Mis Ultimos Momentos

06/04/08
This past week has been amazing! Monday was our last institute class it was great, Hermano Lopez always brings the spirit to class and I am definitely going to miss him. After institute my FHE group and another joined together to make crêpes and play games and then Amy and I walked home in the still dimly lit sky. I swear it stays sunny until nine or so here now since we’ve had the day light savings. The French girls arrived that night around ten or so and they were absolutely darling, definitely my favorite pair so far. They could speak Spanish pretty well so we got to talk about their families and about culture in France. They were from a small town in the countryside of southern France, and Ana says that is why there were so sweet. I love how they are constantly giving besos, Buenos dias=dos besos, hola=dos besos, buenas noches=dos besos, adiós=dos besos. Monday night Ana taught me how to make arroz con leche and we made so much! When she opened the lid to the rice after it was done cooking we both couldn’t stop laughing because it was practically overflowing! She didn’t like the way the rice turned out, but we made half of it anyway and I loved it. She added a spoonful of decaffeinated ground coffee beans and it was so delicious. Tuesday we had a great Spanish class, I absolutely love my teacher Angelica. We learned more about subjunctive and then reviewed for our final which was on Thursday. Tuesday Paige, a girl from the BYU group, came over for lunch because she had lived with Jasmine who lived with Ana last semester. Ana wanted to talk to Paige about Jasmine and how she was doing. Ana went all out with pimientos rellenos, salad, and ice cream for dessert, but I chose to have arroz con leche. Ana’s pimientos rellenos are sent from heaven, they are the most delicious thing in the world! Wednesday was history classes and then off to the library to study for the Spanish final. Wednesday night was my Spanish Tortilla making final here at home because Amy was leaving for Malaga on Thursday and I had an opportunity to make it for her bocadillo. Ana said begin and then left the kitchen. Everything went great except for a little oil spillage while flipping the pan and a small fire, really small fire I promise it was no big deal at all. I just need to have more confidence when flipping that thing. I washed all the dishes and left the kitchen extra clean (I learned that from my mom) and then left the tortilla on a plate by the stove. I went into my room to do some last minute studying for Spanish and Ana came in with a big smile on her face and said, “Has aprobado con un diez.”- “You’ve passed with a ten.” She said she tried a piece and it was perfect and it was pretty hilarious how happy that made me. She served us a slice for breakfast Thursday morning and I must admit it was pretty good. The Spanish final went well and afterwards we had an early lunch at one so that Amy and I could head off to the temple in Madrid for the last time with the group. The temple is the most amazing place in the world, I feel so close to my Heavenly Father while I am in there and I just get spiritually rejuvenated. The temple grounds outside are amazing right now with all kinds of flowers in bloom and we stayed for awhile afterwards taking in the warm sun before heading back to Alcalá. The weather has been 75 this whole week- absolutely perfect! Ten people from the group left straight to the airport after the temple to go to Malaga for the weekend, a beach town in Southern Spain. Amy was one of them and I just talked to her this morning and she had a great time. I had a lot of long talks with Ana this weekend and I’ve learned a lot more about her life, she has been through so many terrible things and I truly respect her for being such a strong person. It just made me realize how much I have to be grateful for, especially that my dad was able to provide for our family so that my mom could stay home and raise my sisters and me. Ana didn’t have that privilege because she was divorced and had to work from eight in the morning to eleven at night in order to provide a home, food, and clothing for her children. She wishes she could have been there for her children more, but she didn’t have that choice. I hope I am able to be there for my children as they are growing up so that I can raise them in the gospel of Jesus Christ and be a positive influence in their lives as my mom was and still is for me.
Friday morning Ana taught me how to make crêpes and we cooked enough of the batter for breakfast and enjoyed the deliciousness. She had some bananas, so I put those with some jam or chocoduo in the middle and the result was amazing. I had a great run a few hours later, probably due to the large amount of fuel I had consumed earlier, down by the river and everything is green and beautiful here right now. I started in on the final exam review sheet when I got back and then had a yummy lunch with Ana. After lunch I packed up my purse with history homework and headed off to a bench by the river to sunbathe/study. I got about ¾ the way done with History 202 stuff, but I still have all of 390, Monday and Tuesday are going to be crazy! I got some color which is always nice, but what was even better was when I came home to Ana cooking the rest of the crêpe batter. Instead of making real food we just had crêpes for dinner and it was oh so good. I made another tortilla that night for our trip we were going on the next day, hold up I think Ana is making another batch of crepes, I will finish later! Ok so I was right, breakfast was great! So yesterday Ana took Paige and me to three cities. We first stopped at Guadalajara. We went to a Roman museum, went into a couple churches, walked down Main Street and around the plaza, and then back to the car to go to Sigüenza. I loved Sigüenza, it kind of had a Toledo feel of an ancient town with lots of history. We went and saw the cathedral and the huge castle. We ate our delicious picnic in front of the castle. Ana had made a pimiento salad and brought all kinds of food that we didn’t even end up eating, but it was so cute of her to bring. Afterwards we passed a fruit market and started talking to the man who worked there who kept giving us tasters of the most delicious oranges. He was so nice and he told Paige and I to come back the next morning and work with him, he said one day working at his market we would be completely fluent in Spanish. Well obviously I am not at the market right now, but it was a sweet offer. While talking to him he told us about a neat town called Brihuega that we would pass on our way back home. We decided to check it out and we were off. We pulled into the pueblo and there were a lot of cars parked everywhere, but we finally found a place and asked someone what was going on. The old man that Ana asked couldn’t believe that we didn’t know, today was running of the bulls and it was starting in three minutes! When I heard that in my head I was like WHAT?? We just randomly showed up at this tiny town and now I was able to be apart of this famous Spanish tradition I had only read about in books. There was a street all gated up where the bulls would run and Paige and I found a place to sit up on a wall. There were tons of men in the street wearing bright colors, some had matching t-shirts for certain bull fighting groups, some had sticks to probe the bulls with, and all were wearing running shoes. We had barely sat down when we heard three dongs and then all of a sudden all of the guys in the street started sprinting and here came six bulls running at full speed behind them. It was insane! I wanted to go down and run with the guys, but I was wearing a skirt and sandals. The bulls would pass and then there would be a lull for three minutes or so and then they would come back. I started talking to a very nice woman next to me from Madrid. It was so awesome to be able to have a normal, interesting conversation with someone in Spanish. We talked about the various cities in Spain and the uniqueness of each one and also about the other running of the bulls she has seen in other cities. She was so nice! We watched the bulls for forty five minutes or so, but then we had to leave in order to make it back for conference in time. Ana dropped us off at the church and we hurried into the church because we were already twenty minutes late. I went into the chapel where it was being broadcasted in Spanish and I was the only BYU student in there, all of the other ones went into the English room. I really had to concentrate on the speakers in order to grasp the message, but I was glad that I listened to it in Spanish because when else am I going to have that opportunity. My institute teacher told us on Monday that he was going to Salt Lake for conference and now we know why, because he was called into the Area Seventy! He is such an amazing man. I am so excited for conference today and Ana is coming which makes me so happy. It goes from two to four and then six to eight. I don’t know when we will be able to watch Sunday afternoon conference; I have to figure that one out. My parents are coming in less than a week and I am so excited to see them here in Spain, it will be fun to show them where I’ve been living and spending my time for the past three months. Amy leaves Thursday morning at 5:00AM and we were just talking about how fast the time has flown, but at the same time it feels like we have lived here for so long. It is hard to explain, but I’ve never quite felt the mix of emotions that I feel right now. This has been the best experience for me!

