¡Gracias por todo España!

So ladies and gentlemen, the end has come. Time to say goodbye to this crazy but lovable country. 

I am very grateful to have had this opportunity and for the friends I've made and the professors who been there and my host mom, who, while there were some up and downs, turned out to be great. Four months truly is a long time, and it's starting to hit me how I truly have learned to make Spain my home. 

I suppose the thing I will miss most, above all, is walking. First of all, walking is a free activity. Also, it is healthy and lets your mind process your thoughts. Walking makes me feel active and useful. Now, sure, anyone can walk anywhere. But, in the states, you have to "go on a walk", unless you don't have your own car. It certainly seems impossible to go anywhere without a car in Seattle. Being in cars is isolating and you have to make an excuse to leave the house, like an errand, or whatever. Furthermore, Valladolid is beautiful!! There are fountains and tall old buildings. I still havn't exhausted every nook and cranny. 

Secondly, I'm really gonna miss my café con leche. It's so perfect!! Small, cheap, tasty, just the right amount of coffee. 

Thirdly, I'm gonna miss tapas and my host mom's cooking. Never thought I'd say that, but she's learned my favorites, and even though after every meal I feel like my stomach is being punched repeatedly, I'm gonna miss the Cocido and Paella real bad. 

Finally, and this list could continue for a while, I'm going to miss talking in spanish!! It is fun and keeps life interesting. Everyday you learn something new, a new phrase, whatever and you can feel yourself improving. I just don't want that to end! I want to keep improving. I'm glad I'm taking a spanish class at Mac but it's not as fun...

All that said, I can't WAIT to get me some Sushi, some Mexican, not be using the Euro, and never eat bread again. 

Truly, it's time to leave. There is nothing left for me here! All my friends have left, school is done, I'm broke. There is no other option. But, traveling sure can be addicting, no matter how exhausting. It's like constant mental stimulation. Always new smells, sights, people, languages. It's hard to get enough. Plus, this has been a great excuse to avoid "real life", aka, thinking about where my life is going, what I SHOULD be doing, etc. But, at the same time, I need to get back, refreshed and europ-fied. 

I think,  if I were to summarized what I've learned about myself, (this feels a bit like a reflection essay for my classes in school, gross), it would come down to a few basic things. I believe I've learned how to adjust when things go wrong (better at least). Traveling forces you not to freak out when things do not work. Second, the world ain't so big! Yes, its scary, but you truly can go anywhere and make it work. It's possible to live anywhere as long as you are willing to give up certain things. And finally, relating in another language certainly opens up your eyes. You never knew how dumb you could sound until you really live somewhere where they don't speak english. Makes you think twice before judging others in the same situation. 

I feel like, I am, if only a little, more independent and more relaxed. I hope these things work in my favor later. 

I do not regret one penny I spent (mostly). Everywhere I visited was incredible. My favorites, by far, where Sevilla and Amsterdam. Absolutely beautiful. (I went to Paris, Amsterdam, Sevilla, Madrid, Lisboa, Córdoba, Granada and Barcelona) If I could go anywhere else in Europe it would be London, Greece, and Germany, but I still got a little time. 

Well, I suppose that's it. Today is very sad and lonely, just me and my packing. But, as I've learned, change is inevitable and goodbyes never get easier, but each time you do it you realize something new. 

Hope to see all of you soon in the U. S. of A!!

Send love to the travel gods...

Grace

Barcelona, my last hurrah

Barcelona was my final trip and even though it was a tight squeeze financially, I am glad I went and got to see the city. It would've been a bit heart-wrenching to leave Spain without seeing Barca. 

It was quite an adventure getting to and leaving Barcelona to say the least. 

We had to bus it to Madrid, then Metro it to the aeropuerto which took a good 3-4 hours. Our flight with RyanAir was peachy. However, the airport in "Barcelona" was in Girona, which is basically France and about an hour, 12 euro, bus ride to the city. So. Then we got to Barcelona, tired, hot, and confused having no clue how to get to our hostel. Finally, 3 hours later, we took the farrocarríl to the right stop and hiked up the MOUNTAIN to our hostel. Hot and exhausted, we were ready to hit up the "pools". So, we put on our swim suits and followed the path. But, we only found a deserted field with three dirt filled kitty pools and an abandoned building. AWESOME. We got an early dinner and had an early bedtime.

