Home Sweet Home

Kara and I are headed to the airport at 3:00 AM tonight!! Ahhh. I just can't wait, and I've got to get some sleep.

Our project presentation went well today, and we are all packed up for the flight.

Tonight Ana made us the same fried assortment she made a couple weeks ago for dinner. We ate every french-fry on the plate, but we just couldn't stomach the other fried things. Oh well, it's off to good food soon.

We also gave Ana a little gift: OU coasters and chocolates (from Spain). I'm not sure if she knew that they were coasters, but she seemed very happy! She is so nice. She told us that this was a great experience for her and that we are very nice, responsible girls. How kind!

While I will miss the amazing sights in Europe, I'm ready to be home :) This has been a great experience, and I will never forget it. I'm so glad I finally got to visit Spain, and I'm very glad I got to study abroad. My OU experience is officially complete... at least my undergrad experience. After all, I have officially graduated now! Yippe. But, I know there will be many more memories of OU and my life long friends in the future.

Well...so long to the Spaniards, long walks, odd food, and foreign language.

Hello America!

Finishing Touches

My escapades in Spain are winding down. Today we got our final exams back, and I am very pleased. All that's left is finishing touches on our paper (editing and adding last sections) AND our presentation tomorrow morning (which we haven't really started). Eeek. But overall, I think our paper is quite good. So hopefully we will be in a good position to finish up! As of now, Kara and I are the designated presenters for tomorrow. So I have much work to do tonight.

We plan to eat lunch with Ana, head to Madrid for last minute shopping, and meet with our group at 7:00 PM to do the powerpoint.

Spain and especially Rome have been a blast, but I am ready to come home :) I am in a whirlwind of life changes that I am SO excited about... engagement, graduation, study abroad, new apartment, and new job. I am thrilled about what the rest of this crazy time will have in store!! It will be an adventure. It always is :)

Reasons I 'm excited about going back to the greatest nation in the world (aside from family and friends):

• Food - craving queso, steak, Chick-fil-a, BBQ, and even Chinese food.
• STARBUCKS
  
• Spacious living areas and bathrooms (with fully stocked soap, paper towels, and toilet paper - shocking I know -- rarely do you get all 3 here)
• Air-conditioning on full blast
  
• Speaking English and understanding people around you
• My own large bed
• Going barefoot around the house (this is a big "no no" in Espana)
• Getting a mani-pedi and/or a massage!!!! :) :) :D

Europe is an awesome place, and I hope to come back multiple times. However, I'm not sure that I could actually live here. I'm an American girl through and through. We are so blessed in the U.S.A. I will remember not to take our relatively lavish living for granted. ... Well, that's all for now! I'm also feeling a little under the weather today, so hopefully that will clear up soon. Or I can get some medicine from home...

Ta Ta for now.

Strangest Thing in Rome

The next day was Sunday, and it was very interesting. With most of the Roman sights checked off (thanks to Kara's excellent planning skills). We decided to reserve Sunday for shopping, museums, and whatever else. So some of the girls wanted to go to Trastevere - a "shopping" place for young Romans. Right, well I think we saw about 2 stores. But we did have an excellent pizza lunch. It was like SplashTown pizza. (For those of you who think I'm crazy or don't know what I'm talking about -- SplashTown is a water park in Houston. I'm not sure if the pizza is actually that good or if it's only good after you play in the sun all day as a teeny-boper, but either way, I rave about it). This was better. And of course we had bruchetta again.

Then we decided to leave Trastevere, and Sam wanted to go to this "trendy shopping area for young Romans" (Can you tell this wasn't in Kara's Rome travel book? You guessed right! Sam saw it online or something.) This trendy area was a glorified... flee market. So we took one look, laughed, and walked a long way to get a taxi. We finally found cab back to City Center, and we were all wearing on each others nerves :) When we arrived at the main shopping street, without actually saying it, we decided to break into pairs and just meet up at the museum we had reserved for the afternoon. Kara and I went to the Four Rivers fountain. I just loved it. It is huge and depicts 4 massive statues representing the 4 greatest rivers discovered at the time. It also has an armadillo statue in it!!

So here comes the strange part: Kara and I took a cab to the the Borghese Museum. The guy was nuts! Absolutely crazy driver - honking, almost hitting pedestrians, and driving on the wrong side of the street. We were kind of laughing until he pulled to the front of the Museum and said "That will be 17 euro." This is an absolute JOKE. From one side of Rome to the other, you would pay max. 9 euro. This was not nearly that far. AND I had been watching the meter right before we arrived - It said 7 euro about 2 minutes ago. But of course, he had now turned it off. So I started arguing with him (he spoke English fairly well). I was so mad and relentless, trying everything under the sun. It was ridiculous. We should have just given him a ten and gotten out. But he was kinda freaking us out. So eventually, we paid the 17 euro and got out cursing to ourselves. To top it off, he dropped us off SO far from the museum entrance. We were angry!

We arrived at the museum and had to wait until 5 PM to go in. It is a very serious schedule with rigid rules. It was very nice. My favorites were Bernini's David statue (which acts instead of thinks like Michelangelo's does) and his Fire of Rome painting. After the museum, I bought a painting of the Trevi Fountain near the subway. I LOVE IT. And I will display it proudly in my new apartment. I bargained with the artist and got him down a bit. All in all, it is totally worth it.

So that night we ate at local restaurant near the apartment. We were exhausted so the 15 minute walk was perfect. It is a 30 euro meal and includes 5 courses and wine. It was like a family owned Chinese restaurant we see in the U.S. There was fan fare and crazy food.
Round 1: 2 types of bread, grilled vegetables, oysters, mussels, clams, sardines, fried sea bass, calamari, salmon, octopus, prawns, and sword fish.
Round 2: rice with prawn cream and 2 types of pasta (for each person)
Round 3: steak or fish
Round 4: fluffy cream cake
Round 5: giant fruit tray
[Round 6: deadly limoncello digestivo]

And GUESS WHO came to sit at the table next to us? THE CAB DRIVER who ripped us off!! I couldn't make this up if I tried. Same look, same spiky hair, same cologne!! We were freaking out!!! And dying laughing! He was with some girl, and we immediately started scheming up ways to ruin his night... charge a 17 euro bottle of wine to his tab? Have Kristie pretend to be is girlfriend? Spill wine on him? (I'm kidding we wouldn't have done that one). But when it looked like he knew all the waiters and the owner, we chickened out. We settled on asking him to take our picture in the middle of his dinner. I'm not sure if he recognized us, because he probably does that to people all day long. But it was funny anyway.

We headed back to the apartment a bit later than we had anticipated. We took our sweet time with the free wine and funny atmosphere. We were off to the airport at 7:30 AM Monday morning and arrived in Alcala around 1:30 PM to hear that our school field trip was canceled. But that was okay because I needed to study big time!

