Don't Run Down the Stairs of the Metro...

Madrid Lesson #84: Embarrassing Moments Know No Cultural or Language Barriers.

Today, I was on my way to visit Claudine, my French friend who lives in a nursing home (I'll tell you more about her sometime soon...) when I had my first significant clumsy in Spain moment. Now, I've fallen on stairs before... like on the steps at the Tanner building at BYU, where the echo of a pin dropping magnifies to the sound of a drum (which means my fall on the stairs sounding something like a roll of thunder)... but I've managed to avoid tripping/falling/etc. for a long time...

As I trotted down the stairs, confidently moving to the Circle Line in the Metro, my shoes slipped on the stairs and all of a sudden it was.... thud thud thud thud... and I was lying on the stairs... hehe. A nice lady exclaimed "Oh, Nina!" I tried to assure her I was fine (and I was) "Estoy bien." But she nicely doubled checked and gave me and arm to get up. Luckily, not many others witnessed the sight... but needless to say, I think I'll be taking those stairs with a little more care in the future.

Pancake Breakfast

Yesterday, school sponsored a pancake breakfast fundraiser to raise money for a needy student who wants to come to SLU. Of course, the American students, upon hearing about a full-out American breakfast (which is not really existent in Spain), were flocking to the snack bar between 10 A.M-2 P.M. to get some orange juice, pancakes (chocolate chip!), bacon, and eggs. Sadly, the power kept shutting off (I think they were overloading the circuits), so one pancake took about 3 times as long as normal... but the wait only made it taste that much better! I must say, it was one of the best breakfast meals I've ever had in my life, and I think it was not only because it tasted good, but because it's been so long since I've had a "home-cooked" breakfast.

I remember that I went through a phase at BYU where I would cook up some pancakes (the add-water only kind) whenever I was out of food or couldn't think of anything better to make. Considering that you only added water to the mix... they were surprisingly good!

Though I miss the American breakfast, I enjoy my breakfasts here as well. Alicia stocks the kitchen with plenty of fruit and pan de leche. Pan de leche is this amazing soft, slightly sweetened loaf of bread. It is SO good! So, I'm glad to have that every day. And to be honest, as much as I love pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc., I sometimes feel sick if I eat too much heavy breakfast food. But luckily at this moment, eating my chocolate-chip pancakes in the courtyard at school, I didn't have a care in the world.

Back to studying for midterms. :-)

Las Canarias

This last weekend, my astronomy class went on a field trip to Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are right off of the coast of Morocco, but they are considered a part of Spain, and they are beautiful! We went to see the Teide Observatory, one of the most well-known in the world. The trip had a few glitches (um, not being open the telescope except for a half hour... one kid getting sent home for partying too hard...) but despite some challenges, the trip still turned out pretty well I think. It was fun to get to know the kids in the class better... That's one thing I love about this program, I'm really getting to know my teachers, classmates, etc. very quickly... it really adds to the class atmosphere!

Here are some pictures (not really in order) from the trip:

Here's a picture of us eating lunch with the amazing shore in the background (Sara, me, Janith, and Ana Maria)

The observatory... that's one of the telescopes in the background. James, me, Janith, and Ana Maria. We were freezing up there!


Here's most of the group on the trip... The lady in the red tank top is our professor, Susana. She's so nice! She's from Madrid, and she studied in Madrid, Tenerife, London, Germany, and France...wow.


This picture was taken from on top of one of the telescopes... that's Mt. Teide, the volcano in Tenerife. This picture doesn't do this view justice!


Here's the telescope we got to use... well not much actually. The weather was really humid, so we could only open the telescope for about 30 minutes... humidity can damage it. It was so cool to see the observatory... we ate dinner in the astronomers' residence and the view from the top of the island was AMAZING... the clouds were below us, Mt. Teide was beside us, and the most beautiful sky was above us!


Here's a shot that I took from the National Park... the clouds up here are pretty amazing.


Here is another shot from the National Park near Mount Teide. All of the island was formed from volcanic rock, so the upper region of the island (a lot of it is above the cloudline) is pretty desolate ... there are some bushy plants and a few rabbits running around, but that's about it! This is a shot from an area where the original "Star Wars" was filmed!



