Las Aventuras de Madrid

          What a crazy weekend in Madrid! We only spent 2 days and 1 night there, but we did so much! Once we got there we went on a walking tour of the city for about 2 hours. The architecture and design of all the buildings is incredibly gorgeous! They are so detailed and in the nighttime they are lit up so beautifully. It almost didn’t even seem like we were in Spain because there were so many tourists and different languages being spoken, not to mention about 100 McDonalds, a few burger kings, and STARBUCKS J

(Anna, Bridget, Dana, Katee, Me with our Starbucks)

Our hotel was pretty far away from the central part of Madrid, but the walk was very pretty. Some girls and I went to some shops after settling in and finally found a Starbucks (I spotted it from about 3 blocks away and almost had a heart attack). After our adventure and some Frappucinos we met back with the whole group to surprise my friend Katee with cake and singing happy birthday in the directors room. It was such a sweet gesture and the cake was really good. After, we walked to El Prado museum and on the way we went through this amazing park! It was so big and there were a ton of people biking, rollerblading, running, playing Frisbee, picknicking, doing tai chi, canoeing and just enjoying the beautiful day. I wanted to stay and just hang out in that park all day.

(The beautiful park)

El Prado has a lot of very famous historical art and was really interesting! We walked around for about two hours and listened on audio about the paintings. I loved seeing the portraits of the Royal family and hearing the explanations of all the paintings. My favorites were Las Meninas, by Velazquez and The Foot Washing, by Tintoretto. They both had really cool and interesting background stories and were beautiful. During the two hour tour I started feeling very sick with a stomach ache and the chills, which made it hard to enjoy what I was looking at since I was so concentrated on how I was feeling.

After the museum we stopped and some shops and made our way to the Hard Rock Café for Katee’s 21^st birthday dinner! I still wasn’t feeling well, but I really wanted to go. It was fun to go out to a restaurant we recognized and it was a good place a bunch of us girls could all eat together. The walk home from the Hard Rock was pretty far and cold. When we got back I took a little nap well everyone else got ready for the night. I could not decide if I wanted to go out and risk being sick. Then wanting to come back, but not being able to because it would be too far to go alone. I decided to go with the group because I did not want to be in the hotel alone and it was my only night in Madrid! We took the Metro and it was not as scary as I thought it would be! We went to the Plaza del Sol where there are lots of bars and discotecas. I spent my night between two different Irish Pubs that were packed full with tons of different people from all over! It did not feel like we were in Spain, but it was super fun! I went home pretty early with a group of people, but the metro stops at around 12:30 so we walked all the way back. Once again, very far and very cold! But, there were almost more people out at night than there were during the day, so it felt very safe and it was super easy!

                                           (I want to live on the top floor :) )

On Sunday we woke up for breakfast at the hotel and then packed up our stuff, checked out and made our way to the Reina Sofia (another museum). We got to walk through another part of the park, qué bonita. This museum has much more modern work. We spent about 2 hours there and by this time not just my feet hurt, but my knees and hips as well (I was walking very funny by the end of the tour). After the museum a bunch of us went to McDonalds close by. It is so much nicer than in the US. For the McFlurries you get to pick your sauce and candy to mix in, so I got caramel sauce with oreos…soo nummy! While we were eating a worker came up and told our table that we need to pick up our bags or else they will get stolen, even though they were right below our chairs. After eating, Luke, a boy in my group, realized his whole backpack was gone. He had his computer and a lot of important things in there and it got taken right from under him. I have no idea how they do it, but we were warned that people in Madrid are professionals at stealing things without anyone noticing. We spent the next hour looking everywhere for it and figuring out what to do. None of us were really in the mood to go shopping anymore we just wanted to get back to Segovia. When we went to the bus station, however there were not enough tickets for everyone, so a few others and I stayed and took a later bus. We were wandering around the station and realized it was a huge mall, so we got to spend our waiting time shopping! I was actually very happy because we had not had much time to do any shopping in Madrid throughout the weekend.

