tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39205945949060575712024-03-13T20:55:27.752-07:00My Spanish Adventure...This semester, I'm going to school at St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain! I'll keep you updated on what I'm doing through this blog :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-59933026401878714622010-06-05T15:17:00.000-07:002010-06-05T16:23:41.038-07:00I'm Baaaaaaaack!Wow. When I left Spain, I had no idea that it would take this long to write my next blog. I actually planned on doing it one of my first days home! But here I am, 3 ½ weeks later, finally getting around to it! I think I was afraid, because this blog would verify the fact that the most amazing chapter of my life so far is over :( depressing.<br /><br />My last days in Madrid were VERY busy! I did last minute shopping, soaked in all the sights one last time, and had a lot of studying to do for my finals. But, that last Sunday my roommate Danielle and I squeezed in a Bull Fight. I mean, how could you spent over 4 months in Spain and not see one?! It is so important in the Spanish culture. I was surprised with the fight because it wasn’t as gruesome as I expected it to be. It was hard to watch at times, but it’s amazing how artistic it is and the precision and skill needed to be a successful “Torero” (bullfighter). We only paid about 4 Euro for our seats and we were in the VERY top row. We stayed to watch 3 bulls get killed, then went home because we still had so much studying to do for our finals the next day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT3KnN31I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/kHuchzSDKOk/s1600/DSCF2751.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT3KnN31I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/kHuchzSDKOk/s320/DSCF2751.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479424841344737106" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT2bnzm5I/AAAAAAAAAUA/qsxyRWQZypo/s1600/DSCF2740.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT2bnzm5I/AAAAAAAAAUA/qsxyRWQZypo/s320/DSCF2740.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479424828730743698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT2L8HyuI/AAAAAAAAAT4/7HIBbCHVllk/s1600/DSCF2738.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT2L8HyuI/AAAAAAAAAT4/7HIBbCHVllk/s320/DSCF2738.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479424824520985314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT26gZ--I/AAAAAAAAAUI/LsKwhYcMxFk/s1600/DSCF2779.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT26gZ--I/AAAAAAAAAUI/LsKwhYcMxFk/s320/DSCF2779.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479424837021203426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT3hUXAwI/AAAAAAAAAUY/JDCXhLy3aeI/s1600/DSCF2749.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArT3hUXAwI/AAAAAAAAAUY/JDCXhLy3aeI/s320/DSCF2749.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479424847439659778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On Tuesday, my last full day, it really hit me how sad I was about to be leaving. Leading up to then, I would say that my excitement about coming home slightly outweighed my sadness, but on Tuesday it all changed. Throughout all of my routine activities I was so sad that it would be my last time doing it all. I didn’t want to leave and if I would have been given the choice, I would have signed on for a few more months right then and there!<br /><br />After my hardest final, Spanish Literature, Chloe, Danielle and I went to “The Golden Cock”, a Tapas bar right by our school. It was so sad knowing that those were some of my last moments with them. But, we had a very busy last day together! From there we did some shopping in Sol, finished up our packing, then went out for dinner. Our plans were to go to a Flamenco show after we ate, but it turns out the place Danielle had found online was just an abandoned building. Haha. While walking around we found a random Renaissancey looking market, then headed to “Dubliners” to meet up with friends and say goodbye :( On our way back to our apartment, we saw a photo-booth! Obviously we stopped, piled in, and got 4 copies… one for each of us and Angela (or Ange, as we referred to her as), our Señora.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVxQEFWEI/AAAAAAAAAU4/jR1YeUoJI6w/s1600/DSCF2715.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVxQEFWEI/AAAAAAAAAU4/jR1YeUoJI6w/s320/DSCF2715.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479426938752030786" border="0" /></a> Sol<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVwRF7y9I/AAAAAAAAAUg/Kq4wyFEa1X0/s1600/DSCF2759.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVwRF7y9I/AAAAAAAAAUg/Kq4wyFEa1X0/s320/DSCF2759.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479426921848359890" border="0" /></a> Our Fruiteria!! Where we got all of our Fruits and Veggies... same 2 workers every day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVwg_nWQI/AAAAAAAAAUo/wS1TahD14G8/s1600/DSCF2760.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVwg_nWQI/AAAAAAAAAUo/wS1TahD14G8/s320/DSCF2760.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479426926116821250" border="0" /></a> The Chino down the street where I always bought....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVxLWMoKI/AAAAAAAAAUw/w5Pdzpf22RM/s1600/DSCF2761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVxLWMoKI/AAAAAAAAAUw/w5Pdzpf22RM/s320/DSCF2761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479426937485828258" border="0" /></a> ....my Chino-Delight! yum.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVyM28hpI/AAAAAAAAAVA/6YaVborKRGU/s1600/DSCF2764.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArVyM28hpI/AAAAAAAAAVA/6YaVborKRGU/s320/DSCF2764.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479426955071489682" border="0" /></a> Danielle packing up.. depressing :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArXdSCuDUI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/U9IvtxauppU/s1600/DSCF2766.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArXdSCuDUI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/U9IvtxauppU/s320/DSCF2766.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479428794709052738" border="0" /></a><br />"Ham Museum". ew.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TAraUxyY8UI/AAAAAAAAAVw/6SfYl1AmNGA/s1600/DSCF2782.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TAraUxyY8UI/AAAAAAAAAVw/6SfYl1AmNGA/s320/DSCF2782.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479431947146555714" border="0" /></a><br />When I woke up Wednesday morning, I had crazy butterflies. I have no idea why, but I get nervous for everything… especially big changes or events… like coming home, in this case. Danielle, Chloe and I said goodbye to Ange, then got in our Taxi and headed for the airport. Danielle and I were both leaving that day, but Chloe was going to pick up one of her friends (they were staying for a couple weeks more).<br /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/hptest/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/hptest/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TAra98ocL7I/AAAAAAAAAV4/sSOTpklaoPo/s1600/ange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TAra98ocL7I/AAAAAAAAAV4/sSOTpklaoPo/s320/ange.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479432654432251826" border="0" /></a><br />We sat around for a while, and then the dreaded moment came: It was time for me to go through security and catch my flight. Even though 30mins earlier we had all said that we weren’t going to cry, as soon as the reality of what was about to happen hit, we all stood there hugging with the tears flowing! After spending soooo much time together and experiencing such amazing things with each other, it’s weird to realize that we may not see each other again for a long, long time. I really lucked out when it came to roommates… I know that who you room with and how well you get along can make or break your experience. Not only were the trips we took and Madrid times we had amazing, but I will also always remember the good times the three of us had just chillin’ at our apartment. My semester was such a wonderful experience and I’m so happy I got to share it with them :) I miss my roomies!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArXdLiRGrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/1X-vezXYHmQ/s1600/30187_389996672950_693112950_4073100_6366850_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/TArXdLiRGrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/1X-vezXYHmQ/s320/30187_389996672950_693112950_4073100_6366850_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479428792962325170" border="0" /></a><br />I was very surprised to discover that it was harder to get used to being home than it was to living there. The experience was so unique… and I would do it again in an instant. It was the time of my life, and I feel so fortunate that I was able to do it! I can't wait to get back there some day :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-55970587390664565632010-05-11T16:34:00.000-07:002010-05-11T16:45:07.375-07:00Closing Time...Oh boy. Here I am... about to flick off the lights and go to sleep in my squeaky Spain bed one last time. What a great semester this has been... and a wonderful way to end college! Finals are over, goodbyes have been said, and my bags are packed. As long as this pesky volcano doesn't get in my way I will be arriving in Chicago around 3:30 pm tomorrow afternoon. I am scheduled to leave Madrid at around noon (5am Central)... Fingers crossed it happens! As sad as I am to be leaving this city and ending this experience, it is going to be pretty frustrations if I run into travel problems!<br /><br />Anyway, I will write more about some of my recent activities (BULLFIGHT!!) later... I have been so busy studying for finals and preparing for my departure that I haven't been able to update! <br /><br />Well, see you VERY soon! Hope my blogs haven't been TOO boring for you to get through :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-47967682917933199942010-05-05T13:09:00.000-07:002010-05-05T13:35:23.996-07:00In one week I'll be WHERE?!?!Well here I am. Smack dab in the middle of my last round of final exams (maybe ever! ahh scary). Luckily, I’m kind of getting eased into the process this semester… the order of my tests go from easiest to hardest. Today I had my Music test, Friday is Ethics, Monday (@8:30am, ugh) I take Art History, and Tuesday is Spanish Literature. Usually I am very happy to have them over with, but this time is different. That is because the very next morning I will be leaving Madrid. That’s right folks, one week from right now I will probably be getting off my plane in the good ol’ U S of A. Time has gone by so quickly since I used my numb (recently electrocuted) fingers to type my first blog letting you all know I had arrived safely. It’s weird though because even though the time went by in a blink, that day I left seems like it could have been a year ago. <br /><br />I am full of so many contradicting emotions about my upcoming departure. I was talking on the phone with my Grandparents the other day and realized how excited I am to see all of my family again, and Facebook is an everyday reminder of how much I miss my friends… but each day I am also reminded of how much I am going to miss Madrid, the people I have met here, and the study abroad experience in general. I have never dreaded something AND been excited for it at the same time. People ask me all the time, “how do you feel about leaving?” and I’m never quite sure how to answer them. I am extremely excited and extremely sad all rolled into one. This is the definition of “bittersweet”, and it is a crazy, crazy feeling.<br /><br />Thankfully yesterday I received a little surprise in the mail that has served as a distraction from these complicated thoughts (and unfortunately from my studying as well!). My parents sent me the new Glee CD (from their Madonna episode) and I tell ya, put in Sue Sylvester’s brilliant version of “Vogue” and all of your troubles fade away! <br /><br />Why Sue Sylvester is my favorite fake person in the world:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XhNGiUMMI6Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XhNGiUMMI6Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-74239981738943444512010-04-27T08:54:00.001-07:002010-04-27T09:34:50.178-07:00Figjel ♥("Figjel" was my first aol screen name over 10 yrs ago. It was a combination of the names of my two favorite stuffed animals, Figment and Jellaman. This "term" annoyingly kept flashing in my mind while trying to think of a title.... So, as they were kind of the inspiration for this blog, I went with it! lol)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cQ429KfvI/AAAAAAAAATw/sDgtgIEGV8o/s1600/DSCF2710.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cQ429KfvI/AAAAAAAAATw/sDgtgIEGV8o/s320/DSCF2710.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464855241848159986" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Some of you may be shocked… but I do NOT sleep with Figment and Jellaman here :) Of course I brought them, but they have a nice, cozy home inside of my closet. Yesterday as I was getting my clothes out for the day I saw them peeking out. Creepily, I picked them up and smelled them. That actually wouldn’t be very surprising if you know me well- I tend to smell things… often. Haha. Well, when I smelled them, they smelled like my house. You never really notice that comforting, unique smell of your home until you've left it for a while, and your senses get used to somewhere else. In that moment, with Figment and Jellaman held up to my face, I got a rush of butterflies in my stomach thinking about walking through my door on May 12th, and being overwhelmed with that familiar scent for the first time in over 4 months. It got me thinking about how different smells are associated with various people, periods, events or single instances of my life. It made me wonder, years from now, which scents are going to take me back to my semester in Madrid?<br /><br />While some scents are reminiscent of not-so-pleasant times, I know that anything that takes my mind back to this chapter of my life will bring a smile to my face and happiness to my heart. Wow, that was cheesy! But TRUE. I hope I always remember the thrill and excitement of living in a culture so different (in some ways) than my own.<br /><br />My Art History class today is a perfect example of something that I never would have experienced had I been sitting in a classroom at Clarke. Our professor brought us wine! I wasn’t surprised actually, because my roommates have that professor for a different Art class and she brought it for them last week. For their class, she taught them how to drink from a “bota”, which is a canvas bag to drink wine out of (very typically Spanish). But for us, it was in relation to learning about Salvador Dalí. We learned that for his masterpiece “Persistence of Memory”, he was inspired by eating Camembert cheese. So, our professor brought us some Camembert cheese with crackers, and whipped a few bottles of white wine out of her bag. Then she made us draw whatever we felt inspired to. I am not very big fan of cheese alone (unless it’s pepperjack), so I was inspired to draw a garbage can with a rotten banana and dirty sock hanging out of it.<br /><br />I didn’t have my camera with me in class today, but here are pictures of the bota in the other class (my professor showing them how it's done, and my roommate Danielle giving it a whirl)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cKJPgC4-I/AAAAAAAAATg/yLjboMOWYi8/s1600/26806_383070457950_693112950_3923333_1384424_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cKJPgC4-I/AAAAAAAAATg/yLjboMOWYi8/s320/26806_383070457950_693112950_3923333_1384424_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464847826733425634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cKIrsxu5I/AAAAAAAAATY/UkliEdrPq48/s1600/26806_383089452950_693112950_3924042_3108316_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cKIrsxu5I/AAAAAAAAATY/UkliEdrPq48/s320/26806_383089452950_693112950_3924042_3108316_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464847817123150738" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and this is Dalí's masterpiece... inspired by cheese :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cOWn4pPRI/AAAAAAAAATo/ZsXqp5-3uJI/s1600/persistence20of20memory.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S9cOWn4pPRI/AAAAAAAAATo/ZsXqp5-3uJI/s320/persistence20of20memory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464852454663863570" border="0" /></a>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-44761551266191115232010-04-24T04:51:00.000-07:002010-04-24T04:52:41.241-07:00Time's A Tickin'Since I got back from Amsterdam, I have been swamped with school work. I was dreading that first week back… I had a Spanish presentation, an Art History exam and a big Ethics paper due. Lucky for me, my Ethics paper (about Ethical Egoism) and Spanish presentation (about Feminist Literature and the piece “Tango” by Luisa Valenzuela) were both delayed a week, so I had a bit more time to prepare for each of them. But still, that is a lot crammed into two weeks (on top of all of the regular work, too)! On Thursday as I submitted my Ethics paper it felt like a HUUUGE weight was being lifted…. Only for me to remember 30 seconds later that finals are just around the riverbend (as Pocahantas would say). I still have big exams in every class, a Music research paper and need to squeeze in two concerts and write reviews on them… Yuck.<br /><br />This will be my 8th round of college finals and it seems so different than any other time. First of all it’s my last round (at least of undergrad), but secondly and most importantly, it means that my time in Spain is coming to an end SOON. I try not to think about it too much, but lately I have been having departure related dreams every night. The first one was really creepy because it was the same as a reoccurring dream I used to have before I CAME to Spain. It used to be that I got to Spain and forgot a bunch of things I wanted, but now it was that I got home and left half of my things in Spain. It makes me think that I’m having the same kind of anxieties about going home as I was about coming here in the first place. And, the other night I dreamt that I woke up the morning I leave at 8:30am (my flight leaves at 11 something) and I didn’t have any of my stuff packed yet. And this morning when I woke up, before I opened up my eyes, I thought I was in my bedroom at home for a second. It has been really weird- and it always makes me wake up feeling nervous. It’s crazy that things I don’t even think about during the day creep out of my subconscious while I’m sleeping. I wish I were a pro dream interpreter so I could decode the meanings :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-36225004571091675312010-04-14T12:27:00.000-07:002010-04-24T04:19:06.764-07:00Last Hoorah?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbVbKlJzI/AAAAAAAAASw/X3wpAoRmLbY/s1600/DSCF2665.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbVbKlJzI/AAAAAAAAASw/X3wpAoRmLbY/s320/DSCF2665.