Its so hard for me to imagine that it is going to be Christmas in a week, the lack of snow has completely thrown me off! I only have two days before I am off to Romania for two weeks! I cannot even express how excited I am to see my friends, I can't believe that I have not seen them for over 3 years. While this is going to be my first Christmas away from home, I am so excited to be able to spend it with my dear friends.
The last week has been pretty busy for me, I have been trying to finish up as much as I can before I head off for Christmas break. Somehow though this weekend ended up being incredibly full. On Friday night, I got together with my Spanish friends for a pre-New Years celebration- all the students of Madrid gather in Port de Sol and when the clock strikes twelve you have to eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds- it is incredibly hard! I couldn't do it :) Then on Saturday I went to the movie Twilight with some of my girlfriends and a birthday party in the evening. Then to wrap up the weekend, a group of us went out for dinner at a Cuban restuarant, I ate so much food- I couldn't even believe it.
I only have two more days of class which is so nice- Then tomorrow night, I'll be heading off to the airport. My flight leaves at 7:45 Friday morning, but the metros aren't open early enough, so I am going to camp out in the airport until my gate opens- I have a feeling it will make for an interesting evening!
I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy spending our Savoir's birth with your friends and family.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
weekend in mallorca
I hope that all of you had a great weekend! My friends and I took advantage of the long weekend and spent it on the island of Mallorca. It is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean and at this time of year a very comfortable, with temperatures in the uppers 60's. Even though it is by no means as cold here as it is in Wisconsin at this time of year, it was a great chance to get some sun and just relax!
We stayed in the city of Palma, and spent Friday exploring the city- we visited the Cathedral there. For those of you that are art fans, we got to see the mural painted by Miquel Barceló, a Spanish painter who actually painted the murals in the UN as well. It was extremely beautiful. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the water and playing in a park. We stuck out as Americans since we decided it would be fun to play on the playground equipment, but it was well worth it!
Saturday we traveled outside of the city to visit the Caverns of the Dragon. It is one of the largest caves and home to one of the largest underground lakes in the world. We weren't exactly sure what to expect before we got there, but it was absolutely mind blowing walking through them.
We also traveled outside of the city on Sunday to visit the village of Port de Soller- we were lucky and arrived before most of the tourists so had the village to ourselves. They have a scenic train we took there that brings you in through the mountains and gave a great view of the village just as the fog was rising out of the valley- it was breathtaking. We climbed to a look out point and had an amazing view of the Mediterranean, it was one of the most calming experiences I have had yet this year. When we returned to Palma we walked up to a castle there that also gave us a beautiful view of the city of Palma. That night I actually ended up going to mass by myself in this ancient cathedral. I had tried to get in all weekend and finally found the doors unlocked last night! It was one of the most memorable experiences I have had yet I think. I was sitting in this freezing cathedral (it was colder inside than outside!) and experiencing a mass that has been going on for centuries in the exact same place. It was mindblowing.
We were so blessed with the weather we had. When we woke up this morning we found it was raining and were glad that we were missing it, and all we had to do today was fly back to Madrid! Now we only have 2 weeks until Christmas vacation!
We stayed in the city of Palma, and spent Friday exploring the city- we visited the Cathedral there. For those of you that are art fans, we got to see the mural painted by Miquel Barceló, a Spanish painter who actually painted the murals in the UN as well. It was extremely beautiful. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the water and playing in a park. We stuck out as Americans since we decided it would be fun to play on the playground equipment, but it was well worth it!
Saturday we traveled outside of the city to visit the Caverns of the Dragon. It is one of the largest caves and home to one of the largest underground lakes in the world. We weren't exactly sure what to expect before we got there, but it was absolutely mind blowing walking through them.
We also traveled outside of the city on Sunday to visit the village of Port de Soller- we were lucky and arrived before most of the tourists so had the village to ourselves. They have a scenic train we took there that brings you in through the mountains and gave a great view of the village just as the fog was rising out of the valley- it was breathtaking. We climbed to a look out point and had an amazing view of the Mediterranean, it was one of the most calming experiences I have had yet this year. When we returned to Palma we walked up to a castle there that also gave us a beautiful view of the city of Palma. That night I actually ended up going to mass by myself in this ancient cathedral. I had tried to get in all weekend and finally found the doors unlocked last night! It was one of the most memorable experiences I have had yet I think. I was sitting in this freezing cathedral (it was colder inside than outside!) and experiencing a mass that has been going on for centuries in the exact same place. It was mindblowing.