(Katie, Libby, Me and Amy at la Reina Sofia)

When we finally got on the bus we were all so tired. There ended up being a large detour because of a car flipped over (even though there was no traffic like there would be anywhere in MN). We had to go all the way around the city, but it was during the sunset and we had to go through the Granja, which is basically next to the mountains. It ended up being super gorgeous. When I got home I could not get into my apartment because my family was in their other home in a neighboring pueblo. I called Dani and she rushed right over to help me J It felt sooo good to be back in Segovia where I feel very safe, at home and can walk anywhere I need without pain in my legs and feet!

***

Today I started my first day of teaching at a nearby private school! I am teaching english to a small class of second graders :) I am really excited and I hope it goes well!! Today they were learning words in english that I did not even know....like viviparous and oviparous haha, so hopefully next time I will be more prepared.  I will be doing it Mondays and Fridays for an hour each. My director said we could do more, but the intercambio program with the other university students will be starting soon, along with sports and other activities. 

This week should be pretty busy! It is someone in my groups birthday on Tuesday. Wednesday we are having an American party with the other students at the University. Thursday I have my first test in my grammar class and Friday I am leaving for Valencia with some other people in my group for fun! :)

Ciao!

Morgan

Espero que lo pases bien :)

This week has been pretty laid back, which is definitely nothing to complain about. It is just a very different rhythm then I am used to…no job, dance practice or extensive study sessions. This week inbetween classes I spent time on the computer, catching up on Modern Family, hanging out with Jorge because he is still home sick from school, going for runs/walks and siesta-ing!! I wish I would have broughten a book, but I could not sacrifice 3 pounds in my luggage. During the nights I watched a few different TV programs with Marta. Since it is January there are a lot of new TV series starting, so I was able to understand them more since I wasn’t missing any information. We watched one show called El Barco. It reminded me of LOST, but not as intense. It is about this group of people participating in a research project on a boat and all the drama that goes along with being on a boat (tragic storm, love triangles, bad people…you know) It looks like its going to be really good. The next night we watched a show about the Queen of Spain, Sofia. It was really interesting, especially since I had just learned about her and the rest of the Royal family in class. I was able to follow along with the relationships and people and it made it a lot easier to understand! It was cool to learn about her earlier life and her relationship with the King. In class we learned that a lot of the younger generation is indifferent about the Royal family and having a Monarch at all. Mis padres love the Royal family. In their cabinet in the main room Marta has a picture with the King at Meson de Candido (her restaurant) and Jorge has two pictures with the King through different work related events.  Marta said that the King and Queen love to ride on motorcycles and they always wear masks and have probably ridden through Segovia many times without anyone knowing.

The food is still amazing… Marta told me a phrase that explains their portions

Desayuna como un rey, almuerza como un príncipe y cena como un mendigo

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar

Here they eat a lot of sweet things for breakfast (my kind of breakfast J) They have doughnuts, different pastries, chocolate and a bunch of nummy stuff. I usually have cereal though and fruit. (they have cereal almost the same as special k with red berries) it is super good….but I am definitely missing all my cereal! For lunch I am still trying to get used to having two full plates of food! This week I had a huge plate of spaghetti!! I was extremely excited! The next plate was fish and French fries. I think it is really interesting how they cook with egg. They have either a fried egg or hard boiled egg in a lot of dishes, like chicken, sandwhiches and pasta dishes. I like it! They are also always eating this tomato sauce. It is the same as we have to put on pasta, but its in a container and they just squeeze it out onto anything. (I guess its kind of like their ketchup).  I am also still trying to get used to their customs; Jorge is always telling me to keep my arms on the table! Dani found peanut butter in the back of the cabinet this week and I was SOO EXCITED!! I was really craving it during the day, so when she showed it to me I immediately grabbed a spoon and dug in.