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460081653116643122" /></a><br /><br />Well, this past weekend I went on what seems to be my last trip of the semester: Amsterdam, Holland. It was a nice 3 day escape, before coming back to a very hectic school week.<br /><br />I went with my roommates Danielle and Chloe, and I really enjoyed the town. It was pretty much as I expected it to be. It was beautiful, and canals were everywhere. I felt like I was in Venice! (Actually I didn’t, they’re really different, but there is a canal connection there…haha) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbWMXJYlI/AAAAAAAAATA/PC3kk8_QwP0/s1600/DSCF2666.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbWMXJYlI/AAAAAAAAATA/PC3kk8_QwP0/s320/DSCF2666.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460081666322686546" /></a><br /><br />Our weekend was relaxed and we didn’t have too much going on- we pretty much just enjoyed the sights and the city. It was a lot of fun… we rented bikes to ride around on one day, ate pannekoeken, bought wooden shoes, passed time at the famous Amsterdam coffee shops, walked around the town, saw the Red-Light district, went to a park, went to a wax museum and saw the Anne Frank House. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbVzePDOI/AAAAAAAAAS4/yxDKexQWGRs/s1600/DSCF2670.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbVzePDOI/AAAAAAAAAS4/yxDKexQWGRs/s320/DSCF2670.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460081659641531618" /></a><br /><br />I really enjoyed the day we got bikes. #1) we didn’t have to walk as much and #2) I have never seen a town so equipped for bicycling. I guess it’s the thing to do there… there were sooo many bikers (mostly on haunted, 1950’s looking bikes) and the streets had specific biking lanes. And you know how traffic lights have the pedestrian lights, with the little guy who is green or red? Well, Amsterdam also has lights with little bikes that are green or red. It’s great; it’s a fast, cheap, environmentally friendly, and seemingly safe way to get around. I was very surprised that I did not see one single person riding with a helmet on. So, I would guess that accidents involving the riders do not occur often. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbWrpbiyI/AAAAAAAAATI/y8cX1FOhK3Y/s1600/DSCF2686.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbWrpbiyI/AAAAAAAAATI/y8cX1FOhK3Y/s320/DSCF2686.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460081674720873250" /></a><br /><br />The Madame Tussaud’s Wax museum was kind of a random decision… we passed it a million times going everywhere, and every time I saw it, I was reminded of how much I love the one in NYC. Seriously… creepily, it’s probably one of my favorite things to do in the city, and every time I go (even if there are no new figures) it is just so fascinating to me. So on Sunday when we were looking for something to do, Danielle and I decided to hit it up (Chloe had school work). I’m so happy we went, but at first I was kind of skeptical… when you get off of the elevator into the very first room, it’s completely black and then this GIANT wax guy comes down out of the ceiling. Apparently he’s an important Dutchman… I couldn’t understand what the voiceover was saying (even though it was in English) but he was creepy. SERIOUSLY! He was probably 10X the normal statue, was decorated with all of these Dutch things, and had creepy animated eyes and mouth. Needless to say, it was traumatizing. Fiiiiinally we were able to move on. This room was pretty creepy too… it was about the “golden age” and was set up like a little town in those times. Different lights turned on in the various displays and we were supposed to direct our attention to those areas and listen to the creepy voice over… but we found the black curtain leading to the next part and ducked out early.<br /><br />We walked into a dark creepy hallway and saw a sign that said, “do not touch the live actors, they will not touch you”… “take the yellow path if you have a heart condition”. We went in, and just as I was saying to Danielle, “I screamed all the way through this part of the New York one…” a guy jumped out, scared the crap out of us and we ran away trampling the middle aged couples behind us (literally) and probably deafening them with our screeching. Arms linked, and 1,000 screams later, we were finally out of there and onto the cool stuff. There were a lot of wax figures of American people, and it was really neat to get to see and learn about important people historically and culturally from Holland and the surrounding areas, too. One awesome feature of the Amsterdam Madame Tussauds, was that they had a whole section dedicated to artists... perfect timing with an art history test coming up tomorrow! haha <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbW1iL3zI/AAAAAAAAATQ/DDE9IbOuePw/s1600/DSCF2704.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S8YbW1iL3zI/AAAAAAAAATQ/DDE9IbOuePw/s320/DSCF2704.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460081677374840626" /></a><br /><br />My favorite, favorite, favorite part of my weekend in Amsterdam was visiting the Anne Frank house. I remember reading her diary when I was in 8th grade and like everyone else who has ever read her story, I was moved by not only what she went through, but the deep and profound insights of this young girl. As you may know, I am possibly the most easily creeped out person in the world. I cannot describe to you the chills that spread through my body as I walked through the hidden bookshelf door, and stood in Anne’s room, looking at the pictures of movie stars that she pasted to the walls herself. It was all so eerie and moving. I could not imagine living in such tight quarters, and keeping quiet all day long. I mean, think of the fear and anxiety they all must have felt? Wow. It was definitely a surreal experience. I’m looking forward to reading her diary again, after having been there.<br /><br />Even though I didn’t feel well (my Easter-time cold is still lingering…) it was a really nice weekend. Hopefully I’ll be able to return someday!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-65452413065969738782010-04-08T10:01:00.000-07:002010-04-08T12:17:20.146-07:00Rusk Family Reunion: Spring Break 2010It seems like I just returned from Spring Break, and already tomorrow I am heading to Holland! (Amsterdam, specifically) I figured I should post a quick summary of what went down over Spring Break!<br /><br />On Thursday March 25th, my family got to Madrid! My Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Tim all made the long journey over here. They arrived Thursday night, so we only had time for dinner (Mexican, yum), but we had a long time on Friday to see the sites. First we walked to my school, then I took them on a big ol’ walking loop around the city- we hit up some of the major spots: Plaza España, the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, San Miguel’s Market and Puerta del Sol. We also made a Gelato stop… which prepared us for our daily gelato consumption in Italy : ) After spending some time in each of these locations, we were on our way to the airport to go to Rome!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dnXuCxRI/AAAAAAAAAPI/0ThjWR52_oY/s1600/DSCF2442.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dnXuCxRI/AAAAAAAAAPI/0ThjWR52_oY/s320/DSCF2442.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832360638858514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dpDkElCI/AAAAAAAAAPg/v_A3D0ZGu4g/s1600/DSCI0028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dpDkElCI/AAAAAAAAAPg/v_A3D0ZGu4g/s320/DSCI0028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832389588063266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dofaB5-I/AAAAAAAAAPY/2-fAqfzyh28/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dofaB5-I/AAAAAAAAAPY/2-fAqfzyh28/s320/IMG_0006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832379882268642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dn28nbfI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/OdiAaULTl5E/s1600/DSCF2452.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dn28nbfI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/OdiAaULTl5E/s320/DSCF2452.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832369021480434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We arrived after midnight, and after a few luggage and taxi related anxieties, finally got to our hotel! We would be staying in a different hotel EVERY NIGHT (except in Switzerland, where we spent 2 nights at the same place), so I didn’t get to “settle in” like I love doing at hotels. Oh well… after the door handle came off in my hand a few times, I was fine with moving on!<br /><br />Saturday was our first day to explore Rome… and it got off to a horrible start! Some yahoo in a souvenir shop decided to start talking about an explosion (a supposed terrorist attack) that occurred in the O’Hare airport! He said that almost 40 had died, and there was also a threat on the White House. We were all freaking out. I immediately sent a text to my cousin, Angie, who lives in Chicago to see what was happening, and we made some calls back home… well, as you know, nothing really happened. Either that guy was SERIOUSLY misinformed, or he was playing a sick joke on the Americans. Horrible.<br /><br />Once we got word from home that nothing really had happened, our preoccupation with the “attack” subsided and we were able to take in all of the culture and beauty we were experiencing. We went to St. Peter’s Square and spent hours in the Vatican Museum. I was finally able to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael’s “School of Athens”. The Sistine Chapel wasn’t like I had imagined it to be at all… it was much smaller than I had thought. We were the last people to leave the museum, and we were all exhausted afterwards!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dpaI1aNI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3vKLVLaXOZQ/s1600/DSCF2460.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74dpaI1aNI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3vKLVLaXOZQ/s320/DSCF2460.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832395647838418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hWlYjfPI/AAAAAAAAAP4/3Fn_VPgq8Uc/s1600/IMG_0042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hWlYjfPI/AAAAAAAAAP4/3Fn_VPgq8Uc/s320/IMG_0042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457836470295559410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hVvu35EI/AAAAAAAAAPw/62J8ylwVpjI/s1600/DSCF2474.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hVvu35EI/AAAAAAAAAPw/62J8ylwVpjI/s320/DSCF2474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457836455893656642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next day we signed up for a guided walking tour and saw St. Peter’s Square (again), the Trevi Fountain, the “Spanish Steps”, the Pantheon and many sculptures by Bernini and other artists. Since it was Palm Sunday, the city was full of people and there were palm stands everywhere. I even saw some people selling little palm crosses like they make at my church for the holy day. Later on, we went to the Colosseum and saw other architecture that remains from ancient Rome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hXUZwgsI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/788s7m3I4JQ/s1600/DSCF2520.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hXUZwgsI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/788s7m3I4JQ/s320/DSCF2520.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457836482917073602" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hXOVaAlI/AAAAAAAAAQI/GZTTAapA29k/s1600/DSCF2502.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hXOVaAlI/AAAAAAAAAQI/GZTTAapA29k/s320/DSCF2502.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457836481288208978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hW5-NeEI/AAAAAAAAAQA/AGfAQpSxnN0/s1600/DSCF2496.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74hW5-NeEI/AAAAAAAAAQA/AGfAQpSxnN0/s320/DSCF2496.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457836475822209090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jsqo-0PI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/aAnuYS8f55A/s1600/DSCI0160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jsqo-0PI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/aAnuYS8f55A/s320/DSCI0160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457839048687014130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At 5:30 am on Monday, we were on our way to the airport for Venice! Alysia and I were lucky we made it though… we didn’t wake up until 5:18!!! I’m happy we did, because Venice was every bit as magical as I remember it being. We walked all around the city and saw the canals, bridges, and narrow, winding streets. We did a little shopping, spent some time in St. Mark’s Square, and all piled into a gondola for a relaxing journey through the waters.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jsKx6JBI/AAAAAAAAAQw/dveTqZceVaQ/s1600/DSCI0225.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jsKx6JBI/AAAAAAAAAQw/dveTqZceVaQ/s320/DSCI0225.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457839040134521874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jr6Ph6RI/AAAAAAAAAQo/Tpyv6t6mfsE/s1600/DSCI0203.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jr6Ph6RI/AAAAAAAAAQo/Tpyv6t6mfsE/s320/DSCI0203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457839035695360274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jrT4qh_I/AAAAAAAAAQg/xmXQ307wPEw/s1600/DSCF2536.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jrT4qh_I/AAAAAAAAAQg/xmXQ307wPEw/s320/DSCF2536.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457839025398908914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jrKOYrMI/AAAAAAAAAQY/2CvHv14x_v4/s1600/DSCF2528.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74jrKOYrMI/AAAAAAAAAQY/2CvHv14x_v4/s320/DSCF2528.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457839022805658818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Bright and early on Tuesday, we were off for another leg of our journey… Lucerne, Switzerland. On the train rides we were able to catch up on some much needed rest and were excited to get to our hotel where we would be (finally) staying two consecutive nights :)<br /><br />After checking in, we went to look at the town. After a few minutes, I realized how much I loved Switzerland. Walking across the bridge to where all the action was, I could see the Alps, a river and the cutest, most “Swiss” looking buildings you’ll ever see in your life! It was sooo beautiful. There wasn’t too much going on in Lucerne, so our days there were chill- just what we needed after our go-go-go attitudes in our other locations.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nOc3XFoI/AAAAAAAAARQ/xtCJbnq6M3I/s1600/DSCF2587.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nOc3XFoI/AAAAAAAAARQ/xtCJbnq6M3I/s320/DSCF2587.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457842927639664258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nNw3-MOI/AAAAAAAAARI/aJIQ66qy7MY/s1600/DSCF2585.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nNw3-MOI/AAAAAAAAARI/aJIQ66qy7MY/s320/DSCF2585.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457842915831066850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nNZcFYMI/AAAAAAAAARA/RpVjPHDeN6Y/s1600/DSCF2582.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nNZcFYMI/AAAAAAAAARA/RpVjPHDeN6Y/s320/DSCF2582.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457842909540081858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first night in Lucerne was the best night of the whole trip, in my opinion. We went to Stadtkeller, a Swill Folklore dinner show that had disgusting cheese-fondue, but a great performance. The Alphorns and yodeling took my attention away from the ass smell invading my nostrils, and it was an amazing time. Alysia and Tim were able to give the Alphorn a whirl, Cheryl and Tim tried some traditional Swiss dancing, and Dad was able to put his yodeling and beer-drinking skills to the test.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nPKAKJGI/AAAAAAAAARg/Azx_VULRjis/s1600/DSCF2618.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nPKAKJGI/AAAAAAAAARg/Azx_VULRjis/s320/DSCF2618.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457842939756160098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nO0DKNFI/AAAAAAAAARY/fh8C6eW269k/s1600/DSCF2589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74nO0DKNFI/AAAAAAAAARY/fh8C6eW269k/s320/DSCF2589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457842933863167058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pYRwpIQI/AAAAAAAAARo/88ecBFdVPJY/s1600/IMG_0335.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pYRwpIQI/AAAAAAAAARo/88ecBFdVPJY/s320/IMG_0335.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457845295480643842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pYyIiJxI/AAAAAAAAARw/vJ1zY4MOwMo/s1600/DSCI0290.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pYyIiJxI/AAAAAAAAARw/vJ1zY4MOwMo/s320/DSCI0290.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457845304170784530" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On Wednesday, we spent a few hours at Mt. Pilatus. We took little “gondolas” on cables up to the top, and the views were beautiful… if you could ignore the blizzard going on around you! We had lunch up there, took in the sites, and warmed up with a little hot chocolate and dessert before heading back down. That night I had my best meal of the trip: Meat Fondue (way better, and way different than the cheese one).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74paYXL5wI/AAAAAAAAASI/wmQ8yLK-FCo/s1600/DSCF2628.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74paYXL5wI/AAAAAAAAASI/wmQ8yLK-FCo/s320/DSCF2628.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457845331612657410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pZlKs_3I/AAAAAAAAASA/i576_UANxDM/s1600/DSCI0358.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pZlKs_3I/AAAAAAAAASA/i576_UANxDM/s320/DSCI0358.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457845317870092146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pZYfTe2I/AAAAAAAAAR4/dBcX4db1Ymw/s1600/DSCI0345.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74pZYfTe2I/AAAAAAAAAR4/dBcX4db1Ymw/s320/DSCI0345.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457845314466839394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />On Thursday morning we bid farewell to Lucerne and were on our way back to Madrid. We did make a 6ish hour pitstop in Paris, though. We had enough time to visit the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Then we boarded our overnight train to Madrid. GROSS. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that our cabin had the cleanliness of an airplane bathroom. YUCK. And almost as annoying as the disgustingness of it, our room was only big enough for one of us to stand up in it at once. Thank God I was asleep for most of this ride. BLAH.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rmCjefUI/AAAAAAAAASo/HRMfdiFv6e0/s1600/DSCI0395.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rmCjefUI/AAAAAAAAASo/HRMfdiFv6e0/s320/DSCI0395.