-- Anonymous quote.
It's getting close to crunch time. I have exactly four classes left of every class.... Really three because I'm missing a day of school, and I'm super nervous. But, that's not what I'm really trying to write about today. I'll write that post later.
Successful:
My Spanish has been improving tremendously since I've gotten here. I wrote half of my internship paper and send it to my professor who's helping me write it. She returned my draft to me with her corrections, and there honestly weren't many. She highlighted things in red that were wrong, and she only highlighted about five words per paragraph. It wasn't even a whole sentence... Or anything grammatical really... It's more vocabulary.
I've honestly never been so freaking proud of myself. I'm learning so much here.
Last night I went out with friends to a club because I haven't been out since Halloween, and we just wanted to have fun. A little while after we got there some guy started hitting on me in Spanish of course, and I was able to keep up with him. And! believe it or not, I delivered a line of sarcasm in my attempt to politely tell him to go fly a kite. It was great. Ah I was so proud.
I eventually yelled at him to leave me alone because I was with my friends and he kept asking me to make out with him... What happened to chivalry? Do I have "slutty american" tattooed on my forehead? .... I don't think so? Anyway, I was proud because I got to yell/talk with a guy in Spanish in a club like setting where it's hard to hear, annnnd it was flawless.
Failure:
My internship (prácticas as they're called in Spain) is going well. I'm learning a lot about myself, and learning that I still have a looooong way to go as far as teaching is concerned. I was left alone in the class again and the second the professor left I almost completely lost control of the classroom. I was trying to explain a diagram in English, and it was just.... terrible. Everyone was talking, everyone was doing stupid things.... And the professor, when she came back in, just looked at me and gave me that "you tried" smile.
Yeah, that wasn't my fondest moment.
Days like those make me want to rethink my concentration. I really do want to be a teacher, buuuut I'm starting to realize just how hard it's going to be.... Jeeeeze. What did I sign myself up for?
Success is celebrated for about a week, Failure is stamped on your subconscious forever.
<3
Buenas Noches.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
my dreams are in spanish, my nightmares, in french.
(France was awesome, I'm just not a fan of the language)
Thursday, November 22rd:
I woke up at 6:00 to make it to the bus station by 7:00 to get to the Malaga airport by 9:00. Everything went according to plan, I had all of my things ready to go and I was set. I got to the bus station with plenty of time to spare, got on the bus and we were off.
Everything was going smoothly until the last stop on the bus. Some guy decided to ask the bus driver about a million questions, so we were at a stop for about 20 minutes, putting us way behind schedule.
Needless to say I arrived at the airport at 9:30 to make a 10:05 flight, which according to all monitors was delayed. I figured that was in my favor until I got to the check in gate.
Seeing as how i was 35 minutes "early" for the flight, I figured I'd still be able to check in and get my ticket... but according to madam "i don't freaking think so" that's not an option... even though I'm pretty sure it's a standard procedure.
I went to the EasyJet desk to ask for help and he said he could put me on the next flight, two days later, at 8pm... No way Jose. I asked for a refund of some sort and he said that they can't do that... even though I was not longer able to use EITHER ticket that I'd bought though their services... Oy.
So, I walked around trying to find cheap flights, found a computer and searched for the lowest fare for a flight that day, seeing as how my best friend AD was meeting me in Paris that night.
Eventually I found one that cost less than both of my kidneys and my liver. I went to AirEuropa and the woman gave me a less expensive ticket and was super helpful. However, the flight wasn't until 6pm... and it was only 11:00am... So, seven hours in an airport... Sure.
I wandered around the three terminal airport for about two hours. Then found an empty row of seats and took a one hour nap... Then walked around a little more... Then ate some snacks that I'd packed... Then searched around the Duty Free stores for about an hour... Then sat and watched the plane tables for another hour or so... Then finally my plane was ready for take off.
I landed at the airport 20 minutes before AD and sat by the arrivals board until she got there. It was so great to see her again after not having seen her for about six months. We headed to her friends house, where we'd be staying Friday and Saturday just to hang out before we had to head to our hotel. We were both super hungry, I especially since I'd only eaten two bananas and bread all day. So we ordered food for delivery... my first french meal was Sushi. Yep, sushi. And it was fantastic. :)
After we finished eating, and met AD's friends boyfriend we headed back to our hotel to go to sleep. We were planning on waking up kind of early the next day so that we could get started on our walking tour of Paris. :)
We got to the hotel around midnight or so, checked in without a problem, and got into our room. I told myself that I wasn't expecting much, as it's a two star hotel, and it's what I expected. It was a tiny outdated room, two small beds, a rustic looking bathroom and a flat screen plasma tv?... Yeah I still don't get that. But it was what we paid for, and it was warm, and comfortable, so I couldn't be upset. We both got a good nights sleep then and everything was great.
Friday, November 23rd:
The next morning we checked out with the nice man from the night before and headed out to AD's friends house to drop off our stuff then went out to Notre Dame!
We went to the Cathedral and to our surprise there wasn't a line waiting to get in. Once we entered we realized why... there was mass going on. Neither of us wanted to get struck by lighting so we headed out quickly, taking a few pictures.
We then headed to Pont Neuf -- the bridge with all of the locks on it, and that was mind blowing. They all put the locks on the side that faced the Eiffel Tower and then throw the key in the river to symbolize eternal love or something... Romantic, but cheesy.
After that we headed over to see Pablo Picasso's house, walked down the river and looked at the "green boxes", little side stores, AD got some gelatto, we walked around some more, headed to the Louvre -- which is fantastic. It's HUGE so I'm glad that we didn't go in, but we saw the pyramids and everything which were way more exciting than I thought they would be.
After the Louvre we ran into some arc that I thought was the Arc de Triumf... nope, just another Arc thing... pretty, but just there. We walked through a few parks to get to Concorde where the Rouge de Paris and the (big pointy thing that looks Egyptian) is. Sorrrry forgot what it was called.
After that we kept trekking down the road and found a big Christmas Market. It lined both sides of the street and was filled with places selling warm red wine (which is delicious and VERY strong), deserts (chocolate covered marshmallows), christmas decorations (that were WAY too rich for my blood), and lots of other things. It was a great little market, so we ate there. After the market we went to a pharmacy so that I could get lactose pills so that I could eat all of the FREAKING cheese that they have everywhere in Paris.
While I was at the ATM, someone threw a newspaper in my face and pushed the 300E button on the withdraw page. I turned around and saw a little seven year old kid standing there and almost had the gall to punch his lights out. However, I waited patiently for the ATM to spit my card back out, because I can't withdraw over 200E at a time. Gaw I wanted to kick him in the teeth.
So I left sin dinero and we walked on to the Arc de Triumf. It was huge!!!! We stopped and took a bunch of pictures, ran into some Americans, studying in Sevilla, and then went to get tea so that we could sit down and re-energize.
After that episode we hopped on the metro to get to the eiffel tower. By this time it was about 7pm or so, so we knew that the lights would be on. We walked almost right past it without seeing it because the closer you get to it, the more building start to cover it. But once we found it, oh jeesze, I jumped up and down like a freaking three year old. It was SO great!
We walked up from behind it and at 7:50, and knew that the light show would start at 8:00 so we booked it to the other end of the lawn and tried to make it before the show started. We made it to a prime location just in time for the show and the tower lit up and sparked like a Christmas tree! It was so great! I hear people a lot say things like "How American." but it really is done quite beautifully. I didn't think that I'd like the sparkles as much as I did.
Once the show was over and were done taking pictures we texted AD's friend about dinner and headed to Pont Alexandr III, the pretty bridge with the angels on it. We took pictures because it was in Midnight in Paris, and then hopped on the train to get to where we were supposed to meet AD's friends.
When we got to the metro stop we saw that there was a huge shopping center and strip of restaurants, not unlike Ruta de Tapas here in Granada. Once her friends arrived we walked around a few of the shops while we waited for another friend. We stopped into a restaurant that was a little pricy for my likes, but I figure, when in Paris do as the Parisians do. And they're rich, soooo we had a fancy dinner. ... that was totally worth it.