I got to go to Burbuja today!! I made it the whole week, however that doesn’t mean I didn’t eat candy! I am in love with the chocolate covered pistachios!

Today I got a vanilla milk shake at this really cute café…I have been missing my ice cream! Marta told me tonight that she is going to buy some ice cream next week J I told her about Ben and Jerrys and all the different kinds of ice creams and names. I told her they have one called phish food and her and Jorge thought that it was fish flavored haha. They asked me if I liked sushi and I told them I loved it!! They got super excited and I guess Jorge can make his own sushi really well….I hope he makes some for me sooon!

I was going to go watch a dance class last night with some people from the group, but it fell through. Marta talked to the instructor and told her we were coming to watch, but when we got there she seemed very frazzled and said we had too many people.

We went out last night and it was very fun! We met some Spaniards that go to our school and they seemed really excited to meet us! The only issue is that they can speak English, so we don’t really get to practice our Spanish with them haha.

Tomorrow we are going to Madrid! Our first excursion! I am very excited but also nervous because everyone warns us about the pickpocketing. But good thing I have that magic fanny pack (Thanks Wolfe family! J ) It forms to whatever you put in it and it is very small! I love it! I definitely hope to do some shopping and we are doing site seeing all Saturday and Sunday morning. Can’t wait!

Miss you all and hope you are doing well!

Buenas Noches,

Morgan

The Salón, where we spend most our time! The Christmas decorations have been removed.

¿Qué Tal?

El Alcazar was incredible!  It is not the original because it had burned down in the 1800s, but we learned a lot about it and a lot of the stuff is exactly replicated.

We got to climb the tower up to the top of the castle. There were over 100 stairs and they went up in a circle!! On the top you could see out over all of Segovia and beyond..it was absolutely breathtaking

The ceiling in one of the rooms...so detailed

View of Segovia from the top of the tower

Sunset on the tower

Later that night we went to an art exhibition of Christian, who is a representative of our study abroad program. It was very cool to see his artwork and walk around with everyone.

Later that night we went to Oso Blanco with most of the group. They have a room downstairs with a bunch of comfortable couches and chairs and we all caught up and talked about our experiences with our host families. It was fun to get to know some of the other people I hadn’t talked with much before J

On Saturday I got to sleep in! I am feeling really lazy here because of my class schedule and all the resting times ..but its great! J I went shopping in the afternoon with some girls! I purchased my first clothing items here! I got a spring trench coat, a sweater and 2 scarves all for very cheap! After dinner and watching some TV with the family, I met everyone at 11 at the aqueduct. When I left my apartment it was really eerie and foggy outside. I couldn’t tell if it was raining or snowing, but when I turned and looked at the aqueduct it was the most beautiful sight.

Saturday night was very fun filled! One of the boys in my group has a family that owns a restaurant and a very new discoteca called Kum D. His host dad invited us all to come for live jazz music and dancing after. It was really fun, however there weren’t many other people there. We got to sit in a VIP section with these nice black couches and hang out. The night life is so crazy and different here. There was nobody at Kum D or many other places because the night clubs usually do not open until 4am. People do not go out until 2am and at first they go to bars, and then go to the nightclubs or discotecas later. This is so different considering the bar in st joe closes at 1 am.

After Kum D we went to metropolis, which is a bar, because some people wanted to watch the Packer game. It started at 2am here and they put on all the TVs to the game for us Americans. J Some of us tried to go to a discoteca called Penelope at like 3, but still nobody was there. I was very determined to find a discoteca so I could dance! At 4am (I swear that is early here) we went to All the People, a discoteca, and finally there were lots of people! We danced till about 5am and then I went home. I was nervous to come in so late, but the next morning I found out that Jorge padre was out until 7am! I guess I do not really understand why things don’t open earlier, except for the fact that dinner is at like 10pm. It is just a very different culture, but it is so fun to experience these differences!-like staying out until 5 am and then sleeping in late.