Here's a picture of Playa de Socorro. That translates roughly to "Relief Beach." Makes sense, since the waves were HUGE and no one was allowed to swim that day. The lifeguard warned us that if we tried to swim, he'd call the cops! Needless to say, we listened. However, later he started chatting it up with us when he was off guard-duty, so he really is a nice guy, he was just trying to protect people. The beaches are black sand! Though no one was allowed to swim, there was a surfing competition going on that day, so that was really fun to watch. Here's a picture of the beach:

Well, now it's back to school... midterms start next week for me, so the next 3 weeks are going to be pretty focused on school. I'm trying to figure out a way to get to Strasbourg, France to see my cousin the weekend of October 12-15... since we have a 4-day weekend and I'll be done with the first set of midterms... but for now, it's time to stay here in Madrid and STUDY! This weekend is also General Conference for church. Another U.S. girl I met at church and I might watch the conference together online in English (since they broadcast it in Spanish here)... so there might be 3 or 4 of us crowding around Catherine's computer this weekend... taking notes and listening to the prophet from halfway around the world... I can't wait! :-) Have a great week, everyone!

Random Observations

A few random observations...

-I am taller than the average Spaniard. Like, for real. Now, I know I'm a taller American girl too... and I'm totally cool with that and proud of my height and all, but here, I'm even taller!

Example: Today I walked into one of the many "Perfumerias," where I was hoping to find some sunscreen, since I'm going to the Canary Islands tomorrow for my astronomy class. Yahoo! Back to the story... this older woman looked at me and smiled and said, "Tu eres muy alta. Puedes ayudarme?" ("You're very tall. Can you help me?) She asked me if I could reach a bottle of hair mousse on a tall shelf. I helped her with pleasure, feeling proud for a moment that I was a tall American girl. "Gracias nina." (Thanks, girl.) Hehe.

-The average Madrileno is well-dressed. I know city people in general are usually a little dressier, but pretty much everyone is up on style here, which makes the Americans with their flip-flops stick out as the sophisticated Spanish women breeze by in a pair of trendy ballet flats or something. In fact, I would say most Europeans in general are better dressers and are generally more in tune with style... I see a lot of boutiques, jewelry/accessory stores, zapaterias (shoe stores), perfumerias and beauty shops... even the furniture here just looks more stylish. I'm trying to wear my nicer clothes and ditch the hoodies and flip-flops when I can... I already stick out somewhat (tall...lighter hair, accent), so I guess I can avoid dressing scrubby and sticking out even more :-)

-Fast food places here are nicer than in the U.S. I went to McDonald's with my roommate, and we noticed that it was two-stories tall, which is common here for fast food. There was a "McCafe," which was like a coffee shop part of the McDonald's, with coffee and pastry-style desserts. The other McDonald's near me had a place to plug in your earphones to listen to music and internet stations... and the food just tastes better! And yes, they have the Euro menu, which is like the American dollar menu.

-Spaniards are healthy. People here walk more and eat less... they definitely eat in smaller portions and their food seems healthier... less processed junk (no Luncheables...sad. OK, maybe not.) Everyone walks... to the store, to school, to work, and even the older people are all out walking. I guess I'm not used to seeing so many elderly people out and about... but they are all out shopping and sitting on park benches and enjoying life. It's really cool!

-Spaniards enjoy variety shows. There are a lot of game show/variety shows on at night. The other night, on one variety show, these people were blindfolded and had to kiss animals and guess what they were. Then, a guy put a whole box of tarantulas on him and let them all crawl around. Hehe...sort of like fear factor! There's also shows that are comparable to American Idol, Candid Camera, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Class Trip to Leon

Some pictures from this weekend's trip to Leon (with my Spanish Culture and Civilization Class):

Ok, I know this is a pretty "touristy" picture, but once in a while, you have to just be a tourist, as long as you're not too obvious. I guess I'm sort of being obvious here, oops.