Dinner:
First course: mushrooms stuffed with jamón
Second course: roasted duckling with some sort of goup that was amazing. (try the grey stuff it's delicious, don't believe me ask the dishes)
Third course: Crembrule with nutella!!!
Drink: Chardonnay (i'm still a fan of sutter home.)
After dinner we headed to ADs friends house and headed to sleep. Our first day was jam packed with activities and the next day was too.
Saturday, November 24th:
The next morning we woke up at 7:00 to make it to Versailles by 8:30 to beat the rush to get in. We left for the metro, and got to trekking. At 7:45 we made it to the RERC, which takes you right to Versailles, so we hopped on the next train, only to find out that we got on the wrong one. So at 8:20 we got on the right one and then we were on our way to the Palace!
At 8:50 when the train stopped at some random station we found out that the route had changed and we needed to find another train... damn french people man. So we made it to the Palace a little after 9 and the place was crowded.
AD and I booked it to get our tickets, and then tried to beat the rush of asian tourist groups through the security check and audio guide lines. We spend the next four hours or so walking through the palace and admiring everything. I was in heaven because I love the history of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.
We kept separating a little and then finding each other, but after the hall of mirrors and Napoleon's room I couldn't find her anywhere. It was now, somewhere around 11:45 or 12:00 and that's when Marie's cottages opened. So I waited until Noon for her outside and when I didn't find her I started walking to the cottages. I asked almost every employee on the way if they'd seen her, along with every family who spoke English. I made it over to the second part of the palace where Marie used to "escape" her daily life and ran into a woman who I'd asked earlier where she was. She told me that she'd sent her back to the exit... :l
I quickly walked over to the cottage in the hopes that she'd still be there and there she was. Turns out there'd been a little mix up inside the palace as to the exit and more museums... But alas, we found each other and everything was fine. We toured the house and it was great, not as extravagant as I thought it would be, but it was still really pretty.
After our little mishap we headed back to the city for lunch because AD knew of a great place to eat for relatively cheap. We got to the restaurant sat down and immediately ordered whatever we saw first.
First course: Escargots (BRILLIANT!)
Second course: Steak something -- french sauce, kind of like mayonnaise.
Third course: Apple tart with ice cream on top.
All of it was amazing, and I had lactade so it was great.
After that AD's friend took us around to see pretty Christmas decorations and all sorts of monuments that we hadn't seen yet. We saw something that resembled the Parthenon in Rome at Madeline, Sacre Cours, The Opera House, a tower in Paris that looks over the whole city, and Moulin Rouge... along with the sex district. HAHA It was fantastic. It reminded me of Little Five's.
That night we met up with a bunch of friends of AD's friend and they had a little cook out at their place. It was great because we were just hanging out with French people, but at midnight we both hit a wall of exhaustion and really wanted to go to sleep. However, french people like to go until 1:30 or so. When they finally left I crashed like a sack of potatoes only to be awoken at 7:00 to an alarm telling us it was time to go to the airport.
Sunday, November 25th:
AD and I split ways at the end of the metro ride to go to our significant airports and it was super sad. We both texted each other to make sure that the other had landed safely and everything was good, but now I know that I won't see her again until December.
I made it to the airport at 9:30, to wait for a plane that came at 11:30, so I slept, read, and walked around the ONE terminal airport there.
After the plane landed safely in Malaga, at 2:30, I waited until 6:30 for a bus that would take me to Granada. Needless to say I finished 3/4 of a Spanish book and wrote in my journal about everything. I tried to sleep but was unsuccessful, then ate some BK and got a little tipsy from the beer there -- which is served at McD's and BK... God Bless Europe.
When I finally made it home I was ready to crash. I'd slept less than 8 hours for the entire trip and needed sleep desperately. I zonked out that night and started today with minimal sleep and am now writing this instead of taking a siesta.
That was my trip in Paris. :)
Fotos up on Facebook now!
<3
Buenas Tardes
Thursday, November 22rd:
I woke up at 6:00 to make it to the bus station by 7:00 to get to the Malaga airport by 9:00. Everything went according to plan, I had all of my things ready to go and I was set. I got to the bus station with plenty of time to spare, got on the bus and we were off.
Everything was going smoothly until the last stop on the bus. Some guy decided to ask the bus driver about a million questions, so we were at a stop for about 20 minutes, putting us way behind schedule.
Needless to say I arrived at the airport at 9:30 to make a 10:05 flight, which according to all monitors was delayed. I figured that was in my favor until I got to the check in gate.
Seeing as how i was 35 minutes "early" for the flight, I figured I'd still be able to check in and get my ticket... but according to madam "i don't freaking think so" that's not an option... even though I'm pretty sure it's a standard procedure.
I went to the EasyJet desk to ask for help and he said he could put me on the next flight, two days later, at 8pm... No way Jose. I asked for a refund of some sort and he said that they can't do that... even though I was not longer able to use EITHER ticket that I'd bought though their services... Oy.
So, I walked around trying to find cheap flights, found a computer and searched for the lowest fare for a flight that day, seeing as how my best friend AD was meeting me in Paris that night.
Eventually I found one that cost less than both of my kidneys and my liver. I went to AirEuropa and the woman gave me a less expensive ticket and was super helpful. However, the flight wasn't until 6pm... and it was only 11:00am... So, seven hours in an airport... Sure.
I wandered around the three terminal airport for about two hours. Then found an empty row of seats and took a one hour nap... Then walked around a little more... Then ate some snacks that I'd packed... Then searched around the Duty Free stores for about an hour... Then sat and watched the plane tables for another hour or so... Then finally my plane was ready for take off.
I landed at the airport 20 minutes before AD and sat by the arrivals board until she got there. It was so great to see her again after not having seen her for about six months. We headed to her friends house, where we'd be staying Friday and Saturday just to hang out before we had to head to our hotel. We were both super hungry, I especially since I'd only eaten two bananas and bread all day. So we ordered food for delivery... my first french meal was Sushi. Yep, sushi. And it was fantastic. :)
After we finished eating, and met AD's friends boyfriend we headed back to our hotel to go to sleep. We were planning on waking up kind of early the next day so that we could get started on our walking tour of Paris. :)
We got to the hotel around midnight or so, checked in without a problem, and got into our room. I told myself that I wasn't expecting much, as it's a two star hotel, and it's what I expected. It was a tiny outdated room, two small beds, a rustic looking bathroom and a flat screen plasma tv?... Yeah I still don't get that. But it was what we paid for, and it was warm, and comfortable, so I couldn't be upset. We both got a good nights sleep then and everything was great.
Friday, November 23rd:
The next morning we checked out with the nice man from the night before and headed out to AD's friends house to drop off our stuff then went out to Notre Dame!
We went to the Cathedral and to our surprise there wasn't a line waiting to get in. Once we entered we realized why... there was mass going on. Neither of us wanted to get struck by lighting so we headed out quickly, taking a few pictures.
We then headed to Pont Neuf -- the bridge with all of the locks on it, and that was mind blowing. They all put the locks on the side that faced the Eiffel Tower and then throw the key in the river to symbolize eternal love or something... Romantic, but cheesy.
After that we headed over to see Pablo Picasso's house, walked down the river and looked at the "green boxes", little side stores, AD got some gelatto, we walked around some more, headed to the Louvre -- which is fantastic. It's HUGE so I'm glad that we didn't go in, but we saw the pyramids and everything which were way more exciting than I thought they would be.
After the Louvre we ran into some arc that I thought was the Arc de Triumf... nope, just another Arc thing... pretty, but just there. We walked through a few parks to get to Concorde where the Rouge de Paris and the (big pointy thing that looks Egyptian) is. Sorrrry forgot what it was called.
After that we kept trekking down the road and found a big Christmas Market. It lined both sides of the street and was filled with places selling warm red wine (which is delicious and VERY strong), deserts (chocolate covered marshmallows), christmas decorations (that were WAY too rich for my blood), and lots of other things. It was a great little market, so we ate there. After the market we went to a pharmacy so that I could get lactose pills so that I could eat all of the FREAKING cheese that they have everywhere in Paris.