We were so blessed with the weather we had. When we woke up this morning we found it was raining and were glad that we were missing it, and all we had to do today was fly back to Madrid! Now we only have 2 weeks until Christmas vacation!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
My Spanish Thanksgiving
I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving! I'm not going to lie, this year was unique for me. My program did a good job in keeping us all busy though and helping us enjoy the weekend. Schoolwise, I had a pretty busy couple of weeks, two weeks ago I had three midterms to get through and then last week I had one as well as two papers to write. So sadly for me my Thanksgiving week was a little hectic and sleep deprived. But lucky for me, I'm done now and feeling alright about my exams.
Thursday night, we all went out for dinner as a program which was fun, we ate Spanish food, therefore no turkey or mashed potatoes which made me sad, but all in all not a bad night. I think the best part of the day though was when I got home, I had the chance to skype with my family, as well as my grandma Shoger and my Uncle Tim's family. It was the first time we were able to video chat since I've been here so it was pretty great for me.
This weekend, we took an over night program trip to the city of Cordoba. I actually had a midterm on Saturday so I got to take a train there which took half the time, so I only had to make the 5 hour bus ride once! Saturday we visited the mosque, which actually has a Catholic cathedral in the middle of it. It was quite an amazing experience, the mosque is one of the biggest in the world, so you are walking through the forest of arches and then all of a sudden in the middle of a catedral, its breathtaking. Then Sunday we had the chance to go to some Roman and Morish ruins outside of the city. It was a nice break in our schedules to spend time together outside of the city.
These next few weeks before Christmas are going to be pretty calm. We have a three day weekend this weekend so some friends and I are going to spend it in Palma de Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Meditteranean. Then hopefully I will be able to get a head start on all the papers I have due in January so I can spend Christmas break relaxing with my friends when I get to Romania!
Thursday night, we all went out for dinner as a program which was fun, we ate Spanish food, therefore no turkey or mashed potatoes which made me sad, but all in all not a bad night. I think the best part of the day though was when I got home, I had the chance to skype with my family, as well as my grandma Shoger and my Uncle Tim's family. It was the first time we were able to video chat since I've been here so it was pretty great for me.
This weekend, we took an over night program trip to the city of Cordoba. I actually had a midterm on Saturday so I got to take a train there which took half the time, so I only had to make the 5 hour bus ride once! Saturday we visited the mosque, which actually has a Catholic cathedral in the middle of it. It was quite an amazing experience, the mosque is one of the biggest in the world, so you are walking through the forest of arches and then all of a sudden in the middle of a catedral, its breathtaking. Then Sunday we had the chance to go to some Roman and Morish ruins outside of the city. It was a nice break in our schedules to spend time together outside of the city.
These next few weeks before Christmas are going to be pretty calm. We have a three day weekend this weekend so some friends and I are going to spend it in Palma de Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Meditteranean. Then hopefully I will be able to get a head start on all the papers I have due in January so I can spend Christmas break relaxing with my friends when I get to Romania!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sardinia!
Well my wish for things to slow down hasn't exactly come true, I've come to the conclusion I'm just going to be super busy until school is over. This coming week I have 3 exams, so pray I do well on those! I'm hoping they'll go well and I won't have any serious problems.
This weekend is going to fairly uneventful for me, since I have so many exams this next week and then papers due the next I decided it would be best to stay in and study some. Tomorrow after church though I'll be having lunch with a friend which will be a nice breather.
Classes are still going well, so far I haven't felt overly stressed out. Work continues to be going well as well, I like all of my students. I have been lucky enough to get mostly all adults so they put a lot more effort into their classes. I think my favorite student is Pedro, he is a businessman and basically we get together 4 hours week and just talk in English together, it makes work a little more relaxing!
Last weekend 3 of my friends and I had a chance to get away from Madrid for the weekend, we went to the island of Sardinia! It was so beautiful, and since it wasn't the peak of tourist season we basically had the island to ourselves. We stayed at this adorable Bed and Breakfast and the owner was so helpful in giving us ideas of what to do while we were there. On Saturday we ended up walking to a beautiful beach and playing in the sea. The village we visited also has some amazing Roman ruins we walked through, its so daunting to be walking on stones that have been in place for about 2,000 years!