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457847730940312898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rlKLGzCI/AAAAAAAAASg/UyedJET9AI0/s1600/DSCF2643.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rlKLGzCI/AAAAAAAAASg/UyedJET9AI0/s320/DSCF2643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457847715805711394" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rkrGW9PI/AAAAAAAAASY/ExW0H-gj_mE/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rkrGW9PI/AAAAAAAAASY/ExW0H-gj_mE/s320/IMG_0379.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457847707464299762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rkLvu9mI/AAAAAAAAASQ/KSG1MDStrck/s1600/DSCI0412.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S74rkLvu9mI/AAAAAAAAASQ/KSG1MDStrck/s320/DSCI0412.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457847699047904866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I was rejoicing when we pulled up in Madrid Friday morning, but sad because I knew that my time with the fam was almost at an end. We were planning on going to the Prado Museum that day, but because it was Good Friday almost everything in the whole city was closed. We went to Retiro Park and to Sol again, then ATTEMPTED to go to a Flamenco dinner show… but because of religious processionals the cabs couldn’t drop us off right at the place…And since we were in two different cars, we got separated. Very long story short, we were swept away in the crowd, it took Mom, Dad, Alysia and I over 45 minutes to find the restaurant and since Tim and Cheryl didn’t turn up, we left… turns out they showed up 5 minutes later! Well, we were still separated. But finally, probably 2 hrs later, we were reunited at a little café across from our hotel- where we had our last meal together.<br /><br />On Saturday I rode with them to the airport and said goodbye to them… it was sad since I had gotten used to being with them again, but knowing that I would be seeing them in less than 6 weeks made it a little easier.<br /><br />Sunday was Easter. Blah. I was sick. And on Monday I was back to school… and today’s Wednesday. Jeeze that was supposed to be a short summary! Sorry Charlies.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-13206438310904483432010-03-24T09:54:00.001-07:002010-03-24T09:55:36.046-07:00Time Flies When You're Having A Spanish Adventure...Wow. I have been in Spain for over TWO MONTHS now. It’s strange, because the day I got here seems sooo long ago, but the time has gone by really quickly. It’s crazy to think that 7 weeks from this moment, I will be flying somewhere over the Atlantic on my journey back to Iowa. I wonder what I will be feeling in that moment? <br /><br />I have noticed quite a few changes I’ve gone through since being here (subtle things- some in my actions and others in the way I think) and have learned things about myself that I hadn’t known before. If things keep going as they are, I truly believe that 50 years from now I will still look back on this short period of my life as being one of the most important and influential. The impact it has had has made me wish I had studied abroad sooner- but then I think… maybe if I would have done it any other time, even just last semester, it wouldn’t have turned out the same. <br /><br />In various ways, this has been an adventure for me… I can’t wait to see what the next 7 weeks of this amazing experience have in store for me. Some adventures that I DO know about are upcoming trips…<br /><br />On April 9th I’m leaving for Amsterdam. From what I hear from people who have been there before, it should be a fantastic weekend. But in my more immediate future: TOMORROW my family is coming! Yay! My Spring Break officially starts on Friday and it’s the perfect opportunity to hang with the fam, and also do some more traveling. <br /><br />My Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Tim are all coming. It’s going to be great to see everyone. Even though I haven’t been homesick, I’m really excited for them to be here (hopefully when they leave me it won’t trigger it!). We’ll spend a few days in Madrid, but then are going to Italy and Switzerland. I’ve never been to Switzerland before and am pumped to go, and I can’t wait to get back to Italy. I was there 5 years ago and absolutely adored it… We’ll be in Rome (my first time) and Venice. Venice ranked #1 on my “Place I’ve Been” list for quite some time, and I look forward to seeing if after this trip it will reclaim the top spot! There is soooo much art in Rome that I have learned about in my Art History class and it will be nice to see it in person. BUT, my main interest in Italy: Gelato ; )Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-70295130275936431612010-03-17T09:02:00.000-07:002010-03-17T09:55:52.041-07:00The Big Two-TwoThis is my first blog as a moldy oldie 22 year old. I realize that it’s not, but that sounds sooo old to me! I feel especially old after I realize that my favorite birthday ever, my 11th, was HALF of my life ago. Depressing! (I'm not sure what's more depressing... that I'm already 22 or that my favorite birthday was when I was in 5th grade)<br /><br />However, I was distracted from my depression on my birthday because of the exciting weekend that was ahead of me. I have celebrated my birthday/bday weekend in places cooler than Dubuque a few times before: Orlando FL, the Dells, NYC and Waverly, IA (just kidding about that one- haha). BUT, the location I was heading off to right after my 22nd birthday puts the other places to shame: Morocco! <br /><br />My birthday was Thursday (the 11th), and it started off amazingly. I woke up that morning to a wonderful birthday surprise! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_UBxidUI/AAAAAAAAAMY/UCYul9tD8n8/s1600-h/DSCF2434.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_UBxidUI/AAAAAAAAAMY/UCYul9tD8n8/s320/DSCF2434.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449636268656981314" /></a><br /><br />The table in our living room was full of birthday stuff. My roommates Chloe and Danielle got me a delicious cake that Chloe made. It was topped with fruit and a perfect “FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS” candle (which is now on display on my desk). The bananas even said “22”! There were also some notes (that I will save forever!) and my cards/package that had arrived throughout the week. Plus, the sea shells and rose that are randomly on our bookshelf were thrown on for a nice touch. <br /><br />I went off to class, and when I arrived home that evening there were MORE surprises! My birthday card from my grandparents had arrived and there was MORE stuff on the table. My Señora made me ANOTHER cake, there was a card from Danielle and some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Yummm. After packing for our trip, we were off for a birthday dinner at a really great Mexican place right around the corner from our apartment. It was soooo good. Going out to eat was a treat this year especially since I NEVER go to restaurants here. We are officially addicted to their Guacamole.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_UyoYfGI/AAAAAAAAAMg/-TezoHNho3c/s1600-h/DSCF2438.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_UyoYfGI/AAAAAAAAAMg/-TezoHNho3c/s320/DSCF2438.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449636281771916386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_WL-wrAI/AAAAAAAAAMo/TsHENb6ewMQ/s1600-h/IMG_1310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_WL-wrAI/AAAAAAAAAMo/TsHENb6ewMQ/s320/IMG_1310.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449636305756531714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_XDkJe0I/AAAAAAAAAM4/Rd7arzjCUpI/s1600-h/IMG_1309.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_XDkJe0I/AAAAAAAAAM4/Rd7arzjCUpI/s320/IMG_1309.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449636320677296962" /></a><br /><br />Since our flight to Morocco was so early in the morning (6:30) and we had to get there a few hours before, we decided we would just go to the airport before the metro closed, so we wouldn’t have to pay for a taxi in the morning. Soooo, at about midnight we left for the airport and were able to “sleep” there for a couple hours. Just like at the Gerona airport (winter break), it was difficult to actually sleep! It was freezing, loud and uncomfortable. But, I guess it was worth saving the money.<br /><br />Just a couple hours after we boarded our flight, we were in Morocco! We flew into the Marrakesh airport but were staying in Taghazhut (by Agadir). The place we were staying at arranged for a driver to come pick us up at the airport. After going through customs, we saw the guy holding a sign saying “Hines, Dove, Rust”. RUST. This has been like the 4th time here that people have had my last name down as “Rust”. It’s funny because I rarely get that at home. And, “Kelsey” has also been really difficult for professors and other Spanish people to pronounce. Anyway, we got in with this crazy driver and made the 3 hr drive to Taghazhut, a quaint beach town. It was exactly as I imagined Morocco to be (which is good… because I had high hopes!). We stayed in a surf house through <a href="http://www.stoketravel.com/surfmorocco.htm">Stoke Travel</a> that was only about a 5 minute walk to the beach. The house is run by some surfer guys, and we joined a small group of people from all over the world. There were two Italian guys, a guy from Germany and a girl originally from Las Vegas, working as an Au Pair in Paris. This experience was quite different than any of our stays in hostels. There was less independence, but I liked it. We all traveled around as a group (for the most part) and it was great having real live Moroccans with us who knew the area and who I felt safe with. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EB0W2EIaI/AAAAAAAAANg/XROKG-P8Jp0/s1600-h/IMG_0525.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EB0W2EIaI/AAAAAAAAANg/XROKG-P8Jp0/s320/IMG_0525.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449639023092179362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIBvSmk7I/AAAAAAAAAOw/9Xgrp3cWzUU/s1600-h/IMG_1442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIBvSmk7I/AAAAAAAAAOw/9Xgrp3cWzUU/s320/IMG_1442.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449645850062394290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EJM70xSVI/AAAAAAAAAO4/WtDua8_WC4Q/s1600-h/IMG_1395.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EJM70xSVI/AAAAAAAAAO4/WtDua8_WC4Q/s320/IMG_1395.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449647141917116754" /></a><br /><br />When we first got there on Friday, the three of us explored the town for a while and made our way down to the beach. I knew that riding a camel was a MUST DO thing for me while in Morocco- so when I saw people walking them along the beach I got so excited! We all took a turn riding one and it was sooo scary. They are VERY high up off of the ground. They are laying down when you first get onto them, and don’t stand up smoothly at all. I thought I was going to fall off of it! We walked along the beach for a while and it was a bumpy ride… and getting down was just as scary as getting up. My heart was racing the whole time (and even for a while after) but I’m so happy that I did it. It was SUCH a fun experience. I can now cross “ride a camel in Africa” off of my bucket list (not that it was ever actually on it). Haha. Now, when I go to another part the continent someday, I want to ride an Elephant! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EBza5uwlI/AAAAAAAAANQ/Fxxl__Q_KEw/s1600-h/IMG_0517.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EBza5uwlI/AAAAAAAAANQ/Fxxl__Q_KEw/s320/IMG_0517.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449639007001428562" /></a><br /><br />The weather was so beautiful on the beach that we decided to run back to the house to put our swimsuits on. Of course, about 5 minutes after we got situated on the rocks the clouds rolled it. And it was freeeeeezing! So, we got some mint tea and coffee, and walked around the town some more. There were many vendors selling the most beautiful Moroccan things. Danielle, Chloe and I all got similar bracelets with Fatima’s hand on them, as a sort of roommate friendship bracelet to remember this trip, and all of our other adventures together. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EByOoyAaI/AAAAAAAAANA/wfIDhP6y5qI/s1600-h/IMG_1371.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EByOoyAaI/AAAAAAAAANA/wfIDhP6y5qI/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449638986529243554" /></a><br /><br />We ate dinner on our rooftop terrace with everyone else from the house, and then I went to be before midnight since I was so tired and I would need all the energy I could get for surfing the next day! <br /><br />On Saturday we woke but bright and early due to the rooster that lived next door. At the time I was hating it, but now I think it’s hilarious that I have actually been woken up by a rooster. It has never happened to me before! We ate breakfast than got our wetsuits on. We carried our boards down to the beach and after about a 30 second “lesson” got right into the water. It was cold at first but I got used to it right away- the sun was shining and it was really warm out. Such an upgrade from dreary Madrid! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EBz4FuuUI/AAAAAAAAANY/G96WYiEtaFQ/s1600-h/IMG_1390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EBz4FuuUI/AAAAAAAAANY/G96WYiEtaFQ/s320/IMG_1390.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449639014836386114" /></a><br /><br />It turns out, I am not a surfer. At all! It took me forever to “catch” a wave, and I couldn’t even ever get up onto my knees on the board. I was completely fine with it though… I had just as much fun riding them out on my stomach. I loved just being in the water, enjoying the sun and taking in Morocco. After over an hour or more of “surfing” I decided to go in and lay on the beach. I have never had a beach experience like It before. I opened up my eyes and there would be camels walking around and dogs laying around me… I got a kick out of the camels- the dogs, not so much! We laid out for a while and then went back to the house for lunch. I’m happy we didn’t stay any longer because I was completely unaware of how burnt I was getting! I was a little crispy, but not bad enough to interfere with my fun. (yes mom, I was wearing sunscreen… just obviously not enough)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_Wqg8v4I/AAAAAAAAAMw/6PxZZfcceIU/s1600-h/IMG_1337.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6D_Wqg8v4I/AAAAAAAAAMw/6PxZZfcceIU/s320/IMG_1337.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449636313952993154" /></a><br /><br />After lunch, one of the guys who works at the surf house drove us to Agadir, the biggest town by Taghazhut. We went to the market which was full of so many spices, nuts, dried fruits, lanterns, jewelry and everything else Moroccan that you can think of and then went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for that night. We were going to go to a Moroccan bath, but didn’t have enough time. Maybe on my next trip :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFGeWLQqI/AAAAAAAAANo/MZmwV4qnm10/s1600-h/IMG_1392.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFGeWLQqI/AAAAAAAAANo/MZmwV4qnm10/s320/IMG_1392.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449642632878441122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFG2h1nmI/AAAAAAAAANw/NnphOdZNC0I/s1600-h/IMG_1396.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFG2h1nmI/AAAAAAAAANw/NnphOdZNC0I/s320/IMG_1396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449642639369805410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFIcGDZHI/AAAAAAAAAOA/cR4eMgCmsVw/s1600-h/IMG_1405.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFIcGDZHI/AAAAAAAAAOA/cR4eMgCmsVw/s320/IMG_1405.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449642666633684082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFH5H1q2I/AAAAAAAAAN4/adr6T0Ukuwg/s1600-h/IMG_1404.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFH5H1q2I/AAAAAAAAAN4/adr6T0Ukuwg/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449642657245932386" /></a><br /><br />After we had our traditional Moroccan dinner (on the roof top terrace, of course) we all just sat around visiting and listening to music. After a while, we decided to get some henna tattoos. One of the guys said that the Cook, Fatima, knew how to do it and we could go with her to get it done. Sooo, we walked up the street to her house and she and a friend gave them to us. They kind of cheated (they used a stencil) but the ink was freshly made, and it was such neat experience to be in a random house in Morocco, sitting on the floor getting tatted by these random ladies who we couldn’t communicate with. I got mine on my foot, and I’m happy I got it in a place I could cover up since it didn’t really work out. The ink smeared and it looks disgusting! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFI8gQniI/AAAAAAAAAOI/2u5NqjSd1Vw/s1600-h/IMG_1417.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EFI8gQniI/AAAAAAAAAOI/2u5NqjSd1Vw/s320/IMG_1417.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449642675333537314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIAB7z-GI/AAAAAAAAAOY/-DWbbkVkFGE/s1600-h/IMG_1421.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIAB7z-GI/AAAAAAAAAOY/-DWbbkVkFGE/s320/IMG_1421.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449645820707338338" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EH_cgeGkI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/zS0J-G3oAHg/s1600-h/IMG_1419.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EH_cgeGkI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/zS0J-G3oAHg/s320/IMG_1419.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449645810660547138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIAgZgngI/AAAAAAAAAOg/_UxsFaPUvY8/s1600-h/IMG_1432.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EIAgZgngI/AAAAAAAAAOg/_UxsFaPUvY8/s320/IMG_1432.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449645828884962818" /></a><br /><br />We went back to the house, smoked a little hookah and played some card games. Later in the night I was surprised with my THIRD birthday cake! The guys at the beach house bought me one when we were at the grocery store. It was SUCH a surprise and just like the others, delicious. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EJNoFsROI/AAAAAAAAAPA/uqrBUoJARIg/s1600-h/IMG_1441.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S6EJNoFsROI/AAAAAAAAAPA/uqrBUoJARIg/s320/IMG_1441.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449647153799251170" /></a><br /><br />Our flight back to Madrid was leaving around 8:00am on Sunday and we needed to get to the airport at 6ish. And with the 3hr+ drive to Marrakesh from Taghazhut, we left the house at 2am! I tried to take a ½ hr nap before we left, but that didn’t work out. We all said our goodbyes and were on our way. We got back to Madrid around noon, and naps were definitely in order!