Can you believe it... We coming home!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjFaenf1T-Y

-On the way soon. Can't believe. I've lived abroad for six weeks, meet wonderful people, seen amazing sights, had some crazy experiences, but I wouldn't change one second. This has been one of the most rewarding and life-chaning trips. I have grown so much as an individual and developed strong relationships (i.e. mi hermana y yo). Thank you to Mom and Dr. P who provided me with this chance of a lifetime. So ready to see my family and friends!

I'm seen the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and many other sites.... but all I wanna see right now is fields of corn, cows, trees, Maggie (and Angel), 101 Teal Pointe Dr, my family, Will, friends, and of course that old man that always tells me how sick I make him.

Don't worry I'm going to video the whole experience of me being reunited with my family so I can remember this wonderful moment forever.

Thanks again Dear Lord for blessing me beyond anything I could imagine and giving me more love than I deserve.

London....oh London

SO, we have been in London for three days now and it is pretty interesting. London definitely has the most sites to see, but the weather here kinda brings ya down. The first day it was cold and rainy, the next burning hot, and today back to cold and rainy. But thats ok, because we are solving our problems with a little shopping. Found the shopping district last night and we are sooo ready to see what they have for us! You know how we like to shop! However, considering everything is really expensive here and the pound is not like the dollar (1 pound= $1.71, so a 20 pound shirt is more like $40), we are going to be looking for some FINDS. But we gots a whole day to do it! Love you America and can't wait to be back in your arms!

picturessss

Paris...thought I would hate you, but actually I'm in LOVE

Paris- one word-awesome.

Jessica was super pumped after Paris, but I was a little hesitant and thought that I would hate it, but really it has been my favorite place we have visited (besides Spain obviously). Everything we really wanted to see was relatively close and on this one long street full of stores! You know we were sooo excited. Not only were there lots and lots of stores, we were there for the three days of super sales! YES, Super SOLDES (sales) everywhere!!!!! It was fantastic. As Jessica stated, "There are some finds!" After shopping we head to the Eiffel Tower. You think that is it just some big thing that you just go and look at, but at night time it is absolutely gorgeous! GORGEOUS! We decided to take a break and have some chocolate and strawberry crepes while watching the sunset and the Eiffel Tower get brighter and brighter. Yes this sounds like a movie but it actually happened! Of course we were all totally in a dreamlike state pondering all the wonderful romantic things that awaited us in our future lol. Silly girls, I know.

On the way back to the hostel (looked like a mental hospital), we walked under this lovely row of overlapping trees alongside the river. At the end of the path there were two lovers just chatting, clearly smitten with each other. All of a sudden the man reached into a bag and pulls out two glasses and a bottle of champagne. Yes-another unrealistic movie moment that actually occurred right in front of us.

June 19th and 20th 2011-Rome

June 19-ROME

DUDE, Rome is beautiful and the historical sites are fabulous! It’s real hot here (they don’t understand this usage of real-like an adjective-in Spain by the way) and water is a precious commodity; water with ice is like precious gold in these parts. We try to eat cheap for lunch by eating a sandwhich from a street cart. I thought it was delicious, but going from eating five huge Spanish meals a day to eating barely 2 small meals a day, I would find anything delicious. Words can’t describe the sites, literally breathtaking, so I’m going to try and add some more pics of Rome so you can understand.

June 20-ROME

Welp, it finally happened, we got bamboozled. After our tour of the Coliseum went so well we decided that another tour of the Vatican would be great (ok I made the call to take the tour so it is basically my fault). We start the hike to the Vatican and then are stopped by a lovely lady with a butterfly tattoo on her back. She persuades us that for only 10 euros more than the regular price of the Vatican we could skip the three hour line and get a tour! So we think oh why not. We don't want to wait for three hours in the burning sun. So we head down this path to the tour shop (should have know right then this was a bad idea) and we sign-up. We start walking with our tour guide to the Vatican and literally just skip a hug group of people. This skip is not like "hey I'm an official tour guide and I get to go around you" this was like "hey I already have one group in line here, just get with the other people." Soon, our audio headphones start ringing as this American woman grabs the microphone of the tour guide and starts shouting at him (in English but in an Italian accent). "YOU ARE A LIAR!, THIS DOES NOT GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE! I WANT MY MONEY BACK, YOU ARE A LIAR!" Then she is escorted off by another member of the tour company. Jessica, Caroline, and I are dying laughing but realize this is going to be the worst tour ever and we definitely got ripped off, but oh well-WHEN IN ROME!