Interesting fact: The Italians love that signature "limoncello" shot - the "digestivo" which you get at the end of nice meals... Let's just say ...Limoncellos are not my thing. sickest.

P.S. - the test went well Tuesday (today).

The Vatican

After another perfect dinner near the Pantheon at Osteria da Mario (I had brushetta and pesto gnocci... delicious), we were well rested for our day at the Vatican on Saturday.

Kara, Kristie, and I were on our own today because Sam and Laura took a trip to Pompeii. We managed to get past all the tour guides outside the Vatican, each saying "Vaticano tours in English?" "Laides, do you speak English?" It is pretty funny. We obviously scream American. We had a funny encounter with an Australian tour guide. We were saying "No, No, No thank you" as we looked at our map for the shopping areas. The guy said "Okay at least let me give you directions." So I pointed to the place we wanted to go. He says in a thick Australian accent, "Oh bloody ell, Ladies. Do you want to go shopping? It right ther." We smiled and peaced out. So that morning, it was shopping shopping shopping on the streets near the Vatican. The stores were adorable! A lot of cute boutiques mixed with larger chain stores.

We got in line for the Vatican Museum with Kara as tour guide in the scorching heat. Thankfully the line moved pretty fast. The Museum is connect to Sistine Chapel and St. Peters so we started there. My favorite statues were High Priest of Troy, Hercules, and Hera. Then we walked into the tapestry room where there was an amazing tapestry of the Resurrection. The people around Jesus are depicted in complete awe and bewilderment. It is remarkable that a woven tapestry can capture such vivid emotion. On to the "Map Room" and into the Room of Constantine which was painted floor to ceiling in a timeline of Roman religion. Ending of course with the legalization of Christianity in the 4th century. My all time favorite was Raphael's The School of Athens. Honestly, I did not even know that it was in the Vatican. I was pleasantly surprised! It is just a great as in the text books. I love it!!

The Sistine Chapel was of course breath-taking. Between the crowd squeezing past each other and the guards shouting, "Shhhhh. Silencio!!" the room was fantastic. I recalled the movie Angels and Demons and the many popes who have been chosen there. How different it must be without a crowd? Simply the striking holy place that it is. I can only dream. We managed to sneak into a passageway that connects the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's, and on our way we got to see the Swiss Guard practicing. It was very cool! St. Peter's was also beautiful. We took a photo touching Peter's foot (such a tradition that the statue's foot is worn down. It doesn't particularly give you luck or anything. People just do it.) We also saw Peter's tomb, the central point of the church. We didn't attend a mass as originally planned. Surprisingly there were not many rows of pews, and we were quite early. I'm not sure how it even works...maybe people just line up. Anyhow, no mass. We then saw the outside of St. Peter's where the pope comes out every Wednesday. It looks like a concert is going to happen: hundreds of chairs, a stage, and microphone equipment. Very interesting stuff.

Next, we grabbed gelato and crossed the Tiber River to St. Angelo Castle Fortress. Many years ago, the pope would go here when the Vatican was under attack. Outside the fortress is a picturesque bridge (quite famous) with angel statues... each depicting a part of the Crucifixion. We took a nice little break there.

More shopping and two dresses later, we enjoyed a glass of wine in the People's Plaza before eating dinner at Ristorante il Gabriello near the Spanish Steps. Again, no surprise, it was perfect. Italy is almost worth the trip just for the food. Add the world renown sights and you have the best travel place on earth. The people are so nice and helpful. It's just wonderful.

Gossip Girls in Rome

Rome is positively AMAZING. I am having a blast!

On Thursday we had an interesting ride from the Rome airport to the apartment. The driver was a bit late (picture 5 girls going back and forth in baggage claim looking for a sign reading "Sam"...and not finding one for a while. It was pretty funny). Then her minivan stalled twice outside the airport. We witnessed a wreck right in front of us and proceeded to drive in circles around the Vatican neighborhood where our apartment should be. This neighborhood was a bit sketchy, and we were beginning to wonder what website Sam actually used to book it.

But alas! We arrived at the beautiful apartment and met Kate the landlord. She is so cute, nice, young, and professional. She showed us to and around our excellent apartment, AND she sat down with us for 20 minutes showing us the Rome map. She suggested shopping, restaurants, and transportation. It was so nice!!

So after freshening up we all headed to the subway and arrived in the City Centre or Plaza of the People. We ate at a delicious restaurant. It was among the best pasta I have EVER had! Also, the bread and wine were great!! After dinner we went on an evening tour to the Spanish Steps. They are huge and filled with tourists. It was then we realized how many Americans there are in Rome. It is just wonderful. We sat on the marvelous Spanish Steps eating Italian gelato --- It was so GossipGirl. I loved every minute of it. And felt just like Blaire (minus the mean girl part)!! Then we walked to the Trevi fountain. It was breath-taking. Majestic and gorgeous! We took many pictures, and of course we threw in a coin. It is adorned with Greco-Roman gods.

We decided we would head home before the subway stopped. So we went quickly to the subway and jumped on what must have been the last train for the night. I say this because it was PACKED... literally. A person would squeeze into the doors at the stops. From different areas of the train we were whispering to each other (or what we thought was whispering, which was probably shouting), "Hold on to your stuff in here!!" I'm sure any pickpocketer would have just looked over us "stupid Americans" with our antics. But that is fine with me.

So about 10 minutes later, Kara and I realize we are going the wrong way on the subway!! Ahhh. We got off at the next stop and just decided to grab a taxi. All 5 of us piled into one small taxi, and we were exhausted. We were sprawled out in the back seat. THEN, we looked out the window to see the Colosseum huge and shining in the night lights. We quickly sat up to take it all in. We were so glad we took a cab. The driver went through the rest of the ancient district where we saw the Pantheon is similarly bright splendor! It was perfect.

This morning, I awoke to take a nice hot shower. And unfortunately, no hot water!! eeek. Kara, Kristie, and I headed out to the ancient district anyway. Kara, as our designated tour guide, had great information for us. First we went to the massive Colosseum. It was there were the gladiators would fight all kinds of animals and of course each other. When the dominating gladiator had beaten the other nearly to death, he would face the Roman emperor and ask if he should save the man's life or finish him off. Depending on whether the losing gladiator fought courageously, the emperor (and the crowd) might spare his life by giving a thumbs up. But, if the losing gladiator was not valiant in his fight, a thumbs down would be issued from the emperor and the 50,000+ spectators. Death was a spectacle for the Romans. It was entertainment. The many animals are kept under the floor in cages and would pop up unsuspectingly.