On Sunday, after sleeping in late of course, we went to Carmiña’s for lunch. Carmiña is the mom of Jorge padre, so mi abuela (host grandma), but is also the host mom of my friend Anna. It was really fun that we got to eat together. Carmiña is known for her cooking, so I was very excited to try it! Our first plate was a noodle soup that she made from scratch. Then the meat plate came and there were sooo many different kinds of meat! I think we had sausage, chicken, steak, salami and then this meat that she would tell me what it was but I had to try it anyways. Marta said she would tell me when I went back to the US haha …ut oh!(I found out it was blood sausage) After lunch we had café and then we toured the house. She has an actual house instead of an apartment, which is where most people live in Spain. The backyard has this huge patio, guesthouse and pool where they have parties in the summer. Anna didn’t even know it existed!

Later on Sunday some of us went to a café called Dicanno and hung out. I also went to Burbuja again and somehow spent 5 euro on candy. I am going to try to resist the rest of the week…we will see how long that lasts! I got chocolate covered pistachios and they are soo nummy!

After dinner Marta and I watched this show called Los Protegidos. I guess it is really popular and is on every Sunday night. She caught me up on it and I got really into it! It is about these kids who have super powers and all have to live together in one family. Can’t to see what happens next week!

Today I slept in and then went on a walk/run with Dana. It felt nice to get some exercise. After lunch I took my first real siesta for about 20 minutes!! J Then I had class at 4:30-6:00. After class some of us girls went to get tapas and practice our Spanish!

Jorge is really sick with bronchitis and I am just sitting here listening to him cry it is so sad. Pobrecito.

Things I learned:

-It is not rude to leave your shoes on, which I think is because there is not really carpet anywhere.

-They always wear socks or slippers-being barefoot is very weird!

-Still have to keep my arms on the table while eating. I keep forgetting and just rest them in my lap! Also, when you are not using the utensils you are supposed to put them on your plate and not next to the plate.

-Everyone has 2 last names here and no middle names. The first last name is from your dad and the second is from your mom. You do not take the name of your husband when you marry. So, Marta’s last names are Cuerdo and Lopez. Cuerdo is her dad and Lopez is her mom. Then she passes on the first last name of her dad to her kids. So it is really the male name that gets transferred, kind of like in the US.

Dinner time!! Ciao 

La Primera Semana

Warning: Sorry this is going to be a bit long and choppy because I haven't posted since the weekend and a lot has happened! I will try to post more frequently so I don't bore you with these long posts or leave things out!

Just sitting here watching Bob Esponja with Didi and Cocque (Diego and Jorge) and getting really excited to visit El Alcázar in about an hour! J  This past week has been great and the days go by really fast since we are starting to get in a routine.

On Monday we just had an orientation of our school and it is so incredibly beautiful! Here is a virtual tour of the school if you are interested…

Virtual Tour

There are different parts of the school that are from all different time periods. One room is from the 1200s! I am becoming more and more interested in history, which has always been my least favorite subject, because there is just so much extraordinary history here in Segovia, and not to mention all of Spain. All of the history about the monarchy really interests me and that’s why I am so excited to get a tour of the castle today!

 First day of school picture

Tuesday was my first day of classes and I had 3 in the morning right in a row from 9:30 to 2:00 and of course I woke up late on the first day of school! Katee called me at around 9:15 and I was out the door by 9:20 because it takes 10 minutes to get there! But, there were people who showed up later than I did so it was ok J haha. All my classes are really interesting so far. I have cinema, grammar and linguistics, a Spanish culture class and Seminar, which is about religion in Spain.

