El viaje a Madrid

¡Hola a todos! So much has happened... it's hard to know where to start. I left my wireless card at home, so I don't have internet at my house yet... so sporadic email checking at school is all I have right now. Oh well, it's teaching me to just chill a little :-) Surprisingly, it isn't as bad as I thought - although I'm dying to catch up with everyone.

So, to quickly finish the story of coming over here.... I flew through London. The lines were pretty huge for security, and all I could bring on the plane was my laptop bag. I even had to check my backpack. I tried to go to Boots, my favorite store in England (it's like the Walgreen's of England), which is located in a shopping area of the airport. I had a couple English pounds that I found at home in WI, which my parents' had from another trip. When I tried to buy a banana, they wouldn't accept my money! Apparently, the money I had was out of circulation because it was so old. You should have seen the chuckle and the strange look the cashier gave me. Hehe. Um, a bit embarrassing as I had to put the banana back and trudge away still hungry.

When I got to Spain, I was filling out some form they'd given to foreigners on the plane to give to customs. Some security officer came up to me and started telling me in English, "You don't need to fill that out." I guess it was some form for people bringing items into the country that you would want to declare. I don't have any of those. Anyhow, he started talking to me, and asked where I was from. He mentioned he'd lived in Utah. Utah, eh? Lo and behold, it turns out he went to BYU! He's investigating the church, and said he wanted to get sealed next year in Peru to his wife in the Lima Temple. Cool! Craziness. It was the first person I met in Spain.

Then, when I was getting money exchanged at the American Express counter, this guy named Walter was chatting with me, asking what I was doing in Spain, etc. I was saying how I was looking forward to improving my Spanish, and he said he needed to improve his English. Then all of a sudden, he said something ending in, "Te intereses?" (Are you interested?) I don't have any clue what he was referring to... I thought he meant in me coming back sometime to the cash counter to exchange more money and practice speaking or something... but then, all of a sudden, he hands me his number. Um, practice Spanish on a date? Hehe, I have no idea, but since I am still confused what happened in that conversation, I think I'll just let it be. Jeje.

Well, today I start my classes... Spanish Civilization and Culture and Intro to Hispanic Lit. this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll remember enough Spanish to keep up! Tonight, my señora won't be home for dinner cause her theater group is practicing. She's in plays and stuff. She always sings and hums around the house. It's really cute! She is an active lady... always chatting with friends on the phone, going out for walks with her friends (the other night she went for a walk downtown at 10:30 P.M. with a friend. EVERYONE is out late here!!), etc. I hope I can keep up with her! Hehe.

Ok, I'm out! Hasta luego.

I'm in Spain!

I'm here! I don't have much time to write details, but that will come later... I am leaving in about a half hour to an orientation trip to Andalucia... we're going horseback riding, to a castle and hiking in a national park... should be a lot of fun!

So far, I've spent one night at my new home... my "señora" is very nice and helpful, and I think we're going to have a great time! She only speaks Spanish with us, which will be great practice. She has grandkids who apparently come to visit (we had dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets for dinner last night, which I'm guessing are a grandkid favorite), and her 30-something year-old son also lives with us. I haven't met him yet, but my roommate Sarah says he is very friendly. He works running a ceramics shop, so Señora says he's gone a lot.

Sarah is my roommate - she goes to SLU in Saint Louis and is a visiting student for the fall too... she's fun and I think we'll get along well... she reminds me of my old BYU roommate Stacy, and even has very blonde hair like Stace, so Stacedog, you have twin over here in Madrid!

Our room is small, but functional - it has good storage space, so all of our stuff has a place, and two beds, two night-stands with lamps, a table with two chairs for studying... a shoe rack... drawers and shelves... I'm hoping I'll be able to find a spot to move the tables and do pilates, since I brought my mat :-) It's not that I'm all hardcore about pilates, but I thought that'd be a good way to exercise, given I'm living in the middle of a city. The school has a lot of sports clubs too... including soccer, so I definitely want to get into that.

My flight through London was good, except the long lines for security... what a pain. I could only bring my laptop case on the flight, even my backpack had to be checked.

Well, I'll write more soon... there's so much happening already! Have a good weekend ya'll. Hasta luego! (My señora says everyone says that here... I guess saying 'buenas noches' last night when she left for a walk was weird or something, hehe)

Wedding and Off to Spain!

Well, it's here. After a whirlwind 2 weeks full of finals, moving out of my apartment, going to San Diego for Whitney's wedding, and packing for Spain, I leave today for my semester in Madrid! It's kind of unreal that's its here, but as I see the massive amounts of piles of stuff in my room (as I'm packing/cleaning), I know I'm actually leaving. I'm excited, although I don't think it's completely set in yet, and I doubt that will happen until I'm on the plane. With my trusty camera in hand, I'll be sure to post some pictures from life over there! Until then, adios! :-)

I got a digital camera!