Next we took a photo at the Arch of Titus which marks the Destruction of the Jewish Temple sending the Jews through out the empire. During this time Judaism began to focus on the Torah (as we know it today) instead of ritual sacrifice. The Arch marks the beginning of the Roman Forum. There Roman generals would parade through the streets with the bounty they took from conquered areas. We also saw what is left of the Circus Maximus (chariot race track), Hall of Justice, and the alter where Caesar was cremated. Caesar's death was monumental for the empire. The Romans believed that he became a god after death (was divinized), and that every emperor after him was to be worshiped as a god.

We ate an excellent lunch near the Pantheon where we received a free glass of "sexy" wine because we had Rick Steves' Travel book on the table. Amazing. It was very good, and we laughed so hard because we didn't even know that was a perk!! We then met up with Sam and Laura and visited the Pantheon. It is remarkably beautiful and perfectly constructed. It is the only ancient building still in use today. It is now a catholic church.

Afterwords we shopped a bit and found the cutest jewelry shop! It was completely sparkly and pristine. Then it was home to the apartment to shower before dinner.

I just love Rome and am incredibly happy :) Off to the Vatican tomorrow...

Project Preparation and Off to Rome!!

Tuesday's dinner was very good! We had a traditional Spanish meal with all "the best hams of Espana" (quote from Ana).

Dinner Menu:
Lomo (pork loins)
Chorizo and salchichónes (sausages)
Hamon (regular ham?)
Queso - one sharp and one American-like
Pan (baguette bread)

= delicious!!!

On top of the good meal, I am in the clear about the broken glass. Ana was pretty chill about it. She said, "Oh, es nada" (it's nothing). Thank goodness!

Last night, I got a great night's sleep. The rain brought in a cool front, and I awoke feeling refreshed. Class was very interesting. We talked about corporate governance and got to look at the salaries of top CEOs. Verrry interesting stuff! We then went to our usual coffee shop, which made me even happier! I finished up my reading and grabbed lunch before our group meeting. The meeting was relocated :) but it was productive once we started!

This afternoon we took a corporate visit to Banco Sandanter. The largest bank in Spain, and the 6th largest in the world. We visited the corporate HQ which was not only a complex/campus; it was an entire city basically. They even call it a ciudad. The complex is massive and has very contemporary architecture. There are 18 holes of golf, a day care for over 400 kids of the employees, a fitness center, supermarket, and an art gallery! It was wild. Very much like a Brave New World honestly! I enjoyed the tour very much. It was quite short but entertaining.

This evening I finished up my section of our project, skyped, ate dinner (BACON pizza if you can believe it.... I'm telling you, they LOVE ham!!!), and packed for ROME. I am SO unbelievably excited!!! I am in charge of the flights and check-in. Sam is in charge of our hostel in the Vatican - it is actually an apartment complex that has been turned into a hostel. And, Kara is our designated tour guide. She already has all 4 days pretty much planned!!

Here is a little sneak peak:

Thursday - evening walking tour and dinner
Friday - Ancient Rome (Colosseum, Pantheon, Forum)
Saturday - Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel)
Sunday - Museums and Shopping
Monday - No Class! Return to Alcala for a field trip!

Mayday!!

Yesterday was a tough Monday. I was so sleepy from our Barcelona travels and secretly dreading our huge project that is due next week. After class we talked with Ana (professor Ana) about the project and we started feeling a bit better about it. Naturally, 3 group members planned a trip in the middle of the week...So Kara and I started doing the preliminary research and organizing the project. We started off in McDonalds (where I had the most delicious McNugget Happy Meal ... it indeed made me very happy), then we relocated to the school computer lab, and then to the apartment. We made great head way on the project. Later, we ate dinner with host mom Ana. It was some sort of turkey/chicken tasting pattie covered in cheese and a side salad. We ate this while Ana had watermelon for dinner. Soooo we headed to eat helado (ice cream) around 10:30 pm! It was great!!!! Yum yum.

Today was much better. After class I got an awesome coffee at our usual coffee shop, bought the goofiest love card (in Spanish), visited the post office, and browsed a few boutiques on the way home. After browsing wedding websites looking at 700+ photos of purpleish flowers and decorations, I was on sensory overload, but I couldn't stop!! I just loved it. And, it was a great distraction from school work.

This brings me to the "Mayday!!"... So I've had this glass cup in our room because I have been so thirsty. Yesterday, I reminded Kara that I had set it on the floor and to be careful not to knock it over. Well today I had in laying on my bed (I have no idea why). Just before Kara and I were headed out of the apartment. I KICKED it off of the bed!!! Literally kicked it. I mean the thing went flying off the bed, landed on the floor (I think), and shatter into a million TINY pieces. My mouth dropped, and so did Kara's. Thank goodness Ana wasn't home to hear that!!!!! I just started laughing because I didn't know what else to do!!! It took me a while to get it all (or what I think is all of it) off of the floor. Yikes!!!!!!!!! I feel so bad!

So around 4 pm, Kara and I took the train one stop over and visited El Corte Ingles, a huge shopping center. I was able to purchase a gift I've been needing and some snacks for the next turkey/chicken pattie night :) I was on a mission to find bubble wrap, and they had it!! Wooo Whoo. 40 euro later we were headed home.

Dinner time is getting close, and I've been practicing my "I'm sorry, but I accidentally broke a glass today" with the help of Google Translator. Oh dear... I hope this goes over okay. Wish me luck...

The Barcelona Arts and ... the Beach

Saturday morning in Barcelona started with that excellent breakfast at the hotel. After that we were off to see the many works of famous Barcelona architect, Gaudi, who designed many buildings in the early 1900s. His work is incredibly unique. Gaudi is quite famous for his mastery of mosaic and his style that is inspired by nature. We first visited the Parque Guell. It had a beautiful lizard mosaic fountain and buildings that looked exactly like CandyLand (the board game). We also saw an apartment building designed by Gaudi with was very unique. The center of the complex was a courtyard with the building towering overhead. Interestingly, the apartments were not square layouts like we are used to seeing. Instead, there was only only apartment on each floor that wrapped around the entire oval courtyard. It was amazing. The terraced roof was also beautiful. One of my favorite parts was the fashion design exhibit on the ground level of the apartment complex. It is placed there temporarily because the fashion collection was also inspired by nature, and it complements Gaudi's architecture perfectly.

Next we were finally off to the beach!! We got to spend about 2 hours at the city beach. It was very beautiful even with a ton of Europeans sporting their euro swim wear - aka not much on at all. We sat behind this fun group of British women who were on vacation for a bachelorette party. It was fun listening to them talk to each other, and it was nice being about to understand them! For lunch, Kara and I ate paella, a famous Spanish seafood dish at a restaurant just near the beach. It has rice and many kinds of fish in it. This particular one was topped with a crawfish and mussels. The crawfish was awesome. It tasted almost like crab or lobster. And I even ate the mussel. Honestly I barely chewed it, but I was quite proud of myself. It was pretty tasty. Being in the sun was awesome. There was a little breeze, so it was a wonderful beach day!