Friday was beach day. We walked and walked and walked to reach our final destination, but when we finally did, it was worth the wait. The weather was fantastic and we spent close to 6 hours soaking in the sun, tops optional. After a nice little Italian/Spanish lunch we invested La Rambla and the market for a while before heading back to our mountain-side hostel. When we got back to the hostel, we discovered that the majority of us were burned to a crisp. All we had the energy to do then was take some painful showers, and lay in our bunks, crying. And put on lotion. 

Saturday was sightseeing day. First we took the Metro to Sagrada Familia. It was beautiful, but the most exciting part of the stop was almost being robbed! It was a three man operation involving two pairs of keys. But, Kate was on her game and caught them before they could escape with Allison's purse!! Go Kate. 

After Sagrada, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out the, in my opinion, poorly planned metro system, to try and get to Parc Güell. Many arduous hills and metro stops later, we got the the park, which was beautiful, but maybe not quite worth all the hiking. The last part of the day we investigated plaza Grácia, saw all the Gaudí houses, shopped at H&M (whoops!), and after some burgers and salads, headed back to the hostel, exhausted. 

Sunday was a bit taxing. Mostly because RyanAir screwed me and many other people by charging 20 euros for not printing out my boarding pass?? Not cool. But, we all finally made it home. Even Allison, who bought tickets for the wrong bus and got home super late. 

It was vale la pena, most definitely. 

This next week is my final week! Gotta pack, do my finals and say goodbye to Valla. It will be bittersweet and probably a bit traumatic (I hate change). But, I'm excited to get back to the States, see Bill, and maybe start earning some money??? Soooo poor. 

El Sur de la Península (Spring Break)

Bueno Días,

I'm back! It was a long, beautiful, sometimes painful trip, but I survived. I'm going to attempt to re-cap a bit but 12 days is a long trip and I'm sure many scintillating details will be left out so this doesn't become a novel-like blog entry.

So! Thursday, Katie and I went to the airport at an outrageously early hour in Madrid, only to sit in the hospital for, some, 6 hours waiting for our easyjet flight to lisbon. During this arduous time, I noticed two blonde girls eating tomatoes as if they were apples, and I wanted to throw up, but did not. Easyjet was not too shabby, very orange, and we arrived safely in Lisboa at our hostel, happy and tired. The hostel was pretty slick, decorated in a very IKEA over the top modern decor. We mostly just crashed on thursday, after a nice little italian birthday dinner for Katie in the Barrio Alto, but were awoken late in the night, like 2 or 3 am, but the other 6 roommates, all guys, one of whom was a crazy old british guy who entered the room cursing and yelling. Real cute. 

Friday, we did a bit of grocery shopping, clothes shopping, and I tried to track down my friend Claire who I know was staying in the Barrio Alto. We finally found her in her hostel after hours and hours of walking and worrying, and Katie and I had a interesting "Portuguese" meal. My dinner was literally a piece of beef, a sunny side egg face up on the beef, french fries (unsalted, of course) and lettuce. Interesting. 

Saturday we took the train/tram to Cascais (sounds like CasCas) which is a small beach town down the coast. It was so pretty! Cute little down, lots of white buildings, bright blue water. We soaked up the sun and had Indian food. It was awesome. That night we meet up with Claire in the Barrio Alto for a great little dinner (healthy too!!!) of salads, pasta, and Claire got octopus. Go claire. We went out to get a few drinks (not for Katie the Kidney of course) at this little american style jazz bar, which was great, but the drinks were not delicious. Gin Fizz?? Gross. More like cherry cough syrup. 

Sunday, we did the beach thing again accompanied by Claire and her friends from Walla Walla. It was nice, but not quite as warm. Then, Sunday night, Katie and I saved a buck and made late night tomatoey cheesy pasta in the hostel kitchen. Also, we ate salad. That was amazing. We did sooo much walking in Lisbon up and down Barrio Alto, so we were beat.

Monday was the scary bus day. We were horrified when they told us we had to put our food in the storage area, but it turned out we got a rest stop, so it was alright. The Best part of the 8 hour bus ride by far was watching Speed, starring Keanu Reeves in english. It changed my life. 

Sevilla was  a mad house when we got there, with the processiones and all the semana santa hub-bub, but we found our hostel and grabbed some tapas at Carmela (The best spinach garbanzos ever). While wandering around, all of the sudden Katie and I found ourselves trapped by people on all sides. We looked down the street and heading towards us was a procession of black hooded men, carrying candles and crosses, and banging drums. Pretty scary. We took lots of pictures. So that was out first Semana Santa experience. 

