skills, and now we could basically open up our own pasta place because we are so good. It is also hilarious to hear an Italian say sassy. Picture saying it slower with that Italian accent. (I know some of you just said it outloud hahah) Descarado pantalones (sassy pants en español). Fun night. Like I mentioned earlier, my roommate is from Latvia, so every time we are discussing a certain word, she tells me what it would be in Russian. So watch out! I'll be trilingual soon! There is also Selin (like Celine Dion) from Turkey, JeanMarc from France, Vici from Finland, Maria from Austria and more!!
The other day, we went up El Castillo de Santa Barbara and explored around! It is absolutely beautiful! After a hike to the top, you can see 360 degrees- the blue waters of the Mediterranean on one side, and the majestic mountains on the other. These pictures don't even do it justice-

We start classes on Thursday, and I have no idea how that will go. It is a very confusing process, but I am excited to have some sort of schedule! I'll try and write later on this week and let all of you pretty people know how it went! :) Thank you for reading this longest novel ever! Ciao!

CONTACT

2011-01-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

How to contact me:
A few of you have asked how you may contact me while I'm in Spain. Well there are 1 of 2 ways. (Or both would be fine too!)
1-Letter. I have conveniently posted my address in Spain on my Facebook information page! I will be checking with my landlord to make sure that is the correct mailing address.
2-Skype. I have also added my Skype name to my information page, so if you wish to see my smiling face, add me! :) I usually have Skype up whenever I'm in the apartment, but if you'd like to make a date, all you have to do is ask!!
Thanksssss

ESPAÑA!!

2011-01-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

ESTOY AQUÍ!!!

On Sunday afternoon I said my goodbyes to my family and boyfriend and thought I was on my way to Spain. Little did I know, that 5 hours later I'd be heading back to my house for the night. I had boarded the plane that was to take me to London and three hours later they cancelled the flight. There was a crack in the engine that had the mechanics at the RDU airport stumped. It just took them that long to figure it out! I was then rebooked on a flight the next day going to JFK, then to Madrid. While waiting for my flight I met Erin, one of the other girls from Appalachian, and we had the same flights all the way to Madrid! In Madrid I found Daniel, also from Appalachian, and we had the same flight to Alicante! All of the flights went smoothly but I was not able to sleep at all. So once I arrived in Alicante, I was EXHAUSTED.

Daniel rode with me in the taxi to my apartment where I met my landlord, Juan, and my new roommate, Margret! We both have our own rooms, a living room, kitchen, washer (no dryer...) and a shared bathroom. I'll upload pictures soon. My room is super tiny, but I'm working on making it homey (feel free to send pictures!).

WHO KNEW SPAIN WAS FREEZING?!?!?! Not me. Well not necessarily Spain, but the buildings are. Heating is apparently this novel idea here. My room is the coldest thing ever and I am currently counting down the days until it gets warm so I can open my window and not have to use 3 blankets. True story.

That night I met up with Erin and Kira (other App friend!) and we ate...pizza. Haha I know it is not Spanish and not what you should eat on your first night in Spain, but people here eat at 10:00 and we weren't having that! So pizza was the only option!

Today we explored around the city, got a prepaid phone, conquered the bus system (almost), walked around the University, and saw the Mediterranean Sea. Tonight I am having a legit Spain experience. All of us from Appalachian are meeting up and going to have tapas y cervezas somewhere near the water!

Some of my first impressions/thoughts:
-i like it ALOT more when the sun is out
-the castle is huge and i can't wait to explore up there (yes there is a castle here. google it)
-i don't know how people work (other than construction workers who always seem to be working all over town) when everywhere you go, people are drinking regardless of the time
-the driving is a lot like how it was in mexico, but with nicer cars
-the students at the university were super edgy. i gotta step my game up

I'll write more soon!! Sorry this was a lot to read! Thank you for reading!! :)

Countdown: Cinco Días!!!

2011-01-19T00:19:00.000-05:00

So, here's the deal. I'm leaving for España in exactly FIVE DAYS. Five days until I say adios to this great country of mine for five months (and not to mention my great boyfriend). I will be a student at the University of Alicante and living in this (hopefully) cute, little flat! I could not be more excited to see what God has in store for me in Spain!!!

Goals For Spain:

meet a guy named raúl and take his picture.
pass this semester and make my dad proud.
travel as much as possible.
find a legit church.
watch some bulls run.
hit up the beaches.
open some cool letters and packages from the USA (hint hint).
buy awesome clothes and become a local.
eat new things.
never turn down an activity. no regrets.

There will probably be additions to my goals. Keep your eyes peeled! Next time you hear from me, I'll be on the other side of the world. Adios America!!!