<br /><br />I know that my trip to Morocco will be something I’ll always remember, and the fact that it happened right after my 22nd birthday makes it all the more special :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-19239224699610409792010-03-10T10:23:00.001-08:002010-03-10T10:33:53.448-08:00Oh, What a Weekend!Well, I had yet another exciting weekend adventure! This past weekend Danielle, Chloe and I went to Barcelona. We decided to fly there since it costs about the same as the bus and is 7 hours shorter. If you can recall, we had to take the long ass Barcelona to Madrid bus ride after our flights got screwed up coming home from Spring Break… we weren’t going to be doing <span style="font-style:italic;">that </span> again!<br /><br />Our hostel was in a great location and was pretty nice. We’ve been having amazing luck with the places we’ve been staying at. This time we were at <a href="http://www.equity-point.com/en/hostels-barcelona/centricpoint/general-information.html">Equity Point-Centric</a>. It was huge and held 400 people! Our room was a 12 person mixed dorm. We had 6 girls and 6 guys, and had a bathroom/shower in our room. I feel like this was the first “real” hostel experience we have had. In addition to the three of us, there were two French guys, two Korean girls, one Mexican guy, an American girl and three American guys. We were all students studying abroad in various locations in Europe; it was great to hear how the experience has been going for them. Luckily everyone spoke English really well, so we could all communicate. :)<br /><br />I LOVE Barcelona. It’s definitely my favorite place I’ve been in Spain so far. At first, I wished that I was studying there… but then I realized that #1) if I would have gone to school there, I probably never would have left! And #2) I don’t speak their language...that would be hard! In Barcelona they speak Catalan, not Castellano (the Spanish I know).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYs1iQQ7I/AAAAAAAAALI/Dxqte4c6WPQ/s1600-h/DSCF2380.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYs1iQQ7I/AAAAAAAAALI/Dxqte4c6WPQ/s320/DSCF2380.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447060539124499378" /></a><br /><br />We spent most of the day on Friday exploring the city. We got to our Hostel before noon, so we had a lot of time. One of the first things we did was go to the Chocolate museum. It doesn’t really compare to the one in Koln, but it was still pretty cool! My favorite part was that our ticket was an actual candy bar… best believe it was gone before I even got to the first exhibit. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYtfe5oyI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wOc-Lh1mCFQ/s1600-h/DSCF2384.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYtfe5oyI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wOc-Lh1mCFQ/s320/DSCF2384.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447060550384722722" /></a><br />La Pieta in chocolate! Hopefully I'll get to see the real one if I make it to rome :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYt7ynLII/AAAAAAAAALY/PMxAzYO1V8E/s1600-h/DSCF2387.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYt7ynLII/AAAAAAAAALY/PMxAzYO1V8E/s320/DSCF2387.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447060557983591554" /></a><br /><br /><br />We also walked down “La Rambla” (a famous pedestrian strip with vendors), visited the port (it’s right on the Mediterranean Sea), looked at the outside of the Cathedral, and visited the huge covered market. Spanish folks really looooooove their jamón (ham)! I personally think that any food from a pig is nast, but they are all over that shiz. In Madrid, there are even a few Museos de Jamón (Ham Museums). Everywhere you turned in this giant market there were pig legs hanging, waiting for the taking. At one station, I even saw some skinned chickens with their EYEBALLS still attached. I obviously thought all of this was disgusting and crazy- but then I realized that I have never been in a butcher shop at home in my life… so maybe this nastiness happens in Dubuque too. You tell me… are chickens with eyeballs and giant pig legs normal?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYuO7eeII/AAAAAAAAALg/JwtRNQbk-_s/s1600-h/DSCF2390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYuO7eeII/AAAAAAAAALg/JwtRNQbk-_s/s320/DSCF2390.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447060563121043586" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYuxpATLI/AAAAAAAAALo/ZCSNiIqfb-w/s1600-h/DSCF2395.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5fYuxpATLI/AAAAAAAAALo/ZCSNiIqfb-w/s320/DSCF2395.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447060572438809778" /></a><br />We got some gelado on our journey and then headed back to our hostel to rest up. That night we were going to start celebrating Danielle’s best friend from home’s 21st birthday (which was that Sunday). She is also studying in Madrid, and was in Barcelona for the weekend with her program. After a short nap, we were on our way to dinner. We went to this amaaaaaazing Japanese restaurant. The thing that made it so amazing was how we were served. A conveyor belt ran though the restaurant and tables were set up next to it. You just grab the plates you want as they come, and it’s all you can eat. We were loving it! After words, we went down to the Olympic Port where there are a lot of bars and restaurants. We walked down the strip, and pretty much every doorman ushered us in for free drinks… it was a fun night :) <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flUD8RYaI/AAAAAAAAAL4/WoVv0pBv_Nw/s1600-h/DSCF2402.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flUD8RYaI/AAAAAAAAAL4/WoVv0pBv_Nw/s320/DSCF2402.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447074407146152354" /></a><br />Saturday, we walked around and looked at a lot of buildings by Gaudí. I have to say, I really enjoy his style. It is just so unique and thought provoking. After seeing his designs, I am sooo excited to learn about him in my art history class. We saw La Sagrada Família and Casa Milà (which was right by our hostel), but my favorite part of the day was our visit to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_G%C3%BCell">Park Güell</a>. It is one of most amazing parks I’ve ever been too... actually it's probably THE most amazing. It was designed by Gaudí, and is like being in a dream land. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flTy15ecI/AAAAAAAAALw/ZeoFCMdux-M/s1600-h/DSCF2401.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flTy15ecI/AAAAAAAAALw/ZeoFCMdux-M/s320/DSCF2401.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447074402556017090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flVdOwbtI/AAAAAAAAAMA/_GNbo4urefg/s1600-h/DSCF2411.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flVdOwbtI/AAAAAAAAAMA/_GNbo4urefg/s320/DSCF2411.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447074431114440402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flWD8WFPI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/BM-p1TM6B1Q/s1600-h/DSCF2428.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flWD8WFPI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/BM-p1TM6B1Q/s320/DSCF2428.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447074441506198770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flV7SnBxI/AAAAAAAAAMI/0Ibg8b4QHcM/s1600-h/DSCF2420.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S5flV7SnBxI/AAAAAAAAAMI/0Ibg8b4QHcM/s320/DSCF2420.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447074439183664914" /></a><br /><br />That night, I got subway AGAIN for dinner (I was in heaven) and had round two of gelado. Having gelado in Barcelona made me so excited to eat it in Italy over spring break. After, Chloe and I decided to go with some of our new hostel friends to the “Dow Jones” bar. It is a really cool idea: the drink prices rise and fall depending upon how popular they are, and there’s a point in the night when the market crashes and everything is dirt cheap. There are tv screens all over the place, so people can keep an eye on the prices as they change. We ended the night with free nuts at the hostel bar. The fake Irishman bartender/receptionist even gave me an apple for free.<br /><br />On Sunday we did a little more exploring (and cheered on some marathon runners), but then it was time to part ways with the city I had fallen in love with :( I made my way back to Madrid, and as I was on the metro between the airport and my apartment, I got QUITE the surprise…<br /><br />…So, I was sitting there all alone (Danielle and Chloe were on a flight 1hr before mine), and I got a picture message from my sister. It was a picture of a left hand, with what looked like an engagement ring on the ring finger. The text said, “Guess who this is?!”. It was definitely her hand! I didn’t know if she was joking with me or what. I only had a few stops left and couldn’t wait to get back to my room to skype! After what seemed like forever, I was finally face to face with my family (for the first time since being here). It turns out that it was no joke. My sister and her boyfriend Jeremy are engaged and I am so excited for them. It was/still is so hard not to be home right now! But, I’m happy that in the Skype session I was able to see and talk so many people. A lot of my family members were over at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, so when the laptop was getting passed around and traveling in and out of rooms, I kind of felt like I was there :) <br /><br />So, that was quite the exciting weekend. And this weekend will be another adventure! Tomorrow is my 22nd birthday, and on Friday we’re leaving for Morocco! We’re staying at a surf/beach house, and lessons are included... So I’m crossing my fingers for amazing weather!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-9003046291720384172010-03-04T11:55:00.000-08:002010-03-04T12:09:31.883-08:00Let the Sunshine in...Today is a good day. First and foremost, it is my Grandparents' 60th anniversary! Yay! I'm so happy to be a part of the family they started :) I wish I could celebrate with them and the rest of the fam this weekend... I'll be thinking of them!<br /><br />And, the cherry on top of this special day was that the weather was wonderful here! It was in the high 50’s when I made my first trip to/from school, which doesn’t sound very warm when I type it out. But the sun was shining and my winter coat was finally unnecessary (later in the day I needed it, though). Well, I considered it warm enough not to wear a heavy coat, but the Spaniards did not. On my walk to and from school today I passed many people still bundled up in long winter coats and scarves. While I was leisurely walking home during my break, perfectly warm in just a sweater (holding my coat), an old lady told me it wasn’t spring time yet. She said that the sun was just fooling us to make us think that it was warm and that it is still winter time. She warned me that if I didn’t put my coat on I would get sick. She was really funny! I slowed down to her glacial pace and walked with her for a little bit… I explained that where I’m from, “winter” means feet of snow and way below freezing temperatures. Sooooo, this weather feels exactly like spring to me. She laughed at me, told me I was crazy, and said that I would hate how high she keeps her heater in her apartment. As we parted ways, she gave me a slap on the arm and said, “Next time I see you, you’ll have pneumonia.” Then she called me guapa… so obviously I love her. Haha. <br /><br /> I am very surprised that it has taken so long for it to warm up here. I thought the weather would be like it is now when I arrived in January. Even though it wasn’t as warm as I thought (I was greeted with snow) it was still always significantly warmer than Dubuque. According to my iPod (which often gets the current and future weather completely wrong) the next few days here are supposed to be rainy and in the 40’s (lowish 40’s)… And it’s supposed to be mid to high 40’s at home! How does that happen? You’re passing me up! Luckily I am escaping to Barcelona for the weekend, where apparently it will still rain, but will be much warmer. I’ll take it.<br /><br />With the weather warming up some, my walk back from school has become much more enjoyable. Only my walk FROM school because TO school is pretty much all up hill. Walking home, I am usually happy since I’m finally out of class and to top it off, it’s a little bit of “me” time when I’m all by myself (besides the hundreds of people I pass along the way…) and I can just listen to some music. What’s on my iPod during this walk? You guessed it, show tunes :) I have noticed that my speed, expressions and style of walking is different depending upon the song I’m listening to. So I’ve found which shows work best for me (Spring Awakening, for example, has too many slow songs). My go-to soundtrack is Hair. I’ll put the album on shuffle and let the iPod gods decide my mood and pace for me. The only problem is that these songs make me TOO happy. Haha. <br /><br />Madrileños, the people who live in Madrid, are the not the most pleasant folks (in my opinion). So, when “Aquarius” or “Hair” is pumping into my ears and I’m smiling, bopping along, and loving the world and everyone in it, people think I’m nuts. Here, you don’t make eye contact with people, and you don’t smile at them. Coming from a place where you hold the door open for strangers, say sorry if you bump into someone and smiling is not considered weird, that has been one of the hardest things for me to get used to… it just seems that, in general, there is a lack of friendliness here. Obviously it’s not EVERYONE, but even the workers in restaurants and stores usually don’t ask you how you are or if you need help. Even if the waiter or worker doesn’t truly care how we’re doing, it’s still nice to hear.<br />I’m not trying to hate on Spain. I love seeing the differences between countries, and think that the diversity of our societies is one of the best things about our world … but spending time living in another culture has made me realize things I love about my own that I didn’t even notice before :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-5283002656477537682010-02-27T08:57:00.000-08:002010-02-27T09:51:38.176-08:00Winter Break: parte dosI’m back folks! Sorry, my break was a little longer than expected… I was all blogged and journaled out. So anyway, after Paris we went to Köln (cologne in English), Germany. <br /><br />Germany has been on my places-to-visit list for a long time. And one of the main reasons why it has topped this list is that I know that a sizable chunk of my ancestors are from there. I know that I probably have blood from many different European countries… but I only claim 3 (haha). #1) I know I’m Irish on my Dad’s side, #2) I know I’m Germany on my Mom’s side and #3) My (maternal) Grandma told me she has ancestors from Wales. Well, when I was 14 I went to Ireland and Wales. So ever since then I’ve wanted to make it to Germany! Mission accomplished.<br /><br />After our hours around the Eiffel tower on Saturday, we took an EIGHT HOUR bus ride to Koln. The bus started off very full, but luckily we made stops in Brussels and Dusseldorf which cleared it right out. When we got into town, we found our hostel, <a href="http://www.aohostels.com/en/cologne/">A&O</a>. It was another good one! Not as raging as the Paris one, but it was clean, up to date and had great staff. This time we were in a 4 bed mixed dorm… But even knowing this ahead of time we were caught off guard to walk in and see our roommate: a French guy. Danielle and Chloe slept in bunkbeds, and I slept in a twin bed that was 1 ½ inch away from frenchie’s twin bed. Luckily that was the only night we shared with him. We had the whole room to ourselves for the next two nights which was really nice. This hostel pretty much had a hotel set up. Our room had a shower, bathroom and TV in it. Aaaaaand breakfast! :) We had to pay for it here, but I definitely got my 4 Euro worth every morning. I’ve always known that I love breakfast, but here I’ve realized it’s definitely my favorite meal! If I don’t start off my day with a big ol’ feast, it won’t be a good one!<br /><br />Since we got in pretty late Saturday night, our German adventure didn’t really start until Sunday morning. I was so ready to get up and explore the land of my forefathers! haha Walking around the town I kept thinking to myself (and saying out loud sometimes too), “This looks sooo German!”. It really did. The stone/brick roads (which were a biatch to walk on), the houses all lined up next to each other, the restaurants. I loved it! Our first stop was the Chocolate museum. It had exhibits about the history of chocolate, the cultivation of the cocoa beans, how it’s made, its influence on society… it was great! I especially loved that they gave us a piece of chocolate when we bought our ticket, and then a wafer dipped in a chocolate fountain during the tour. There was one room that had all of the machines to make chocolate treats in it and I kept getting flashbacks to visiting the Hershey Factory when I was little. In that same room, there were ladies making truffles and other chocolate treats (like giant chocolate rabbits). And they were in glass boxes! With everyone standing around taking pictures and pointing at them, I imagine that they probably feel like they’re zoo animals. My favorite thing was the chocolate gnomes! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRSQ-RtgI/AAAAAAAAAJw/vuVQkyYMNR4/s1600-h/DSCF2324.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRSQ-RtgI/AAAAAAAAAJw/vuVQkyYMNR4/s320/DSCF2324.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442970998889625090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRR6gvNfI/AAAAAAAAAJo/FFViFnU--Ok/s1600-h/DSCF2340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRR6gvNfI/AAAAAAAAAJo/FFViFnU--Ok/s320/DSCF2340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442970992860149234" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRRvfcG0I/AAAAAAAAAJg/qzuKy5mqnBQ/s1600-h/IMG_1128.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRRvfcG0I/AAAAAAAAAJg/qzuKy5mqnBQ/s320/IMG_1128.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442970989901912898" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRRKhuGII/AAAAAAAAAJY/g7eGzWBwENw/s1600-h/DSCF2331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lRRKhuGII/AAAAAAAAAJY/g7eGzWBwENw/s320/DSCF2331.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442970979979368578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lSNNzc5WI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Ka2E57pk-W0/s1600-h/DSCF2334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lSNNzc5WI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Ka2E57pk-W0/s320/DSCF2334.