Tuesday, wow. I can hardly remember. We went to the Alcazar, which is the old Muslim palace. This might have been my favorite part of Sevilla. The gardens were stunning with the palm trees, the fountains, and the muslim/arabic style architecture. And, it it all smelled like oranges. After the Alcazar, we rested a bit, then went to see Plaza Espana and found the symbol of Valladolid. Most excellent. That night, we tracked down Katie's friend Molly and her friend for a tapa and some sangria. 

Wednesday was Córdoba day. We got up really early to catch our train. Córdoba was very cute, Katie bought shoes. But, over all, mostly only centered on the cathedral/mosque asa source of tourism. But, the cathedral was well worth it, and even thought Katie was tired, it was a nice day. 

Thursday was the last Sevilla day. We spent it with Molly and Aleesha (sp?) wandering around down town and snacking on tapas. It was a beautiful day. However, I was coming down with a cold, so Thursday night was pretty mellow.

Friday was miserable. I woke up feeling like the Swamp monster, filled with mucus and very unhappy. The train was long and we were tired and finding our hostel was a drag. Plus, I took some cold medicine which knocked me out. I just barely shoved some soup down my throat then colasped in the hostel. 

Saturday, we got up really early, AGAIN, to go try and score Alhambra tickets. I felt even worse than the day before, and this was Katie's last day of kidney infection antibiotics, so you can imagine. After waiting in line for a good 2-3 hours, we just barely got tickets for 5:30. We decided, against all odds, to try and see a little more of Granada before 5:30. So, we went to this great lookout point and saw some of the caves on the top of the hill. It was all really cool, but I felt like death personified and Katie's back hurt, blah blah. Finally, we went to the Alhambra, and even tho we both wanted to die and were miserable, it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Completely spectacular. Katie  and I stumbled/half crawled back to the scary "funky backpackers" (soooo sketchy), ate some shitty chinese, stalked up on Activia and OJ and fell in our beds. 

Sunday, was the climax to a week gone progressively worse. Katie had chills all night and a fevor. I was just praying we could make it back to Valla on all 3 trains before she had to be hospitalized. We just barely, barely, got back in a enough time for her to be picked up and taken to the hospital by her host mom.

So!! It was tons of fun, but really sickly and a bit scary at the end. 

Now, I need to rest and do homework and recover. Only three more weeks left in Spain. Time is a fickle mistress. 

Besos

Grace

Trouble in Paradise

Wow, today really should win a prize.

First, I realized I'm like broke. And , in two days I'm going on spring break. Fun.

Then, my host mom's foot got infected and she can't walk. 

Then, a bird crapped on me, which was very appropriate. 

Then, I have too much homework and a test tomorrow. 

Basically, I'm having a hard time. My head just keeps spinning cause I'm so worried about money. It's not like I can't survive to get back to the States, but when I do I'm sooo broke and expenses keep coming up. It truly feels AWFUL to have to ask for money from my parents, especially when I know they don't really have it. I keep thinking, maybe I should try to go into Advertising and try and make some Real Money, cause money pressures always just drive me crazy. I obsess and worry, like 24/7, which doesn't help anything. Sometimes I think if I could just relax I could solve all these things, but I'm totally incapable. Anyway, the monsters in my head are working overtime. My prayer is that i can solve the money issues and enjoy my spring break, my last little splurge before I must try and rebuild my life, my finances, get in shape, etc. Send me good thoughts!!

Grace

Flamenco and Cooking!

Yesh, 

Training from Valladolid to Sevilla and back is intense! but worth it. Sevilla is beautiful. Oh my god. Can't wait to go back for spring break. All the buildings are so colorful with their yellows and pinks with white trim. And even the food's better cause it's got more spice then up north. 

Friday I got in and wandered around the city with Dad, grabbed a beer and a tapa. It was really nice, like 80's, Friday. Mom and I did some shopping, but came up short.  Friday night we took a long walk around the city as a  family before grabbing some more late night tapas and Sangria. I fell in love with this one tapas bar that served espinacas con garbanzos (tasty cheesy spicey spniach with garbanzos) and these patitas en crema de queso picante which were basically potatoes with a delicously creamy, spicy, cheese sauce. YUM. I ate there for every meal except breakfast. 