09/04/08
Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! (Anyone..??) Well I can’t believe it, but as of today I am officially finished with my classes here in Spain. I took both of my history finals today and I think I did well on both of them, studying for seemingly endless hours the past two days paid off. After class we all walked over to a restaurant close to Alcalingua called Gringo Viejo, funny huh… I thought so. Anyways we had yummy food, but more than that we just had a great time laughing and enjoying our last few hours in Spain together as a group. We really have grown so close and I don’t think I’ll ever be so close with such a big group of people for the rest of my time in college. It just isn’t normal to be with a group of people so much, but I love it! Four girls put together an awards ceremony where they had made up an award for each person and wrote in on a decorated plastic plate. I won the ‘Hot Pants’ award because of these bright blue pants I’ve been wearing in Spain and there were some hilarious other ones. Ok so back to the awesome Monday I had two days ago, history 202 was good in the morning and then for history 390 we watched the video that Liz Bailey had been preparing of the entire trip. It was forty five minutes of unforgettable memories accompanied by great Spanish music. At seven that evening we had a testimony meeting at the chapel with just our group and the Shumway family. It was an incredible meeting and the presence of the Holy Ghost was so strong. It is an amazing thing to be with thirty six other college students who all have strong values and unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. I have learned so much from the various examples set by my friends in the group.
Monday night three French girls arrived for the week and they aren’t as darling and friendly as the other ones, but they are still great. Last night one of them asked me if I spoke a little English because she had a question. I couldn’t help but laugh! Yes I know a few words in English; I have no idea what nationality she thinks I am. Tuesday I pretty much studied all day at the library after our last Spanish class with Angelica. It was kind of sad saying goodbye to her, which I wasn’t expecting. She is just so darling and Spanish and I’m going to miss her style and spunk. Well Amy is packing up right now, she leaves tomorrow morning for Utah, crazy! I have said this a million times, but time has flown by so fast! The thought of saying goodbye to Ana and this country makes my heart hurt, but I’m not going to think about it because I still have three more days.