After the beach we went to the Picasso Museum. It was very interesting! The museum is set up as a tour of his life. I was surprised to see that his many pieces of work were so diverse. He had a landscape phase, people phase, objects, abstracts, and of course the blue-depressed-artist phase. It was great to see room after room of his work. Picasso is a very odd guy but brilliant nonetheless.

That night we ate at the same restaurant again, but we got free sangria this time due to a scheduling conflict. It was great! And the food was better too. After dinner, a bunch of people decided we were going to go to a famous club called RazMaTazz. It was such a funny experience. I'm not sure how to even describe the place. It was a huge warehouse with many floors and different rooms. It was honestly a lot like a video game. Think about one of those dark video games where the player goes thru all these winding warehouse rooms encountering and battling .... whatever it is they battle. Except that there is a different kind of techno in every room. Interesting stuff. It was 15 euro to get in and that came with your first "free" drink. Well Kara and I hadn't quite finished that drink by the time we were ready to go. We were glad we went and glad we experienced it but we were ready. So Kara, Alice, and I were headed out of RazMaTazz when right as I walk out the door (not only do I see her, but) I make direct eye contact with McKenzie Cowan (a Theta with us)! It was the craziest thing, and the most perfect timing. We didn't even have to call each others names to get our attention. Just boom! There she was. We got to chat for just a second before one of the 5 bouncers asked us politely to move along. So we hugged her one more time and said bye!

The next day we visited the Plaza de Espana near the 1992 Summer Olympic Park. Later, we visited Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, an absolutely beautiful church. It has been in construction for over 100 years, and the city aims to finish it by 2026 - the centennial of Gaudi's death. I cannot imagine how much it costs to build this monstrosity. It is funded by the common people and wealthy citizens of Spain - solely off of donations. It is amazing! Pictures will be coming soon.

After that, it was off to the train station, on to the bullet train, on to the metro, short walk back to the apartment, and much needed rest. All in all, it was a good trip!

NYC meets Spain

Disclaimer: Our adventures in Barcelona are too long for one blog. So two it is!

This past weekend we were in Barcelona! It was a very beautiful city. If Spain had a New York City, it would definitely be Barcelona. Ana, our housemom, traveled with the group and we almost left her here in Alcala because she was late to the train station Friday morning. That morning, I just decided we were leaving at 7:30 am whether we walked with her or not. Thank goodness we did not wait to walk with her!! The bullet train was great, and we traveled at about 250 miles per hour. You could hardly notice it until you got up to go to the snack car... you sort of woobled back and forth, zig-zagging down the aisle trying to bump any passengers on your way. The coffee in the snack car was totally worth it.

The Hotel Gran Ronda was really great. It was clean, air conditioned, and had a continental breakfast (I mean a legit continental breakfast). It was refreshing. The "free WI-FI" and the complimentary business center translated into one lone internet capable computer in the lobby with sketchy internet access. I was typing on it the first night, and all of a sudden the letters on the keyboard were not matching up with the screen. No joke! I thought I broke the key board! Finally, the guy at the reception desk did something to fix it. So at that point I decided to use it sparingly. But, I'm not picky. It was just great to have a little email access when necessary. n

The first day we spent trolling down La Rambla, Barcelona's famous street which translates to "little river." It runs right between the mountains and the sea of Barcelona, and it is the center of activity. There are many street performers, lots of shopping (!), and best of all la Mercat de la Boqueria!! This market is awesome! They have just rows and rows of amazing fruit, delicious candy, meats, seafood, wine, everything! I had a scrumptious fruit bowl as I walked along the busy aisles. The further you go, the more raw meat you start to see... whole fish, whole mammal heads... you see what I mean. That really wasn't mixing with the fruit I was eating, so I made a 180 and headed back to the chocolate. :) ...This was the most delicious chocolate I have EVER had. (and they knew it was because it was pricy, but totally worth it!) I had about 5 truffles of a dark, milk, and white chocolate assortment. Amazing. Jennifer and Wes (Scooter's sister and her husband) said that we just had to go, and they were right! It was everything I imagined it to be.

That day we had a walking tour with this cute little lady who arrived a bit late and introduced herself in the following way (in somewhat broken English):
"Hello, My name is Silvia. I am sorry I am late. There was much traffic. I live here in the.... beautiful city of Barcelona. I have been a tour guide for 5 years..." (So, I'm thinking "Great! This should be perfect!")... She finishes with, "... but today is my .... uh... first day to ... give tour in Ingles. (smile smile)". (Oh dear...).
But she actually ended up being great. She had some good stories about the sights. Here is a run down of the tour thru the Gothic District.
-Ornate drinking fountain on La Rambla where the Barca futbol fans come to celebrate the Barca club's wins! They love their soccer so I can only imagine what it is like watch the celebration! We asked Silvia if they drink from the fountain when celebrating. She said, "Whhhat? Aqua? No! They drink muchas cervecas!" That got a good laugh.
-Small but quaint plaza like the big Plaza Mayor in Madrid
-St. Maria del Mar Cathedral which was of course very ornate and quite beautiful. I happened to be wearing what I thought was such a cute tasteful strapless dress. Well, when we arrived at one entrance to the church a guard touched my shoulder with a pamphlet he was holding and said sternly, "Es forbidden." Ooopsies! Some cathedrals require shoulders and knees to be covered for women to enter. I was good on the knee part, but was going to have an issue with my shoulders. Thankfully Kara let me use her new, white, Zara skirt as a shawl. I was looking pretty fly.
-more shops and lots of walking

At the end of the day, we ate at Cafe Catalunya. The meal was interesting. I enjoyed the cold Gazpacho soup, but the main course of flatted, incredibly thin beef was a bit tough to say the least. We had fun debating what we thought it was...We had liver, bull, ham, and other strange ideas. The meal was fully paid for thru the program, so that was nice.

The group hadn't really made plans for later that night, and to make a long story short we ended up heading to bed shortly after dinner and getting an excellent night's sleep. We were very refreshed for the next full day.

Do the Can-Can and See the Mini Circus

Not going to Madrid last night ended up being the best decision Kara and I have made so far... We opted to stay in Alcala for the night with the majority of the kids in the program, and it was a blast!!! We had a glass of wine with 5 other girls, and then went to Can-Can for the night with the rest of our program group. Another huge group of Americans arrived in Alcala on Monday (including Theta, Claire Tolson) and we all ended up at Can-Can. They played American music the whole night. ha ha ha. So basically, we took over the whole place, and it was great. [The small group who went to Madrid ended up having the most dramatic night ever. We are SO glad we were not there.]