While I was at the ATM, someone threw a newspaper in my face and pushed the 300E button on the withdraw page. I turned around and saw a little seven year old kid standing there and almost had the gall to punch his lights out. However, I waited patiently for the ATM to spit my card back out, because I can't withdraw over 200E at a time. Gaw I wanted to kick him in the teeth.
So I left sin dinero and we walked on to the Arc de Triumf. It was huge!!!! We stopped and took a bunch of pictures, ran into some Americans, studying in Sevilla, and then went to get tea so that we could sit down and re-energize.
After that episode we hopped on the metro to get to the eiffel tower. By this time it was about 7pm or so, so we knew that the lights would be on. We walked almost right past it without seeing it because the closer you get to it, the more building start to cover it. But once we found it, oh jeesze, I jumped up and down like a freaking three year old. It was SO great!
We walked up from behind it and at 7:50, and knew that the light show would start at 8:00 so we booked it to the other end of the lawn and tried to make it before the show started. We made it to a prime location just in time for the show and the tower lit up and sparked like a Christmas tree! It was so great! I hear people a lot say things like "How American." but it really is done quite beautifully. I didn't think that I'd like the sparkles as much as I did.
Once the show was over and were done taking pictures we texted AD's friend about dinner and headed to Pont Alexandr III, the pretty bridge with the angels on it. We took pictures because it was in Midnight in Paris, and then hopped on the train to get to where we were supposed to meet AD's friends.
When we got to the metro stop we saw that there was a huge shopping center and strip of restaurants, not unlike Ruta de Tapas here in Granada. Once her friends arrived we walked around a few of the shops while we waited for another friend. We stopped into a restaurant that was a little pricy for my likes, but I figure, when in Paris do as the Parisians do. And they're rich, soooo we had a fancy dinner. ... that was totally worth it.
Dinner:
First course: mushrooms stuffed with jamón
Second course: roasted duckling with some sort of goup that was amazing. (try the grey stuff it's delicious, don't believe me ask the dishes)
Third course: Crembrule with nutella!!!
Drink: Chardonnay (i'm still a fan of sutter home.)
After dinner we headed to ADs friends house and headed to sleep. Our first day was jam packed with activities and the next day was too.
Saturday, November 24th:
The next morning we woke up at 7:00 to make it to Versailles by 8:30 to beat the rush to get in. We left for the metro, and got to trekking. At 7:45 we made it to the RERC, which takes you right to Versailles, so we hopped on the next train, only to find out that we got on the wrong one. So at 8:20 we got on the right one and then we were on our way to the Palace!
At 8:50 when the train stopped at some random station we found out that the route had changed and we needed to find another train... damn french people man. So we made it to the Palace a little after 9 and the place was crowded.
AD and I booked it to get our tickets, and then tried to beat the rush of asian tourist groups through the security check and audio guide lines. We spend the next four hours or so walking through the palace and admiring everything. I was in heaven because I love the history of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.
We kept separating a little and then finding each other, but after the hall of mirrors and Napoleon's room I couldn't find her anywhere. It was now, somewhere around 11:45 or 12:00 and that's when Marie's cottages opened. So I waited until Noon for her outside and when I didn't find her I started walking to the cottages. I asked almost every employee on the way if they'd seen her, along with every family who spoke English. I made it over to the second part of the palace where Marie used to "escape" her daily life and ran into a woman who I'd asked earlier where she was. She told me that she'd sent her back to the exit... :l
I quickly walked over to the cottage in the hopes that she'd still be there and there she was. Turns out there'd been a little mix up inside the palace as to the exit and more museums... But alas, we found each other and everything was fine. We toured the house and it was great, not as extravagant as I thought it would be, but it was still really pretty.
After our little mishap we headed back to the city for lunch because AD knew of a great place to eat for relatively cheap. We got to the restaurant sat down and immediately ordered whatever we saw first.
First course: Escargots (BRILLIANT!)
Second course: Steak something -- french sauce, kind of like mayonnaise.
Third course: Apple tart with ice cream on top.
All of it was amazing, and I had lactade so it was great.
After that AD's friend took us around to see pretty Christmas decorations and all sorts of monuments that we hadn't seen yet. We saw something that resembled the Parthenon in Rome at Madeline, Sacre Cours, The Opera House, a tower in Paris that looks over the whole city, and Moulin Rouge... along with the sex district. HAHA It was fantastic. It reminded me of Little Five's.
That night we met up with a bunch of friends of AD's friend and they had a little cook out at their place. It was great because we were just hanging out with French people, but at midnight we both hit a wall of exhaustion and really wanted to go to sleep. However, french people like to go until 1:30 or so. When they finally left I crashed like a sack of potatoes only to be awoken at 7:00 to an alarm telling us it was time to go to the airport.
Sunday, November 25th:
AD and I split ways at the end of the metro ride to go to our significant airports and it was super sad. We both texted each other to make sure that the other had landed safely and everything was good, but now I know that I won't see her again until December.
I made it to the airport at 9:30, to wait for a plane that came at 11:30, so I slept, read, and walked around the ONE terminal airport there.
After the plane landed safely in Malaga, at 2:30, I waited until 6:30 for a bus that would take me to Granada. Needless to say I finished 3/4 of a Spanish book and wrote in my journal about everything. I tried to sleep but was unsuccessful, then ate some BK and got a little tipsy from the beer there -- which is served at McD's and BK... God Bless Europe.
When I finally made it home I was ready to crash. I'd slept less than 8 hours for the entire trip and needed sleep desperately. I zonked out that night and started today with minimal sleep and am now writing this instead of taking a siesta.
That was my trip in Paris. :)
Fotos up on Facebook now!
<3
Buenas Tardes
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
I know how to parlay voo francy!
I'm leaving for Paris in about 6.5 hours, and to be honest, I'm really nervous.
I had a bad run in with some food earlier today and my stomach has been going crazy since. I've been drinking pepto bismol like it's 70c euro boxed wine, and it's been doing it's job for the most part.
Nothing is gonna calm these mariposas en my stomach.
I texted everyone a so long, hope you enjoy thanksgiving while I'm disfruting (enjoying) it up in paris. As double edged as it sounds, I really wish that I was home for the holiday. I want some sweet potato casserole, and some stuffing with jiblets, and some turkey and some everything. As weird as it is to say it, I actually want green bean casserole right now... meh, maybe I'm just saying that. Sorry padre, it's really not my fave.
I texted my brother too, which was probably a terrible idea. Every time I talk to him I always get even more homesick than I think possible. He's just the greatest kid ever and I can't wait to see him again! We've been talking a lot more lately since I left which is weird... but I mean, hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder or something right? I miss my bro. An F ton.
Anyway, tomorrow is going to be jam packed with events. I'm leaving my city at 7am to head to the airport, to land in Paris some time around 13:00. From there I'm heading around to do whatever I can to occupy 8 hours of my day until AD lands, and then we're off to the hotel. I've looked up cheap cafes to eat at during my time betwixt exhibits. (big word wooooah) I found a really cute one that seems to be within range. They specialize in salads and what not, so I wrote a card that said "I'm allergic to lactose" in French. :) Thank god I have a friend who knows(ish) french. :)
So yeah, I'm heading to a new country, kind of alone, but not really, on my countries favorite holiday... Some would call this the dream, I call it homesickness. But whatevs. This is an opportunity of a life time and I don't want to waste it by feeling sorry for myself. :) Time to go smell the roses, drink wine and eat a baguette under the Eiffel Tower! Man, never thought I'd actually say that and mean it.
My bucket list is getting kind of short.
<3
Buenas Noches.
I had a bad run in with some food earlier today and my stomach has been going crazy since. I've been drinking pepto bismol like it's 70c euro boxed wine, and it's been doing it's job for the most part.
Nothing is gonna calm these mariposas en my stomach.
I texted everyone a so long, hope you enjoy thanksgiving while I'm disfruting (enjoying) it up in paris. As double edged as it sounds, I really wish that I was home for the holiday. I want some sweet potato casserole, and some stuffing with jiblets, and some turkey and some everything. As weird as it is to say it, I actually want green bean casserole right now... meh, maybe I'm just saying that. Sorry padre, it's really not my fave.