This last week was light school-wise, the calm before the storm of midterms! Thursday myself and 2 of my American friends went out with some of our Spanish friends. Its so nice to have Spaniards with us because it challenges our Spanish so much more and we go places we never would have found on ourselves.
My internet has been having issues loading my pictures, hopefully I'll be able remedy that fairly soon so you can all see the amazing things I have!
This weekend is going to fairly uneventful for me, since I have so many exams this next week and then papers due the next I decided it would be best to stay in and study some. Tomorrow after church though I'll be having lunch with a friend which will be a nice breather.
Classes are still going well, so far I haven't felt overly stressed out. Work continues to be going well as well, I like all of my students. I have been lucky enough to get mostly all adults so they put a lot more effort into their classes. I think my favorite student is Pedro, he is a businessman and basically we get together 4 hours week and just talk in English together, it makes work a little more relaxing!
Last weekend 3 of my friends and I had a chance to get away from Madrid for the weekend, we went to the island of Sardinia! It was so beautiful, and since it wasn't the peak of tourist season we basically had the island to ourselves. We stayed at this adorable Bed and Breakfast and the owner was so helpful in giving us ideas of what to do while we were there. On Saturday we ended up walking to a beautiful beach and playing in the sea. The village we visited also has some amazing Roman ruins we walked through, its so daunting to be walking on stones that have been in place for about 2,000 years!
This last week was light school-wise, the calm before the storm of midterms! Thursday myself and 2 of my American friends went out with some of our Spanish friends. Its so nice to have Spaniards with us because it challenges our Spanish so much more and we go places we never would have found on ourselves.
My internet has been having issues loading my pictures, hopefully I'll be able remedy that fairly soon so you can all see the amazing things I have!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
My 21st birthday and trip to London!
Sorry it has been so long since I last posted, the last week and a half have been absolutely insane!
Last weekend rather than relaxing an ended up being on the go pretty much the whole weekend. My friends and I decided Friday to visit El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen on Saturday. The first is a late Renaissance palace and the second the Catholic Cathedral Franco (the previous dictator) built in the side of a small mountain. They are only about an hour outside of Madrid, with a bus running between them so it works out well to see them both in one day. That Sunday I finally had a chance to meet the missionary family my uncle knows here, the Humes. I spent most of the day with them Sunday, it was nice to be with an American family and have a homecooked meal for the first time in weeks!
Tuesday was my 21st birthday, it worked out well because another one of my friends from my program's birthday was Monday so we celebrated together Monday night. The woman she lives with made us a homecooked Spanish dinner, it was delicious! It was nice to have our closest friends from the program all together and celebrating.
This past weekend was also a busy one, one of my best friends from home, Lizzie, was in London for the week. I decided that I couldn't miss the chance to see her when she was so close, so I skipped class on Friday to go spend the weekend with her. She is a theater major, so we went to a show Friday night and then just spent the weekend wandering around London seeing the sights. It was so refreshing to see an old friend.
This week hopefully will be slower than last, I am ready for a breather!
Last weekend rather than relaxing an ended up being on the go pretty much the whole weekend. My friends and I decided Friday to visit El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen on Saturday. The first is a late Renaissance palace and the second the Catholic Cathedral Franco (the previous dictator) built in the side of a small mountain. They are only about an hour outside of Madrid, with a bus running between them so it works out well to see them both in one day. That Sunday I finally had a chance to meet the missionary family my uncle knows here, the Humes. I spent most of the day with them Sunday, it was nice to be with an American family and have a homecooked meal for the first time in weeks!
Tuesday was my 21st birthday, it worked out well because another one of my friends from my program's birthday was Monday so we celebrated together Monday night. The woman she lives with made us a homecooked Spanish dinner, it was delicious! It was nice to have our closest friends from the program all together and celebrating.
This past weekend was also a busy one, one of my best friends from home, Lizzie, was in London for the week. I decided that I couldn't miss the chance to see her when she was so close, so I skipped class on Friday to go spend the weekend with her. She is a theater major, so we went to a show Friday night and then just spent the weekend wandering around London seeing the sights. It was so refreshing to see an old friend.
This week hopefully will be slower than last, I am ready for a breather!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
weekend in Toulouse
I can't believe that it is Thursday already! I'm amazed by how quickly time has been going since my classes started. I'm hoping to spend this weekend relaxing and getting some much needed studying done.
