Holy Toledo!

I'm sure most of you saw on Facebook, but I'm going to repeat it here just in case: MY LUGGAGE WAS DELIVERED TODAY! YAAAAYY! So now I can move on with my life!

Today was such a beautiful day here in Spain. This morning was SO COLD. I wore jeans, flats, a 3/4 sleeve shirt and a cardigan over it and I was still cold. It. was. amazing. I don't miss that part of Texas at all haha. Anyway we started the morning with the hotel's breakfast buffet, then we boarded our bus to Toledo!

Toledo is about an hour outside of Madrid. Unfortunately our bus driver did the press-and-release-and-re-press-the-gas-over-and-over-again method, so I got motion sick about halfway there. Luckily I didn't actually get sick, I just felt bad for a while. However it was worth it because the city is beautiful. It's a UNESCO heritage site and you can see the history everywhere. It was the capitol during the reign of the Visigoths, and the walls that surround the northern part of the city still stand. The other three sides have never had a wall because they're surrounded by the river and steep hillsides, so there was no need for one. The castle still stands as well, however our tour guide said that it's been rebuilt (I think) 4 times, and the most recent was after the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. We then went around and saw some of the sites of the city, like a synagogue that was converted to a church after the Reconquista in the late 15th century, when Queen Isabella gave the Moors and Jews the boot. It's sad, because Toledo used to be one of the cultural hubs, full of all different kinds of people where they could live together in (mostly) peace, and all of that went out the window. Still, it was cool to see the old churches, walk the cobblestone streets, and see doors as old as the 14th and 15th centuries. Like I said, you could just feel the history everywhere you went. 

We also saw the Cathedral of Toledo (actually called the Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo), and it's HUGE, and seriously gorgeous. The stained glass windows stole my heart when we walked in. They were gorgeous. It was started in 1226 and wasn't completed until 1493. I would say I can't believe it took that long, but actually when you look at its beauty it's not hard to believe. Side note: Toledo has 80 churches (only 30 still used today), but it was considered a very holy city at one point in time, hence the phrase "Holy Toledo! Funny right? All this time I never knew the origin of the phrase.

Anyway, we then had a couple of hours of free time, so Amanda (my roommate) and I wandered around the city and looked for a place to eat lunch. We went to Bershka, which is a European clothing store that I've wanted to go to for a while and finally today got to go to! I bought two scarves, and I'm so excited about both of them! Then we just meandered the calles looking in shops and for lunch. I didn't know it until I got here, but there is actually a law in Spain that requires all restaurants to have a menu del dia, or menu of the day, that includes a first course, second course, dessert, and a drink all for around 9 or 10 euro (in Toledo those are the prices anyway, I've heard Salamanca is much cheaper to live in, or at least cheaper than Madrid). We ended up going down several calles and saw multiple places to eat, but neither of us could read the menus, so guess where we ended up eating? McDonalds! Haha, we both ended up getting a McPollo (haha), and it was good! We're going to be sure to take a dictionary with us when we go places from now on.

I bought some car sickness medicine for the bus ride home and ended up sleeping the whole way back... then slept an hour more when we got back to the hotel. When I woke up we had a meeting about Salamanca and our class schedule, which I'll share more on later. We then chilled in the room for a while then went out for dinner. We went to a place called Pan & Company, which was a sandwich place. It was really pretty yummy, and there was a guy outside giving out coupons, so we each got a sandwich, a drink and then some papas to share for only 8,75 euros total, which was a great price. Then we walked around the Puerta del Sol for a while, where there were street performers and things to see (including a Mexican mariachi band). Then we walked down one of the calles there and just enjoyed the atmosphere. I'm loving how you can walk basically anywhere in the cities. Everyone walks everywhere. It's so nice to not have to get in your car to go somewhere to eat or to buy groceries or clothes. I'm loving it so far.

Anyway, I do have pictures of everything mentioned in the post, but the internet here at the hotel isn't very good, so it would take forever to upload everything. Our resident director told us today that we should have internet with our host family (YAY) so hopefully I can upload some pictures there!

So today was crazy.

And by today I mean this thing that has seemed like one very long continuous day that has rendered me exhausted and ready to sleep for days. Of course that isn't going to happen, but I'll take the 7 hours that I'm going to get.