10/04/08

Ana graciously offered to take Amy to the airport today at nine instead of having her take the 5am shuttle, which was so nice of her! We dropped her off and it was sad to say goodbye, it felt like I was leaving too! I came home and went for a run in the rain, which felt suprisingly great. All of Spain was looking at me like I was a crazy woman, oh well. My parents are coming in three days!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

30/03/08
I just got back from an incredible fireside focused on the temple. Sister Shumway spoke first about her experiences with the temple and all of the blessings it can bring into your life. There is no excuse to not attend the temple! She also talked about how being married in the temple provides a strong foundation for a marriage, there will still be tough times, but being sealed in the temple will provide strength and support. Then there was a musical number by Erica, Amy, Garrett, and Andrew which was beautiful and then Hermano Lopez spoke about his experiences with the building of the Madrid temple. He did an awesome job and had a lot of neat experiences because he was involved in every step of the process. He has a very strong spirit about him and I could just feel his great love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He closed by sharing his wish that we would all some day find a righteous person to go to the temple with and that we would raise our children in the church to continue building God’s kingdom here upon the earth. After the closing song and prayer my friends and I turned to each other and were just so sad that our time is coming to a close here in Spain. My feelings are so mixed right now, I am so excited to see my family and friends back in the states, but at the same time I am terribly sad that I have to say goodbye to Ana and my life here in Spain. It will also be sad to not spend so much time with group. I’m going to miss our fabulous trips when we are all together for hours on the bus, then exploring a new city, and hanging out in the hotel at night. I have made some great friends and I am excited to hang out with them when we get back to the school routine in Provo. I feel that I have learned a lot in these past three months, not just the Spanish language and culture, but I’ve learned a great deal about myself. Today in church our group sang “Para Siempre Dios Este Con Vos” or “God Be with You ‘Till We Meet Again” as the closing hymn in sacrament meeting as a musical number. It was very powerful and it made my heart hurt as I looked out and saw all of the amazing members of the ward that I am going to miss. I couldn’t look at Ana or Oscar too much because seeing them was affecting my vocal abilities, and we all know there isn’t much ability to begin with. It was an amazing last Sunday and I am so excited for General Conference next week. After lunch today I went to the plaza behind my school to check email and my mom ended up being on. That is two days in a row when I have signed on the internet and she was on because last night after we got home from Barcelona she was on as well. When I see my parents name highlighted on skype I get all excited inside it is hilarious. Last night I got to talk to the whole fam minus Jana. They were in Santa Cruz enjoying the last weekend of Spring break and it was fun seeing all of their faces and telling them about Barcelona. Today my mom and I talked about our travel plans for when they come and it got me very excited! We are going to have the best time. We also talked about the wedding plans and it sounds like everything is going to be perfect. We are going to have a girls’ day on Thursday and get pedicures which I am stoked about seeing that my poor feet have taken a hard hit with the endless yet glorious walking here in Spain and then the temple and reception is on Friday. Unfortunately my face is going to be a little more round than usual in the thousands of photographs that will be taken, but hopefully it will just remind me of my great life in Spain! Well only one and a half more weeks of classes, I have my Spanish final this Thursday and then my two history finals next Wednesday. I’m going to put in a lot of study hours this week so my grades turn out the way I want them, wow I just can’t believe how fast time has flown.