I was in Toulouse, France this weekend and it was probably my favorite weekend so far. On top of having me visiting, Heidi and her roommates also had 2 girlfriends from the UK staying for the weekend and we had a great time together. I can't tell you how much I had been craving crepes, I was happy when that ended up being our first meal Saturday night. During high school I had done a project on Toulouse so it was fun to see the things I had spent so much time reading about. We took a boat tour of the city which was beautiful! I also had a chance to wander around the city by myself for awhile.
The only bad thing about the weekend was Monday night when I was on my way home, my plane ended up being about 2 hours late. When sitting in the airport though, I ended up starting a conversation with two Spanish people waiting for the flight as well. We ended up taking while we waited and the whole way home. It was a nice way to transition out of French and back into Spanish!
Other than that though my week has been fairly uneventful. I applied to get my residency card, which will be nice to have! My classes are going well, there are lots of work, but I think it will be worth it.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
I was in Toulouse, France this weekend and it was probably my favorite weekend so far. On top of having me visiting, Heidi and her roommates also had 2 girlfriends from the UK staying for the weekend and we had a great time together. I can't tell you how much I had been craving crepes, I was happy when that ended up being our first meal Saturday night. During high school I had done a project on Toulouse so it was fun to see the things I had spent so much time reading about. We took a boat tour of the city which was beautiful! I also had a chance to wander around the city by myself for awhile.
The only bad thing about the weekend was Monday night when I was on my way home, my plane ended up being about 2 hours late. When sitting in the airport though, I ended up starting a conversation with two Spanish people waiting for the flight as well. We ended up taking while we waited and the whole way home. It was a nice way to transition out of French and back into Spanish!
Other than that though my week has been fairly uneventful. I applied to get my residency card, which will be nice to have! My classes are going well, there are lots of work, but I think it will be worth it.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Friday, October 10, 2008
classes have started!
I have officially finished my first week of classes and it has been an interesting one. My friends and I have been joking about how we feel like we are back in high school again. All of our classes are in the same building as our program office and the cafeteria we eat at. We never have a reason to go outside! While I'm sure as it starts to get colder I will appreciate staying inside, I'm kind of missing the walking between classes I have at Madison. So far I think that my classes through my program are going to be very similar to the ones I have taken through the university so far. They are designed to make us feel more at home. My class through the university here though is going to be challenging. Yesterday I was handed a 9 page reading list, needless to say its not the one book requirement I am used to having. While I won't have to read all the books on the list, its going to be a chore to just figure out which readings will be the most beneficial to me. My teacher seems to be pretty good though, she speaks without a heavy accent and knows what she is talking about (half the books on the list were ones she has written- maybe its not so different from classes back home!)
My week got interesting though on Tuesday night, I came home to realize the power had gone out and I was the only one there. Luckily my roommate got home soon after and knew who to call, but we were still without power for the rest of the evening. Went I came home from class on Wednesday the power was back on, but since I hadn't know if it would be I hadn't gone to the grocery store to replace my food supply. I threw out most of the food I had, but thought some of it was still going to be okay to eat. That was my big mistake, because I got to spend all day yesterday in bed sick. I think I have learned my lesson!
The week is done now though and I can relax, I am leaving tomorrow to spend my long weekend in France. My Bible study leader from France, is actually on staff in Toulouse so I'll be going to visit her before she comes home to get married! I am so excited and cannot wait to see her!
My week got interesting though on Tuesday night, I came home to realize the power had gone out and I was the only one there. Luckily my roommate got home soon after and knew who to call, but we were still without power for the rest of the evening. Went I came home from class on Wednesday the power was back on, but since I hadn't know if it would be I hadn't gone to the grocery store to replace my food supply. I threw out most of the food I had, but thought some of it was still going to be okay to eat. That was my big mistake, because I got to spend all day yesterday in bed sick. I think I have learned my lesson!
The week is done now though and I can relax, I am leaving tomorrow to spend my long weekend in France. My Bible study leader from France, is actually on staff in Toulouse so I'll be going to visit her before she comes home to get married! I am so excited and cannot wait to see her!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
What's been going on
I have been in my apartment for a little over a week now, and I am completely loving it. I have my own room which is a change from sharing last year, I'm still getting used to being by myself. I still haven't had the chance to meet all of my roommates, we have drastically different schedules so its been difficult to find a time when we are all around. But from what I know so far about them all I have no complains! Its been so nice to be able to eat what I want, when I want. I'm also blessed enough to have a small grocery store right down the street so it makes it even easier.