After sleeping in today, I got my first taste of boredom here in Alcala. Today is the big Corpus Christi holiday, and many shops are closed. So there wasn't a whole lot to do. But, it was kind of nice to not be rushing about and checking things of the to-do list. In the evening, we went to get ice cream with the same group of girls who went to Can-Can last night. Delicious ice cream... chocolate with chocolate chunks and strawberry sorbet -- in the words of Kara it was like "a chocolate covered strawberry in ice cream form." Yum! Afterwords, we walked around this little art fair in the plaza. There was some interesting stuff. I saw a great partial gift for Brea there... however, I tried to negotiate with this one vendor lady for her overpriced goods. I asked how much two of the item would be and she said "40 euro...and I'll throw in some [ugly] earrings." I replied, "Mmm, how about 30 for both, forget the earrings?"
"mmmm, No"
"Okay, 35 for both"
"mmmm, No."
"Alright, see ya."
(Sorry seeder, I'm still on the hunt. So have no fear)

We also got to see this goofy little acrobatic show in the plaza. It was a funny little couple, and it took them FOREVER to set up their stage. So we waited thinking this had to be awesome. It was pretty good stuff... you know, juggling, balancing, partner stunting, and even a 3 ft high tight-rope walk between ladders. Eventhough it was all in Spanish, we were in agreement that they might be amateurs. But they were entertaining.

Tomorrow it's off to Barcelona!!! I am SO excited.

Flowers and Heat

So, last night as Kara and I were sweating away just sitting in our room (June brought some serious heat with it to Spain, and there's NO air conditioning!!) Ana gets home from Madrid a few hours after Kara and I. She comes to our room and says, (in broken English), "A-lisa, there is a surprise for you (smiles smiles). But... it come dis afternoon. Es in me officina at the university now. You will get it en the morrrrning? (smiles)" She sort of explained that since no one was here all afternoon that someone had taken it to her office. So I was like, "SI! SI!! I'm excited!!!!" Then, she was just laughing and so excited too. She asked if it was my birthday, and I said "No, he's just really great!!!" with a huge smile. (I knew that it must be from Scooter judging by Kara's mischievous grinning). Ana replies, "Ahhhh! Oh my, Si Si!!! Es true!" Kara wouldn't tell me what it was even though I was prodding.

So.... this morning we left a little early to go pick it up. Scooter sent me the most beautiful flowers!! I absolutely love them, and I am so lucky! I got to admire them all during our extended 4 hour class. Everyone else was amazed as well!! Even the boys... they were saying, "Whoa, that guy is awesome! Props to him!" Ha Ha Ha. I was loving every minute of it. Now they are displayed nicely in our room! :)

As for yesterday, it was my best day in Spain yet!! Class was AWESOME!!! The two professors on the trip are a married couple - The Bolinos. Yesterday (and today) they combined our classes and led the lecture together. It was SO adorable. Mark was telling all these hilarious stories (some about his wife Ana), and she was just smiling away at him - contributing to the story here and there. It was precious. They are so great. Embarrassingly, I almost started getting teary-eyed (half from laughing so hard and half from how exciting marriage will be)!!! At the end of class, they told us that they would be canceling Thursday's class due to a Spanish National Holiday (Corpus Christi) - this explains why class was 4 hours today instead of the usual 2. We also got our tests back, and the girls and I were very happy with our grades!! THEN, they gave us an update on the upcoming Barcelona trip this weekend. It sounds amazing!! They have tours and dinners planned for us; we have free time to visit the beach; we will be staying in an air conditioned HOTEL; and we even get per diem for daily lunches. I simply cannot wait!!

After class, Sam, Kara, and I went shopping in Madrid. It was wonderful! I came back with a skirt and two tops (which can also be work-wear). It was a very successful trip. The evening was relaxing catching up on reading. Then we went out with some of the program people for about an hour.

Tonight we might be going to Madrid since we don't have class tomorrow! Yay. But, Kara and I (being two of the FEW people who don't fly by the seat of our pants all the time) are still figuring out the logistics of night-time transportation. However, I'm confident that together we can figure it out ...and probably organize them as well. (We will see!)

Work Hard, Play Hard

Sunday was a study day for everyone in the program. Kara and I studied at a cafe for a while where I learned that pan tostado con marmalda de fresos (toast with strawberry jelly) would be my "go to" breakfast item. It was like Texas Toast with jam. It was awesome! We then ate lunch with Ana before it was back to studying (this time with Kristie and Sam) at the same cafe. All in all, it was pretty relaxing, and we got just the right amount of study time in before our exam Monday (this) morning.

The exam went pretty well. To reward ourselves, Kara, Kristie and I went to eat churros and chocolate (again). It was delicious - like a funnel cake that you dip in chocolate. Yum. Ironically, it was the exact same study-cafe as the day before! :) At least we are starting to get some local favorites. After lunch, we attempted to go to the river, but there wasn't really a shoreline. So, we hiked it all the way back to a park where we could lay out in the sun. It was fantastic! (don't worry Mom, I used sunscreen. But that tiny little travel tube is about empty!!). I read about Rome in a travel book which is our free-weekend trip in two weeks, and read thru an entire wedding book. This got ideas floating in my head! And I just love it. THEN, we drank sangria, shopped, and returned home for dinner.

They were two great days. Everything is becoming a bit more comfortable here in Alcala. However, I still can't decide if I feel like we've been here forever or for a short while. It is very strange. In Norman, it seems like the days are long, but the weeks fly by. Here, the days fly by, but the weeks are long - very strange. Anyhow, tomorrow Kara and I are off to shop in Madrid after class! Zara, H&M, S-fera, and more.... can't wait!

P.S. - It is absolutely amazing how much the Spaniards LOVE pigs! They eat everything..... Ham (first and foremost with anything and everything), bacon (but not the kind of bacon I so love), pig ears!! (no joke), lomo (the back part of a pig), lacon (I have no idea what this is), and chorizo (pig sausage). It's plain crazy... like shirmp gumpo, shrimp cocktail, shrimp bisque.....fried shrimp, boiled shrimp....(you get the picture)....

Toledo

Today we traveled to Toledo. It used to be the capital of Spain and is known as the city of three cultures - Arabic, Jewish, and Christian. We visited 3 churches including the Holy Church Cathedral - the major church of Spain. It was huge and beautiful! It took over 200 years to finish.

The landscape of Toledo was also magnificent! many hills, the longest river in Spain, and an awesome bridge leading people into the city. One church we visited was in Arabic style architecture, was used as a Jewish Synagogue many years ago, and was later converted to a Catholic Church during Spain's Catholic monarch period. All three cultures where in one building. Outside the synagogue/church I saw the funniest nun. In full habit attire, greying hair, glasses, and a back pack she was leading this group of kids and parents around this city shouting and flay-ling her arms about. She even jumped up and down and danced as she led them in a little song-chat-ditty. It was wild. I was trying to snap a photo of her when she wasn't looking, but the kids were surrounding her. :) A children's festival was going on around the Holy Cathedral, so I suppose she was there for it.