I bought a digital camera!! I'm so excited. I used birthday money towards it. It's a Cannon Powershot, and apparently, both Circuit City and Best Buy said that Cannon has the best picture/color quality in their digital cameras. My favorite feature on the camera is its ability to shoot short videos... it can record video clips up to about a minute (with sound!). I think this will come in quite handy in Spain. I've always wanted a camcorder, which is something our family was never into, but I remember the amazement I felt as a little kid as I watched my friend's videos (from birthday parties and stuff) and seeing myself on camera. Isn't that weird to see yourself as the world sees you? First of all, you look the opposite of how you see yourself in the mirror, which is a little random, and also, your voice always sounds a bit different. I like how my voice sounds to me better than it does on tape, haha, but I guess that's cause I've heard it from my perspective my whole life. There's something really cool about capturing a moment in time, whether it be in a picture or in a video. So, I got a nice, big memory card so I can capture lots of Spain moments! I'll be sure to post some on the blog :-) Regular film, it's been fun knowing you, but I'm entering the digital age. Past are the days where I go to Walgreen's for throw-away cameras, which have been my source of pictures for the last 5 years or so. Nothing against them, they've been great, but let's be honest, the picture quality isn't exactly the best. Now, I just hope I can protect the little camera against the harsh world!

Soul Music

The new India.Arie album rocks (Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship). I just downloaded it off of Itunes after hearing some good stuff about it. So good! I like it cause it's got the nice soul feel to it, but it's not too slow and it's chill enough to use as background music.

I've been on a soul music kick lately. Late at night, infomercials for soul collections seem to be en vogue, and I can't deny, I liked almost all the songs, even the ones that remind me of listening to the light music station in the doctor's office.

My roommate jokes about my new love for slower R&B, since I'm this suburban-bred white girl listening to R&B from the 70s. It just seems a little random to her I guess. I'm talking Anthony Hamilton, Al Green, the Temptations, etc. I think I like it cause it has a good beat and good vocals, but it's not all fast and rappy-like. I don't mind hip hop, I like some of it, but I hate how every song now seems to be about sex or whatever. So, soul music has become my new good friend.

I do chuckle occasionally during the soul collection informercials though.... some of the outfits, lyrics, choreographed dances from when these hits were big are just funny. The 70s were an interesting time, to say the least. One of the best titles for a song on one of the informercials last night was "Betcha, By Golly, Wow" by the Stylistics. I think the comical value is self-explanatory.

I still get a bit annoyed at some of that elevator slow-rock pop stuff.... but I've noticed that I have more tolerance now for slower music, including oldies. However, I tend to think that soul music oldies are much better than the disco pop junk that people loved back then. Once in a while though, "Brick House" does make me want to get up and dance. I just have to be in the mood. :-)

On Being 24

Now, that I've been 24 for nearly a whole day, I guess I should be an expert now. Ok, maybe not. Seriously, when I see those two numbers next to each other, it's hard to believe they refer to my own age. Seriously, I mean wasn't I just 16 like yesterday? I know life moves fast, but it always takes me a month or so after the acquiring of these new age numbers to get used to it.

I think 24 will be a good age - I think any age is a good age. I'm not sure why we all get sad to get older... and I know nearly all of us (including me) feel like this sometimes, if not a little upon every birthday. I must say though, I think part of the fun of being young is knowing that your life has SO much ahead - big possibilities. However, that doesn't really change with age, though as we pick careers, spouses, houses, etc., it may seem so. In fact, we're just getting closer to the opening of the biggest possibilities of all... those which we have a infantile comprehension of... our lives after this earthly existence.

Maybe another reason for the longing for youth is that as we age, we often look back and wonder what might have been... we look at our regrets and cringe at our mistakes. Unfortunately, we can't change this fact... living longer, we see more pain, mistakes, even regret... all the more reason to do our best to live our lives well, so that we can minimize this process.

We don't have to be captive to our regrets however, as long as we change and learn from them. Life isn't meant to be a chain and a whip, with this increased living, we also increase our wisdom, our appreciation for the simple things, our love for those who matter to us, and understand who we really are. If we live it right, these good things infinitely trump the troubles of life... making them seem weak in comparison. Only with time can we see our real potential and develop it. I think that brings some of the greatest satisfaction in life - our potential in terms of talent, relationships, etc.

So, enjoy your age, my friends, and a slice of birthday cake. :-)

I have a family!

Well, a Spanish family that is. I found out who my host family is! I'll be living with an older lady and her son with 2 other St. Louis University students in downtown Madrid. The housing coordinator said that the apartment is about a 25 minute walk to school, or 10-15 minutes by the metro.

I'm excited - my host mom will provide breakfast and dinner, and laundry service is also included, and internet! I guess this lady has hosted students for 15 years, so she knows what she's doing I'm sure!

I looked online too and found where church is... there's a ward that meets pretty close to where the school is, so I'm glad it's not too far away.

Hard to believe this is all happening... but knowing where I'll be staying is making it all seem more real!

As I'm beginning to organize and figure out what I need to take, I'm trying to bring as little as possible without forgetting stuff that I'll really need. For those of you who've lived abroad, anything that you recommend I should to bring other than the obvious?