I texted my brother too, which was probably a terrible idea. Every time I talk to him I always get even more homesick than I think possible. He's just the greatest kid ever and I can't wait to see him again! We've been talking a lot more lately since I left which is weird... but I mean, hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder or something right? I miss my bro. An F ton.
Anyway, tomorrow is going to be jam packed with events. I'm leaving my city at 7am to head to the airport, to land in Paris some time around 13:00. From there I'm heading around to do whatever I can to occupy 8 hours of my day until AD lands, and then we're off to the hotel. I've looked up cheap cafes to eat at during my time betwixt exhibits. (big word wooooah) I found a really cute one that seems to be within range. They specialize in salads and what not, so I wrote a card that said "I'm allergic to lactose" in French. :) Thank god I have a friend who knows(ish) french. :)
So yeah, I'm heading to a new country, kind of alone, but not really, on my countries favorite holiday... Some would call this the dream, I call it homesickness. But whatevs. This is an opportunity of a life time and I don't want to waste it by feeling sorry for myself. :) Time to go smell the roses, drink wine and eat a baguette under the Eiffel Tower! Man, never thought I'd actually say that and mean it.
My bucket list is getting kind of short.
<3
Buenas Noches.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Your very own, brand new CAMEL!
Also known as: My Trip to Morocco!
At 7:00 am, we left Granada to go to Tarifa, which is a little province in my favorite Spanish city, Cadiz. It's a little port, that rumor has it, is owned by the British? I haven't fact checked that one yet, but I'm sure it's true... they own everything up in the EU.
Anyway, we hoped on our little cruise liner to cross the Mediterranean/Atlantic ocean meeting point at 1:00pm. We went through customs from hell before we boarded, and then stood in the line from hell on the boat to get out passports stamped again.
The motion sickness wasn't too bad, but I'm about the worst person to sit next to on a boat, or anything that moves that much... At 2:00pm we landed in Tangier -- a lot of the Spanish signs just say "Tanger"... which looks like "Tanger outlets" from far away... I miss my outlet stores in America...
So in Tanger our first stop was lunch, thank God! I was so hungry it was unbelievable. We took about a thirty minute bus ride to get to a woman's shelter in Tanger where we filled up every room in the place, and we were fed the most delicious couscous that I've ever had. Granted, it was a little drier than I'm used to, but it was amazing. They had this sauce on it, that consisted of caramelized onions and raisins with brown sugar, oil and water. OMG. It was like Thanksgiving in my mouth. It was so good. I sat next to our tour guide "Durah"? and she told me that if I wanted her sauce that I could have it. I felt really weird about taking it though, because who the hell doesn't want that?! She said it was too sweet... apparently her palate isn't as sophisticated as mine... maybe it's the other way around. Anyway. After lunch we all took a walk around Tangier. It's a little dirty, not much unlike Mexico, for people who've been. It reminded me a lot of Aladdin, I know different country, but it looked like street rat territory.
The streets were all very small and very windy, more so than here in Granada. You could see a torre de mesquita creeping through every break in the buildings. It was really beautiful. It's equivalent to the amount of cadetrales in Granada. (Spanish spelling, yes I know it's 'wrong'). In Tangier we saw a lot of black market material, such as counterfeit jerseys, sports paraphernalia, lots of designer bags, and then there were markets with decapitated chickens, live chickens, lots of delicious looking fruit and veggies and flowers EVERYWHERE.
At the end of our walking tour we stopped in a scarf making place. There was this little, company like thing of this guy with a huge loom who made scarves, blankets, and all kinds of things ALL DAY LONG! But the guys were super over priced, soooo I skipped over buying things there.
When we finished our walking tour we got back on the bus to go ride CAMELS! We took a sort of bus tour of Tangier and saw the Castle. We saw a bunch of pictures of the King of Morocco. One of the girls said "HEY LOOK! IT'S THE KING!" so of course me response was "How do you know he's the King?!" .... and nobody got it.
After my epic fail of movie quoting we stopped and saw camels. Just sitting there, waiting for us! There were four big ones all kind of tied together like the horses at fairs, and three babies tied up a little farther away. The first round of people just jumped on without a second though, and everyone started taking pictures. I hopped up on mine and immediately regretted it, because for some reason I just didn't think that I'd be that high off of the ground. The guides spoke enough English to say "Don't worry be happy." .... really reassuring, thanks man.
When I got off of 'Ol Bess, I walked over to play with the baby camels. My previous horse experiences have taught me to have your hand out flat, not to sneak up behind the animal and to stay calm. The baby was SO cute! All it wanted was some loving, and it literally pushed into my hand when I pet it. It was SO cute! I really want a pet camel, that's real life.
(P.S. Peta needs to get on these camel wranglers... the camels aren't happy with their lives, clearly... let's do something about this yeah? I'll take them all... seriously.)
After I had a slight maternal feeling for the camel it was time to go, so I slathered myself up with hand sanitizer and passed out on the bus to get to the hotel.
When we made it to the hotel, we weren't sure what to expect. I'd heard horror stories about roaches and bed bugs and wasn't looking forward to what we were getting into. However, we walked into the lobby to something that looked a LOT like the inside of the Alhambra, meaning it was really nice, and the rooms were HUGE! Turns out the hotel was only a year old, so it was too soon for there to have been an infestation. Lucky us!
That night we were treated to a three course meal. Bred. Olives and other apa-tease-ers. Couscous with Chicken... again. And a fruit bowl. Everyone was scared to eat the fruit just because we didn't know where it was from. Our rule of the trip became "If Jorge and Juan eat it, we can too." (those are our program directors.)
After dinner my room mate and I went to R and M's room to watch a movie. We watched "Requiem for a Dream"... have you ever seen that? Not really a bed time movie...
The next morning we woke up from some very weird dreams, had a four star breakfast and headed out to Chechauan... or something like that.
It's the blue city in Morocco. It was SO beautiful, but extremely cold, which I was not prepared for. And so the first thing I did after our tour and lunch with a host family (which was Hummus and a Salad because I got stuck with the allergy/special diet group), was buy a nice hand knit sweater from a nice Moroccan man. It was 17 EUROS! 17 EUROS FOR A HAND MADE SWEATER! AHHHH. I bought a few other things, but I'm not giving away present spoilers. :)
Once everyone finished shopping we headed to the middle of the city via bus to go to a nice restaurant for dinner. I think the only thing that's safe for foreigners is couscous... because that's what we had... again. During the dinner there was a live Moroccan band that performed for us. It was really cool. The violin sounded a lot like Irish dance music, but it was set to Moroccan drums and a tambourine, which made it way cooler. Once everyone was finished with their meal, a Moroccan woman came down in a conservative (believe it or not) belly dancing outfit and danced for a good five minutes. She wasn't as good as the woman who we took belly dancing classes with, but she was still pretty impressive. After her, a man came down all dressed up with a tray of candles and a tea pot. He did a cool balancing dance and moved around a bunch without dropping ANYTHING! He did a lot of fun balancing tricks and physics moves. It was so cool! After that another band group came in. Two men jumped around a bunch with a huge drum and some tiny little cymbals.
After the seriously amazing dinner show we headed back to the hotel. Of course, everyone passed out on the way home, but not before Jorge could tell us a funny story about some woman who put a dead cat in a bag and then she got mugged... Yeah, Spanish humor man.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, to yet another four star breakfast and headed out in the rain to tour Tetouan, the city that we were staying in. We took a bus for the majority of the tour, but once we got to the smaller roads we got out and got to exploring. We walked through a bunch of old side streets and talked a lot about the history of the city, the mosques, and other things. There were a LOT of cats, everywhere and I really wanted to take a kitten home... but I don't think it would have made it through customs... yeah.
