Airport Chillen

So, I currently have an 8 hour layover in Dussledorf, Germany and I'm obviously very bored so I figured this would be a good time to make a new post! Yahoo!

Well what's new in my life? A lot. In the past week I went to Ibiza (an island off the coast of Spain), started classes that are all entirely in Spanish, signed up for a language exchange program, and to finish off my week I was in Germany for the first weekend of Oktoberfest!

So Ibiza, it was pretty cool. Beautiful beaches. Fun clubs. But very expensive. I still had fun though. We had GREAT weather to be there so that was awesome.

Then I started my classes. They're all entirely in Spanish. That was definitely a lot to take in at first. I can understand pretty much everything my professors say, so that's a good sign. But as usual I can understand much more than I can speak. Luckily, I've been getting away with minimal talking in class. I mostly speak Spanish at home with my mom. Almost every night we crochet together and listen to English songs and she has me translate some stuff for her. I love it. But yeah--classes. They're good. I just don't think I've ever been so mentally exhausted. But I like it so that's good.

And then there's the language exchange program! Basically they're going to pair me up with a native Spanish speaker who wants to practice their English. We can meet up whenever and wherever we agree on and go from there. I'm very excited for this one. I think it'll really help me improve my Spanish. So I'm definitely looking forward to it. The more practice the better.

Alright now Oktoberfest. Wild. And probably the best time I've had so far. I booked a campsite through Stoke Travel and they provided me with a tent, air mattress (aka a pool float), sleeping bag, and unlimited beer and sangria. When my friend Ana and I checked in we met the girl in line behind us. She's 18 and is backpacking solo through Europe. Like a badass. I met a lot of other awesome people as well. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere was just incredible. And as for the festival itself? If you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend it. It was wild. Imagine the Big E except way bigger, traditional clothes, and, of course, lots of beer. We were there for the first day of the festival so that was definitely cool. Unfortunately, we didn't get there early enough (8 am apparently) so finding a seat in the beer tents was nearly impossible. But that's okay we still had a blast. And I rode a Ferris wheel and saw the entire festival from up high. It was wild.

I just don't even have words for how much fun I had this weekend. I would recommend it a thousand times over--as long as you don't mind the cold. It was definitely freezing. Also be prepared to be a little grungy. But I would imagine if you we're planning on camping at Oktoberfest you already know things are likely to be a little grungy.

So that's about all I have for now. I have just under two hours left until I board. Then I'm going home, showering, eating, and crawling into bed. In Barcelona they are currently celebrating La Merce so I'll be checking out those festivities tomorrow and Tuesday :)

La Diada Nacional de Catalunya

Today is a very interesting day in Barcelona! It's La Diada Nacional de Catalunya. In a nutshell, it's a day where people show their support for wanting to make Catalyuna independent from Spain. From what I can tell of it, it's very political, and, I think, very interesting.

Okay, so I'll try to explain it in a little more detail to the best of my ability, but when I asked mi mami it was all told to me en espanol, so I'm hoping I understood correctly (I'm pretty proud of what I did catch from it, though). So basically, Catalunya is a region of Spain, and they have a flag. It looks like this:

 

If you walk around the city, you can see these hanging all over the place. Here's a picture I took myself:

This is just one example, but you can pretty much see them everywhere hanging from the balconies. And the people who have these flags either don't want or don't care if Catalunya becomes independent from Spain (I'm not sure if they don't care or don't want it, that I didn't quite catch)

So then! There's these flags 

These flags represent those who DO want Catalunya to be independent from Spain. And today, they're EVERYWHERE. Por ejemplo:

It was kind of hard to capture it, but, trust me, they're everywhere. 

So, anyways, it's a big day in Spain. There's a...I don't know the word for it--demonstration is probably the closest I can think of, but it's not really a demonstration, that sounds extreme haha...but there's a big line of people around Catalunya that all hold hands to show their support. The line literally goes on for miles down the entire coast. There's also a parade. And almost everyone in the city right now is wearing their flags as a cape (you can see it a little in the picture that I posted above, but there's a LOT more people now...we went during siesta so not many people were there...it's literally PACKED now, me and mi mami are watching it on the news as I'm typing this up).

So, what I found very interesting about today, and me and mi mami talked about it, is that at home in the U.S.--of course all of you know--today is a very sad day where all of our hearts go out to those who were lost in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Of course I did not forget this and did not forget to take a second when I was up this morning to think about it, but here in Spain, it's a big day of celebration. Just a little bizarre to think that on the day that across America hearts are sad, here everyone is happy and celebrating. Of course, they have no reason to be sad, but you don't really think about something like that until you're out of your bubble in the big world. 

