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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