Barcelona la Bonita

26/03/08
Good morning! I’m on the bus from Zaragoza to Barcelona right now and I think we have about two hours left. We left home at eight yesterday and got into Zaragoza around noon. We spent the day there and had a great time walking around and taking in the city. The Basilica was really pretty, it was different than any other I had seen because it was so bright inside and the walls were light blue. We listened to a little bit of mass and walked around. In most cathedrals there is a place where you can put a coin in a box and it lights up a fake candle in a plastic case, but in this basilica there was a corner where twenty or so three feet candles were flaming bright. The candles represent a prayer and that as long as there is smoke the prayer is being repeated. After the basilica we took a little siesta at a park we found and then at 4:30PM we headed off to the Moorish Palace. We ended up hooking up with a tour group, which helped us learn a lot about the palace. During the Spanish Inquisition Ferdinand and Isabella took over the palace and turned the once beautiful library into a prison. There are still engravings in the walls preserved from the prisoners from over five hundred years ago. Some have made tally marks for each day they were alive, others carved intricate pictures, and others their names. The courtyard of the palace was absolutely beautiful and I have decided that I want to have my wedding reception there; I hope that is okay with my parents! So you walk in over the moat into this courtyard of tons of intricate arches and beneath the arches on one side is a good sized, shiny wood floor, perfect for the dinner and rocking dance party to follow. In the center of the courtyard there are gardens and several orange trees and it is just beautiful. We kept walking around afterwards, the city was really beautiful and we caught the sunset on the bridge a little after seven. We played a few games at the park and then found some giros for dinner. Rachel, Sarah, Erika and I talked for a long time in our room last night and then eventually fell asleep. We went for a good run this morning, had some breakfast at the hotel, and then got on the bus. I am so excited for Barcelona; Professor Shumway says our hotel is two blocks from the beach! Hasta Luego.
27/03/08
Wow Barcelona is amazing! I love this city so much. We headed to the beach as soon as we checked in and it was gorgeous, yet very windy. There were about twenty wind surfers out on the water, which was cool to watch, but that just tells you what the weather was like for us on the shore. After an hour we got on the bus and headed into town for the evening. We started out walking along the Ramblas and grabbed a pita for lunch and just enjoyed taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the new city. The Ramblas was full of people and lots of pickpocketers, which unfortunately my professor found out when his video camera was stolen off the stroller. We went to the chocolate factory which was interesting, the native people once used it as their currency, how genius! There were big sculptures in the museum made entirely of chocolate, it was incredible, and it smelled heavenly. At the end of the Ramblas was Gaudi’s Batllo apartment which was so sweet, his architecture is crazy weird and I absolutely love it. We also stopped in the Cathedral of Barcelona and it was really beautiful, we had a moment to rest our legs and then we were back on the streets. We stopped in at Carre Four on the way back to the bus and picked up three delicious kinds of cereal, Fruits and Fibres, Croq Moslei, and Chocolate Pillows, milk, and bananas and then headed back to the hotel. Our dinner was delicious and we had a fun dance party afterwards. A group of us woke up early in the morning and went for a run on the beach. It felt so great breathing in the ocean air and looking out on the crashing waves. I ended up running with Sarah and we ran along the beach until we found a cool jungle gym. It was my first time swinging on the beach and I must say it was as incredible as it sounds. We got somewhat lost on the way back, but eventually ended up at our hotel and stumbled into the restaurant where a decadent breakfast buffet awaited us. We definitely felt our sixty minute run later that day when we were hiking around Barcelona all day, but it was so worth it. We started out the day with the temple Sagrada Familia, which was so awesome. It is still under construction because the building is only funded by private donors and sales from tickets because Gaudi didn’t want it to be associated with any corruption from church finances. He wanted to build this people for the people and by the people. The temple is still under construction and is supposed to be completed in fifty years, which will be perfect because I’ll be about seventy and I can come back and visit with my husband. Gaudi was such a unique and talented architect who based all of the aspects of his designs on nature, the staircases were designed after seashells and the ceiling after the canopy of trees in a forest. I usually never read all of the commentary in museums, but I read every comparison he made with nature because it was so interesting. After Sagrada Familia we walked to the hospital designed by the architect Dominique who believed that through bright colors and intriguing designs he could help suffering patients. I’ve never seen such a beautiful hospital; it had awesome exterior architecture, fountains, and bright colored roofs. After the hospital we walked to Gaudi’s park, which was so neat, his style is awesome, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We had lunch at the park, watched a big group of Spanish teenagers playing futbol for awhile, and then headed off to Casa Mila, another one of Gaudi’s great works. We had to