After my first day of class I came home for siesta and lunch. The boys and Jorge all come home at that time as well and then they return to school and work at about 4. Diego asked if I could pick them up for school with Dani (the nanny) on Tuesday and of course I wanted to! It was about a 15 minute walk and almost all up hill (Dani has to do it 4 times a day!! How crazy!) It took about 45 minutes to get home because Jorge was being naughty and running around and Diego was playing with a motorized fire truck. It is very weird to not be in the nanny mode and position when I’m with them! But it is also nice that I don’t have to discipline them because I don’t think I would be able to! They are very sweet and fun boys! J

On Tuesday night we went out to a discoteca that is called “Toys”. We just hung out, talked and danced!

Didi with his motorized truck, which also has a motorized helicopter inside! He drove this the whole way home from school!

Wednesday I have class at 4:30 in the afternoon so I was able to sleep in! I woke up at around 10 am and still needed to get some school supplies so I set off to the streets to look around! I walked around Segovia for about two hours…by myself! (sorry mom I know you are probably freaking!) I felt very independent and was very proud of myself! That night I had to write my first paper for Seminar, so I stayed in and did that all night.

Thursday I had class in the morning and then went home for siesta.  The boys were home from school with fevers L Dani put a bottle of nailpolish remover on my desk on Monday and finally today she was like “Morgan you need to take your nailpolish off your nails look really ugly!” haha I thought that was so funny, they are just chipped like usual, but I took it off in order to make her happy. Jorge padre went to the Real Madrid fútbol game and it started at 10 pm! He is ALWAYS on facebook and knows so many people. He is always posting status updates and stuff, so it is fun because I always know what he is doing or what interests him like the news of Segovia and Spain. I have watched a lot more news here than I do in the US (which is almost nothing) The news here is kind of a mix between ET, local and world news. So there will be something about the US and then 5 minutes later there will be a music video of Ricky Martin and then a story on how he has come out about his sexual identity. More on the music, everywhere there is American music and that is really comforting to hear. My family loves Lady GAGA and her CD is always playing in the kitchen.

It is so fun to come home to a surprise for lunch and dinner everyday! I have not had the same thing twice and I have really enjoyed everything Ive eaten…besides a little bit of blue cheese that was on a salad.  I never knew how many different kinds of meat existed. There is meat in almost every dish! At lunch we always have two plates...first a lighter one like soup or a salad and then the meat plate. Marta told me that she doesn't cook as well as Jorge padre or Dani and I told her I am a terrible cook and "no soy domesticada" ( I am not domestic)... she got a kick out of that and said they were going to teach me how to make some special dishes so that I can show my friends and family when I return to the states! 

I have stopped at burbuja everyday (the candy store)…its going to be the death of me and my teeth!! Its really hard not to because its soo cheap, addicting and yummy.

The other day we stopped at this ice cream place on the corner of my street. There were soo many yummy flavors, but it was like 3.80 for one scoop of ice cream! Things are really backwards here because I can get a Medium Blizzard from dairy queen for like 4 dollars ha!

The only thing I have been having trouble with is feeling like I am not able to show my personality or true expressions still. My Spanish is definitely not as great as I thought it was and I know its only been a week, but its really hard. I am just hoping and praying it gets better soon so I don’t have to continue just nodding my head saying "sí" and "gracias" to everything. When I try to talk they correct me, which is wonderful because I am learning, but it just seems like I do and say everything wrong. Although, I have a notebook on the kitchen table and everynight after dinner Jorge padre y Marta teach me new words and new things and I also help them with their English!It is really nice that they care about helping me, I just hope its not too frustrating for them!

Marta told me the other night that Diego has never acted like he does with me with any other American student. He is always trying to play with me through tickles, saying “boo” and coming up to my room. That made me feel really special because I had felt like I wasn’t doing well with them since its harder to talk and play with them because I can't find the right spanish words! But, when she said that it made me really excited and gives me a lot of hope! 

Well I am off to the castle!!  :)

Hasta Luego!

El Fin de Semana

Hola! 

Saturday was a wonderful day! Jorge, mi padre, and Eva took me on a tour of Segovia.