Halfway through our tour we stopped at a pharmacy type place that specializes in natural medicine. They had saffron lip stick and chap stick that change color from person to person, some natural version of vicks, some medicine that helps with motion sickness, head aches, and insomnia... so I got three bottles. :)
After that we headed back to get on the boat to go home. We got a sack lunch and boarded the boat from hell again... But apparently there was a severe storm in Malaga (on the coast of this ocean we were crossing) and it SERIOUSLY effected the ocean. The boat tipped so much that things started falling off tables, and people were freaking out so badly. I had a mild panic attack and thought about barfing. Thankfully I had my motion sickness bottles... which surprisingly worked. It's real.
We hopped on the bus after we landed safely and got to Granada around 9pm.
That was my weekend in Morocco. :)
Buenas Noches
<3
At 7:00 am, we left Granada to go to Tarifa, which is a little province in my favorite Spanish city, Cadiz. It's a little port, that rumor has it, is owned by the British? I haven't fact checked that one yet, but I'm sure it's true... they own everything up in the EU.
Anyway, we hoped on our little cruise liner to cross the Mediterranean/Atlantic ocean meeting point at 1:00pm. We went through customs from hell before we boarded, and then stood in the line from hell on the boat to get out passports stamped again.
The motion sickness wasn't too bad, but I'm about the worst person to sit next to on a boat, or anything that moves that much... At 2:00pm we landed in Tangier -- a lot of the Spanish signs just say "Tanger"... which looks like "Tanger outlets" from far away... I miss my outlet stores in America...
So in Tanger our first stop was lunch, thank God! I was so hungry it was unbelievable. We took about a thirty minute bus ride to get to a woman's shelter in Tanger where we filled up every room in the place, and we were fed the most delicious couscous that I've ever had. Granted, it was a little drier than I'm used to, but it was amazing. They had this sauce on it, that consisted of caramelized onions and raisins with brown sugar, oil and water. OMG. It was like Thanksgiving in my mouth. It was so good. I sat next to our tour guide "Durah"? and she told me that if I wanted her sauce that I could have it. I felt really weird about taking it though, because who the hell doesn't want that?! She said it was too sweet... apparently her palate isn't as sophisticated as mine... maybe it's the other way around. Anyway. After lunch we all took a walk around Tangier. It's a little dirty, not much unlike Mexico, for people who've been. It reminded me a lot of Aladdin, I know different country, but it looked like street rat territory.
The streets were all very small and very windy, more so than here in Granada. You could see a torre de mesquita creeping through every break in the buildings. It was really beautiful. It's equivalent to the amount of cadetrales in Granada. (Spanish spelling, yes I know it's 'wrong'). In Tangier we saw a lot of black market material, such as counterfeit jerseys, sports paraphernalia, lots of designer bags, and then there were markets with decapitated chickens, live chickens, lots of delicious looking fruit and veggies and flowers EVERYWHERE.
At the end of our walking tour we stopped in a scarf making place. There was this little, company like thing of this guy with a huge loom who made scarves, blankets, and all kinds of things ALL DAY LONG! But the guys were super over priced, soooo I skipped over buying things there.
When we finished our walking tour we got back on the bus to go ride CAMELS! We took a sort of bus tour of Tangier and saw the Castle. We saw a bunch of pictures of the King of Morocco. One of the girls said "HEY LOOK! IT'S THE KING!" so of course me response was "How do you know he's the King?!" .... and nobody got it.
After my epic fail of movie quoting we stopped and saw camels. Just sitting there, waiting for us! There were four big ones all kind of tied together like the horses at fairs, and three babies tied up a little farther away. The first round of people just jumped on without a second though, and everyone started taking pictures. I hopped up on mine and immediately regretted it, because for some reason I just didn't think that I'd be that high off of the ground. The guides spoke enough English to say "Don't worry be happy." .... really reassuring, thanks man.
When I got off of 'Ol Bess, I walked over to play with the baby camels. My previous horse experiences have taught me to have your hand out flat, not to sneak up behind the animal and to stay calm. The baby was SO cute! All it wanted was some loving, and it literally pushed into my hand when I pet it. It was SO cute! I really want a pet camel, that's real life.
(P.S. Peta needs to get on these camel wranglers... the camels aren't happy with their lives, clearly... let's do something about this yeah? I'll take them all... seriously.)
After I had a slight maternal feeling for the camel it was time to go, so I slathered myself up with hand sanitizer and passed out on the bus to get to the hotel.
When we made it to the hotel, we weren't sure what to expect. I'd heard horror stories about roaches and bed bugs and wasn't looking forward to what we were getting into. However, we walked into the lobby to something that looked a LOT like the inside of the Alhambra, meaning it was really nice, and the rooms were HUGE! Turns out the hotel was only a year old, so it was too soon for there to have been an infestation. Lucky us!
That night we were treated to a three course meal. Bred. Olives and other apa-tease-ers. Couscous with Chicken... again. And a fruit bowl. Everyone was scared to eat the fruit just because we didn't know where it was from. Our rule of the trip became "If Jorge and Juan eat it, we can too." (those are our program directors.)
After dinner my room mate and I went to R and M's room to watch a movie. We watched "Requiem for a Dream"... have you ever seen that? Not really a bed time movie...
The next morning we woke up from some very weird dreams, had a four star breakfast and headed out to Chechauan... or something like that.
It's the blue city in Morocco. It was SO beautiful, but extremely cold, which I was not prepared for. And so the first thing I did after our tour and lunch with a host family (which was Hummus and a Salad because I got stuck with the allergy/special diet group), was buy a nice hand knit sweater from a nice Moroccan man. It was 17 EUROS! 17 EUROS FOR A HAND MADE SWEATER! AHHHH. I bought a few other things, but I'm not giving away present spoilers. :)
Once everyone finished shopping we headed to the middle of the city via bus to go to a nice restaurant for dinner. I think the only thing that's safe for foreigners is couscous... because that's what we had... again. During the dinner there was a live Moroccan band that performed for us. It was really cool. The violin sounded a lot like Irish dance music, but it was set to Moroccan drums and a tambourine, which made it way cooler. Once everyone was finished with their meal, a Moroccan woman came down in a conservative (believe it or not) belly dancing outfit and danced for a good five minutes. She wasn't as good as the woman who we took belly dancing classes with, but she was still pretty impressive. After her, a man came down all dressed up with a tray of candles and a tea pot. He did a cool balancing dance and moved around a bunch without dropping ANYTHING! He did a lot of fun balancing tricks and physics moves. It was so cool! After that another band group came in. Two men jumped around a bunch with a huge drum and some tiny little cymbals.
After the seriously amazing dinner show we headed back to the hotel. Of course, everyone passed out on the way home, but not before Jorge could tell us a funny story about some woman who put a dead cat in a bag and then she got mugged... Yeah, Spanish humor man.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, to yet another four star breakfast and headed out in the rain to tour Tetouan, the city that we were staying in. We took a bus for the majority of the tour, but once we got to the smaller roads we got out and got to exploring. We walked through a bunch of old side streets and talked a lot about the history of the city, the mosques, and other things. There were a LOT of cats, everywhere and I really wanted to take a kitten home... but I don't think it would have made it through customs... yeah.
Halfway through our tour we stopped at a pharmacy type place that specializes in natural medicine. They had saffron lip stick and chap stick that change color from person to person, some natural version of vicks, some medicine that helps with motion sickness, head aches, and insomnia... so I got three bottles. :)
After that we headed back to get on the boat to go home. We got a sack lunch and boarded the boat from hell again... But apparently there was a severe storm in Malaga (on the coast of this ocean we were crossing) and it SERIOUSLY effected the ocean. The boat tipped so much that things started falling off tables, and people were freaking out so badly. I had a mild panic attack and thought about barfing. Thankfully I had my motion sickness bottles... which surprisingly worked. It's real.
We hopped on the bus after we landed safely and got to Granada around 9pm.
That was my weekend in Morocco. :)
Buenas Noches
<3
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Pro's and Con's of being abroad.
So, this post would probably suit me best in about five weeks, but I'm going to write it now, because I might not feel this homesick in five weeks when I leave. But it's getting real right now.
A lot of my friends and family keep saying things like "suck it up we're in Spain!" "enjoy yourself!" "I hate you, go live your life." things like that.
But a lot of my friends here who are telling me enjoy myself have only been here for a few months... I've been here since May. And to be honest... seven months is a lot longer than I thought it would be.