wait in line for about forty minutes to get in, but it was well worth the wait. The casa was incredible! First of all there are no straight walls, it is circular so that each room has natural light, and there are giant chimneys and sculptures covering the roof. The roof was my favorite part, I walked around up there for a long time looking out over the city and taking all of the beauty in. His architecture is just so bizarre I can’t do it justice in words. We walked around afterwards; they have some of the most darling apartment buildings in the world here and eventually found our way to the Cathedral del Mar. We rested our legs for twenty minutes or so and just sat in the dimly lit cathedral taking in the simple yet beautiful ambiance. Erika, Rachel, and I had a great conversation about the Holy Ghost while we were resting and it just made me so thankful to have friends who have strong testimonies of Jesus Christ. After the cathedral the beautiful displays of Gelato ice cream pulled us into an heladería and I enjoyed the tasty treat of Pistachio and chocolate ice cream. Our group broke up and Sarah and I found our way to the dock and sat and watched the boats and talked for the last half hour before the bus picked us up. We had a cereal night again when we got home and then I played a few speed tournaments before I went to bed. Sarah and I got up early to go for a run along the beach and it was incredible once again, I feel like I could run forever when I have the beach next to me. Breakfast was incredible again and we managed to smuggle a sandwich and fruit out for our long day today. Well the bus is about to drop us of for our last day in Barcelona and it is going to be great!
29/03/08
Yesterday was fabulous. A big group of us had an Olympic morning as we took the vinicular up to Mount Jout where the Olympic games of 1992 were held here in Barcelona. We went to the sweetest museum which showed the development and highlights of almost every sport in both the summer and winter games. There were television screens everywhere which were constantly playing highlights of Olympic history throughout the years and then at the end of the tour there were six or so televisions that you could play with and select whichever Olympic event you wanted to watch. I watched a lot of Michael Jordan and the Dream Team and of course some amazing gymnastics routines. We were all getting so excited for the Olympics this summer! After the museum, Sarah, Erika, Rachel, and I left because we wanted to see the Picasso museum. It was located back behind several alleyways and it felt so awesome winding our way to the entrance. The states don’t have anything like these darling alleys where you look up and see terraces with flower pots and clothes hanging dry, or at least I haven’t found them yet. I loved the museum, Picasso started painting when he was thirteen and his work is amazing. It showed the different stages of his work and how he eventually developed into abstract art which we see most of today. The museum was interesting because it shows that Picasso really was a genius artist, although he painted very abstract in his later art, he was a master at painting realistically as well. We all said ice cream at the exact same time when we finished and so we stopped and ate a delicious cone to give us some energy for our next very culturally enriching task: shopping. We browsed around in the darling stores of Barcelona for about two hours and I got a funky pair of sandals which I love. Everything in the stores was so cute, but usually very expensive. We found our way onto a side street when Sarah said that she smelled Indian food. We kept looking and came upon this ultra sheik restaurant lounge with red walls, zebra covered couches, and glowing candles. We looked at the menu and were sold. We split the most delicious appetizer of humus, pita, and vegetables, the humus was the best I have ever eaten and I think I’ve tried almost every kind. Then I ordered fajitas, and you are probably thinking that fajitas are not an Indian food, but the chicken was cooked in curry so it was. The food was absolutely delicious, I had a bite of everyone else’s plates and each was fantastic. We sat and talked in the lounge for a long time and then wound our way back down Las Ramblas to the bus. Barcelona is an incredible town, but to me it doesn’t feel like Spain because there are endless amounts of tourists and everyone speaks English. Barcelona is like an amazing European tourist vacation spot, which I have fallen in love with. I definitely am not ready to leave Barcelona; I could spend another week here and still not see everything, so hopefully I’ll be able to come back some day.
We got back to the hotel and started up a dance party in room 111, which turned into a bridal shower for Brittany when Andrew, one of the four guys from our group, came in as our fully clothed stripper. He danced with her and talked in this hilarious German accent and then left. I could hardly breathe it was so hilarious. We all had pitched in and bought her this cute little Spanish number which she loved and then she had to take off to go chat with her fiancée on the internet. I could never be engaged and be living in a different country! After the dance party around eleven, Dani, Suzie, Erika, Sarah, Natasha, Rachel, and I decided to go take a dip in the Mediterranean. It was exhilarating and the adrenaline rush kept us from feeling the freezing cold water too much. Just thinking about it makes me laugh out loud, it was definitely one of my favorite experiences in Spain. We walked back to our hotel, washed off, put on our pajamas, and topped off the night with two hilarious episodes of The Office. Well I’m going to go get ready to have my last run on the beach and then get on the bus for the eight our drive home! I love Spain!