Here is the Leon Cathedral. Beautiful!
Last night we ate at an outdoor cafe in the Plaza Mayor in Leon with people from our class. Ok, it was a little chilly, but definitely worth the view.
This is Las Medulas, where the Romans mined during their rule in Spain (around the 3rd century?) They used tons of canals of water to create intense pressure inside the rock, which caused huge parts of the mountains to crumble off. Then, the small pieces of rock could be mined for gold. The Romans didn't find much gold, actually. It looks a little like the Southwest of the U.S. to me! It's weird... there are these big red rocks, and then everything around them is green...

We had a good time, especially since a lot of us in the class didn't know each other that well, so it was good to actually spend time with people, which I think will definitely make class more fun. We have one more trip this semester, which is in late October, to Basque Country in the north of Spain. Our professor is from Bilbao, so it'll be fun to hear him speak in Basque ("Vasco"), which is nothing like Spanish or any other romance language, from what I hear.

This weekend, my astronomy class is going to the Canary Islands to observe the sky from one of the world's best telescopes. I can't wait! After that, things settle down and I don't really have other trips coming up for a bit...

Life in Madrid is starting to feel a little more like life. It still is different and amazing, but with school and church and some of the normal stuff of life in the mix, I at least feel some normalcy in it all. Studying here is a little tough... there is so much else to do, but I know without the classes (especially my Spanish classes), being here wouldn't mean all that much, so I guess I'll have to just spend some time in the library :-)

I signed up for Institute, which is right next to the temple. The temple here is very pretty, and I am impressed with how organized and built-up the Institute is here... it feels like a BYU institute class, with homework, tests, etc. But it's been fun, and a good chance to practice Spanish and meet some of the LDS kids here. Most of them are from other countries... I have met two from Bolivia, one from Sweden, one from Bulgaria... but I'm sure I'll meet Spaniards too... it was only the first week.

Well, I'm pretty tired... we just got back a while ago from Leon, so I'm gonna take a siesta before dinner. Hasta luego!

Dia a Dia

Here's a picture of my room! That bed is Sara's and that other bed that's in the bottom right corner is mine - our room is small but it's actually not too bad... we have a lot of shelves and a table with chairs to study at... it's cozy!



Here is a picture of Toledo. I went on a day trip there with school last weekend. It used to be the capitol of Spain, and it has a really rich history. It was fun wandering the streets and seeing the cathedral. It's cool how every small town in Europe is filled with history - buildings are beautiful and old and they all have stories behind them. Luckily, we had a Spanish professor from SLU show us around - and he knew EVERYTHING. It was sweet.

Topic change - It's funny how the LDS people gravitate to each other... of course ever since I've come to Spain I quickly have been keeping my eyes and ears open to figure out where to go to church, etc. etc. But... it's just crazy how small the world is. It turns out that the dean of St. Louis University-Madrid is the bishop of my ward. Also, another guy who works at the school (and this school is tiny) is in the bishopric of the ward I went to last week.

I've met both of the other SLU kids that are LDS without too much effort, and then today I met two other girls who are here studying through different programs... one's from Nebraska and another is from South Carolina. We all met the bishop together and figured out the institute classes and stuff. I'm looking forward to institute... I miss taking scripture classes, and plus it'll be a great place to practice Spanish and meet some Spanish people my age. My school is mostly Americans, which is fun, but this weekend I realized that I need to make a more solid effort to practice Spanish and to make some Spanish friends. I already can see that time is flying here, and if I really want to get better at Spanish, I need to make as many efforts as possible to speak it.

A final topic - it's crazy how much life changes here day to day. Some moments I'm feeling entirely overwhelmed, others I'm just perfectly content. Yesterday my roommate and I went to Retiro Park to study - it's HUGE. We brought a little picnic lunch and camped out under a tree to study and eat. It was so relaxing! I also have days where it feels like my emotions are on a roller coaster- there's so much to process in my brain - the language, meeting new people, classes, exploring, planning, and trying to keep it all under control is sometimes a little exhausting. But the experiences have been incredible too - every day I see something completely interesting and new. I guess I'm not used to life being so unpredictable. Life seems surreal here - going to class, for instance. It's odd to walk around Madrid and think - I live here. Ok, so temporarily, but still. Going to church all in Spanish. Ordering in restaurants foods that recently I didn't even know existed. Talking about "American Girl" dolls with my SLU friends at a jazz club last night. Going to a Picasso exhibit one afternoon and then eating at McDonald's. Everything is a mix of old and new, the unfamiliar and the comfortable, feeling scared and confident. Somehow, it all comes together at the end of the day. :-)

Language and Embarrassing Moments

My heels are healing nicely... so sorry if I sounded bitter in the "Pies de Sangre" entry. It just wasn't the most pleasant experience. However, afterwards, it was more funny than anything, and I feel its important to document the positive and negative exeriences of being here, because that's more realistic. Things overall, though, are WAY more positive than negative. I'm so glad I decided to study abroad.