Saturday mom and I got up early for a cooking class. First we went to the market and she gave us a little run down on spanish cuisine, mostly different meats and how they are eaten. Then we went back to her gorgeous apartment that has a spactacular view of Sevilla to start cooking. It ended up being mostly mom and I watching cause she was a bit scattered, but it was really interesting!! We made green olive and almond tapenade, gazpacho (YUM), roasted (and sherry blanched)  eggplant and peppers and cooked artichoke hearts with olive oil and garlic. I certainly had never learned how to peel an artichoke before, so that was neat. Then the last coarse was a type of seafood rice dish with monkfish, sepia (cuttlefish), rice, herbs, and homemade fish stock. You stick the whole thing in the oven with a clove of garlic and then bake it. It was tasty. Finally we learned how to make orange flan, which was awesome. Now I know how to make flan. Sweet. 

After a short siesta, me and fam did a little more shopping then went to a spectacular Flamenco show in this old, very muslim influenced, building. 

However, this morning, I forgot to set my alarm and missed my train!! It all worked out, but it was very ironic cause I was having a nightmare that the world was ending and then I woke up, and it kinda felt like it still was. The panic just continued into waking life. But, I slept most of the way home on the train, so it's all good. 

I have some pictures, but really most of them are on Dad's camera, so that will have to wait. 

Can't wait for spring break!! Ooof, so much traveling! But really fun. 

Besos,

Cocido y Tarea

One of my absolute favorite meals that my host mom cooks is this delicious garbanzo soupy thing. For a while there, I thought I was special. Turns out, this is a very common Madrileño dish called Cocido. Basically, it consists of a noodle filled, meaty tomatoe-y broth. Then you added spiced garbanzos, carrots and potatoes. Finally, you add the desired meat. Usually your choices are chorizo, pork belly, beef and/or chicken. My host likes to make it with rellenos also, which are essentially small bread crumbs patties with seasoning. It is tasty. 

Otherwise, I've just been working like a dog, trying to get all my work done before Sevilla. I'm trying to run more and enjoy Valladolid while I still have some time here. I do feel like I've noticed an improvement in my Spanish. It seems I can understand it without effort and my conversational skills have improved. 

I do miss Bill, but I'll be home soon enough, which is both happy and tragic. 

Madrid and Parents

Hola hola,

so, I am back in Valla. It's been while. mostly, the last few weeks I've been doing a lot of homework in preparation to travel. I got set into a bit of a routine. Wake up, eat yogurt, school, lunch, run, nap, walk 2 miles, drink caffeine, homework, walk, skype, bed. But, as of this last weekend, and for the next month each weekend will involve much more adventure and less sleeping. 

My parents got in Thursday to Valladolid. The craziest part of the whole visit for me was visiting my host mom at our house and translating back and forth between host mom and real parents. I was all flushed and needed a few beers to keep up. They kept wanting me to say things that were impossible to translate. But, it ended up being a really good test of my spanish skills. I took my folks to the mussels tapas bar which they seemed to really like and on a few of my favorites walks around town. My parents were a bit foggy cause they ahd not adjusted to the time schedule, but we still had a good time.

Madrid was great. When had to spent a lot of Saturday napping, but eventually we made it to the Reina Sofia and then out for some great tapas around Puerta del Sol. These were hectic tapas bars even for me! Saturday night Madrid tapas is a frenetic experience. But, very tasty. I really liked the shrimp and the gazpacho we ordered...

Sunday was accidently dedicated mostly to shopping. We also decided we had eaten enough bread and ham, and found a tasty Indian restaurant. I thought I was gonna cry it was so delicious. Spices? Taste? Amazing. The big event of the day was the Madrid Real game at 5. It as really fun to be in such a huge stadium and around people who really understand soccer. We had a great time, even tho Madrid pretty much stomped the other team. 

So, here I am on Monday and I'm pretty zonked. But, there is no time for rest because I've got a paper to write and alot of homework to push thru if I'm gonna be carefree in Sevilla next weekend. After that, it's spring break in Lisbon, Sevilla and Granada. Then maybe Barcelona. Somewhere in there I need to maybe do finals, papers and presentations. It's madness. But so worth it. 

Here's to hopefully not getting any illnesses and finding some extra energy. 

¡Hasta Luego!

Grace