A huge holiday in Spain, Corpus Christi, is coming up on Thursday so the city was in full preparation for the celebration. The main part of the celebration is to carry the tabernacle (which the Catholics believe holds Christ's body) around the town in a parade. The tabernacle is pure gold with rubies and is massive. There were narrow tarps hanging between buildings in some of the streets - this is so that the Corpus Christi will not be exposed to sunlight during the parade. Interesting happenings.

Interesting fact: Spain's monarchy - King and Queen - ruled together with absolute equal power (even centuries ago). Fascinating (and way ahead of their time). Likewise they are buried together in Escorial!

Ding, Ding Ding!!

I will tell you all about my day a little later tonight after studying; however, I must tell you about this...

So, Ana our host mom is always skyping someone - while she cooks, after dinner, etc. And, Kara and I have been speculating about who it is the whole time we've been here. We had a lot of scenarios about possible boyfriends (for example this guy who works with her at the University), but today we got the whole scoop.

So, background info: there is this certificate in our room of her undergraduate degree, and on it is a different last name than her current one. I saw it was like "No way, Kara, you think she was married before?" She's only 30 so we weren't sure. Well, when I told her about me being engaged, she said that she also was engaged at age 22. She also said she got divorced after 3 years, but she hopes to marry again! (I thought that was so sad!!) But mystery solved, about the certificate. So then we were on to the skype companion. She also mentioned to us that she will be traveling to the U.S. in August. She is going to New York, Washington D.C., and Colorado. Then another night she mentioned that she wanted to her second PhD in the U.S.! Whoa.

Well, tonight the cat was out of the bag. She asked us if we wanted "strawberries and milk." Kara said "Um, no thanks" and I said, "Uh sure, I'll try it please" even though I was a bit apprehensive. So Ana heads back to the kitchen, for kind of a long time. We could hear her stirring up something, cutting things, etc, and I started feeling kinda bad about making her do all this work. So, Kara and I just sat there whispering about conversation topics for when she came back to the table. THEN, we hear this loud blender start!! And, we busted out laughing!! What in the world... I guess I asked for a milkshake. Finally, we gained our composure as she walked back in. We asked her what she would want to study in the U.S. and where. She answered, "Virginia." And she paused and said, "Well... I have a...a.. um.. how do you say... boyfriend, novio... in Virginia." Kara and I were like "Ahhhhhhhhh" (her skype dude). So we will no longer be dreaming up her possible boyfriends with Sam and Kristie. Apparently, he is Argentinian and came to study in Alcala a few months ago. Ah! So crazy. But, she was cute about it. (His name is Jose :) And, the milkshake was pretty good too.

Take the Key and Lock Her Up, Lock Her Up, Lock Her Up...

Today, we went to a Spanish fortress, Alcazar, in Segovia. It was a really beautiful city and an amazing fortress. The original fortress was built in the 13th century and was the King's Academy of Artillery. Interestingly, the Spanish treasury (all gold) was kept in this fortress. So, Christopher Columbus came to Segovia in search of his New World sponsorship. I am coming to like good ole Columbo more and more. The best part of the fortress was the famous tower. After a trip up the European stairmaster (aka 152 winding stair-steps) we arrived at the top of the fortress overlooking the beautiful hills of Segovia. We took in the beautiful sights huffing and puffing but it was SO worth it. I love Segovia.

We also saw the best preserved first-century aqueduct of the Roman Empire in Segovia. It was incredible. Complete with arches and statues, the entire structure was built without cement or any kind of mortar. The monstrous stones are just placed upon each other. It was amazing.

Later we traveled to Escorial and visited an old monastery built in the 16th century under Phillip II. It is actually the burial place of all Kings and Royal families in Spain. The cathedral of the monastery is breath-taking. Unbelievably high ceilings and amazingly ornate. When we entered the cathedral, it was silent but for the beautiful voices of a visiting choir. Their voices filled the church, and it was chilling! I absolutely loved it. I took time to sit in the pews, and just take it all in. God was truly there. [This reminded me much of my choir trips to Europe in high school where we often sang in the churches around Europe.]

This evening, Kara and I just had dinner with Ana. We had an assortment of 3 fried...things. I'm not sure what was in them, so I ate really slowly. Thankfully we had the usual side item of Ghardetto-like crunchy bread snacks. As we helped pick up the table, Ana had gone to the kitchen before us. We quickly scooped some of the bread sticks into our pockets before she could notice!! Yikes.

Tomorrow we are off to Toledo, which I hear is even more beautiful than Segovia. I can't wait.

Interesting Fact: The King of France discouraged the King of Spain from building the massive monastery in Escorial because he claimed the Spanish Kingdom did not have enough money for the desired plan. After 20 years of construction, the amazing monastery was finished to its exact specifications. Just to prove the kingdom's grandeur, the King of Spain order one brick completely made of gold to be placed in the cathedral steeple. It disproved the French King's doubts and made a bold statement about Spain's riches.

The Rain in Spain ...

Currently it is thunderstorming in Spain, and it makes me very sleepy. Our group had to lead class discussion this morning, and it went very well. We are glad for it to be over! After class, Kristi, Kara, and I ate lunch in the Plaze de Cervantes in Alcala. (tuna sandwich - very good!)

This afternoon we took a 20 minute trip to "Toys R Us" -- We actually went to Spain and Portugal's sole distribution center in Alcala. Take a Sam's Club and add one short conveyor belt and you have yourself a Toys R Us country distribution channel. We did get a free toy out of the deal though.

A couple days ago Sam found this awesome coffee shop. We studied there this evening. It was so relaxing and just perfect. I had chocolate cream coffee, and all the coffees come with a delicious little cookie. Perfecto! Tomorrow we travel to El Escorial and Segovia on a day trip! I am looking forward to it!

Random Happenings

I never thought that I would actually enjoy the smell of McDonalds. After Kara and I finished picking through our sack lunch, we took a little trip to good ole MickeyD's. Kara got ice cream, and I had a Diet Coke. We didn't even get food, but it was just great to be there :) All of the restaurants, cafes, stores (and bathrooms) are so tiny and cramped here. But unsurprisingly, McDonalds was spacious and wonderful. Of course the menu was a bit different (including a "Euro Menu" instead of the "Dollar Menu"), but it was just great. Kara and I laughed when we saw the kids playplace --- a simple colorful corner with books in it! ha ha. Much different than our megatunnels and new video game playplaces.