A quick story. So, the other night Sara and Justin (both people from my program) and I went to eat tapas at this place close to where we live. We went up to the bar, and I asked a question in what I thought was clear and slow Spanish (I'm trying to speak clear, even if I can't speak fast). The lady looked confused, and told me she had an English menu that might help me. The question wasn't really that important, so I just ordered some tortilla española. She looked confused again, and then handed me a German menu. Luckily, a guy at the bar, who spoke English well, helped me order, and we all had a good laugh.

I was a little embarrassed, but oh well. One frustrating thing about trying to speak a foreign language is that people sometimes just resort to speaking in English to me or handing me over to someone who does. Although sometimes that is a good thing (if I really need something specific), it is a bit of a blow to the ol' ego. I know my Spanish isn't great, but I guess it's harder than I think sometimes to actually communicate clearly and understandibly to natives.

The language is improving though... the first few days, I felt pretty overwhelmed with myself, realizing my Spanish is RUSTY. However, hearing it at school and at home has helped me to remember some of the grammar/vocab that was somewhere in the back of my brain. I'm getting used to just having to be a little embarrassed sometimes... I guess you never learn otherwise. I'll be an expert at embarrassment by the end of the semester I'm sure!

Hasta luego. :-)

Churros Con Chocolate!

Here is a picture of the group I went with on my orientation trip to Andalucia. We stayed in Cazorla for a few nights... we hiked in the mountains (11 miles!), ate nice al fresco dinners each night, got a slight bout of food poisoning (ok, well it wasn't that slight, but it only lasted for a day at least), and did repelling/cliff jumping and horseback riding. I had to miss the repelling/horseback riding due to the food poisoning (sad!) but we all laughed when everyone got back and they told me that lots of people had "gotten sick" during the repelling trip, and people ran off into the woods, ripping off their wetsuits so they could relieve themselves. It wasn't funny then, but we all thought it definitely speeded up our group bonding. Our group had people from a lot of different schools, and it was a definitely a fun way to start off the semester. This picture was taken from the last day, where we drove to a castle and then had this wild boar feast at a local hotel. It seriously was a feast - I was SO full.



Ok, so here is a picture of my roommate Sara and I eating churros con chocolate in a local cafe. We've been hunting churros con chocolate, and we found this place... near the Puerta del Sol. YUM! It was so good. Basically, churros are what we think of in the U.S., except they don't really have lots of rolled sugar and cinnamon on them... and they're fresher. You dip them in this thick, yummy hot chocolate.

I'll add more pictures later! Hasta pronto.