There is so much to see here and so much history, it is incredible! During the day I saw different people from my group walking around town as well! I wanted to be with them, but at the same time it was really fun to be with Jorge and Eva and learn about Segovia and spend time with them.  We saw the cathedral and El Alcázar, which is the castle and they are both so beautiful! The castle is said to be the most photographed castle in the world and I definitely added to that count yesterday and today! It is beautiful from every angle and so interesting. There is a mote that is very deep, however there is no water in it anymore. It is also said that Walt Disney used this castle as his inspiration for the one in Disney world! :)At about 1 we went to La Plaza Mayor and got tapas.  Eva ordered for me because I didn't know what to get.  We had cerveza con fanta límon (beer with lemon fanta) and it was actually pretty good! In spain it is very normal to go to little restaraunts for drinks during the day and with the drink comes food! We got ham and fried bacon. Then we went to another place called Bon Appetit and got more tapas. After that we went to the bus station and waited for Emily, who is also from Bethel and now lives in Madrid. Then we went home for lunch and siesta. At lunch we had soup and then a plate of meat. They bring out dishes and the portions are so large that I am often very full here and that usually never happens!  Jorge always tells me that I am good at using my knife haha. He says that most Americans have to be taught how to use their knife properly in Spain. After lunch we all went into the TV room and hung around. The boys played wii and we watched and chatted. 

I met with the group at 5 at the aqueduct and on the way I picked up some candy from the candy store below my apartment :). We went shopping because they are having lots of sales right now. There were so many cute things, but I didn't buy anything. I am hoping I will find a jacket or some boots in the next few days because I want to take advantage of the sales. After wandering around and going into different stores a few of us girls went into a bar for a cerveza and tapas. We had tortilla de España between bread and it was really yummy! 

I went out to dinner with mis padres, Emily and Eva. Mi madre, Marta, has a restaurant that her family has owned since the 1780s…how crazy!! It is called Candido and it is known world wide for its cochinillo (it is like a baby pig and has the face and everything!) Someone sitting by us got the famous dish and everyone told me I needed to go and take a video of it because there was a ceremony type thing.  Marta’s dad read this long thing and then cut the cochinillo with a plate and broke then threw the plate on the floor and it shattered. It was very cool! Dinner was incredible! First we had appetizers, which included these salmon roll up things, mushrooms in a sauce, and ham. We also had red wine from Segovia and they mix it with something that is like sprite. It was really good! Then for the main dish I had steak with vegetables. For dessert we had famous segovian cake, chocolate cake and the most delicious thing I have ever tasted, but I don’t know what it is called! We sat and talked until 11 and then I met the rest of the group right outside at the aqueduct!

It was my first night out in Segovia. We went to a bar called Oso Blanco and got Sangria. We got to watch how they made it and it took a very long time because it has a lot of ingredients. There was sugar, cinnamon, wine, oranges, pears, bananas, kiwi and a lot of other things I cant remember.

After sitting and socializing for a while we went to a discoteca named HOOK and I went home at about 2. Marta told me not to come in late because of the boys, but when I walked in Jorge asked why I was home so early! I thought that was funny because late here is like 7 in the morning.

***

Today we had orientation with the group at 11 and saw the school! It is beautiful and classes start tomorrow. Estoy nerviosa. After the tour some of us went on a walk on this path that goes around Segovia. It was great exercise and the most beautiful views ever. I will post some pictures! :)

My family has been in Madrid all day so I was home alone during siesta time. I got to skype Andy for the first time. It was really nice to catch up and exchange stories! Now I am sitting in a café. There are so many people here and it is raining outside. I love how here everyone meets and hangs out in different places throughout the city because there are always tons of people everywhere!

What I have learned:

-     -  the coffee is much smaller because it is only espresso and you put milk in it and sugar! (I thought Dani was crazy when she gave me 1/8 of a cup of coffee the other morning)

-      - when eating you put your arms on the table. (I kept putting my hands in my lap and Marta told me that in Spain they keep their arms on the table while eating)

There are so many different customs here and I don’t want to be rude, but I guess I just have to keep going and learn along the way what to do and what not to do!