Pascuas

23/03/08
Happy Easter! It was a normal Sunday here in Spain, but because every Sunday is fantastic, today was an incredible day. Church was great, especially Sacrament meeting where all of the speakers did an incredible job, all testifying of Christ. My professor was one of the speakers and he did a great job, and I especially enjoyed it because I can understand his Spanish perfectly. The pianist was at his prime today, I got the shivers during every song! The intermediary hymn was phenomenal, it was a hymn we don’t have in the English books and so I didn’t know it very well, but the pianist sure did. His hands were flying all over the keys and he would raise his hands high off the keys during dramatic parts as if he was performing in Carnegie Hall. I want to bring him back to my home ward, the man is amazing. After church Amy and I came home and helped Ana a little with lunch and then enjoyed a great meal together. I hurried off to the plaza behind the school afterwards because I had an Easter skype date with the whole family. Jana was home because she and my mom needed to finish her dress and her bridal shower was on Saturday. My mom and dad are doing great, I can’t really explain how awesome it feels to see their faces and hear their voices when I am so far away, I just love it. My parents are amazing and I can’t wait to travel with them after the program is over! Jana came onto the camera wearing a pajama shirt that said ‘Jana loves Joe’ and it made me smile. That girl is so head over heels in love and I can’t help but get excited. Everyone was down in the kitchen eating breakfast and I could almost taste my dad’s honey bunches of oats and bananas, almost… Megan and Emma’s beautiful faces came up on the screen, which made me happy and everyone seems to be doing really well. I love my family so much!
Yesterday during breakfast Ana asked us if we wanted to go visit Chinchón and Arranjuez with her to make the most of the day. Of course we agreed and so we all got ready and I helped her make some bocadillos for our picnic. It wasn’t the best day weather wise, but we had a great time. Ana knew quite a bit about the two towns so we had a personal guide as we walked around. When we were in Chinchón we saw them preparing for the live procession of the last supper, crucifixion of Christ, and resurrection. The people of the town put a lot of work into it and it helped me to remember the great life of my Savior. My testimony of the love of God and his son Jesus Christ has grown immensely since I have been here in Spain. God loves every single one of his children. Living in a different country for the first time has really opened my eyes to how big this world is, how life is going on at this very moment in thousands of other places. There are so many people yet God knows my name, he answers my prayers, and comforts me daily. This phenomenon amazes me and is a great testimony to me of the omnipotence of God, of His endless love and compassion that he has for all of his children. I am so grateful for the gift of prayer; I have used it immensely while living here in Spain and trying to learn Spanish. Although my answers are not always right when I want them, I know that Heavenly Father’s timetable is much more accurate than my own. It has been a great Easter here in Spain, and I will probably never write that sentence again in my life haha… hasta luego!

Semana Santa

What a great Tuesday. I woke up to the beautiful sunshine before the alarm went off fully rested, which is such a great feeling, enjoyed tostadas with Ana and Amy, and then off to school. Spanish class was great, we discussed the play Yerma which we’ve been reading and then moved forward with subjunctive. I absolutely love my teacher Angelica, the only way I can describe her is Spanish, she is so Spanish. She was at her prime today in her tight red pants as she discussed the history of Spain through the eyes of the play writer Garcia Lorca. Angelica told us today that a few days ago in a building not too far from the school that they are discovering skeletons beneath the floor boards. The building housed soldiers during the civil war and the other day they were beginning to change the floor tiles and came upon a skull! They continued to tear up the floor and ended up finding over 150 bodies! Can you imagine?! They still don’t know what side, socialist or nationalist, the soldiers were on, so they investigation continues. She thinks that they were socialists and that Franco had them all killed and then hidden because she said that this happened a great deal after the civil war. I really need to go to the plaza one of these days and talk to an older person about their experiences during that era in Spain.
After school I went on a good run by the river and then came back and talked to Ana for an hour or so while she was making lunch. She went to the discoteca last night and had so much fun. She met a nice man who she said was the most handsome man she had ever seen and that he was also very respectful and kind to her. She has been smiling all day and I love it. She made this really good chicken, potato, vegetable dish in broth for lunch, it was amazing. She said it was a pretty typical dish from Chile and I remember hearing my dad say the same thing about the food in Argentina, that it was a lot of meat and potatoes. After lunch I hurried over to the school for my skype date with my family. I got to talk to my mom, dad, and Emma for awhile which was so fun. They are all doing great and that makes me happy. I can’t believe Emma is turning thirteen in a month, she is growing up so fast! I got to talk to Jana at my professor’s house on Sunday for awhile and she is doing awesome as well, so happy and excited for the big day May 2nd. I love my family so much, now I just need to see my darling Megan. We set up a skype date on Easter so hopefully I will see her then.
Yesterday after institute we had a birthday party for everyone who has had or will have birthdays during our trip/ Saint Patrick’s Day party. We all pitched in a euro and a few girls bought some treats and a delicious tarta. I love the group! We all get along so well and just have a fun time together. Everyone is really chill and enjoyable to be around- it has been so great getting to know each of them.