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442972011651196258" /></a><br />From there we went to another Museum, the El-De Haus. It was the headquarters of the Gestapo, and a prison that they held their “political enemies” in. There were exhibits on every floor about the Nazis and Hitler, but by far the most moving part was the basement. We could go inside of the prison cells and torture rooms, and you could FEEL the people’s presence. I got major chills thinking about the people who were detained there for no reason, and of the ones that died there. I got freaked out a couple of times and almost broke my knee cap because of it! I was in a sub basement area that used to be a torture room, and I turned around to notice my roommate had already gone back upstairs and I was all alone. So I RAN up the stone steps, but slipped. And my knee slammed right into the edge of a step. It hurt sooo bad and I got really light headed and almost passed out! I had a limp for the rest of the weekend and still have a bruise today. The most eerie part of the prison, was that there were still so many inscriptions on the walls from the prisoners. They wrote about the injustice of their imprisonment and their poor living conditions and treatments. They talked about missing their home and families. Many of the prisoners were just teenagers. It was so moving. <br /><br />The next day we went to the Dom, the cathedral in Koln. Like I mentioned in my Paris blog, visiting cathedrals is much more interesting to me when I know about the architecture! The dom, like Notre Dame, is also Gothic style. And it is the typical Latin Cross plan (it’s shaped like a cross). I felt pretty cool walking through and knowing the name of the part I was in! haha<br /><br />After exploring the inside, we climbed up a ridiculous amount of stairs to the VERY top of one of the bell towers of the Dom. The first set of steps were oooold, stone and spiral. Then there were normalish metal ones (backless which creep me out) and finally a combo of the two: metal AND spiral. I almost quit because #1, my knee was killing me, and #2 my functioning knee was shaking like a leaf because I was so scared! But I made it… and the view was worth it :) <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3uQHIKI/AAAAAAAAAKY/osEBojWGNDQ/s1600-h/DSCF2320.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3uQHIKI/AAAAAAAAAKY/osEBojWGNDQ/s320/DSCF2320.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442973841427472546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3YQhQPI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/5UKiW5oo9WA/s1600-h/DSCF2355.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3YQhQPI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/5UKiW5oo9WA/s320/DSCF2355.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442973835523604722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3EIHuMI/AAAAAAAAAKI/RObxmttb9pU/s1600-h/DSCF2368.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT3EIHuMI/AAAAAAAAAKI/RObxmttb9pU/s320/DSCF2368.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442973830119667906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT2kWmJLI/AAAAAAAAAKA/meN1aA-jqRg/s1600-h/DSCF2364.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lT2kWmJLI/AAAAAAAAAKA/meN1aA-jqRg/s320/DSCF2364.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442973821590447282" /></a><br /><br />We basically spent the rest of our day exploring the city. I got a delicious pastry pretzel! I was expecting pretzels to be EVERYWHERE here. When I think of Germany I think of pretzels, beer and disgusting food. So, I made it a mission to eat a big pretzel while I was here and drink German beer, but the pretzel thing was really difficult in Koln! We asked at the tourist information center and they said that Pretzels are famously from southern Germany… so I had to settle for something different than what I had imagined. But it was very tasty. It was obviously really easy to find beer… and I drank the local brew, Kolsch. Something else I decided for myself early on was that I wouldn’t be leaving Germany without a Beer Stein and I found the perfect one. It says “Koln” and has 3 views of the town: a plaza, the Dom and the river. I love it and can already imagine it on my bookshelf at home. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lU4gbzFcI/AAAAAAAAAKg/f2wTf60l4dk/s1600-h/DSCF2369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lU4gbzFcI/AAAAAAAAAKg/f2wTf60l4dk/s320/DSCF2369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442974954409891266" /></a><br />I really loved Koln. And I love Germans! I know this sounds so stupid, but I can really see my people as being from there. Maybe my FAVORITE thing about Koln, is that it has a lot of SUBWAYS! And Sunday, I was finally able to eat my fave. They didn’t have all of my veggies (or my pepper jack cheese), so I had to do some substituting. But this is what I ended up with: 6 inch veggie on honey oat with a mystery cheese, lettuce, onion, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, cucumbers, salt and pepper and sweet onion sauce. I was loving every bite… and was slightly depressed when I finished :(<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lU42RyG0I/AAAAAAAAAKo/o33ikTtbVrE/s1600-h/DSCF2371.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lU42RyG0I/AAAAAAAAAKo/o33ikTtbVrE/s320/DSCF2371.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442974960273464130" /></a><br />Our journey back to Madrid started at 5 am Monday and we were sooo looking forward to getting back to our apartment that night. I was especially looking forward to reuniting with my computer, as I was totally cut off from the internet while I was there! So we took our 8hr bus ride back to Paris, then an hour bus ride to the airport. It was 5 pm and I was very ready to get on the plane and be on the final leg of our journey. But when I walked through the airport I noticed right away that our flight was CANCELLED! Cancelled?! We were soooo bummed, but figured we would just get a different flight a few hours later. Not so fast! We flew with Ryanair, a cheap airline… and they don’t have any obligation to get us to our intended destination if the flight is canceled for any of the reasons listed in their terms & agreements.... and they have EVERY possible circumstance listed! I was so frustrated. They wouldn’t tell us why it was canceled at first, but we finally learned that there was a strike. We waited in a line for about 2 hours to see what our options were. They ended up putting us on a different flight that night to Gerona, Spain (near Barcelona). But we would be responsible for getting ourselves to Madrid from there. So we waited around for our late night flight and it kept getting delayed!! I was so nervous that they would cancel that one too. We were all in such bad moods.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRwByzHI/AAAAAAAAALA/U12djcNC9Ts/s1600-h/22454_10150094290910177_800745176_11262245_7687926_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRwByzHI/AAAAAAAAALA/U12djcNC9Ts/s320/22454_10150094290910177_800745176_11262245_7687926_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442975388092517490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRw1v1HI/AAAAAAAAAK4/8Uw7kwNFsfA/s1600-h/27037_10150094291130177_800745176_11262246_6709049_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRw1v1HI/AAAAAAAAAK4/8Uw7kwNFsfA/s320/27037_10150094291130177_800745176_11262246_6709049_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442975388310426738" /></a><br />But, around midnight we were finally on our way to Spain. The flight was TERRIBLE. There were a few times that I literally thought I was going to die. The turbulence was horrible and we would go down so fast and drastically that my stomach dropped often. There were multiple times towards the end of the flight that there were collective gasps from the passengers. I was so scared! <br /><br />We arrived at the Gerona airport around 2am. We would have to catch a bus to Barcelona, and then take another to Madrid. But, they obviously didn’t start leaving until the morning. So, we picked a spot and “slept” in the airport. I laid there going in and out of sleep until about 4… but it was so freezing and uncomfortable that I just had to get up and sit there, waiting for the hours to pass. This is the pillar we all slept around...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRrbvz4I/AAAAAAAAAKw/gLRaFSKF2FY/s1600-h/27037_10150094291360177_800745176_11262247_3398550_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4lVRrbvz4I/AAAAAAAAAKw/gLRaFSKF2FY/s320/27037_10150094291360177_800745176_11262247_3398550_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442975386859196290" /></a><br />But FINALLY 8 o’clock rolled around and we were able to buy tickets to Barcelona. The whole ride we were hoping that there would be space on the 10 o’clock bus to Madrid, and that we could make it in time. We got there at 9:55, and we were able to get on! Perfecto! We were FINALLY on our way to Madrid. For awhile, I thought we would never get there.<br /><br />After ANOTHER 8 hr bus ride we made it. Around 7pm on Wednesday (about 24 hrs behind schedule) I walked through my apartment door. I would have had a huge smile on my face while doing it, but I couldn’t muster up enough energy. The situation could have been much worse… but the whole thing was just annoying. The worst thing about it was that this is midterms time and some people had to miss exams! Luckily the school is letting people retake them since many students were stuck in airports due to the strike. I only had to miss one class, but it was a review session for our midterm (which is Monday) :( <br /><br />I had 3 classes and one midterm on Thursday… and was so relieved after I was done and it was the weekend again.<br /><br />Ps. Where did February go?Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-57130568041982687302010-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:002010-02-26T01:04:12.315-08:00Winter Break Part UnoIt seems like this semester has barely even started, but we’ve already had our “winter break”! It was Friday- Tuesday, and we (my roommates Danielle, Chloe and I) used our time off to travel to Paris, France and Koln (Cologne), Germany. The adventure started Thursday in the early afternoon right after I took my Art History midterm. We schlepped all of our stuff through the metro to the airport and after a slight flight delay, we were off.<br /><br />Our flight was only about 2 hours and after a bus ride into the city, and a trip on the metro we arrived at our hostel, <a href="http://http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/paris-hostels">St. Christopher's</a>, around 10pm. When we first walked in, I thought that maybe we were in the wrong place. There was a restaurant, an internet café, a bar full of people, music playing, the lights were low and people were playing pool. But looking further into the room I could see the front desk. This rockin’ joint was our hostel! I could already tell that we made a good choice with this place, but when I heard the words “breakfast included” come out of the receptionist’s mouth I knew it was a GREAT choice! We had a ten person room (I don’t think it was full, though) and I loved the set up! Every once in a while something comes along and I think, “wow… I would have LOVED this when I was younger”. And my bed situation here was one of them! Our bunkbeds were like cubbies, with curtains for privacy and nightlights inside of them. How cool is that?! I guarantee to you that if I had seen this contraption 13 yrs ago, I would have had my dad rig one up in my room and pretended it was my secret spy laboratory. Haha. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bhOPIMrbI/AAAAAAAAAHI/VI5JFqcbjKE/s1600-h/24227_324212242950_693112950_3557033_2511753_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bhOPIMrbI/AAAAAAAAAHI/VI5JFqcbjKE/s320/24227_324212242950_693112950_3557033_2511753_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442284834419158450" /></a><br />After an exciting night sleeping in my cave, I had my highly anticipated free breakfast. It was bread, cereal and coffee… nothing special, but I was definitely feeling it! Then we were on our way to Versailles. It is a little way out of the city, so the train ride was pretty long and we arrived around 9:30am. I was really excited to see it again (I was in Paris in 2005 on a school trip). We admired the extreme detail and beauty of the outside for awhile, then went in for the tour of the palace. It was kind of funny because after I would take a picture, I would look at it on my camera and think, “I know I have that exact same picture in my album at home”. This is definitely one of those places that you can visit a few times in your life without getting sick of it. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4biMZAppcI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/0k8EE2GKF7U/s1600-h/DSCF2184.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4biMZAppcI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/0k8EE2GKF7U/s320/DSCF2184.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442285902223746498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4biunfPuTI/AAAAAAAAAHY/Q36i33WdGjM/s1600-h/DSCF2200.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4biunfPuTI/AAAAAAAAAHY/Q36i33WdGjM/s320/DSCF2200.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442286490225719602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bjMEPaT4I/AAAAAAAAAHg/ympe_blDkPo/s1600-h/DSCF2205.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bjMEPaT4I/AAAAAAAAAHg/ympe_blDkPo/s320/DSCF2205.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442286996160139138" /></a><br />We explored the grounds much more than I did last time I visited, so I saw a lot of new stuff too. We walked all through the amazing gardens, and ventured over to the Grand Trianon and Marie-Antoinette’s estate. Needless to say, it was all beautiful. By far, my FAVORITE part of everything we saw was “The Queen’s Hamlet”. Marie-Antoinette wanted her own village for herself and her children… just for fun. So, she had one built! It includes 12 cottages with vegetable and flower gardens, and a dairy farm. I really wish I was one of her kids in a past life just so I could have played in this village! This is another thing to add to my list of things I wish I had when I was younger… my own village. Haha. This village puts my old playhouse (which actually was pretty awesome) to shame. It was sooo cute and quaint. If it wasn’t lurking with ghosts, I could totally live there. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bjlPQJjsI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Hl3PHY0gy8E/s1600-h/DSCF2212.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bjlPQJjsI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Hl3PHY0gy8E/s320/DSCF2212.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442287428612755138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blcYxTtaI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/WACmq03csvw/s1600-h/DSCF2248.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blcYxTtaI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/WACmq03csvw/s320/DSCF2248.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442289475572184482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blb21eaRI/AAAAAAAAAII/7WlnTZ1Pt10/s1600-h/DSCF2245.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blb21eaRI/AAAAAAAAAII/7WlnTZ1Pt10/s320/DSCF2245.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442289466462857490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blbjfr3MI/AAAAAAAAAIA/PTJBskb3LgQ/s1600-h/DSCF2243.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blbjfr3MI/AAAAAAAAAIA/PTJBskb3LgQ/s320/DSCF2243.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442289461271190722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blbf4ktuI/AAAAAAAAAH4/ZIKvAVkmL8Y/s1600-h/DSCF2231.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4blbf4ktuI/AAAAAAAAAH4/ZIKvAVkmL8Y/s320/DSCF2231.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442289460301838050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bla8GUKkI/AAAAAAAAAHw/pHzqSvWImh4/s1600-h/DSCF2215.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bla8GUKkI/AAAAAAAAAHw/pHzqSvWImh4/s320/DSCF2215.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442289450695797314" /></a><br />We grabbed lunch in the town, then went back to Paris to do some more exploring! When we were walking by the Seine River, we found a SUBWAY RESTAURANT!! ! At home, I eat subway at least two times a week… and it has been something that I’ve been missing A LOT since I’ve been here. My roommate knew this, and pointed it out to me right away. I lingered by the doorway for awhile taking in the scent. But after some intense soul searching, I realized that I wasn’t hungry enough for it. And depressed, I walked away. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get a chance to eat it again while I’m here because Spain isn’t cool enough to have them. But we kept on. I regretted it immediately. And hoped that someday soon, my favorite fastish-food chain and I would be reunited.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bmHIjGfwI/AAAAAAAAAIY/ZspDcRp67Cg/s1600-h/DSCF2256.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bmHIjGfwI/AAAAAAAAAIY/ZspDcRp67Cg/s320/DSCF2256.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442290209952005890" /></a><br />We walked by the Notre Dame, and I enjoyed seeing it soooo much more this time. Lucky for you, I now have all this art knowledge from my class, which I will share with you periodically throughout this blog haha (but for real I’m going to show off my new skills. Get ready for it). Last time I was at this famous cathedral, I only thought it was neat because I knew it was famous and Quasimodo lived there. But this time around, I really admired the façade (and only the façade because we didn’t go inside). It is hardcore Gothic style with its extreme height, Gargoyles, large stained glass and decorative doorways. I remember last time being captivated by the doorways of the Notre Dame and was excited when we learned about this style in art history. Standing there looking at it again in real life, I could clearly pick out the Archivolt, Tympanum, Lintel, Jambs and Trumeau and knew all of their functions. What an architecture whiz! Ha<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bmpxkmi6I/AAAAAAAAAIg/eawPOv4ZoFo/s1600-h/DSCF2262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bmpxkmi6I/AAAAAAAAAIg/eawPOv4ZoFo/s320/DSCF2262.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442290805079706530" /></a><br />Afterwards, we went to the Louvre. It was free for us after 6pm. Whoo hoo! Obviously with all of my newly developed artistic knowledge, I was really excited! It was amazing to see so many masterpieces, and I felt extremely lucky to be there for a second time. As you all know, this museum is the home of the Mona Lisa… I was definitely ready to meet her again actually knowing about her this time! I learned in class that all of those “It’s Leonardo Divinci as a woman” ideas are FLASE. The lady in the portrait is a real person, Lisa Gerardini, who was the wife of a very rich Florentine merchant (something Giocondo). He commissioned Leo in 1504 to paint a picture of his wife… so he did it. And now it’s possibly the most recognizable piece of art on the planet! Crazy. It’s really a shame that you can’t get close enough to the Mona Lisa (or “La Gioconda” as we call it in class) to truly appreciate it. The background landscape is amazing and attempts to give a 3rd dimension to the painting (not done very much before the Renaissance). He also used the “Sfumatto” technique which is very characteristic of Divinci… it gives the background a smoky look. Even though I now know the truth behind her identity, there are still some questions that surround her. She was a member of the wealthy class, but she’s wearing no rings (uncommon). Her fingers appear to be swollen, so maybe she just had a baby and this portrait was a gift from her husband? Also, Leo didn’t do a very good job at capturing the psychology of her. Some artists were amazing and just by looking at a person in a portrait you can tell all about their personality. But what the heck is Lisa like? What does that smirk mean? Divinch doesn’t quite tell us. I felt like I could really appreciate this masterpiece much more this time, actually knowing some stuff about it. We saw so many great pieces of art, and visited Napoleon’s apartment. After wandering around the HUGE museum for a couple hours, we were all beat and decided to grab dinner. We ended up at this great Lebanese restaurant near our Hostel. As soon as we walked in and they realized we spoke English, the guy behind the counter said, “I love you!”