Pies de sangre

My roommate and I went to the Puerta del Sol the other night. Earlier that day, I had stopped (after extensive searching) in one of the several shoe shops near my house. I found a pair of ballet flats that I liked... and since everything is on sale here right now, it wasn't expensive. So, Sara and I got sort of dressed up and bit and for the first time since we've gotten here, we went out to meet some SLU kids to celebrate one girl's birthday. I think our senora thinks we're anti-social or something since we don't stay out every night till 2 or 3, haha. Everyone here stays out till then, even the babies. I think our senora was more excited that we were going out than we were - she even made us dinner early so that we could go to our "fiesta." We walked to the Puerta del Sol, and pretty quickly I discovered that wearing the new shoes without socks was a bad idea. I tried to hide my pain, toughing it out, but by the time we were getting close, I was walking pretty slowly and slightly cringing with each step. We'd gotten there early so that we could walk around and stuff before we were supposed to meet up with everyone. I finally looked down at my feet, and I saw that both feet were bloodly all around the heels!! Blood was everywhere inside one of my shoes. We ran around to find a "Farmacia" and luckily found one open at 10:30... and I then put massive amounts of band-aids on my feet and used my water bottle to wash them off a bit. Onlookers must have gotten a kick out of that. I called a friend and asked her to bring me socks, and so then I had to wear white running socks the rest of the night. We decided that my new nickname might very well be: Pies de Sangre (bloody feet). After hanging out with everyone, we decided taking a taxi would be the best way to avoid further foot damage. However, every taxi in the city of Madrid was occupied. Seriously!! We waited, walking, waited more, and walked. Like 50 or more cabs must have passed, and all were filled. Snap! So we trudged home from Puerta del Sol, stopping at each block or so so my feet wouldn't fall off or something. Of course, with tons of band-aids and the socks, they were doing a bit better. After coming home and cleaning off my feet, I saw that it wasn't as bad as it originally looked when I saw streams of blood all over my feet, but I did have two massive blisters and my shoes got all bloody... I used at least five paper towels and had to scrub a lot to get off most of the blood off the shoes. I don't dare put those very bloody socks into my wash pile and risk having to explain my shoe adventures to my senora. Those, sadly, went straight into the garbage. Madrid lesson #27: Wearing comfortable shoes when walking isn't a suggestion, it is a prerequisite for avoiding "bloody foot" syndrome.

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?

In the Midst of Change

Well, my life lately has seemed somewhat of a dream... it seems to be moving and changing so quickly. It's hard to believe that summer's nearing an end already. I guess summers are always like that. I've had good friends move away, I've seen friends get married, and in between the big changes that are happening (moving, weddings, getting ready to leave for Spain), there has been the normal and comfortable stuff of life... STUDYING, doing yardwork with the family, having my brother come to visit, cleaning my apartment (it never quite feels completely clean), church, hanging out with friends here and there... I'm glad that life remains somewhat constant, even in the midst of big changes. I think if everything changed all at once, we all might have heart attacks.

I've had a lot of friends get engaged, married, or begin their families this summer... three of my closest friends are having babies in the next sixth months, which is hard to believe. Seriously, 5 years ago, we were all finishing high school, and now their married and they're going to be parents! Whoa. I guess we grow up quicker than we think sometimes.

I'm going out to California in about two weeks for my BYU roommate Whitney's wedding. I'm excited to finally meet Ian, the guy she's been telling me about for so long... it's hard to be away from close friends when our lives are changing so much. I was talking with my friend Jeannette last night, and we agreed that it's incredible how spread out our friends are across the country (and world!), which sometimes makes keeping in touch a bit harder. However, I think it's pretty sweet that I have friends everywhere from Milwaukee to Senegal to Chile to Utah to France to California and everywhere else inbetween... I'm just glad to have them in my life, even if blogs and emails sometimes have to replace late-night talks in person :-) Friends are friends, wherever they are... and I want to do better to keep in better individual touch with them all. I guess this blog is one step into keeping them in on the little parts of my life, but it's certainly not a replacement for that.

So, a toast to all my friends and family, all over the globe!

Summer is moving fast...

The next two weeks are crucial. I was telling a friend of mine, summers are always busy, but this year, I may be setting personal records. Haha... in the next month, I need to finish my Marquette psych class and my BYU independent study statistics class, move out of my apartment, travel to CA for my BYU roomie Whitney's wedding, and get ready to leave for Spain for the semester! So, I might be in hiding for the next couple weeks until these things get done... I'm starting to get really excited for Spain! I still feel like I have a lot to do to get ready to go... but luckily, since I have been there before (albeit briefly), that should help in speeding up the packing/preparing process.

I'm bummed out that I'm missing out on the ward whitewater rafting/camping trip this weekend, that's something I was really hoping to do this summer... but priorities must be kept, and knowing that I'm going to one of my best friend's weddings and to Spain next month makes any sacrifice seem pretty tiny.

Onward, ho!

Cultural Awkwardness...