I'm really ready to see Atlanta again, hell I might even be ready to see my tiny little home town again. *shiver*
Yeesh, as weird as it sounds, it's true.
I miss my friends, like so much. Being around new people makes me realize just how much I do miss them. I miss how they understand me, and get my quirks. They don't care that I have a foul mouth for no reason, or that I do strange things, a lot.
I miss my family, a lot. No one really gets you like family, no one loves you like family. I miss mine to the moon and back. Real Talk.
I miss my animals. Every dog I see I want to play with, every cat, I want to cuddle. It's a problem really.
I miss my home. There isn't a lot of personal space here, I never knew how much I took for granted the space that I did have. It's so compact everywhere, but it's no more than you need. But I miss my queen size bed, and pillows that are bigger than me. I miss my room that's all personalized and funky like me.
Ugh.
I'm homesick.
On the plus side I get to scratch a lot of things off of my bucket list in the next four weeks.
-- Riding a camel
-- Ice Skating in Italy
-- drinking wine under the Eifel Tower...
Yeah, first world problems all right.
But still problems none the less.
Meh, I'm homesick, but I love it here.
I wouldn't change this opportunity for anything. At all.
I miss you mommy. I miss you daddy.
I miss you brosef. And you aunt barbie and uncle mark.
I miss you guys.
<3
Buenas Noches.
A lot of my friends and family keep saying things like "suck it up we're in Spain!" "enjoy yourself!" "I hate you, go live your life." things like that.
But a lot of my friends here who are telling me enjoy myself have only been here for a few months... I've been here since May. And to be honest... seven months is a lot longer than I thought it would be.
I'm really ready to see Atlanta again, hell I might even be ready to see my tiny little home town again. *shiver*
Yeesh, as weird as it sounds, it's true.
I miss my friends, like so much. Being around new people makes me realize just how much I do miss them. I miss how they understand me, and get my quirks. They don't care that I have a foul mouth for no reason, or that I do strange things, a lot.
I miss my family, a lot. No one really gets you like family, no one loves you like family. I miss mine to the moon and back. Real Talk.
I miss my animals. Every dog I see I want to play with, every cat, I want to cuddle. It's a problem really.
I miss my home. There isn't a lot of personal space here, I never knew how much I took for granted the space that I did have. It's so compact everywhere, but it's no more than you need. But I miss my queen size bed, and pillows that are bigger than me. I miss my room that's all personalized and funky like me.
Ugh.
I'm homesick.
On the plus side I get to scratch a lot of things off of my bucket list in the next four weeks.
-- Riding a camel
-- Ice Skating in Italy
-- drinking wine under the Eifel Tower...
Yeah, first world problems all right.
But still problems none the less.
Meh, I'm homesick, but I love it here.
I wouldn't change this opportunity for anything. At all.
I miss you mommy. I miss you daddy.
I miss you brosef. And you aunt barbie and uncle mark.
I miss you guys.
<3
Buenas Noches.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Protests.
So, Wednesday they're having a protest, nationally in Spain.
Everything is closing, schools, stores, everything.
It's in protest of budget cuts and everything because the government is cutting funding from everything except the rich people....
My room mate, as we speak, is scaring the shit out of her family by saying "it's not dangerous, just if you go outside." ... what she means is, "you might get yelled at in spanish if you try to buy something." ... I seriously doubt anyone is going to get seriously hurt. Spanish people don't protest that hard...
Welp, maybe they do, but I'm not worried about my life. I'll be inside all day Wednesday anyway. No biggie.
So yeah, that's the eventful thing happening here.
I'm a little upset about it, because it's cutting into one of my two days of school, granted, i love having a day off as much as the next person, but I do have things to learn, I have school work to do... I paid a lot to get here, and I'm paying for this education... I'd like to get my moneys worth PLEEEASE.
But, I know that if I were a teacher and someone started cutting my budgets I'd strike too... and seeing as how it's a national thing and I'm kind of a follower... sure, I'd do it too.
That's it now. Go ahead and google it.
Their phrase is something along the line of "Don't buy, don't do" ... I dunno, something like that.
Gotta run to class
<3
Buenas Tardes.
Everything is closing, schools, stores, everything.
It's in protest of budget cuts and everything because the government is cutting funding from everything except the rich people....
My room mate, as we speak, is scaring the shit out of her family by saying "it's not dangerous, just if you go outside." ... what she means is, "you might get yelled at in spanish if you try to buy something." ... I seriously doubt anyone is going to get seriously hurt. Spanish people don't protest that hard...
Welp, maybe they do, but I'm not worried about my life. I'll be inside all day Wednesday anyway. No biggie.
So yeah, that's the eventful thing happening here.
I'm a little upset about it, because it's cutting into one of my two days of school, granted, i love having a day off as much as the next person, but I do have things to learn, I have school work to do... I paid a lot to get here, and I'm paying for this education... I'd like to get my moneys worth PLEEEASE.
But, I know that if I were a teacher and someone started cutting my budgets I'd strike too... and seeing as how it's a national thing and I'm kind of a follower... sure, I'd do it too.
That's it now. Go ahead and google it.
Their phrase is something along the line of "Don't buy, don't do" ... I dunno, something like that.
Gotta run to class
<3
Buenas Tardes.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Swan Lake, Observations, and other ramblings.
Swan Lake:
Thursday after my internship I ran a hell of a lot (4 miles) with S, and it was magnificent. It felt great, and I don't feel completely out of shape when I know that I'm not holding people back.
After my wonderful stroll along the river, I got ready to go to my second ever Ballet. (The Nutcracker counts right?)
It was the Russian Ballet performing Swan Lake. Now, for those of you who don't know, my only knowledge of Swan Lake includes the following: things I've seen from Black Swan, and what I remember from Swan Princess. Swan Princess is pretty spot on, Black Swan, not so much. I kept waiting for the Swan Queen to die, and it just never happened. Everyone got up and I was sitting there thinking that there was another act or something.
Lesson learned: always read the pamphlet.
Observations:
I pride myself with the slight ability to read people or to notice the little things about intonations, body languages, and other small human doings. I can normally feel tension in the air or chemistry. It's a gift really, and sometimes it's way off par. However, I've come to realize that I've been living in a little bit of a bubble in my home town, and the city that I go to school in. All I ever see are people at face value, I never see their families, and when I do, everything seems fine.
It's partially overwhelming and partially relieving to hear that other peoples families aren't quite as picture perfect as I imagine them to be. It's even more overwhelming to see a family with almost the exact dynamic as yours.
I was going to go somewhere else with this, but my choco-flakes distracted me... and I've lost my train.
Other Ramblings:
School is going great, I finished the majority of my midterms and I believe that I am well prepared for my next one on Monday. My internship is going even better. I taught both classes on Thursday by myself, well, one by myself entirely, and one with the professors help. She told me that I'd be a great teacher. :)
I've started exercising a lot in the hopes of being in shape for the Spring semester on the team. Counting calories is lame, and so are sit ups, but I'm trying. I'd rather just find an erg here or something, that just seems like it'd be more helpful.
Hmmm, I'm not quite as stressed about life anymore. I had a mild break down earlier this week, but I think I'm good now. Two a semester ain't so bad right?
Alright, well that's that. Everything is going really well at the moment. I'm heading to Morocco this weekend so I'll write a ton about that.
Lots of travels coming up! :)
YAY!
<3
Buenas Noches.
Thursday after my internship I ran a hell of a lot (4 miles) with S, and it was magnificent. It felt great, and I don't feel completely out of shape when I know that I'm not holding people back.
After my wonderful stroll along the river, I got ready to go to my second ever Ballet. (The Nutcracker counts right?)
It was the Russian Ballet performing Swan Lake. Now, for those of you who don't know, my only knowledge of Swan Lake includes the following: things I've seen from Black Swan, and what I remember from Swan Princess. Swan Princess is pretty spot on, Black Swan, not so much. I kept waiting for the Swan Queen to die, and it just never happened. Everyone got up and I was sitting there thinking that there was another act or something.
Lesson learned: always read the pamphlet.