Kristi and Sam moved houses today. They talked to Prof. Ana this morning, and by 1:30 they already had new arrangements. They said it was SUPER awkward when a lady from the university informed their Mormon mother of the move while they packed up their bags. But, they are quite happy in the new home. So we are all glad for them!

Over at our apartment, it is great. The only hard thing right now is trying to keep conversation up at meals. :S Yesterday morning, Kara and I literally sat in silence at breakfast whispering to each other, "So.... should we wait for her to come eat with us?" "Um... I don't know...". After quite some time, we just took our coffee to the kitchen and went back to our room to get ready. That night however we got smarter... We managed to tell her that I am engaged. It took her a while to understand that we weren't talking about our friend. Kara said, "No no. Her!" as she pointed to me. And Ana screamed "ohh!" and she was so excited. It was great. She asked where the ring was, if my parents liked him, how long we had been together and everything. So we started off on a great conversation. Now starts the brainstorming for the rest of the week...

Today we visited the Prado Museum. It is a HUGE art museum. I've never seen so many paintings of Jesus depicting in over 100 ways all in one building. The information was very interesting. My favorite artist was Velazquez.

Lastly, it seems that there are wedding dress shops on almost every corner in both Alcala and Madrid! It is crazy. I always gaze into the windows. Sometimes the dresses are beautiful, and others are just odd. But, it makes me eager to be back and makes me miss Scooter even more. There is much to look forward to here as well, so I try to concentrate on those things too.

Thankful Tuesdays

I am thankful for many things today, but I will highlight two of them for you.

One: I'm thankful that class is going well. I am caught up on reading; we (Kara, Kristi, Sam, Laura, and I) were placed in the group we requested; we were assigned the case study assignment we wanted; and, we are basically ready to lead the group discussion on Thursday. Yay. And momentarily, I will be taking a siesta :)

Two: I am SO thankful for my living situation. Whoa. Today, Kristi and Sam thought it would be a great idea for all of us to work on our project at their house. We had heard horror stories from them about their crazy family, but we weren't sure how much of it was slightly exaggerated to get a good laugh. So... we take off from the University and walk (literally) 2 miles to their house - past Kara's and my house, past the train station, past a ton of graffiti, over a bridge, and about oh... 1 mile longer until you arrive at their house! It is so far away. It took almost an hour. I mean the weather was nice and the walk was great, so no complaints there, but I feel so bad for them having to walk it everyday!! Once we arrived at the house, their Mormon house mom answers the door. Yea, Mormon - I think this family must single-handedly make up the 2% non-Catholic population in all of Spain. Everyone else in the country is Catholic. So the first thing she says is not "Hola chicas" as you're expecting. In Spanish (the only way she will communicate with them even though we all suspect she knows English because her husband speaks perfect English), she says to Kristi "You said four amigas, and now I see five amigas." Eeeeek! Then Kristi attempted to explain to her in spanglish, but everytime she uttered about two English words the mom would say "No! En Espanol!" She is kinda mean... Finally, we escaped to their surprisingly spacious room in the attic and laughed for about 45 minutes before starting to do our project! It was basically pretty funny!

On the way out, we had a similar encounter with her again. A 50 minute walk back to our apartment, and I am in need of a nap!

Hasta Luego!

HAMburgesas and School

Today was our first day of actual school! Kara and I woke up a bit early because we had to decide what to do about the food. We were blasted with the smell of the ham-burgers (literally ham) when we opened the refrigerator. So, we decided to stuff our school bags with an apple and a banana each, oh and a strange sweet bread roll to eat after class. And the ham-burgers were "eaten" on the way to school...

Class was pretty good. Our Professor, Ana Bolino (not to be confused with our housemom, Ana) is also so sweet. We had quite a bit of reading to do, so we traveled to the beautiful Retiro Park in Madrid to study. The 30 minute train ride was definitely worth it. We ate pizza for dinner back in Alcala with housemom Ana, and (sort of) finished up our reading.

Today the weather was beautiful - sunshine and a breeze. There was a thunderstorm last night, so maybe that brought in the breeze. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Adios.

Sit Back in the Sun on Sunday

Today was the most relaxing day we have had! We decided not to meet at the train station until late morning at 11:00 AM. Which was wonderful! [And disclaimer: "we" usually means me, Kara, Samantha, Kristi, and Laura]

In Madrid, we wanted to go to the famous Sunday Morning Flee Market - El Rastro. On our way to the place where some of the girls thought it would be, Samantha decided to stop in this pastry shop to grab a croissant . When the rest of us looked in the window at the beautiful pastries - cupcakes, chocolates, donuts, croissants, and more - we quickly followed her inside. This was the best croissant I have ever had! It was flaky, soft, sweet deliciousness. A perfect breakfast.

After we realized that the flee market was not in the Plaza, we asked someone to show us on the map where we could find it. After we walked in the opposite direction of the flee market for about 30 minutes, I forced them to stop while I actually looked at the map for them. So then I used my master map skills to get us directly to the flee market which was about a mile of little tents adorned with an unbelievable array of... stuff. Honestly, it was just like a Mexican flee market that we are all used to seeing in our visits to Cancun, complete with knock-off wallets and colorful plastic magnets. Only it was 20 times larger with 30 times more people. It was a sight to see!

We walked all the way down the hill and back up it without getting pick-pocketed, and we decided we would get on a "Madrid Vision" tour bus - yes, the double decker ones screaming "tourist". Kara and I were dying to go on one, and Sam came too. And it was awesome! There was sunshine, a breeze on the top of the bus, an English tour guide recording, and music from the Nutcracker! The tour took us through the Historical District and through the Modern District. Highlights were the Barrio de Salamanco (the prestigious Spanish neighborhood, apparently with the best upscale shopping), the statue to Christopher Columbus, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (where the soccer club plays and where the 2010 Finals were held just the day before. The stadium seats about 87,000 people - not too much bigger than the OU Stadium!), and of course the U.S. Embassy.

Afterwords, the three of us browsed the bookstore and were in serious need of Starbucks! Yes, they actually have a couple in Madrid. The baristas even asked for our names to write on the cups. Even though Sam, Kara, and Alissa came out as "Sem," "Clara," and "Elisa" in writing on the plastic cups, the frappacinos were as delicious as if they were from Norman! We enjoyed dinner in the Plaza Mayor, and it was the best meal we have had yet! The three of us split margareta pizzas and sangria. The food was great. The weather and people-watching were also fantastic. We arrived back at the Alcala apartment and should be rested for the start of school tomorrow!

Only one problem. Ana (our housemom) made/bought all this food for us for the weekend... and we haven't eaten any of it. eek. She comes back tomorrow afternoon, so we are either having hamburgesas for breakfast, or on the way to school tomorrow morning we are going to make some random dog really happy. I'll keep you posted.