21/03/08
Ok so Tuesday continued to be a great day because that night after dinner I asked Ana if I could make tortilla for our bocadillos for Valencia the next day and she said claro! So she showed me where everything was: potatoes, onion, green pepper, eggs, salt, and olive oil and I went to work. She watched me, but didn’t say anything and it turned out delicious. We talked the whole time and I just love her so much. Afterwards she cut me a little slice and was like ok you have to try it, so of course I did and I was quite proud and I think she was too. Then she was like do you know what would be so good on this bocadillo with the tortilla, roasted red peppers. I didn’t even have to agree and she was making them, after they cooked she made a kind of sauce for them and she gave me a taster. Holy Hannah! Wow they were the most delicious red peppers I’ve ever had in my life, the flavor was amazing. So then she had me assemble our bocadillos and she kept telling me to put more and more tortilla in them and when I was done they were like four inches thick- and I am not exaggerating. We just had so much fun in the kitchen together, she saw that I loved the peppers so she gave me a little piece of bread and said to eat as much as I want. Then she cut me a piece of a pear for dessert, it was seriously one of the best nights. The next morning we woke up before six and got ready and were at the bus station by seven. The four hour bus drive went by quickly because of my great book and before I knew it we were parking the bus in Valencia. The city was packed with people, literally in some places you couldn’t move at all. We walked around and looked at all of las fallas, floats, and caught the firework show around 4:00 PM. It was awesome, but it would have been a lot better at night in my opinion, but don’t worry there were constant fireworks in the city all day. It was the biggest party ever! There were loud firecrackers going off literally every minute in the street, I thought I was in a war zone or something. I think my eardrum got blown out two or three times when I little kid would light one right by us and then run away. I opened my bocadillo when we were waiting for the fireworks and I was getting some pretty jealous looks as the people around me saw the masterpiece I was eating, it was pretty hilarious. Well we walked around all day, found a really cool park that was like a giant spider web of rope that you could climb on, admired the very detailed floats, and by eight o’clock my feet and legs were feeling the pain, so we found a cute restaurant and had some dinner. I still wasn’t hungry because of my giant lunch, but the other girls were and it just felt good to sit down and relax. We had the best time just talking and laughing about the most random things in the world. I have met some really great people on this trip. We talked for about two hours, bought a delicious ice cream cone (tiramisu and hazelnut) at a heladería, and then went out to wait by our favorite falla until midnight when it was supposed to start burning. We ended up waiting until one thirty before it started, but it was well worth it. It was crazy watching this whole thing go up in flames, it was gigantic! They said they spend all year making them and they cost about 900,000 euros to create and then they all burn in about an hour. It seemed like the whole city was on fire it was crazy. We got back on the bus at 3:00 AM and I was out so fast. We pulled into Alcalá a little after seven and I came right home, took a shower, brushed my teeth, pulled down the amazing Spanish blinds that block out any hint of sunlight and fell asleep.
I woke up two hours later, for some reason my body didn’t want to sleep anymore, and talked with Ana about our adventurous night. Later that day I went into Madrid with a small group to watch the Semana Santa procession. We went to the Caixa museum before and it was really interesting, short and sweet. I’ve realized that I love modern and abstract art. One floor of the museum was dedicated to the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. I really enjoyed it, and it helped me to focus my thoughts on my Savior and all that he went through this week thousands of years ago. The procession was a complete contrast to the night before in Valencia. It started a little after eight so it was completely dark and the crowd of hundreds of people was silent. The procession began with men in purple robes with very long, white, pointed hats that also came down over their faces with only two holes for their eyes. They were carrying tall candles and some were barefoot with long, heavy chains attached to their ankles. Then came the men carrying the large crosses and finally a giant float type thing covered in flowers and candles carried by about twenty men. It was very different than anything I’ve ever seen in my life, but I thought that it was very interesting. I need to do some more research on the significance of the various symbols, but I felt that it was supposed to be a very reverent ceremony. I didn’t get home until eleven and Ana was up watching TV, I’m not sure if she was waiting for me, but as soon as I got home she heated up dinner for herself and me and we had a nice talk.
This morning I got up and had a great run by the river and came home to a delicious breakfast of this French toast type food that is traditional during Santa Semana here in Spain. Then I showered and got ready and headed off to Madrid. We walked around downtown and then through the botanical gardens where we sat and ate our lunches. The gardens were beautiful, with flowers, trees, and vegetables from every where in the world. My favorite were the beautiful tulips, I love flowers! There was also a tomato tree from South America and I thought that was pretty crazy. We came home to watch another procession that was going on in Alcalá and it was a lot of the same things that we saw in Madrid, but I enjoyed it just the same. Now I am sitting here in my room getting caught up on this past week. I can’t believe my time is winding down here, it makes me so sad, but I plan on enjoying every moment that I have left.