. Haha it was so funny- definitely NOT the reaction I would expect from anyone in France. The people were soooo friendly, and the food was soooo good. We don’t eat out in Madrid ever, so this was a treat for us! I got some lemon chicken that had an awesome salad with it, and some rice. My mouth is literally watering right now just typing about it. With our bill, our teddy bear of a waiter brought us 3 pieces of baklava. Yummmm. As we were leaving the restaurant and saying goodbye to the staff, he said, “Say hello to President Obama for me!”… we assured him that we would. Haha. Extremely happy with our meals, we headed back to the hostel to rest up for our next day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bnyYyPkeI/AAAAAAAAAIw/4lsY3DJxRyo/s1600-h/DSCF2279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bnyYyPkeI/AAAAAAAAAIw/4lsY3DJxRyo/s320/DSCF2279.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442292052556485090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bnyNYwAfI/AAAAAAAAAIo/ZfMMPWEcSgc/s1600-h/DSCF2268.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bnyNYwAfI/AAAAAAAAAIo/ZfMMPWEcSgc/s320/DSCF2268.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442292049496769010" /></a><br />We kicked off Saturday with another round of the free breakfast, and then headed to the Eiffel Tower. We went to the very top (I didn’t get in it at all last time) and it was soooo scary! The elevator just kept going up, up, up (and so did my heart rate and anxiety level!). We got to the tip top and the view was great! We could see all of Paris. When we made our way down we explored that area of the city a little more (which included the arc de triomphe), then got crepes and ate them with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Mine had nutella and banana in it. Once again… my mouth is watering. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpVChlzfI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/9K0wcEqn2cI/s1600-h/DSCF2313.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpVChlzfI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/9K0wcEqn2cI/s320/DSCF2313.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442293747388108274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpUsgj_9I/AAAAAAAAAJI/kT00LV0TyfE/s1600-h/DSCF2312.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpUsgj_9I/AAAAAAAAAJI/kT00LV0TyfE/s320/DSCF2312.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442293741478215634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpT4QbZZI/AAAAAAAAAJA/19I-NoxHS2g/s1600-h/DSCF2306.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpT4QbZZI/AAAAAAAAAJA/19I-NoxHS2g/s320/DSCF2306.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442293727451899282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpTjrYMmI/AAAAAAAAAI4/NweRBq6SUJw/s1600-h/DSCF2302.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S4bpTjrYMmI/AAAAAAAAAI4/NweRBq6SUJw/s320/DSCF2302.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442293721927791202" /></a><br />We soaked up as much as the city as we could, but we had to make our way to the second destination of our trip, Germany! I was pleasantly surprised with my experience in Paris. I didn’t love it last time I was there and was nervous that I would have the same thoughts this time. I definitely did NOT. Not one person was rude to us, and people were generally very helpful. I’m excited to go back someday <br /><br />Okay. This blog is getting ridiculously long and I haven’t even made it to Germany yet! I don’t want to bore you too much, so I will leave you for now. But I will plan on finishing it up tomorrow…<br /><br />… To Be Continued!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-7610653393390824852010-02-17T00:56:00.000-08:002010-02-17T04:12:55.289-08:00¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS A LYNNIE!As some of you may know, I usually have a lot of trouble living “in the moment”. I tend to dwell on things in the past, or think about things that are to come. I was actually reeeeeeally bad at this when I first got here and it drove me crazy… I’ll spare you the details, but basically when I thought about the past I got sad, and when I thought about the future I freaked out . However, I am proud to say that I have gotten so much better at it since I’ve been here! I just realized that I was wasting my time and energy on these thoughts, and it could interfere with my enjoying this experience to its fullest. <br /><br />Since I focus so much on what I’m doing right now, I haven’t experienced much homesickness (thankfully). But, there have been 2 or 3 days so far, when I can’t help but spend a lot of time thinking about the people back home and what they might be doing… and today is one of them. It’s my mom’s birthday! Whoo hooooooo! I really wish I could be there in person to help her celebrate, eat some cake and give her a big ol’ birthday hug and smooch. So the next time you see her, feel free to lay one on her and say it’s from me ; ) February 17 is a day that outranks Thanksgiving for me when it comes to being thankful for what I have in my life ( So does June 21st Dad, don’t cry haha). Well, obviously I’m thankful for her every day, but on her birthday I am extra happy that she was born… so thanks Grandma haha. <br /><br />Even though I wouldn’t describe it as being homesick, there are some things I miss from home. The ones that immediately come to mind are:<br /><br />DRIVING: I think the longest I ever went without driving since I got my license was 3 weeks. So, after 4 months+, I’m nervous my amazing driving skills will go out the window. <br /><br />HAVING A YARD INBETWEEN MY NEIGHBORS AND MY HOUSE: The walls between apartments in my building are ridiculously thin. The crying baby living in the apt next to ours might as well be sleeping in my bed with me. And although the roller derby that apparently takes place the floor above me everyday sounds like fun, I’d prefer that I didn’t have to live underneath it.<br /><br />MY OWN ROOM: It’s just inconvenient sharing with someone else (especially when we have opposite sleeping schedules). <br /><br />MY OWN BATHROOM: I can’t just leave my stuff strewn about here like I always do at home :(<br /><br />MY SHOWER: here, I use the most awkward shower ever created. Seriously.<br /><br />REAL WINDOWS: my bedroom window and all of the windows in the community areas of the apartment look into our “courtyard”… I can never look outside. And those windows are also...ok I do not know the real term for it... but they're foggy/glazy/blurry so you can't see through them. It’s depressing. <br /><br />ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURES: The whole building is on the same thermostat, which apparently only has the settings “freezing” and “blazing”.<br /><br />DISHWASHER: See previous blog<br /><br />DRYER: See previous blog<br /><br />CLOCKS: Our apartment only has one (in the kitchen), and I have yet to see one at my school.<br /><br />MY MORNING RITUALS: Oh Regis & Kelly and the View. How I miss getting ready with you in the background and having my morning coffee with you! <br /><br />COFFEE: Using my delicious coffee in my little coffee maker is an integral part of the aforementioned morning ritual. The only flavor Spain makes is apparently “Dirt”. Fo real. (Thanks mom and dad for the Folgers bags… I dread the morning when they run out!)<br /><br />BOWLS: We have none<br /><br />MUGS: We have none (We have 3 combo bowlmugs that have to work for both)<br /><br />A TOASTER: I make toast on the stove everyday. What is this, 1892?<br /><br />Well I guess I miss a lot of things from home! (And that doesn’t even include my long list of restaurants)… But more than anything, I do miss my people. I have a lot of pictures around my room that make me feel like a tiny, frozen versions of most of you are living with me! (creepy, I know)<br /><br />Tomorrow after class I am off to Paris, France and Koln, Germany with 2 of my roommates! We have a winter break from Friday to Tuesday and are using it as travel time. It should be a lot of fun. I’ll let you know how it goes and will share a few pictures when I get back. Well, I need to study for an art history midterm I have tomorrow… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-36162037535648273852010-02-15T09:31:00.000-08:002010-02-15T11:43:20.991-08:00Carnival!Well, I survived Carnival in Cádiz! Carnival is basically the same as Mardi Gras, and is celebrated right before lent with parades, music and a giant street party. Everyone comes in a costume or dressed crazy. Cádiz, Spain has one of the biggest and most well known Carnival celebrations in the world... I can't even imagine what the bigger ones are like!<br /><br />I had never been to Mardi Gras or anything similar to this, so I had no idea what to expect! I went in a group of about 200 students through "European Vibe". European vibe is an "entertainment" company in Madrid... they're basically a bunch of promoters who have parties at different clubs and try to get students to go to them. But, they also have different trips that they organize- Carnival being one of them. After hearing details about the weekend I thought it sounded like fun and crossed my fingers that the trip wouldn't be sketchy, or a hoax that had ending up like that girl in "Taken". Every previous experience I'd had with the people in charge of the weekend had been at a club having them trying to get us all to drink more and party harder. I knew we'd have a lot of fun with them... but BECAUSE of how much fun we would be having, I was kind of nervous! I hadn't exactly seen a responsible side of these peeps before. But, in the end I was sooo pleasantly surprised. I was used to them being the people handing us free shots of Tequila, but here they were constantly warning us not to drink too much and to always be aware. Through these crazy, young people who literally party for a living, I could hear my Grandma's voice giving me her usual warnings about keeping my eyes on my drink and not ending up like "Natalie" :) They also took attendance allllll the time. It got annoying, but I definitely appreciated it.<br /><br />We left Madrid at 8am Friday morning, and didn't get to our hotel in Cadiz until after 7pm. It was one of the longest bus rides ever. I was really happy to see how nice our hotel was. We stayed at <a href="http://www.vinccihoteles.com/en/hotels/spain/cadiz/vincci-costa-golf">Vincci</a>...I bet it is a really nice place to stay when it is warmer out. It was near the beach and had a great outdoor pool. And even with 4 people staying in each room, we were all able to have our own beds. The shower was also a great change from the small and awkward one I have to work with in my apartment haha. My favorite thing though, was the FREE BREAKFAST.<br /><br />Friday night, European Vibe rented out a club for our group that was not too far away from our hotel. It was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone else and meeting students from Europe and other parts of the US. Buses were coming at a few different times, and we decided to take an early one (1:30ish) so we could save our energy for the big celebration Saturday night!<br /><br />Saturday morning I woke up for breakfast, expecting it to consist of some fruit, bread and juice (which I would have been more than happy with)... but boy was I wrong! I walked into a room with 3 HUGE buffet counters. One full of meats, eggs & Churros, Another with every kind of fruit imaginable and the last with soooo many kinds of bread and pastries. If you've read one of my previous blogs, you know that I've been kind of deprived when it comes to food variation. I was in heaven... and afterwords we all went back to our room and took a long nap. We had to be well rested for that night!<br /><br />I spent the rest of the day pretty much just hanging out around the hotel until I had to start getting ready. I dressed up as a devil, because it was the easiest and cheapest costume I could find :) I even brought a pitch fork... and I set a challenge for myself to see if I could get it back to Madrid safe and sound! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3mjbBq6X3I/AAAAAAAAAHA/hlkvZ9FTbc4/s1600-h/DSCF2152.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3mjbBq6X3I/AAAAAAAAAHA/hlkvZ9FTbc4/s320/DSCF2152.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438557709726801778" /></a><br />We left the hotel at 7:30 and arrived at the center of Cadiz just under an hour later. Driving through the town and seeing all of the people dressed up made me so excited for what was to come! Thousands of people were packed in the streets and plazas. After we got off of the bus, we were led to the main plaza where all of the excitement was happening. I had never seen anything like it. There were just so many people having so much fun. It was ridiculous, and I really can't describe it with words or pictures. It's just something you'd have to experience...I feel so lucky I got the chance to!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3mintk2uZI/AAAAAAAAAG4/qT62P9Dwftc/s1600-h/17531_305037522950_693112950_3484273_3607204_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3mintk2uZI/AAAAAAAAAG4/qT62P9Dwftc/s320/17531_305037522950_693112950_3484273_3607204_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438556828159359378" /></a><br />It would be very easy to get lost and separated from your group in that crowd. So the 10 or so of us that stuck together for the night had to hang onto each other really tightly so no one would get swept away in the crowd (I always had one hand securely on my pitch fork as well. ha). We would hang around one spot for a while and then migrate to another. It was just so fun to see all of the costumes, and to talk to all of the different people. There was a big stage with performers and food vendors like at a fair. Everywhere you turned there was something funny happening! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have like to, because with all of the people around I wanted to try and keep my purse (which was inside my jacket) closed as much as possible. And, I didn't want to risk keeping my camera inside my coat pocket. I'm happy I was so careful with these things, because many people got pick pocketed/stuff stolen that night. <br /><br />That night, the buses were leaving to go back to the hotel at two different times. We could choose to leave at either 2am or 4am. We all vowed to make it until the 4am bus... but that didn't happen for me :( One girl in our group wasn't doing so well, and really needed to go back to the hotel. So, I took one for the team and went back with her. I wish I could have experienced a few more hours of Carnival in Cadiz, but I REALLY enjoyed the hours I did have. And a positive thing that came out of leaving with her, was that one of the most memorable parts of the night came out it. While waiting in line for the restroom in Burger King with her, I ended up having a really long conversation with 2 girls from Poland who are studying in Valencia. I was talking to them about how I want to visit Poland at some point, and they were talking to me about wanting to come to the US, and we were talking about studying in Spain... they were just really nice and great to talk to. And, it was funny because I realized the pressure completely comes off when I'm speaking to someone else in Spanish who isn't a native speaker.<br /><br />We finally made it to the bus, and I got back to my room around 3:15am. My roommates arrived 2 hrs later (obviously waking me up again-haha). So, we all went to bed around 6:15... and woke up 2 hrs later for breakfast. That buffet is motivation enough to get someone out of bed in ANY circumstance. I consumed more breakfast foods than I ever have in my life, and then slept again for a few hours.<br /><br />Our bus rolled out of Cadiz around 2:30, and a few stops and a few movies (which translates to about 10 hrs) later we were in Madrid. My pitchfork and I both made it back in one piece.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-11184678107983348012010-02-08T08:55:00.000-08:002010-02-08T10:55:42.070-08:00The Quest for el Dedo in ÁvilaThe school weeks zip by here in Spain! (probably because I only have a 4 day school week) But on the flip side of that, the weekends seem to last forever... which sounds really nice, but can actually get pretty boring. So far, we've been lucky and have spent each weekend visiting somewhere new. This weekend was no different...we went to Ávila. It's close to Madrid and there are not TOO many exciting things there, so on Friday we made a day trip out of it. <br /><br />Ávila is a beautiful town which is still surrounded by its Medieval city walls. It is possibly most famous for being the birthplace of Saint Teresa of Ávila (also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus) and it has many buildings and monuments dedicated to her. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3Bawbbv74I/AAAAAAAAAGA/r41wkFI_dk0/s1600-h/DSCF2110.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3Bawbbv74I/AAAAAAAAAGA/r41wkFI_dk0/s320/DSCF2110.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435944538280554370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BbZWA9sZI/AAAAAAAAAGI/YnVQCnl88K8/s1600-h/DSCF2129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BbZWA9sZI/AAAAAAAAAGI/YnVQCnl88K8/s320/DSCF2129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435945241200669074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3Bdykbju0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/sEPaYxb2XBA/s1600-h/DSCF2132.