I'm sure a lot of you have heard about President Bush and his "massage" incident. For those of you who haven't heard, President Bush gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a quick friendly neck massage in passing during the G-8 summit in Russia this last week. I whole-heartedly believe President Bush was just trying to be nice and show support to the lady, who might have been stressed with the work of the conference. However, I know from personal experience, that Germans are not the touchy-feely types, especially in a professional setting (I would imagine). Poor President Bush. He thought he was making a nice gesture, when in reality, he was weirding out poor Chancellor Merkel. The pictures of it are pretty funny, as she raises her arms and shoulders to signal him to stop the massage. Uh... awkward!

This incident of cultural awkwardness is something that is a fact of interacting with those of different cultures... people just don't act/do the same things in one country that they do in another. For example, when I went to Spain in high school and kissed about 30 people in one day when I met my host family and the host daughter's friends (the custom to kiss on the cheek upon meeting new people), I felt slightly weird for the remainder of the night.

Another incident that comes to mind is when my family was out to dinner in Munich, Germany with a former exchange student, Oliver, and his family. We were excited to meet Oliver's family after Oliver had stayed with us in Wisconsin for a few weeks. The dinner was nice, although a bit ackward trying to make conversation in German/English with people you don't know, but then came a slight slip of Dad's tongue. Dad had forgotten German Social Rule #11: "Don't call people by their first names if you are not previously acquainted and are not familiar." Dad said something to Oliver's dad like, "So, Dieter... it's Dieter, right?" Dieter nodded his head, looking slightly confused. Oops. Oh well, you can't take offense at that stuff... I hope he realized that Dad wasn't trying to be rude.

Anyhow, I'm sure I'll have plently of cultural awkwardness upon going to Spain this fall as I try to get the hang of everything... so I'll be sure to keep you posted of my cultural findings! If you have any cultural awkwardness stories, I'd love to hear them!

The 8K run

So I did the "Port Fish Day" 8K run this last Saturday. Lots of fun! I'm not really much of a long distance runner, but I signed up in hopes that it would motivate me to start running more. So, I paid my $17 and then there was no turning back. I figured if anything, I get a cool t-shirt out of it (admit it, we all like getting the t-shirts when we do charity runs). The training started out decently, and I went about 3 times a week. Then, I got busy with summer school and had about 2 weeks where I didn't run at all... um, not super helpful to my goal of finishing the race without stopping.

The day of the race, I was a little nervous, since I'd only run once in the 3 weeks before the race, but I was excited to be there with friends to try it out. The first mile was up a steep hill, and I was shocked to see the first mile mark, thinking, "We've only gone a mile??!" At about the third mile, my poor training and extreme heat (it was predicted to be the hottest weekend of the summer so far) began to get to me. I walked for over a mile, drinking lots of water and smiling when one nice local yelled out from her front lawn "That's ok! At least you know when to stop! In this heat, it's better not to push yourself!" I actually felt a little better when she said that.

I ran the last mile and a half again, meeting a couple new friends: an older woman and a girl about my age. The girl and I were running step for step, if one got ahead, the other caught up, and vice versa. By the end, the three of us (towards the tail end of the racers) were friends, chatting it up as we neared the crowd at the finish line. I saw my family at the end, and then suddenly, I saw my three friends, who had left me in the dust long before. They cheered loud, and I suddenly began sprinting to the finish line like I was at the Olympics. My new-found friend began sprinting to catch up. I beat her by a couple steps. I finished in about 58 minutes... not awful considering I walked for about a mile of it.

Despite the slight disappointment of not running the whole race, I had a lot of fun, and poured water all over myself at the end, like in one of those Nike commercials or something. I enjoyed running through the neighborhoods of Port Washington, where the locals had out their sprinklers so that we wouldn't die of heat exhaustion, and little kids set up water stands to hand water cups to the runners. Occasional groups of people cheered us on, not even knowing us, shouting from their lawn chairs or the sidewalk, "You're doing great! Keep it up!"

Next time, I definitely hope to train better so I can actually finish the race without walking. But I enjoyed the friendliness of the runners and the locals, the Lake Michigan view, the fish washing station we saw near the town center, the sprinklers, seeing my 8th grade science teacher Mr. Allen and my Sunday school companion as fellow runners, and just being at a festival dedicated to fish. Sadly, I left before sampling any of the local fish fry, but then again, it was 10 in the A.M. and all I wanted after running was a cooler full of Gatorade.

Later!