So let's start this long, exhaustive day where it started for me. My flight was planned to leave from Houston at 1:55 PM so that my plane could arrive in Miami at 5:20, giving me an hour to catch my next flight just a few gates over at 6:20. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties in the cockpit regarding a screen that has to be functional in order for the plane to fly. They called maintenance and were informed that maintenance would arrive in 20-25 minutes; our plane left an hour late, getting me to Miami at 6:18. I was informed, while still on the flight, that the plane at Miami was waiting! Hooray! I quickly got my things and rushed over to the gate where my next flight was supposed to leave, and there is was, still waiting. However, apparently my seat was not. American Airlines had given my ticket to someone else because they assumed I would not have been able to make it on time. Wow, bummer for sure.

I ended up with a flight leaving at 10:30 PM that night that flew into London and arrived there at 12:00 PM, and then my flight to Madrid left at 2. I ended up arriving in Madrid at 5:25 PM instead of the 9:05 AM I had originally paid for. This meant that I had to take a taxi instead of riding with the group on a bus, costing me 35 euro. Bummer again.

But I think the icing on the cake to this whole scenario is the fact that I'm sitting here with only the items I carried on. Yes, they lost my luggage. Seriously?! How hard is it to get a bag from point A to point B? Yeah, so I'm hoping it arrives at my hotel tomorrow. If not I'm not sure what's going to happen. At least I got flight insurance. :)

Anyway, I arrived to my hotel in Madrid in just enough time for me to freshen up a little bit before we walked around the city and went to dinner. I have to say, this place is gorgeous. On top of that, so is the weather. There was a wonderful breeze as we walked through the Plaza del Sol and the Plaza Mayor that just made me all giddy inside. There were also some people dressed up acting like statues around the plazas. I hope I can get some pictures of them tomorrow.

I was hoping upload multiple pictures tonight but my laptop is dying and my converter is in my lost luggage (of course), so I'll just post one picture of me from dinner tonight. :)

So overall, it was a very taxing day(s), but I arrived safely! Can't really ask for much more than that, right? Except for maybe my luggage. I would like that back.

Tomorrow?! Already?!

I can't believe it's finally here. What I'm am about to do still hasn't sunk in yet, I don't think. My mom and Michael just left the apartment after helping me attempt to pack. Yes, attempt. My plane leaves in a little over 12 hours and I still have not finished packing. The good news is that at least I know what I'm going to pack, I just don't have a suitcase big enough! I really did limit myself, I thought, pretty well, but the suitcase I'm taking just doesn't have enough room, so in the morning we're going to go suitcase shopping to replace my "big" one.

Anyway, just filling everyone in one last time from the States! It's almost time! :D

Less than 2 weeks away!

Wow, that's crazy. It's really exciting, yet incredibly daunting at the same time. I have NEVER in my life gone four whole months without seeing my family, or at least not my mother. It's going to be tough, but hopefully there will be enough positive stimulation in my life to keep me from getting too sad while I'm there.

It's an interesting feeling knowing you're going to be gone for such a long (yet short in the greater scheme of things) time. I'm honestly not too concerned about the not speaking the language part, because that's what I'm there to learn, and I really feel like I speak enough to get by without too much difficulty. I'm sure it will be frustrating at times, but that's all part of the learning process. What is weird to me is just the idea of being alone. No, no, I won't really be alone, I mean I'm going with a group of people, but I haven't met any of them before, so basically... I'll be alone. What I've decided is that it's going to be like going away to college for the first time. I'll be leaving what I know as "home" to go to a new place where I have no pre-established friends, and I'll be making new relationships and learning new things. I feel like it's a pretty good comparison. This time, though, I'm determined to not be held back by fears of not being accepted or embarrassing myself, and I won't let anyone else keep me from having the full experience while I'm there. This is a once in a lifetime chance and I intend to make the most of it; I know I would regret it if I failed to do so.

So basically I'm down to getting all the small things rounded up. I don't have luggage tags because I can't find any I like and my visa still isn't here. I also went through my closet and got rid of things I know I'll never wear again as well as separated things I thought I might take with me. The latter was a very difficult task that I know I will never be able to complete without my mother's opinion. I also think I got a little bit "fall/autumn" happy when I went shopping because I didn't buy anything that I'll be able to wear for the first month that I'm there. The forecast said it was going to be in the 90s this week. 0.o Yuck, if I wanted that I could just stay in Texas! So anyway, another thing on my to-do list is find some more weather-appropriate clothing for the early part of my trip.