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3Bdykbju0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/sEPaYxb2XBA/s320/DSCF2132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435947873590295362" /></a><br />When one of my roommates suggested we go there over the weekend I thought it wound be nice to get to see another city in Spain. Then when I learned it was the birthplace of Saint Teresa I was even more into the idea because I learned about her last semester in a Catholic Faith course. BUT then on Thursday in my Hispanic Literature course my professor was talking about St. Teresa and mentioned that there are a lot of relics of hers in the town.... INCLUDING HER FINGER!!!!! I was creeped out for a second then could not wait to see what a 495+ year old finger would look like. Was it in an open display or in a box? Has it been magically preserved or is it rotting? I was about to find out the answers to these questions... but it took a bit of work. <br /><br />My roommates Danielle and Chloe and I met up with two friends from SLU-Madrid, Kelley and Caitlin, and took about an hour ride in the worst bus I've taken since I've been here. There was barely any leg room, and most of the seats were littered with wrappers, bottles and grossness. But with all of the excitement over the finger, I barely noticed the nastiness on the window next to me, the gum wad stuck on the seat in front of me, or the mice scurrying at my feet. (ok, the mice is an exaggeration) <br /><br />So we got to Ávila and decided to head straight for the town's Cathedral. The Spanish are all about their Cathedrals... so we thought the finger was probably hanging out in there. We wandered around and were literally the only people there, with the exception of the security guard who kept following us. In addition to just being a church, there were many rooms that had different art and historical artifacts. As I walked through each room my eyes were searching for the finger. But when we finally reached the end... nothing. Our search continued. <br /><br />We found a museum about St. Teresa and it seemed logical to us that it would house her finger. So we went. It was interesting and had a lot of great artwork and artifacts about her. But not the finger. <br /><br />Then we saw the convent dedicated to her, which was built on her birth site. I held my breath while turning every corner, hoping it would be there. But again... no finger. The third time was clearly no charm for us. :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BdAFb_aOI/AAAAAAAAAGo/9VnaDwkgnoI/s1600-h/DSCF2128.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BdAFb_aOI/AAAAAAAAAGo/9VnaDwkgnoI/s320/DSCF2128.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435947006277150946" /></a><br /><br />We were upset. We were discouraged. We were about to give up all hope. But, as we glanced depressingly into the distance something caught our eye. A sign on a tiny building next to the convent that read, "Sala de Reliquias". Reliquias must mean relics... so her finger must be here! I could feel my heart beating faster in my chest as I approached the building. I opened the door... and it was a gift shop. A GIFT SHOP. We stood disgusted for a second, then noticed a large glass door on one side of the room. I walked in and noticed a bunch of old things- clearly Teresa's. And to my right was the possession of hers I was most looking forward to seeing: Her right ring finger. <br /><br />It was in a large glassed in case attached to the wall. The back of the box was a dark color and the box was not lit at all, so it was really difficult to see. But with a big emerald ring on it, it was almost identifiable as a finger. It was pretty black and shriveled. To me it looked like a stick. But, we weren't allowed to take pictures so I can't share it with you fine folks. I even looked online for a picture and one doesn't seem to exist! I spent most of my time in the room looking at the finger, but also saw the sole of her sandal, her walking stick and her robe. For some reason the finger didn't really creep me out. I just thought it was really neat. I don't like seeing dead people, I'm afraid of ghosts and faint fairly easily, so I was expecting to be traumatized by this finger. Not the case at all. In fact, it reminded me of my Dad and Grandpa and their long lost fingers. A rotting finger made me think of home. Weird, huh? :)<br /><br />After completing our quest for the finger, we didn't have too much time left in Ávila. We spent the rest of our time walking on the walls of the city, which were built in 1090. I am very afraid of heights and it took me twice as long to get up to the top as everyone else, but even with shaky knees I made it. The views from up there were gorgeous. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BcMSCfODI/AAAAAAAAAGY/7TloNrVwerc/s1600-h/DSCF2140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BcMSCfODI/AAAAAAAAAGY/7TloNrVwerc/s320/DSCF2140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435946116306647090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BckQyIMTI/AAAAAAAAAGg/owTo7mORMyI/s1600-h/DSCF2142.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S3BckQyIMTI/AAAAAAAAAGg/owTo7mORMyI/s320/DSCF2142.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435946528286454066" /></a><br /><br />Satisfied with our day we made our way back "home" to Madrid. The rest of the weekend wasn't as exciting as Friday... I didn't see any other body parts of saints :( But on Saturday I explored the Sol area of the city a little bit more, and on Sunday went to El Rastro a big Flea Market that's really well known. I was pretty let down by El Rastro, I guess I just pictured it to be different. It was just people selling a bunch of random stuff. Big piles of shoes, clothes and antiques. I think I pictured it as more of a farmers market. It is crowded, boring and known for its pickpockets, so I don't know if I'll be back. I'm glad I checked it out though or else I would have been wondering about it every weekend! <br /><br />Today was the start of another school week that I'm sure is going to fly by, and tomorrow marks 1 month since I left Chicago to come here. That means my time here is 1/4 over! yikes! Next weekend I'm going to Cadiz, Spain to celebrate Carnival. It should be a really fun time. We're all very excited. Obviously I will let you all know how it goes :)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-79238866387686436052010-01-31T08:39:00.000-08:002010-01-31T10:05:15.954-08:00Sevilla!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W_m3VbD-I/AAAAAAAAAE0/bV_ZnCBBY1U/s1600-h/21057_452652580176_800745176_10915003_7844592_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W_m3VbD-I/AAAAAAAAAE0/bV_ZnCBBY1U/s320/21057_452652580176_800745176_10915003_7844592_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432959199902109666" /></a><br /><br />I had a great weekend in Sevilla! It was definitely worth the brutal 6 hour bus ride it takes to get there. We arrived in the gorgeous city just after midnight Friday morning and headed straight to our hostel. The facilities were good for what we paid, and the staff was excellent! They were super friendly, spoke great English and went above and beyond to make our stay with them great. My roommate Chloe and I had a room to ourselves, and our other roommate Danielle shared a room with 2 other girls from SLU-Madrid who we went with. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XF-iHz3WI/AAAAAAAAAFM/HAO4xZjMl1k/s1600-h/18331_277351452950_693112950_3389458_4006033_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XF-iHz3WI/AAAAAAAAAFM/HAO4xZjMl1k/s320/18331_277351452950_693112950_3389458_4006033_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432966203594497378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XGQsAkcQI/AAAAAAAAAFU/ht8nvQauiKA/s1600-h/18331_277351462950_693112950_3389459_8307838_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XGQsAkcQI/AAAAAAAAAFU/ht8nvQauiKA/s320/18331_277351462950_693112950_3389459_8307838_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432966515486126338" /></a><br /><br />We woke up on Friday morning early enough to catch the tail end of the free breakfast (toast & coffee) and then were on our way to explore the city!<br /><br />Our first destination was the Cathedral- the 3rd largest church in the world! I've seen my fair share of beautiful, ornate European cathedrals in my day... but I have a feeling this one will not just blend in with all of the other ones! Perhaps the most famous part of this cathedral is the "Giralda"- the bell tower. On the same site that the cathedral is now, there used to be a mosque. And the Giralda is left over from that (Although the very top was added by the Christians). The cathedral is so big, and so close to everything else that it's hard to get a good picture that shows how big it really is... this is just a sliver of it, and the Giralda is on the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W2DjcA7kI/AAAAAAAAADc/cTRcw6fIFDg/s1600-h/DSCF2036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W2DjcA7kI/AAAAAAAAADc/cTRcw6fIFDg/s320/DSCF2036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432948697660976706" /></a><br /><br />It seems like this was perfect timing for me to go to Sevilla. Last week in my Art History class I learned about many of the buildings there- especially the cathedral. Looking at the arches, ceilings, doorways and designs I was able to distinguish which artistic styles they were and could recall the names for the different elements in my mind... not gonna lie, I felt pretty cool :) haha<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W4L4Kov0I/AAAAAAAAADk/AHUDf3PBrj4/s1600-h/DSCF2046.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W4L4Kov0I/AAAAAAAAADk/AHUDf3PBrj4/s320/DSCF2046.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432951039687442242" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W4nTxfCAI/AAAAAAAAADs/8fCilpPW-pI/s1600-h/DSCF2058.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W4nTxfCAI/AAAAAAAAADs/8fCilpPW-pI/s320/DSCF2058.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432951510954608642" /></a><br /><br />I took this picture just thinking it was a cool statue... but I found out the next day that it's Christopher Columbus's tomb. Now I'm glad I took the picture :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W5KmwRufI/AAAAAAAAAD0/hkSt2hG6yBk/s1600-h/DSCF2054.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W5KmwRufI/AAAAAAAAAD0/hkSt2hG6yBk/s320/DSCF2054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432952117345237490" /></a><br /><br />After spending some time in the Cathedral, we decided to make the trek to the top of the Giralda. To get to the top you have to walk up 34 ramps- but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They're short and not too steep. I was surprised to find out that back in the day (when it was someone's job to go to the top to ring the bells 5X a day) the guy rode a horse up it! The views of the city from the top were amazing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W7Cq8RY1I/AAAAAAAAAD8/Q1CfAQ7TcsA/s1600-h/DSCF2069.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W7Cq8RY1I/AAAAAAAAAD8/Q1CfAQ7TcsA/s320/DSCF2069.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432954180053590866" /></a><br /><br />Something I learned in my Art History class, is that the Giralda has a twin in Kansas City, since the two towns are "sister cities". Seeing the Giralda in person made me feel closer to my best friend Alex, who lives in KC and who I miss very much!<br /><br />Then we made our way to the Alcázar...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W8Hj1RK0I/AAAAAAAAAEE/c69QlNQBjo4/s1600-h/DSCF2075.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W8Hj1RK0I/AAAAAAAAAEE/c69QlNQBjo4/s320/DSCF2075.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432955363556141890" /></a>\<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W8m5p2w_I/AAAAAAAAAEM/nYoJ3tqEB6g/s1600-h/DSCF2077.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W8m5p2w_I/AAAAAAAAAEM/nYoJ3tqEB6g/s320/DSCF2077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432955901989798898" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W9HreUF3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/-lD2U_3RGc4/s1600-h/DSCF2083.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W9HreUF3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/-lD2U_3RGc4/s320/DSCF2083.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432956465118975858" /></a><br /><br />For lunch we found ourselves at a Chinese restaurant... and the very first thing that caught my eye was this...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W9p11iYgI/AAAAAAAAAEc/LIzQ6E2iQes/s1600-h/DSCF2087.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W9p11iYgI/AAAAAAAAAEc/LIzQ6E2iQes/s320/DSCF2087.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432957052016288258" /></a><br />...Is the same one at House of China in Dubuque??????? Next time one of you are there, keep your eyes peeled and let me know! haha it's really bugging me!!!<br /><br />On Saturday, we went on a walking tour of the city that was offered through our Hostel. It was on that tour that I learned the "statue" I took a picture of in the cathedral was actually Columbus's tomb, and we also went past this building, which is the point he set off from when he "discovered" the Americas. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W-935E3JI/AAAAAAAAAEk/v0MZB9zv3q8/s1600-h/DSCF2095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W-935E3JI/AAAAAAAAAEk/v0MZB9zv3q8/s320/DSCF2095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432958495677013138" /></a><br />It's located right on the river... which made me think of home :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W_cZLK0AI/AAAAAAAAAEs/QZr87Ca2eI4/s1600-h/DSCF2106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2W_cZLK0AI/AAAAAAAAAEs/QZr87Ca2eI4/s320/DSCF2106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432959020007346178" /></a><br /><br />The tour guide also took us down a street that is called "the street of death" (or something along those lines), because of a massacre that occurred there. And, do you see the tile with the Scull on it in the picture below? In that place, for 100 years, dangled the head of the girl who was at fault for the massacre..... creeeeeeeeeepy! How can people live on that street?!?!?!?<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XAW3DRoKI/AAAAAAAAAE8/rO0XM4aHees/s1600-h/DSCF2102.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2XAW3DRoKI/AAAAAAAAAE8/rO0XM4aHees/s320/DSCF2102.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432960024459714722" /></a><br /><br />We didn't roll back into Madrid until after midnight, so I slept in today as late as my body would allow me to. Today has been pretty low key so far, and the rest of it will be dedicated to studying and homework... after all that is what I'm here for, right? (every once in a while I need to remind myself of that fact!)Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-35222090473089298512010-01-27T09:59:00.000-08:002010-01-27T11:20:26.219-08:00I am not creative enough to think of blog titles.After looking at the previous posts I've made, I realized that I haven't exactly described my living situation for those of you who may not know. I technically have a "Señora" (host family), but we don't really live with her. She and her husband live in the apartment right next to ours. They live completely separately from us... so that's why we're responsible for our own cooking and laundry...<br /><br />...even though cooking and washing dishes is a whole new concept to me, I feel right at home doing my own laundry! It may seem uncharacteristic for me (lol), but by choice I have been washing my own clothes for at least 8 years now. (If Bob Rusk were responsible for the laundry in your home, you'd do your own too! haha) What I WASN'T ready for, was a washing machine that can fit about 3 things and NO dryer. I can deal with small loads of laundry. But hanging clothes outside to dry is just sketchy to me. At home, I opt to hang the clothes I don't put in the dryer INSIDE the house. Unlike many people, I hate the "fresh" smell of the outdoors, and CAN'T STAND the stiffness of them. <br /><br />Our apartment building has a "courtyard" type thing in the middle of it, and clothes lines that run through it. Since our apartments are "U" shaped, they run from one window to the other. I caved in and did some laundry for the first time a few days ago... and was so nervous hanging my clothes on the line. #1) The only time I've ever used a clothes line in my life, was using the poles as Monkey Bars in my Grandma & Grandpa's backyard... and #2) WE LIVE ON THE FOURTH FLOOR! If something falls, I'd have to go down and knock on the door of the people who live on the ground floor, and ask them to crawl out their window to go grab it for me. (I looked, and there are no doors to the courtyard... just windows) Thankfully everything went well, and nothing was lost (this time).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CG0BJbi3I/AAAAAAAAACs/CpLxh7QvaU8/s1600-h/DSCF2021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CG0BJbi3I/AAAAAAAAACs/CpLxh7QvaU8/s320/DSCF2021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431489378828127090" /></a><br /><br />Nothing too exciting has happened lately (hello, I just wrote multiple paragraphs about laundry). School and school work has been taking up a lot of my time, and I'm trying to get as much sleep as the Spanish lifestyle will allow. On Saturday, we did go to El Escorial. It's a historic royal site just outside of Madrid. It's a monastery, palace, cathedral, library, museum, school and more. It's HUGE. The creepiest part for me was that we got to go down into the basement with tombs of members of the royal family. It was actually really cool, but the rooms seemed to be never ending and I definitely had the heebie jeebies the whole time!<br /><br />The town it's in (San Lorenzo de El Escorial) is very picturesque. It has mountains peeking into the sky and is full of narrow, steep streets lined with shops and cafes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CMZXq6AQI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Nc1h1XDML2U/s1600-h/blog1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CMZXq6AQI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Nc1h1XDML2U/s320/blog1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431495518087414018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CMyro6S-I/AAAAAAAAAC8/ejAJbYbkeEY/s1600-h/DSCF2025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CMyro6S-I/AAAAAAAAAC8/ejAJbYbkeEY/s320/DSCF2025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431495952944483298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CNMEr7dnI/AAAAAAAAADE/Xu70BV-eahE/s1600-h/DSCF2026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CNMEr7dnI/AAAAAAAAADE/Xu70BV-eahE/s320/DSCF2026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431496389164758642" /></a><br /><br />This weekend 2 of my roommates, 2 other girls from school and I are going to Sevilla! I have heard wonderful things about the city, so I am very excited. We're actually leaving tomorrow (Thursday) after class and will return to Madrid late Saturday night. We're taking a bus there and will be sleeping in a Hostel. I've only had one hostel experience in my life, and it was creepy... so hopefully this weekend goes well! :)<br /><br />Hope everything is going great for all of you... and I'm sorry that my blog is so boring, haha! I will post pictures from Sevilla after I return.