Observations:
I pride myself with the slight ability to read people or to notice the little things about intonations, body languages, and other small human doings. I can normally feel tension in the air or chemistry. It's a gift really, and sometimes it's way off par. However, I've come to realize that I've been living in a little bit of a bubble in my home town, and the city that I go to school in. All I ever see are people at face value, I never see their families, and when I do, everything seems fine.
It's partially overwhelming and partially relieving to hear that other peoples families aren't quite as picture perfect as I imagine them to be. It's even more overwhelming to see a family with almost the exact dynamic as yours.
I was going to go somewhere else with this, but my choco-flakes distracted me... and I've lost my train.
Other Ramblings:
School is going great, I finished the majority of my midterms and I believe that I am well prepared for my next one on Monday. My internship is going even better. I taught both classes on Thursday by myself, well, one by myself entirely, and one with the professors help. She told me that I'd be a great teacher. :)
I've started exercising a lot in the hopes of being in shape for the Spring semester on the team. Counting calories is lame, and so are sit ups, but I'm trying. I'd rather just find an erg here or something, that just seems like it'd be more helpful.
Hmmm, I'm not quite as stressed about life anymore. I had a mild break down earlier this week, but I think I'm good now. Two a semester ain't so bad right?
Alright, well that's that. Everything is going really well at the moment. I'm heading to Morocco this weekend so I'll write a ton about that.
Lots of travels coming up! :)
YAY!
<3
Buenas Noches.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Midnight thoughts with Meg
So, for some strange reason, I've been thinking a lot about love today, and about how it's hard to get over.
I've come to a few different conclusions about it, i've numbered them, in no particular order, but here they are.
1. You will always face a battle between your mind and your heart; because you mind will always think about the future, about what is coming next. It will dream about what different, new, better thing will be headed your way, while your heart will constantly be stuck in the same position, realizing that this is as good as it's ever going to get. This moment, right here. This is what love is. But your brain will tell you, 'no it will get better'.
2. I know that all a parent wants is for their child to have the best things in life, but I don't think that a parent should have a say in a child's love life (after the age of like, 14). Por eso, I don't think that we should listen to our parents advice on love. I know that parents have more experience, sure, they've been there done that. But you haven't been in MY specific situation, MY specific predicament, you don't know how deep or how strong a love is unless you're in it. So parents, please, as great of advice as it is, please don't brainwash your kids. Let them be stupid and happy in whatever mess they're in. Unless it's like really shitty, in which case, impose away.
3. I'm not totally sure that I believe in love anymore. And I wholeheartedly blame Disney. I do believe that you can find someone that you can live your life with forever, sure, it's called a best friend. I do believe that you can find someone that you will have an intimate relationship with and it'll be awesome, but that's called passion. I do believe that you can find someone with the same hormone development as you, that's called lust. I do believe that you can find someone with the same ideals and interests as you, that's called chemistry. However, I think that it is damn near impossible to find all of these things in one person. Also, I guarantee that while reading this you thought, you won't find anyone with all of these. "It's called a marriage, you're supposed to work on it" ... no. Fuck that. If I'm going to 'love' someone, I'm going to enjoy it. Not torture myself. I want a Disney romance, not something that's out of a Life Time movie! ... But, that's Hollywood and it's never going to happen.... which brings us back full circle to why I'm losing faith in love.
4. I do, however, think that if you've found someone with the majority of said characteristics listed above that you should spend as much time enjoying them while they last, without listening to what other people have to say. Regardless of if 'you can do better' or 'they're not good enough for you'... As far as I know, there is nothing better. Sure, there will be someone with a higher GPA somewhere, there will be someone with a trust fund waiting to be my sugar daddy, sure there will be someone waiting for me to give me everything that I've ever wanted, but is that really what I want?
All of these things have led me to the conclusion that I really need to start thinking about what I want from life.
What kind of future do I want to have? Do I want one where I get to be a leisurely stay at home mom/trophy wife? Do I want one where I have to work all day to support a husband/family? Do I want one where I don't have a husband/family? Do I want to live in a shack on an island?
What do I want?!
What do I want?
....
I feel like if I don't decide soon that I might let important people slip out of my lives and I might lose them forever. But I read somewhere that if it's meant to be that it will happen... but I know that you have to put some of your own work into it.
Life is hard, is there not a manual for this?
Welcome to My World,
It's been45 days 0 days since my last mental break down.
<3
Buenas Noches.
I've come to a few different conclusions about it, i've numbered them, in no particular order, but here they are.
1. You will always face a battle between your mind and your heart; because you mind will always think about the future, about what is coming next. It will dream about what different, new, better thing will be headed your way, while your heart will constantly be stuck in the same position, realizing that this is as good as it's ever going to get. This moment, right here. This is what love is. But your brain will tell you, 'no it will get better'.
2. I know that all a parent wants is for their child to have the best things in life, but I don't think that a parent should have a say in a child's love life (after the age of like, 14). Por eso, I don't think that we should listen to our parents advice on love. I know that parents have more experience, sure, they've been there done that. But you haven't been in MY specific situation, MY specific predicament, you don't know how deep or how strong a love is unless you're in it. So parents, please, as great of advice as it is, please don't brainwash your kids. Let them be stupid and happy in whatever mess they're in. Unless it's like really shitty, in which case, impose away.
3. I'm not totally sure that I believe in love anymore. And I wholeheartedly blame Disney. I do believe that you can find someone that you can live your life with forever, sure, it's called a best friend. I do believe that you can find someone that you will have an intimate relationship with and it'll be awesome, but that's called passion. I do believe that you can find someone with the same hormone development as you, that's called lust. I do believe that you can find someone with the same ideals and interests as you, that's called chemistry. However, I think that it is damn near impossible to find all of these things in one person. Also, I guarantee that while reading this you thought, you won't find anyone with all of these. "It's called a marriage, you're supposed to work on it" ... no. Fuck that. If I'm going to 'love' someone, I'm going to enjoy it. Not torture myself. I want a Disney romance, not something that's out of a Life Time movie! ... But, that's Hollywood and it's never going to happen.... which brings us back full circle to why I'm losing faith in love.
4. I do, however, think that if you've found someone with the majority of said characteristics listed above that you should spend as much time enjoying them while they last, without listening to what other people have to say. Regardless of if 'you can do better' or 'they're not good enough for you'... As far as I know, there is nothing better. Sure, there will be someone with a higher GPA somewhere, there will be someone with a trust fund waiting to be my sugar daddy, sure there will be someone waiting for me to give me everything that I've ever wanted, but is that really what I want?
All of these things have led me to the conclusion that I really need to start thinking about what I want from life.
What kind of future do I want to have? Do I want one where I get to be a leisurely stay at home mom/trophy wife? Do I want one where I have to work all day to support a husband/family? Do I want one where I don't have a husband/family? Do I want to live in a shack on an island?
What do I want?!
What do I want?
....
I feel like if I don't decide soon that I might let important people slip out of my lives and I might lose them forever. But I read somewhere that if it's meant to be that it will happen... but I know that you have to put some of your own work into it.
Life is hard, is there not a manual for this?
Welcome to My World,
It's been
<3
Buenas Noches.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Christmas List, becuase I am that selfish. :)
...stole half of that line from the vampire diaries... but whatever, it's still relevant.
Alright, sooo I'm not going to be home in adequate time for Black Thursday, which is when I do all of my christmas shopping or it's at least the time when I tell my parent's whats on my wish list, and should something be on sale, it's normally a given. BUUUUT I just wanna put this out there in the hopes that something comes my way.
Not to sound like a little bitch... but here we are.
List:
-- Star Trek Mug; Scotty or Spock (CBS.COM) [or klingon monopoly, because being trilingual would be legit]
-- fixed headlight on my car
-- charm bracelet for the little links that I've bought in Spain
-- Books in Spanish -- as in Twilight/Harry Potter/Hunger Games books in Spanish. (Fifty Shades is acceptable too.)
-- Pitch Perfect, either the movie, or the soundtrack, whichever is out.
-- gift card to some sort of clothing store -- Target, JC Penny's, Walmart, whatever.
