I stand on a precipice...

Writing this with a bad case of homesickness probably isn't the wisest decision of my life but I feel that if you wish to know me I can't keep putting everything in sugar-coated glee. I apologize in advance for the dreariness of this blog.

I stand on a precipice....
figuratively speaking, yes. I've reached the middle of my adventure in Spain. Forward is another adventure and backward is a long confusing path that has gotten me to where I am today.

I was in Granada last weekend and there are some fabulous pictures of the beautiful castle and surrounding area. I must have taken about three hundred pictures or at least very close to that. I was going to try to put some up with this quick post but I don't have internet that is fast enough for that in the apartment. So you'll have to wait until Monday for that.

I want to take a moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA SKIP!!!!!!
I'm sorry this is late but I want you to know that I'm thinking of you.

This past week was quite a mess. I had the beginning of my midterms which I finish this week, and I was trying to study and get housing done and plan my spring break (which is going to be a blast by the way). I got to skype with Cassi on Thursday I think it was and I was really happy to hear her voice even though she was a little mad at me for getting her up at 5 AM.

As for housing, I will be staying in the French house for at least the first semester while I get some french under my belt and possibly head back to Europe to study in France for the spring. If it costs the same as BG tuition, then why not do it?
I'm really excited to start another language and I hope I take to it as well as I did with Spanish. Another plus is all the fun conversations I'll be able to have......I can imagine them already.

As for Spring Break, I'll leave that one a surprise until later. My mom might accidentally say something but I'm not going to be mad at her because she's going to worry about me that whole week... I'll have fun that's for sure.

If anyone gets a chance you should read the other blog I'm writing.....yes I'm going to mention it again. I just want everyone to know that it does in fact exist.

Click here to see my Story Blog

Please read. I implore you to read it.

Lot's of love until the next post!!!

Oh Jeez!

Sorry, I didn't remember that I was going to post!
I've been so busy that things are getting lost in transit. For example the skin on my finger....I shut it in the door because I forgot that it shuts quickly.....
All is well though.

I'll finally post some pictures today too.
But first the update.

I'm having a TON of fun. my friends Kalyn and Chester are the best. We hang out so much and we went to Toledo last weekend. This weekend the whole group from BG is going to Granada so that could be interesting.

I've found a job sort of. I'm going to tutor two kids in English and get paid to do so. I'm so excited you have no idea. On top of that I got into the French House for next year at BG. I'm thinking that after a semester of that I'll come back to Europe and try France this time...just another adventure to add to my list.

I even have time somehow to write. So I'm putting a new post on the other blog. Feel free to check it out and leave comments.

Click here to go to my Story Blog

Okay I think I'll put up some pictures now....

Segovia First

The beautiful snow covered gardens of Palacio de la Granja. A palace dedicated to the king's hunting and vacationing tendencies. 

This is what the Romans left over in Segovia. Its an  aqueduct  with over 100 arches and constructed without the help of cement. In some places you can see the sky between the giant square blocks.

 This is Segovia's cathedral. It is built in the gothic style and is said to be the last one of its style built in Spain. If you think this is impressive you should see the inside.

 This castle may look familiar to you...then again maybe not. This castle inspired Disney as Cinderella's castle but that's not really what it is. In reality it is a museum but it once was a vacationing castle of the royal family named the Alcazar. Inside now its a military archive which was way cool.

This is a window inside the castle above. It is an original. 

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Toledo

 This is the bullet train that we took from Madrid to get there. It took us half an hour to get there and it is my very first experience on a train...needless to say I will be taking the train again when it's possible.

 This is just a random tower in Toledo. The city that stands today was home to the Three major cultures/religions that inhabited Spain so wherever you go you can find Muslim (like this), Jewish, or Cristian influences and fortifications.

 This is part of the huge cathedral that I went to....unfortunately it didn't want to be in the picture completely so the bottom left corner is the doorway and this is one of the towers. Inside was impressive with everything in gold and silver. Something to put on your list if you come to Spain.

 Because of the cultures mixing and clashing here in Toledo there are tons of shops that make swords, daggers, helmets (like these) and other stuff pertaining to medieval war/battles, including the Knights Templar. I tried to get Chester to put on some Roman body armor so he would have perfect abbs and I would have a hilarious picture but he didn't want to....

 This I did to show you how the streets are in Toledo. I could stick my arms out and touch both buildings. Also it serves to introduce my friends Chester and Kalyn. We make quite the group.

One of the biggest things in Toledo or most typical or whatever, is marzipan. This whole castle is made of it and then we knew we had to go into this place and eat some...sorry no pictures of us making pigs of ourselves, they were too sketchy. (kidding)

So now you're up to date for the most part. I am making a scrapbook sort of thing for everyone to see when I get back. And of course there are always more pictures that I don't have time to try to put up here and explain each one.