<br /><br />Sangria and Tapas<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CPGpi359I/AAAAAAAAADM/sezBIiaceQg/s1600-h/DSCF2019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CPGpi359I/AAAAAAAAADM/sezBIiaceQg/s320/DSCF2019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431498495002929106" /></a><br /><br />Madrid at night<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CPkxfDPJI/AAAAAAAAADU/_dfDlQwKd7k/s1600-h/DSCF2022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S2CPkxfDPJI/AAAAAAAAADU/_dfDlQwKd7k/s320/DSCF2022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431499012530453650" /></a>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-73233334832419934922010-01-22T04:17:00.000-08:002010-01-22T12:35:23.017-08:00mi casa es su casa (only not really because we can't have people over...)Well, my first full week of classes are over... and those 4 days FLEW by! If every week is like that, then my 4 months here are going to be gone in a flash. <br /><br />Every Monday and Wednesday I have Hispanic Literature from 2:30-3:45. We've already read "El Poema de Mio Cid", and thankfully our professor went through it with us thoroughly to make sure we understood it... I hope she does that with everything we read! That class is the only one I have that is taught in 100% Spanish. <br /><br />On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have History of Western Art at 11:00, Introduction to Music at 2:30, and Ethics right afterwords at 4:00. So far (with the exception of Ethics) all of my classes seem pretty interesting. On Fridays I don't have ANY classes. Three-day weekends will be great, especially with the traveling I want to do while I'm here!<br /><br />The walk to school is about a mile (alllllll up hill) and it takes us about 15 minutes to get there. Considering at home I drive to my friends' houses who live in the same neighborhood as me, this walk is NOT my favorite part about this whole experience :)<br /><br />Our apartment is much bigger than I expected it to be. It's homey, and is decorated with the most random assortment of furniture, pictures and memorabilia ever. This is what you see right when you walk into our "piso"... my room is on the right (with the nasty light switch)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1myJAl5TGI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Er7zj0Sdm6s/s1600-h/DSCF2008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1myJAl5TGI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Er7zj0Sdm6s/s320/DSCF2008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429566693619354722" /></a><br /><br />This is my desk area (which is right inside the door). This picture was taken last week, so it looks kind of different now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1my9tHep_I/AAAAAAAAACE/xir4fbed23U/s1600-h/DSCF2010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1my9tHep_I/AAAAAAAAACE/xir4fbed23U/s320/DSCF2010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429567598924572658" /></a><br /><br />Here's my bed! That's the heater right next to it... they turn it off for the night, but when it kicks back on in the morning it gets sooooo hot! Figment and Jellaman don't stay there all the time, haha, I just decided they needed to be in the picture :) <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m1BBwlP0I/AAAAAAAAACM/TQ-lzBygvEE/s1600-h/DSCF2011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m1BBwlP0I/AAAAAAAAACM/TQ-lzBygvEE/s320/DSCF2011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429569855028543298" /></a><br /><br />This is our living area (and my roommate Chloe! haha). There's a TV but we NEVER watch it. We get about 5 channels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m1gMw7wAI/AAAAAAAAACU/RTlpecPlPCY/s1600-h/DSCF2012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m1gMw7wAI/AAAAAAAAACU/RTlpecPlPCY/s320/DSCF2012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429570390558752770" /></a><br /><br />And finally our kitchen... ughhhh. I have to cook for myself here- so obviously I haven't been eating the greatest meals! If anybody knows any super easy recipes shoot them my way! <br /><br />Right now I'm pretty much out of food. I ran out of cereal the other day, which was my go to meal! The whole cooking situation is going to probably be the hardest thing to get used to here. Yesterday I was making myself lunch and I felt like Amy Adams in "Julie & Julia". Only instead of making boeuf bourguignon or lobster bisque, I was making scrambled eggs in the microwave and toast on the stove... depressing. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m3hKVOgBI/AAAAAAAAACc/hc9_eEzzbUo/s1600-h/DSCF2017.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m3hKVOgBI/AAAAAAAAACc/hc9_eEzzbUo/s320/DSCF2017.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429572606108794898" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m4kL2bXLI/AAAAAAAAACk/OEbAgBjRyKs/s1600-h/DSCF2018.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1m4kL2bXLI/AAAAAAAAACk/OEbAgBjRyKs/s320/DSCF2018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429573757567720626" /></a><br /><br />Another aspect of our kitchen that is new to me, is washing dishes by hand. We have no dishwasher. :( At home, I definitely take that for granted! And even if I leave a plate sitting around the kitchen, it MAGICALLY disappears... that's not the case here. I have to wash every single thing I use as I go along. yikes.<br /><br />But on a more exciting note, I have some trips planned! Two of my roommates and I are going to Amsterdam in April, and we're also traveling over a Winter Break that we have coming up in February. We have flights booked to Paris, and are wanting to go somewhere else during that time also. Today we found a relatively inexpensive way to get to Germany (Dusseldorf) from Paris by bus. Hopefully we get those tickets today! We have a pretty long break for Easter and are trying to figure out what to do during that time... Maybe Italy? I've been there before but never to Rome, so I'm hoping that works out!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-91264797523669385552010-01-17T11:25:00.000-08:002010-01-17T12:20:15.287-08:00Getting to Know SpainThis weekend was full of touristy things, which I've been loving! As I wrote about before, Friday we went to the Palace and walked around the Sol area of the city. Yesterday we continued our exploration of the city by visiting two art museums- La Reina Sofia and El Prado. I was very excited to go to both of them! They each have sooo many amazing pieces of art- and MANY that I have learned about in school over the years. <br /><br />The Reina Sofia was first. Upon entering the very first room, the movie "Mona Lisa Smile" came to mind. I remember a part when Julia Roberts' character said something along the lines of, "Who decides what is art?". That crossed my mind SO many times in the Reina Sofia. This museum had a lot of modern art that I just didn't "get". Like there was one with just one little tally-mark on it. Or a giant wall with 1, 2 and then 3 florescent lights on it. Some of it was really thought provoking, though. I was most excited to see Picasso's "Guernica", which I looked at for.ev.er. I have seen it in Spanish books for years, and it was amazing to see it in person. There was also a series of photos in the same room that document Picasso's progress while creating the giant painting. It was so interesting to see the changes he made along the way. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NoOACoBMI/AAAAAAAAAA8/7b8tTua7nJc/s1600-h/guernica784569.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NoOACoBMI/AAAAAAAAAA8/7b8tTua7nJc/s320/guernica784569.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427796565650048194" /></a><br /><br />There were rooms upon rooms of Picasso's paintings. It was crazy to see them up close and personal! In the same museum I also saw a painting by Wilfredo Lam, who (fun fact) I gave a presentation on in 11th grade Spanish :)<br /><br />We stopped for a quick bite to eat, then took a very scenic walk over to El Prado. It was amaaaazing. I realized that I prefer older, classic art to the modern stuff. The brochure we got upon entering the museum had a list of the pieces of art that are considered to be "masterpieces". We made it a point to see each of them :) By far the most amazing- and most famous piece we saw that day was "Las Meninas" by Velazquez.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NqfBF3mKI/AAAAAAAAABE/JpI3mBw1Rzo/s1600-h/velazquez-las-meninas.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NqfBF3mKI/AAAAAAAAABE/JpI3mBw1Rzo/s320/velazquez-las-meninas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427799057013119138" /></a><br /><br />I was in owe. It was huge. It was beautiful... and I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that hundreds of year before, Velazquez was standing right in front of the same painting I was, creating a masterpiece we would all be able to enjoy for centuries to come. I also saw amazing things by El Greco, Rembrant, and many, many more. <br /><br />Today we went to Toledo! It was a day trip arranged through school and about 60 of us went. To say it was beautiful is an understatement. I don't even think pictures can do it justice! So come visit me and I will take you there :) haha. It's crazy how old the city is... people settled in it during the 7th century BC!!! It's older than Jesus, man!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NsC1shlOI/AAAAAAAAABM/NofCJYSDiqM/s1600-h/DSCF1984.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NsC1shlOI/AAAAAAAAABM/NofCJYSDiqM/s320/DSCF1984.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427800771940947170" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NshOLEgyI/AAAAAAAAABU/uCKqn_BVNM8/s1600-h/DSCF1983.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NshOLEgyI/AAAAAAAAABU/uCKqn_BVNM8/s320/DSCF1983.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427801293907591970" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1Ns71bJWOI/AAAAAAAAABc/kFsuGorqcbI/s1600-h/DSCF1992.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1Ns71bJWOI/AAAAAAAAABc/kFsuGorqcbI/s320/DSCF1992.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427801751120599266" /></a><br /><br />PAELLA!!! yummmmm :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1Nt1IY8HXI/AAAAAAAAABk/KrlZPBU9-eA/s1600-h/DSCF1998.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1Nt1IY8HXI/AAAAAAAAABk/KrlZPBU9-eA/s320/DSCF1998.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427802735464160626" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NuP82GgdI/AAAAAAAAABs/4Ux5HoJcRcY/s1600-h/DSCF1999.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1NuP82GgdI/AAAAAAAAABs/4Ux5HoJcRcY/s320/DSCF1999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427803196221718994" /></a><br /><br />One week ago today I just got here! I feel like I have done and seen so much in that short while. Our first full week of classes starts tomorrow and I'm fiiiinally going to have a routine, and responsibilities! How boring is it that I'm actually LOOKING FORWARD to homework?! haha.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-37954603264065774762010-01-15T11:15:00.000-08:002010-01-15T13:18:14.283-08:00Orientation, classes and adventures...The Roommates<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DQzY2yY2I/AAAAAAAAAAU/e_oNhVLBHNk/s1600-h/IMG_0090.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DQzY2yY2I/AAAAAAAAAAU/e_oNhVLBHNk/s320/IMG_0090.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427067132245599074" /></a><br /><br />Orientation is over. Classes have started. And my first full weekend in Spain is here! Lots has happened since my last post. Orientation started on Monday and went okaaaaay. Since there were basically all SLU students in my orientation group (just like the group flight), it reinforced how much I miss my friends and wish I had them here with me. Our first day of orientation was full of the basic stuff... tours around campus... sessions with staff...ice breakers. That night 2 of my roommates and I went out to a Tapas bar called "El Tigre" and even though the place looks empty in the picture below, there were actually a lot of other SLU Madrid people there. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DNyaofHBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/OgSOgiMXJLE/s1600-h/IMG_0092.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DNyaofHBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/OgSOgiMXJLE/s320/IMG_0092.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427063817007733778" /></a><br /><br />The next day was the second and final day of orientation. We had a ridiculous bus tour of Madrid. And they dropped us off at some random place in the city and told us we were done... thankfully one of my roommates is a directional whiz, because I would have been COMPLETELY lost on my own (I still haven't even figured out the streets around our apartment yet haha). <br /><br />On Wednesday, classes started! I only had one that day (On Mondays & Wednesday)and it started at 2:30. I figured I didn't need to set my alarm for that morning- that I would naturally wake up before noon at least. Well, I was wrong! At 1:30 my roommate came in to wake me up! Apparently I wasn't as used to the time difference as I thought I was. That night we went out to "Cafe Orange"... and didn't get home until 3:30am. The sad thing is, that is waaaay early by Spanish standards. I don't think I'll ever get used to that. <br /><br />Thursday (yesterday) I had my other 3 classes (which I have on Tuesdays & Thursdays). They started at 11, I definitely took advantage of Siesta time! During some exploration that evening, we found a place that sells AMAZING Tortilla Española for only 2 Euro. Later we went to a club called Joy...It is in a building that used to be a theater. So we were up in one of the balconies dancing the night away... and the curtain on the stage randomly went up. And this is what we saw...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DSpvSXH7I/AAAAAAAAAAc/dAxHTzouy_w/s1600-h/IMG_0149.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DSpvSXH7I/AAAAAAAAAAc/dAxHTzouy_w/s320/IMG_0149.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427069165491396530" /></a><br /><br />A Lady Gaga impersonator and a handful of white chicks with afros! It definitely made the night :)<br /><br />This morning Danielle, Chloe (my roommates) and I got up to go see some sights. We went to the palace, and explored the area around it. We went and got some of Spain's famous "Churros con chocolate", went to a Cathedral and did some shopping.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DT3EnqUmI/AAAAAAAAAAk/GMO5IQigX2o/s1600-h/IMG_0170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DT3EnqUmI/AAAAAAAAAAk/GMO5IQigX2o/s320/IMG_0170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427070494067806818" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DURvKsL2I/AAAAAAAAAAs/masJpY8izmA/s1600-h/DSCF1963.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DURvKsL2I/AAAAAAAAAAs/masJpY8izmA/s320/DSCF1963.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427070952165617506" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DUzazgdwI/AAAAAAAAAA0/DHBCLsZSb4A/s1600-h/DSCF1970.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q6GXpkKVAIw/S1DUzazgdwI/AAAAAAAAAA0/DHBCLsZSb4A/s320/DSCF1970.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427071530815223554" /></a><br /><br />Now it is 9:51pm and I'm soooo tired! Tomorrow we're hitting up some museums and then Sunday I'm going to a trip through school to visit Toledo! I feel like such a loser for admitting this, but I am actually really excited for next week to be a full week of school. I need some kind of routine! It still hasn't hit me that I'm going to be here for so long- maybe once I get settled into classes it will. I have some short, random spurts of homesickness. The other night all of my dreams took place at Grandma & Grandpa's house, and only family members were in them... so that's definitely a sign that I miss my people!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3920594594906057571.post-3016936010812115442010-01-10T11:48:00.000-08:002010-01-10T12:34:48.871-08:00I made it!Well boys and girls, I'm here! The time between my application to SLU Madrid and today has flown by sooo quickly and I can't believe I'm here already. After some teary goodbyes, I boarded my group flight from Chicago to Madrid. Like I suspected, I was pretty much the only student on our flight who doesn't go to St. Louis University. I was getting pretty nervous because it was like everyone else already had their best friends there with them, and I didn't know a single person. It definitely had me missing my friends and wishing they were with me... and the girl who sat next to me on the flight kept staring at me. Creeper. <br /><br />One of the things I was most nervous about was actually getting to my host family's apartment. So when I hopped into a taxi and told him where I needed to go, the butterflies were definitely flying! The ride was about 20 minutes because he kept getting lost, and when we finally got to the apartment he dropped me off at the curb with an "adios". So there I was, standing on a random Madrid street staring at a random apartment building. I buzzed the apartment number of our hosts... and the guy said "Hola"... not having any idea what to say, I randomly said "ummmm... soy una estudiante..." and before I could finish what I was going to say I heard the buzz that let me in. I lugged my 130+ pounds of luggage (believe or not that final weight was after MANY rounds of elimination) in through the door and before I knew it, my host mom was down to help. Thankfully there was an elevator. <br /><br />I was the last of my roommates to arrive, and she and her husband gave me the grand tour.The first thing they said was "la casa es para estudiar... no fiestas!"(The house is for studying, not parties!). It kind of had me afraid of them, but they are super nice. They pointed out the different parts of the apt and then proceeded to take 5 minutes to show me that for hot water you move the handle to the left and for cold water you move the handle to the right, whipped out a giant map of Madrid, and then left me to settle in. Since I was the last one there, I'm sharing the double room (The apt. has 2 single rooms and 1 double). My roommate, Elizabeth, goes to SLU and is from Missouri, I talked to her for a little bit and then ventured over to the other side of our small apartment to talk to the other two girls. Chloe is from San Diego (and goes to school in LA) and Danielle is from Long Island (and goes to school in Maryland).<br /><br />When we were getting to know each other, our host lady brought over a Tortilla Espanola, which is a very traditional spanish dish. It was really good. Besides the leftovers of that, there was no food in our apartment at all, so we went to El Corte Ingles a huge department store to look around and buy some food. It's really close which will be sooo convenient. When we left the store it was snowing! It caught me way off guard considering snow supposedly isn't common in Madrid.<br /><br />So we came back, I finished getting settled in... and then I got electrocuted!!! Turns out, there are two different kind of outlets in our room (one with holes just slightly bigger than the other). And if you put something too big in the little ones and then try to pull it out, it'll get ya. I'm not talking like a shock from static intensified slightly... this was straight up, volts of electricity raging through my body (ok just my hands). But it's probably an hour later right now and my left thumb is still throbbing. So now that plug is still half stuck in the wall, and I'm too chicken to attempt to get it out again. <br /><br />Well, it's 9:30 pm here right now and I'm beat. The four of us are just hanging out at the apartment tonight...<br /><br />Orientation starts tomorrow!Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15804426645643421189noreply@blogger.com8