Sorry this is so lengthy!

The street I live on is the one in the middle and the restaurant Candido is the building on the left of the picture. This was taken from the top of the aqueduct.

                                                              a river during the walk

Adios!

Segovia!

We made it!! It is 10:20 here and very gloomy and rainy Now we are just waiting in the airport in Madrid for the rest of the group in order to take the bus to Segovia and meet our host families! I am getting so anxious and nervous to meet my family because I have no idea what to expect! My hands are all blistered from the hauling around the weight of my two bags.

 ***

My first day was crazy!! The flight went really well, although I was nervous to board everytime because my carryon looked more like a suitcase and it was really hard to get up and down from the overhead compartments, but I had lots of help. When we arrived we had to wait around in the Madrid airport for 6 hours until the rest of the group came. I got some sleep on the plane and during the wait, so I wasn’t too tired during the rest of the day.

Then it was about an hour drive to Segovia. We arrived an hour early but my host dad was the first one there and greeted me right away, so I was the first to leave! I walked back with him and Eva to their apartment, which is located right next to the aqueduct and in the middle of all the action! Eva studied abroad here 2 years ago and is from Minnesota as well, but she went to Bethel.  She is visiting for the weekend and is really nice to have here!  She really calmed me down because she was able to explain customs, words, phrases and all the new things that I would just nod my head and smile at. There is a really nummy looking candy store below me and yesterday all the winter sales started in all of the cute shops around! 

         Right when I arrived I met the two boys, Jorge (4) and Diego (7) and Dani, who is the nanny, cook, cleaning lady and much more. She sat me down and said I needed to eat, so she proceeded to make me this super nummy soup, crema de Calabasas, with some meat for my second dish and a small yogurt for my third. She was so helpful and easy to talk to.  After I ate I unpacked all my stuff. I have a room alone upstairs with a bathroom and desk and bed. It is pretty small but it is very nice and my host family is very accommodating. After unpacking I joined Eva, Dani, Diego, Jorge y Blanca (the cousin of the boys) out into segovia! we went to the candy shop first, but I didn’t get anything yet because I was pretty full from my other meal. Then we walked down the street to a park. On the way I saw a beautiful castle, church, tons of shopping and a lot of people. I thought it was really cool that so many people are in the streets, it makes the town seem so lively and like a real community. The norm in spain is to meet outside the house and at different places, they rarely bring people back to entertain at ones own house. The park had a legitimate marry go round that lit up and you needed tickets to ride. It was really fun to just enjoy the outdoors, it was about 45 degrees but getting chilly because it was nearing dark.

         When we got back home I played escondito (hide and seek) with the kids all around the apartment. After that we just hung out and watched TV. It was really easy to talk to Blanca because she is 12 and I don’t feel judged by her and its really easy to ask her questions! We talked a lot and I showed her pictures of my family and friends and she met Sammie Sandy and blankie too.

         Dinner wasn’t until about 10 but it was very delicious. We had tortilla de España and some really good ham that they cut right from a thing that looked like an animal haha. After that we watched a movie .

         Although the day was really fun it was also really hard. I had no way to contact anyone else in my group or anyone at home because I don’t have a converter for my computer charger and my computer was about to die. They also said they went out and looked for one for me and couldn’t find it. I also was going to get minutes on my prepaid phone but the line was too long and I didn’t know anyones numbers anyways. Hopefully I will be able to find the group tomorrow and exchange numbers!!

Hasta luego!

Packed and hopefully ready!

I did it!! large thanks to Sarah and Maddie :) Now I just hope that the exact weight of the 50 lb duffel doesn't change when I get to the airport. I cannot believe that I am leaving tomorrow for Spain! I am going to miss everyone so much, but I am excited for many new adventures and experiences.
I will post again when I arrive!
:) Let the travels begin