12 hours in Madrid during the European "Superbowl"

Yesterday we visited the Palacio Real in Madrid. While it is no longer occupied by a monarch, it is still decorated as it was centuries ago. My favorite room was the dinning room. It was ornate and absolutely beautiful. The extremely long table seats more than 140 guests, and the fresco on the ceiling depicts Christopher Columbus offering the goods of the New World to the King of Spain.

My favorite area of Spain is Retiro Park. It is like Madrid's Central Park. It is huge, complete with fountains, paddle boats, gardens, and statues. Kara and I will be going there to study often. :) We've decided that we need to find a spot where she will be in the shade and I can be in the sun.

Later we are churros at the famous Chocolateria Sin Ginas. They were very good, but the chocolate was not as sweet as we are used to having. The restaurant was set up like an old soda parlor we see in the U.S. It also reminded me Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans but with churros instead of beniets.

The Germans were playing the Italians in the soccer finals, so it was wild in Madrid. We decided that we did not want to be there at night. Besides, the hotels were completely booked of course. It is like our superbowl!! (A lady at one hotel I called said, "Yes, we just had a cancellation. It will now be 250 Euro for one night (up from 100 euro)." ha ha ha. Needless to say, we passed on the hotel, but it ended up being a blessing. We needed some good sleep in our somewhat familiar beds.

After a near mishap with the train logistics on our way back to Alcala, we finally made it back to the apartment. We were exhausted! Today we will be back in Madrid for a more low key day. hopefully.

Living the Life

Today was very busy. It started at 8:00 AM breakfast with Ana. We convinced her that coffee and a banana were okay to eat together for breakfast. She laughed at us and conceded. After a 3 hour orientation at the University - rules and regulations, insurance, and transportation - we took a tour of Alcala. It was very interesting information...at least the parts that I could take in from Carlos' (university staffperson's) broken English.

After the tour, we were quite tired and decided to eat at an outdoor cafe for lunch. The rather chubby middle-aged waiter spoke no English, and the abbreviated menu during the time we wanted to eat was all in Spanish. So (after about 15 minutes of trying to communicate with him and then getting our food) I ended up with two fried eggs over a bed of soft-crouton-like-bread-pieces! But, it was actually not that bad. Kara and Kristi however ended up with clam soup AND another course of a huge fish fillet. While it was not what they had imagined and far more food than they bargained for, they both said that it was tasty. Samantha on the other hand ended up with whole fish (sardine type things) with heads intact and eyes looking at us!!! This was their rendition of the "vegetarian" dish. Thankfully, there was delicious bread - free and plentiful :)

Next we were off to Madrid where we went on a walking tour of the city. It is very beautiful. We passed the Royal Palace, Puerto del Sol, and the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor was my favorite! Plazas like it have been in many American movies. The first scene in Vantage Point looked exactly like this one! There were about one hundred tables in the outdoor plaza surrounded by beautiful buildings and white tents for shopping. I can't wait to go back.

Tonight we went ate with Ana and went out for a glass of Sangria with other Price kids - at an Irish bar called The Black Clover. It was super fun!

On the table for tomorrow: Back to Madrid for churros and chocolate, Prado Museum, and inside the Palace. At night we will be watching the soccer finals in Madrid. I'm sure it will be an adventure.

Today's Interesting Fact: We are studying at Instituto Franklin of the University of Alcala. It is the "College of North American Studies" and was named after good ole Ben Franklin. The university as a whole was established centuries ago. Back then, if students passed their final exams, a three-day party was thrown for them. If students failed their final exams, they were spit on in the city as people hurled tomatoes at them!

What's your ETA?

I can't believe we are actually in Spain! I have dreamed about it for years, and we are actually here. I decided to write a blog about my escapades in Spain... about 5 minutes ago. So allow me to set up the scene:

I am studying with Price business school and finishing my "senior capstone" - arguably a student's most important undergraduate course. Naturally, Kara and I decide to make that as difficult as possible. Do it in Spain. After graduation. However, the class is rumored to be not nearly as difficult as it is in Oklahoma. Updates coming soon about the actual class.

Kara and I flew to Madrid without any problems, only a short delay. Two glasses of (free!) red wine on the plane, and I was out. Thanks to Jennifer's advice before I left. As the first round of airplane food came down the LONG aisle of the plane, Kara and I opened up a nice spread of food that we had purchased before we got on the plane. A brilliant idea. I'm sure everyone around us hated us for filling the cabin with the smell of pesto pasta, but it was worth it! I also got to flip through wedding magazines and my Ultimate Wedding Planning book. I am super excited about starting to plan with Scooty once I get back.

We arrived in Madrid, went through customs (attempting a sorry "gracias" here and there in hopes of bypassing security), and were able to spot some fellow Pricers headed for Alcala. This young-looking lady wearing jeans was helping direct our group. She mentioned her name was Ana, and I began nudging Kara joking, "Oh that's her, that's totally our house mom! ha ha ha." About ... 10 seconds later, the lady asks who are Kara and Alissa! She introduces herself as none other than our house mom! So we got the really awkward first meeting over early... in front of everyone. It was classic. However, she is AWESOME. Ana is very nice, and speaks excellent English! Most house moms don't speak any! We are very blessed!

A short bus ride EAST of Madrid to Alcala and I attempted to drag my suitcases down the cobble-stone streets to this lady's apartment. It was a somewhat lengthy 10 minute trip. Yes, I over packed. I had three giant bags. I'm sure your getting a visual of that goofy person in the airport who's bag keeps toppling over in front of you. Yep, that was totally me but in the middle of the street. [Mom, finally I decided to forget the side-rolly motion, and I just drug the thing like a normal suitcase - with the folding bag around my neck. It worked great actually!] The apartment is very nice. Our room has twin beds and is decorated quite cute! It's just like bunking up in the Theta House again. The one bathroom and kitchen are both tinny-tiny. I think that's typically for Europe however.

Later we met up with Sam and Kristi who had a slew of crazy stories to tell us about their interesting house family, who lives oh about a 3o minute hike away from campus. For now, Kara and I downplayed how great ours apartment turned out. And, we of course did not rub in the fact that it has WIFI!! Another huge blessing. The rest of the day was spent at a Mexican cafe drinking a delicious Margarita and on a nice walk to the "central comercial" - translation: Alacala's mall. I know, I know. It took about 2 hours for me to find the mall. But Dad, have no fear. I didn't purchase anything (yet). The sun is shining, and it was a beautiful day. We even got to take a little siesta!! I am overjoyed to be in Spain. I'm looking forward to a great month. I miss Scooter like crazy. I am constantly thinking you!

What does tomorrow have in store? Orientation in the morning and possible trip to Madrid. Updates and maybe photos soon.