I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy in your freezing temperatures. So until I post again...

Blessed Be

A Month Flew By

This is what happens when you throw a clock out the window....


JUST KIDDING!

I can hardly believe that this day, today, maybe dnot at this very moment but TODAY! is the one month aniversary of my stay in Spain.

I don't know what to do with myself....I'm having a ton of fun and getting to experience so many new things. I'm soo sad that I've been here a month already without thinking about it.

Anyway, I want to share some more pictures but I think I'll have to wait until next time to do it since I'm working on some homework at the moment. We went to Segovia this past Friday and the pictures are from there.

I guess I better get back to my homework....
sorry to keep things short. I'll get back to you guys with pictures as soon as I can.
Besos!

Barcelona Last Weekend...

Okay now that I'm caught up I can put up some photos from this weekend when I went to Barcelona. It was seriously amazing and I can't wait to drag my friends there when I have the money.

Sagrada Familia

Where I had lunch

Cuttle Fish for lunch

Art Museum MNAC

Park Guel

all a work of Gaudi

the famous lizard

This is all I've got time for at this point but I'll update again later. Friday I go to Segovia for the day and I'll have pictures of that for everyone soon after.

Lots of Love to all!

Don't get lost in the white fluff that looks so pretty in the begining. Its a trap I promise.

Besos!

Back in Time just a little

okay so I meant to post this before I went to Barcelona but obviously that didn't happen. I'm going to paste it in here anyway and you all can just deal with it....kidding...

January

Hello again!

Well, it’s the middle of week three and as the title suggests, time is flying. Not literally, as in I’ve been throwing clocks out the window or what have you but flying as in going so fast, it hardly feels like this is week 3 of my time in Europe. It seems somewhat silly that I look back but I do and I wonder what happened to all the time I thought I had.

Anyway, I thought I’d take some time to answer some questions I’ve been getting recently.

How are classes and what am I taking?

Well, classes are like any other class anywhere else I think. They’re in Spanish of course and the professors are really cool about speaking slower or making sure you understand something they’ve said. I’m taking five classes this semester as apposed to the seven I had last semester. They are as follows: Composition and Conversation 1 and 2, Culture and Civilization of Spain, Spanish Literature and Spanish Cinema.

How is the food?

Food is good. Oh, man is it good. I mean since I’ve come I’ve tried loads of new foods and there have only been two things that I didn’t like. Alicia (my host mom) makes something new pretty much everyday and I feel like a pig because servings here are HUGE! Some examples of foods that I’ve loved so far are, torrijas, tortilla de patata, churros con chocolate, flan, and so many many more that I can’t possibly name them all.

How is my host mom (Alicia)?

To tell you the truth, I think we get along really well. We laugh a lot and talk about everything. I’m sure it just takes time, but I’m not feeling the connection I had with my family in Chile. I’ll have to just keep going as I am before I for a concrete opinion but so far so good.

Temperature?

Right now, pretty much all of Spain is freaking out because it never gets this cold in January. We’re having temps in the 20s (Fahrenheit) and water in fountains is freezing. Everyone complains about it but there’s still no snow so I’m happy for the moment. If it snows, I’m going to be angry for sure.

Trips?

All the newbies went to Madrid last Friday (January 21) and it was great. It was really cold but it was cool. I thought I was going to panic because I don’t like big cities but this was great. We went to a couple parks and a market and La Plaza Mayor where there are people that act like statues until you get close or give them money. You can probably put Plaza Mayor into YouTube and come up with a million and one hilarious examples of what I witnessed. (I’ll put pictures below)

This coming weekend (January 28-30) I’m going to Barcelona with a group of us Americans. I plan to go see The Sagrada Familia along with other Gaudi works and maybe just stroll through parks taking pictures for no reason. I’ll be sure to bring extra batteries and keep everyone informed. Maybe I’ll even post from the hostel where I’m staying....

Pictures Of Madrid On Low Batteries...

Puerta de Alcala

Parque de Retiro

Where the king and queen went on vacation

Palacio de Cristal

Used to be like a greenhouse for the royal plants...mostly tropical

looks like a castle but its a post office

Plaza Mayor just as the sign says...this is like a giant open courtyard in the middle of some buildings

one of the many markets in Madrid

Palacio Real

translation:

Royal Palace

Temple of Debod

Ruins sent as a gift to Spain from Egypt

Don Quijote and Sancho Panza

This is what I've got for that trip....There are a billion more pictures but I try to limit because of the time it takes to upload them. I will show off all of my pictures when I get back. I promise.