-- Keds. Just plain colored keds, preferably teal or red. Just to be a hipster. Kmart brand is acceptable, I just like the sneaker style. :)
-- pumpkin hershey kisses
-- dark chocolate
-- money is always a given....
I bolded the really important ones. :)
See you on the 24th.
Hope I don't sound like a selfish little brat.
Alright, sooo I'm not going to be home in adequate time for Black Thursday, which is when I do all of my christmas shopping or it's at least the time when I tell my parent's whats on my wish list, and should something be on sale, it's normally a given. BUUUUT I just wanna put this out there in the hopes that something comes my way.
Not to sound like a little bitch... but here we are.
List:
-- Star Trek Mug; Scotty or Spock (CBS.COM) [or klingon monopoly, because being trilingual would be legit]
-- fixed headlight on my car
-- charm bracelet for the little links that I've bought in Spain
-- Books in Spanish -- as in Twilight/Harry Potter/Hunger Games books in Spanish. (Fifty Shades is acceptable too.)
-- Pitch Perfect, either the movie, or the soundtrack, whichever is out.
-- gift card to some sort of clothing store -- Target, JC Penny's, Walmart, whatever.
-- Keds. Just plain colored keds, preferably teal or red. Just to be a hipster. Kmart brand is acceptable, I just like the sneaker style. :)
-- pumpkin hershey kisses
-- dark chocolate
-- money is always a given....
I bolded the really important ones. :)
See you on the 24th.
Hope I don't sound like a selfish little brat.
getting real before 11am.
People -locals in Spain, friends at home, everyone- keep asking me if I've found a Spanish boyfriend yet, and my answer is always the same. "No."
I'm not really looking for a Spanish boyfriend though. That's not why I came to Spain. Granted, had the opportunity arose to live out a Lizzie McGuire fantasy I probably wouldn't have turned it down. But honestly, I'm in no position to go looking for a boy right now. I'm focusing on my future.
I want so many things out of life, and even looking at my top ten things, a future husband is not on that list. In all honesty, it's probably closer to the bottom of any theoretical list that I can think up.
I know some people will look at me and say 'it's just a phase', but who says that I ever have to get married? Who says that I have to have another person in my life to make it worth living? Who says that I have to trust someone enough to say that "hey, if this doesn't work out, I'm willing to give you half of my shit." No, that's not me. I'm selfish, and I want to do things on my own.
I want the toilet seat to always be down. I want the kitchen cleaned the way that I like the kitchen cleaned. I want to be able to be a slob for the rest of my life if I so choose.
I don't see what the big deal is about finding someone to 'spend the rest of your life with'. It's great to find someone at a club to make out with, that answers your physical needs, but everyone keeps talking about emotional needs, like "don't you need someone to make yourself feel wanted?" .... shouldn't I be able to create that feeling on me own?
As if I really have to be good enough for someone else? PLEASE! Let's be real.
I'm still having serious self-esteem issues, but I'm only twenty, that's bout to be a factor. But if I spend my life looking for someone else to 'make me feel wanted', then I'm never going to be able to create that feeling for myself. I'll always NEED someone to make me feel significant. That's not the life that I want to live.
I want to live in a small apartment, in Spain, Atlanta, wherever, and I want to have a few cats that like to cuddle and play, and I want to be happy, I want to know that when I come home after a long day of "fill-in-the-blank" that I don't have to worry about anyone's baggage but my own. I want to come home, be able to watch my TV show, eat my nutella, and not have someone bothering me while I do it.
So no, to everyone wondering if I've 'found a Spanish boyfriend', I haven't found one, nor am I looking. I'm working on my future, and a guy isn't going to help me get there, I can guarantee you that.
Let me live my life, stop asking me if I've found love. If it hasn't happened the last 20 years at home, what's a change in geography really going to do?
<3
Buenos Dias.
I'm not really looking for a Spanish boyfriend though. That's not why I came to Spain. Granted, had the opportunity arose to live out a Lizzie McGuire fantasy I probably wouldn't have turned it down. But honestly, I'm in no position to go looking for a boy right now. I'm focusing on my future.
I want so many things out of life, and even looking at my top ten things, a future husband is not on that list. In all honesty, it's probably closer to the bottom of any theoretical list that I can think up.
I know some people will look at me and say 'it's just a phase', but who says that I ever have to get married? Who says that I have to have another person in my life to make it worth living? Who says that I have to trust someone enough to say that "hey, if this doesn't work out, I'm willing to give you half of my shit." No, that's not me. I'm selfish, and I want to do things on my own.
I want the toilet seat to always be down. I want the kitchen cleaned the way that I like the kitchen cleaned. I want to be able to be a slob for the rest of my life if I so choose.
I don't see what the big deal is about finding someone to 'spend the rest of your life with'. It's great to find someone at a club to make out with, that answers your physical needs, but everyone keeps talking about emotional needs, like "don't you need someone to make yourself feel wanted?" .... shouldn't I be able to create that feeling on me own?
As if I really have to be good enough for someone else? PLEASE! Let's be real.
I'm still having serious self-esteem issues, but I'm only twenty, that's bout to be a factor. But if I spend my life looking for someone else to 'make me feel wanted', then I'm never going to be able to create that feeling for myself. I'll always NEED someone to make me feel significant. That's not the life that I want to live.
I want to live in a small apartment, in Spain, Atlanta, wherever, and I want to have a few cats that like to cuddle and play, and I want to be happy, I want to know that when I come home after a long day of "fill-in-the-blank" that I don't have to worry about anyone's baggage but my own. I want to come home, be able to watch my TV show, eat my nutella, and not have someone bothering me while I do it.
So no, to everyone wondering if I've 'found a Spanish boyfriend', I haven't found one, nor am I looking. I'm working on my future, and a guy isn't going to help me get there, I can guarantee you that.
Let me live my life, stop asking me if I've found love. If it hasn't happened the last 20 years at home, what's a change in geography really going to do?
<3
Buenos Dias.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Halloween/All Saints Day
So, All Saints Day is a national holiday in Spain because they're super Catholic here.
It was cool, because classes are canceled and everything pretty much shuts down.
Halloween is a super American holiday that they've adopted here and made it scary, which meant that there were a lot of zombies... everywhere.
So my Halloween night consisted of going to a bar called Hannigans, went home for a Hanna Hart drinking game, look her up on Youtube, she's great, annnnd then clubbing. This was the first night that I've really just had a blast with friends soooo I kind of went over the top.
We got to the club and were already borracha, I remember hanging out with a Vampire who took his costume WAY too seriously, like, I have bruises, and walking home and keeping my eyes down so that I didn't have to see any more zombies.
It was quite possibly the best Halloween to date, however I REALLY miss free candy. Like, REALLY miss it. Dear Madre and Padre, you should totally save me some candy.... gracias. :)
But yeah, Halloween was great. All Saints Day was great, I slept like, all day.
We've planned Italy, at least the where we're staying and the schedule of where we're going!!
I'm SUPER EXCITED! :)
Should you want all the details I can send you the itinerary :)
<3
Buenas Tardes.
It was cool, because classes are canceled and everything pretty much shuts down.
Halloween is a super American holiday that they've adopted here and made it scary, which meant that there were a lot of zombies... everywhere.
So my Halloween night consisted of going to a bar called Hannigans, went home for a Hanna Hart drinking game, look her up on Youtube, she's great, annnnd then clubbing. This was the first night that I've really just had a blast with friends soooo I kind of went over the top.
We got to the club and were already borracha, I remember hanging out with a Vampire who took his costume WAY too seriously, like, I have bruises, and walking home and keeping my eyes down so that I didn't have to see any more zombies.
It was quite possibly the best Halloween to date, however I REALLY miss free candy. Like, REALLY miss it. Dear Madre and Padre, you should totally save me some candy.... gracias. :)
But yeah, Halloween was great. All Saints Day was great, I slept like, all day.
We've planned Italy, at least the where we're staying and the schedule of where we're going!!
I'm SUPER EXCITED! :)
Should you want all the details I can send you the itinerary :)
<3
Buenas Tardes.
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