So, of course I know that my understanding is very limited on this subject, but it was still fun to learn about and to take some time to partake in the celebration. 

Bienvenidos a Barcelona!

Hola a todos!

So, I have officially arrived in Espana! (Well, I've been here for an entire day now, I'm just getting around to writing about it tonight). I have so many thoughts going through my head. First of all, seven hour flight? Not fun. But they did feed me dinner and breakfast (chicken and mashed potatoes with a salad for dinner and a croissant for breakfast...not bad) so that was kind of cool I suppose. The best part of the flight, though, was when I got to see the sunrise. For those of you who have not seen a sunrise from an airplane, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Also, fun little fact, I found out that the girl I was supposed to meet up with after my flight was on the same flight as me! We discovered this as we were boarding, how funny. But that was pretty sweet and definitely made me feel better because I was SO stressed about having to find her and figure out where I was supposed to be etc. etc.

So, I just pulled only my second all nighter ever in my life. I don't know how I'm functioning (I wasn't functioning most of the day), but they tell me this is the best way to beat the jet lag, so here I am up and running on no sleep!!

So, I get here and basically me and Justine (the girl that was on my flight) are just chillen for like two hours, nothing spectacular since we were still in the airport. We get in our taxi around 10 a.m. (4 a.m. for all you folks back at home) and drive to the hotel. Drop our things off, meet up with another girl Ana--who has been here for two weeks now--and go start exploring!!!!

I honestly  have no words for how beautiful this city is. Really. The architecture here is absolutely incredible. And there's palm trees! I didn't expect palm trees. But we walked around and saw everything then stopped for some lunch. I ate some tapas and some paella, and had my first legal drink (Woohoo!).

Then we came back--I cheated and slept for an hour--and then we went out for an official tour of the city! I got to learn how to use the metro! Which I'm still afraid of so my mission for tomorrow is to practice using it (I'm so lame, I know).

Then we had a couple of meeting things to go to, and then our little group of just six went out for dinner at a tapas bar. Muy delicioso!! Hay mucha comida!!!! I am so stuffed and DEFINITELY ready for bed tomorrow! Tomorrow I get to wake up and meet my host mom! So excited for that!

That was a lot to have to fit in to one post. Here's some pictures!!

My first legal drink!! Some fantastic sangria!

The city is honestly so gorgeous. I'm loving every second of being here already, even though I am beyond exhausted. On that note, I think it's time for some sleep.

Adios!

One Week!

Hello all!

I'm currently writing to you from Arizona! Woohoo! I've spent the last week doing a LOT of cool stuff with my family. Went hiking with my dad and cousin, did a lot of shopping, and today we're going to Sedona to rent a jeep and go off roaring! (That definitely makes me nervous but it should be fun).

Also, a nice little fun fact for ya: it takes a cactus 100 years to grow an arm! Who knew!


So, it's officially down to the last week before I leave. Honestly cannot believe how quickly time went by. I mean, I've wanted to go to Spain since I applied at Endicott--three years ago--and now it's basically here!!

I keep waiting for the nerves to set in. I thought as it got closer I would bug out more and more, but actually it's been the opposite. I mean that could totally be due to the fact that I'm currently in Arizona and haven't begun to pack or anything, so maybe it hasn't REALLY hit me, but I genuinely feel like I'm just ready for this, you know? Although I'm not so sure I'm ready for all of my classes to be entirely in Spanish--that's definitely making me nervous. But if that's all I have in the way of nerves, I can't really complain. I just have first day of school nerves--not "holy shit I'm going to Spain for four months" nerves. I'll keep you guys updated on if that changes though.

There's just one thing I'm having a hard time with. I REALLY want to bring my host mom a present when I get there--but I have no idea what to bring. I want something kind of American (doesn't have to be super patriotic or anything--I'm not trying to show up with an American flag and a bald eagle portrait). But I want something that kind of sums up home. You know, desde mi casa a su casa (that's "from my house to her house").

So anyways, if anybody had any ideas for me, feel free to comment here or on my Facebook page to let me know! Thanks guys!

The First Last Day

This summer I got a little crazy and decided to work four jobs. I know...what was I thinking right? I honestly did not know how I was going to make that work all summer, and at times it was VERY hard to schedule (sorry Jacki!) and, of course, I essentially had no life this summer because I was either working, working out, or sleeping (that's really not much of an exaggeration). But, somehow, I managed to make it work. And it was all worth it! For those who don't know, I work full time as a nanny, I'm a cashier at Star Hardware, I babysit for another family, and I work the front desk on Tuesday's at Pole for the Mind, Body, and Soul. 