We'll be wrapping up our intensive course next Tuesday, which is something I am excited for. While the class has been helpful, I want to get started with my university course work. I just picked my classes today so I'm ready to go! Classes will start on Thursday, which is only a week away.
I also had my first day of work on Monday. I will be tutoring two little boys, 5 and 8, every Monday, one hour each. They are such sweethearts and I can't wait to be able to spend more time with them. Their mom even went out and bought a set of their books for me so that I would be prepared. I also will be starting another class on Mondays with an older girl. This is a new experience for me and so far I'm enjoying it.
I have a feeling things are going to start picking up in these next couple weeks, with working and classes, it will be nice to get into a routine though and settle into life here.
We'll be wrapping up our intensive course next Tuesday, which is something I am excited for. While the class has been helpful, I want to get started with my university course work. I just picked my classes today so I'm ready to go! Classes will start on Thursday, which is only a week away.
I also had my first day of work on Monday. I will be tutoring two little boys, 5 and 8, every Monday, one hour each. They are such sweethearts and I can't wait to be able to spend more time with them. Their mom even went out and bought a set of their books for me so that I would be prepared. I also will be starting another class on Mondays with an older girl. This is a new experience for me and so far I'm enjoying it.
I have a feeling things are going to start picking up in these next couple weeks, with working and classes, it will be nice to get into a routine though and settle into life here.
Monday, September 15, 2008
My new job!
As the second week comes to a close, I am amazed by all the things that have been accomplished so quickly. I started to move my things into my apartment today and officially have the keys! Tomorrow will be there first night I actually sleep there, when I finish moving everything in. I cannot wait to be able to cook my own food and eat when I want. Right now we have food in the cafeteria for all our meals and while it is really convenient, its not always the best!
The big excitement for 4 of us this weekend though was the jobs we got tutoring English. It will be nice to have a little extra cash coming in so I can travel more. I haven't heard back about who exactly I will be tutoring, but it will probably end up being 3 hours a week which I think will be a good amount. I'll hopefully be starting that in the next couple of weeks and am excited to see how it goes.
The big excitement for 4 of us this weekend though was the jobs we got tutoring English. It will be nice to have a little extra cash coming in so I can travel more. I haven't heard back about who exactly I will be tutoring, but it will probably end up being 3 hours a week which I think will be a good amount. I'll hopefully be starting that in the next couple of weeks and am excited to see how it goes.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The first week!
It is so hard to believe that I have only been in Spain for a week- so much has happened! As many of you know, the main thing I was worried about coming into the trip was finding a place to live. I saw so many apartments on Thursday and Friday, but my searching paid off because I found a place that I love and put a deposit down on Monday. My room is actually large by Spanish standards, although quite small to an American. I think the selling point of the apartment though was the terrace on the top floor. I cannot wait to be able to sit outside and read, without having to leave my apartment! I haven't met everyone I will be living with but I know it is going to be 2 Spanish, another exchange students and then 2 more I don't know.
We started our intensive language, history and art classes on Friday which has added homework to our daily agendas. Honestly though we have so much time to go out and explore the city- which has been a great experience! We took a bus tour of Madrid on Monday and then yesterday went to the city of Segovia (about 1 hour outside of Madrid)
I was blessed this weekend to find a church without at hitch. I got connected to some missionaries here from my Uncle Tom and they helped me get there without a problem! The service was in English which was nice and then afterward I had the chance to go out for lunch with some other American students I met there.
That's all I have so far, I'll do my best to keep this updated as things come up :)
We started our intensive language, history and art classes on Friday which has added homework to our daily agendas. Honestly though we have so much time to go out and explore the city- which has been a great experience! We took a bus tour of Madrid on Monday and then yesterday went to the city of Segovia (about 1 hour outside of Madrid)
I was blessed this weekend to find a church without at hitch. I got connected to some missionaries here from my Uncle Tom and they helped me get there without a problem! The service was in English which was nice and then afterward I had the chance to go out for lunch with some other American students I met there.
That's all I have so far, I'll do my best to keep this updated as things come up :)
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