The next week and a half are booked! I'm spending time here with Matt until Wednesday (22nd), when I will leave for home. I'm going to try to visit as many of my family members as I can in those few days, but I also really want to get to relax at home and savor the moments before I leave. I'll be home until Sunday the 26th, and then mother and Michael come down on the 28th to spend the day with me before my flight leaves on Wednesday the 29th! I'll arrive in Spain at 9:05 AM on August 30th, hooray!

Anyway, tonight was/is date day/night! We got to get up late, which was such a fantastic way to start the day. Then we went to Costco because I've been dying to go, but I was really disappointed. I thought they would have better prices than Sams, but they were actually practically equivalent. We had dinner at P.F. Chang's, which was DELISH. I mean really, I love me some sweet and sour chicken. YUM. We got some cupcakes from Sprinkles (always a delight), and then went looking for Burlington Coat Factory because I really want to check one of those out! Unfortunately when we arrived to the one closest to us I didn't feel like it was safe to get out of the car (haha... but seriously though), so we just came home instead. We're going to now continue date night by watching some GSN and eating some fruit. You're totally jealous, I know. ;)

See you next time! :)

Leeettt's get it started in heeeeerre.

Welcome to my blog! This blog is going to follow me through my study abroad experience. I know I'm not even there yet, but there are plenty of adventures to record that go on before the actual journey takes place. So here we are, 2 and a half weeks until departure! Eep! I can't believe it's so close!

I've been sitting on my bed basically all day reading the seemingly endless amounts of information on "cultural adjustments" and "what to expects" that my program has so graciously provided for me. I'm pretty burned out on it for now, but I know I still have more to read tomorrow. I'm honestly not sure how much of it I want to read. I think given my limited time, my opportunity costs are probably higher for me to read this cultural stuff instead of studying the actual language (I think I phrased that right). Besides, I think getting over there and figuring it out is going to be part of the experience. Sure, I'll read some of this, but not the 50 pages of it the company suggests.

I honestly didn't realize how close it was getting. I have hardly studied any Spanish; in fact, I feel less prepared to go to Spain now than I did 3 months ago. Oops. I guess the next two weeks will be a cram session. Luckily Matt has plenty to study as well, so he won't be bored while I study. It actually works out pretty nicely. I also haven't decided what to pack! I know I need to pack kind of light because I'm going to want to buy clothes and stuff while I'm over there. Of course I'm going to take my jeans and sweaters and some shirts from here, but I think I'll want most of my clothes to be from Spain. Not to mention that, according to my handy-dandy program provided orientation booklet, Spaniards tend to dress more formally on a day to day basis than we do in the States. Although, really if you think about it that certainly doesn't come as a surprise (see: woman who attends class/goes grocery shopping in her pajama bottoms and house shoes on a daily basis). The stores there are more trendy than those here, so I'm actually really excited to get to go shopping. I've already searched it, and there is both a Mango AND a Zara walking distance from my school (hurrah! :D).

Which reminds me, the weather there is going to be awesome. I can't wait to actually have a fall! I always get so excited when I pin outfits on Pinterest that are ADORABLE fall clothes, but then I never get to duplicate them because Texas doesn't really have a fall. If it did, I'm sure it would be my favorite season. I mean really, what's better than jeans, boots, and big, comfy sweaters? Nothing, that's what.

One thing that has me a little bit stressed out (besides the fear that my visa won't come back in time) is finding "gifts" for my host family. I have no idea what I'm supposed to bring?! When I google it, everyone who replies is from either New York or Vermont, so they're bringing "I <3 NY" stuff or maple syrup. Not exactly an option for me. I'm thinking I'm going to ask my dad for some of his jams to take, and I'm going to take some Aggie stuff for sure. Otherwise it's kind of up in the air. Suggestions?

Other than study abroad stuff, life is moving along. I finally started cooking *gasp*. I know, it's crazy. But it's actually not hard to follow a recipe. Like at all. It just makes me realize how lazy I've been my whole life haha. Cereal for dinner so I don't have to put in any effort whatsoever? Sure, sounds great! If I only would have known that eating more than Captain Crunch could be so easy. I made this delicious banana cinnamon swirl bread yesterday as a snack/dessert. I'm going to go ahead and say it's the bomb. Next time though I'll probably leave out some of the sugar/cinnamon topping-it was just too much.

Anyway, Matt's about to take a study break so we'll probably go watch some tv or something. See you guys next time. :)