So, as summer comes to an end, so do my jobs. To kick off my jobs ending, today is my last day at Pole for the Mind, Body, and Soul. I am honestly so glad I had the opportunity to work here! It was a pretty low maintenance job, I got to meet some awesome people, and I got to work out while having fun! (Which was also convenient because there was NO way I could swing a gym membership this summer).  I am so happy that I got the opportunity to meet all of the wonderful people at the studio--not even just the girls who work there, but also the clients that come in for classes. It's such a great environment because, let's face it, it's hard to go into a pole class and not make an ass out of yourself while learning something new. But the great thing about the studio is that it's a completely judge free zone. Nobody will judge you, as long as you're giving it your all because we've all been there. I honestly had so much fun at every class I went to. 

I'll still be in the studio a couple more times before I leave, but I decided to write about the fact that today is my last day because it's so surreal to me. Little things keep happening that continue to make this entire thing more real in my head. It's hard to wrap your brain around the idea that you'll be leaving to a foreign country for four months when it's still so far away, but as it get's closer and closer, it's the little things that continue to make it real for me and my last day at the studio is definitely one of those things.  

Time to Get a Little Sentimental

So, I was going to catch up on some sleep before I have to be up for work in the morning, but that wasn't happening, so I thought I'd leave you guys with one more post :) Why  not right?

I want to dedicate this one to my family:

 I know as you scroll through the pictures you may be thinking to yourself, "Damn, that's a good looking family". Well, you'd be correct on that one. But my family isn't just good looking, they're also the best people I could have asked to have in my life. 

Since I was little, my parents have instilled this sense of wonder and adventure in me (Papa King and I are pretty well known for our adventures) and I can't say how important that has been in my life. As I  

prepare for what is coming in the near future with this trip, it's because of them that I know I don't have to be afraid and that whatever is thrown my way can be taken care of. The world is not something to be afraid of, it is something to be explored, discovered, and embraced. 

Aside from having parents that instilled this sense of wonder in me, they are also the most supportive people I could have asked for. I know of a couple of people who's families didn't like the idea of their children studying abroad because it seemed scary to have them alone overseas. If my parents have this same fear, they sure are good at hiding it. From the day I got accepted to Endicott, I knew that I wanted  

to study abroad, and I was lucky enough to not even have to convince my family that this was a good idea. From the day I mentioned it, my family fully supported this dream of mine. 

As for my brother, Jake, he has been there through everything for me. If I have a problem, he's the first person I call to talk about it. Every fear that I've had about this trip, he has been the first one to hear about it. He's also the best at making me feel better about everything. He turns all of my fears into opportunities and reminds me constantly that I need this in my life because I may never get an opportunity as amazing as this one. 

For those who have heard me talk about my family before, you probably know that I could brag about them forever. We may drive each other crazy sometimes, but I would not have it any other way. My family is constantly pushing me to new limits, and always continues to inspire me. I cannot put into words how thankful I am to have these people in my life.

Viva la Vida!

Hello All!

So, I've gone and made myself this fancy little blog to pretty much get everything out there while I'm abroad. So what's the first thing I should post about? The answer is clearly about everything I'm thinking and feeling about this trip up to this point because I don't think I've ever had this many emotions at once in my entire life. First of all, I am BEYOND excited. That's really an understatement. I'm about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life and I could not have asked for this to come at a better time in my life. I just feel like I'm in a place where I can really enjoy, appreciate, learn, and absorb all that Europe has to offer me. But at the same time, I'm absolutely terrified. Which is also hard to explain because I keep trying to look at all of my fears as opportunities at the same time. For example, I don't know anybody that I'll be traveling with, but that's just a chance to meet a LOT of new, awesome, fun people. I think my real fears are coming from the small details--what if I miss the shuttle to the hotel when I get there? Or, what if I can't find my classes on the first day? It's weird, but it's the small things that are making me the most nervous about the whole thing.

There's just so many things running through my head. I'm sure as it gets closer, this will all just intensify, but I can't wait for that. I guess what I'm most excited about is the sense of empowerment I'll have from studying abroad. After going to a foreign country for four months by myself, I feel as though I will be able to do anything, and that's pretty awesome.

September 8th just can't get here fast enough. 21 days and counting :)