Today was a fabulous Sunday, church was amazing as usual and lunch was oh so delicious. Friday a group of us went into Madrid to check out the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian museum in the Parque Oeste. We walked around in it and the park for awhile and then headed off to the Gran Via to stroll. We passed by a jazz band in the streets and the young man playing the saxophone held his hand out to me and so I took it and we started dancing! I love Madrid! Before we got on the train on Friday I found Twilight, in Spanish, in a bookstore and started reading it- bad idea seeing that I have lots of history textbooks I should be reading, but oh well its helping my Spanish! Well Saturday we went to Buen Retiro park with our bocadillos and it was a beautiful day in Madrid. The sun felt so good on my skin! I pulled up my pant legs a little bit to try and attempt to get rid of this sock tan I’ve acquired from running midmorning and pulled out my entertainment for the day: Twilight (Crepúsculo) and my Spanish-English dictionary. I read for more than four hours, yet I am only on page 130 or so, but I am loving every page! I got home around 7:30 and I asked Ana if I could help her make dinner. She said it would be the perfect chance for me to learn to make tortilla Espanola on my own. It was fun working and talking with her in the kitchen and I’m not going to lie, my tortilla was pretty tasty. Well this week is Semana Santa, which means there will be lots to do and see! We are going to Valencia on Wednesday to see las Fayas, which is where there is a big parade with all of these floats during the day and then they light everything on fire around midnight. I am so excited! We are leaving early Wednesday morning because it takes about five hours to get there and then leaving Valencia around 3:00AM. We only have class on Monday and Tuesday, how lucky!

Viva Espana

10/03/08
I should be studying for my History midterm right now, but I just have to write about my walk home from institute. Amy had already left to skype her boyfriend so I was walking back by myself. It was about 7:15 PM so the sky still held some light from the day, but the clouds were so dark and ominous, as if it was going to rain. I was listening to my Spanish mix on my ipod and just breathing in the fresh air and staring up at the seemingly endless sky. I decided to walk through the park and all the street lamps were turned on and there were a few older men getting their evening exercise in. The cold wind was blowing through my hair and I just couldn’t help but do a twirl as I was walking. I am living in Spain! I am living in Spain, learning Spanish, living with an amazing madre, and experiencing a completely new and exciting culture!
13/03/08
I was sitting in the plaza behind Alcalingua and it was just full of families and little kids running around, some were eating at the café and others were playing soccer. These two little girls were talking to me for awhile, Carmen and Maria. Carmen asked me “Why do you talk bad?” I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh! I’m just kidding, I was laughing, but it did make me feel a little down on my Spanish speaking efforts. I told Ana when I got home and she tried to convince me that it was because of my accent not because I was saying things wrong. I appreciated this, but I’ve just realized I need to increase my effort in studying Spanish and working on my accent too! I finally got to talk to my mom two days ago and it felt so good to hear her voice, it had almost been two weeks! My morning talks with my parents have been frustrated because Spain’s day lights savings is two weeks later than the time change in the United States. Well it’s almost lunch time and I still want to go looking for Twilight in Spanish in one of the book stores around here. Hasta luego.