Once inside the Vatican we totally tune the tour guide out and start exploring and taking pictures. Oh man! The things I got to see were incredible, obviously my favorite being the Sistine Chapel and the famous picture of God and Man almost touching. You aren't supposed to take pics in here, but how could we not!?

After the Vatican we had a lovely hotdog (yes a hotdog! I was so happy, even if it wasn't red). Jessica got her another boyfriend as the old man making our hotdogs asked her about her love life. Once he found out that she didn't have a boyfriend, he asked if she would wait for him...haha. Oh Italians. They love them some Jessica!

Lo Siento...Been Real Busy

Ok blog followers (the few of you who are still out there) sorry for the long delay in updates but our lives have been very crazy these past couple of days. I’m going to do the best I can at an overview of the past week of traveling and let you know what is coming up on the schedule for the last couple days here.

So June 18,

Started with a long and sad taxi ride to the Madrid airport; before I knew it Sarah and I were parting ways and it felt like my left hand was being chopped off and flown to London. Literally I had spent the past four weeks with this wonderful person and I didn’t know how hard it would be to say goodbye. I thought that my sadness would be relieved when I would see my beautiful sister and amazing friend Jessica at the AirEuropa gate waiting for me. However, I was wrong. Instead I spent the next hour traveling up and down the AirEuropa terminal, calling my mom, trying to find Wifi, and asking airport staff about a tall brown-headed girl with a short blond-headed girl. Turns out they were at AirPuerta which they thought was the same thing as AirEuropa just in Spanish (yep, this actually happened). Finally they made it to the right gate and we hugged and took photos and I gave Caroline all her bday presents!!!

We checked in and got ready to depart.

We arrived in Rome and took about 30 minutes to find our way out of the airport, where we met our driver. Thank you Mother for arranging this wonderful, old, hilarious, English-speaking Italian man to drive us to our hostel. It was such a blessing.

So get the hostel, carry our 50 pound luggage up one flight of stairs, and realize….we are at the wrong hostel. We don’t check in here until the 19^th, so we basically say “ok, what are our options?” This hostel doesn’t have anymore rooms but a neighboring hostel does (and by neighboring I mean 10 blocks away). A thus starts the trek with multiple bags of 50 pound luggage down 10 blocks of cobblestone to the next hostel. After 35 minutes of sweating, running into objects, and yelling at each other we made it. We check in, get to our room, and realize we don’t have wifi. So we head out for dinner, so excited about our first Italian meal. We all get some form of pasta, which was delicious, and all get dessert (yeah we indulged ourselves the first night). We quickly pay and then run out because we aren’t sure about the tipping situation (I know terrible, but he wasn’t very good). Then we sit in the hostel lobby to get one free hour of wifi (I have a new found respect for free wifi). Then we head to back to the room to go to sleep which takes a few minutes because it is hot, really hot. But who cares we are in Italy and we know that tomorrow we are going to be visiting some of the greatest sites in all of the WORLD. Crazy.

ROME

everyday im traveling

dude. bout to leave the hostel in rome for the all night train to Paris! what up! on the train we are going to type a very very very long word document to post on here later.... promise

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA TOOMER!!!!! 21!!!!!!!

-love you mom: caroline

last day

so its been a week and i havent blogged; lo siento, pero I have been soooo tired and busy. I will be traveling with my classmates the next few days so Iwill try to take moment and write about everything

loooovvvveee you

oh what a day... don't wanna leave.

SOOOO. The past two days were absolutely amazing

so much to tell I'm just going to have to start with bullet format:

-Martes:

-went to school and got back my test which was a 79.5 which is awesome for me

-walked back to mi casa and Sarah and I started to prepare lunch

-cooking in someone else's kitchen, with no measuring cups, with different ingredients was incredibly hard but fun

-so excited that my family literally loved the food- loved it!!!! like I thought they would hate it but they loved it (bbq chicken, broccoli casserole, salad, pinwheels, spinach dip, and apple pie minus the pie crust)

-ok so minus the whole apple pie because I accidentally added salt instead of sugar- mi culpa- but my family loved laughing about it

-then went to Sarah's and did my whole four page paper-baller-

-then went shopping for Sarah's familia

-went to the country and Sarah's brother taught us how to drive a stick

-got the most amazing presents from my family (picture frame, awesome red shoes, awesome craft by my little sister, real madrid cups for the novio, and lots of hugs and kisses)

-shared a beautiful moment with my dad where he shared about about his father

-fell asleep early

Wednesday

-LAST CLASS

-cooked lunch for Sarah's family- which they also loved. (chicken and dumplings, "baked beans", spinach dip, and apple pie---- WITH SUGAR

-washed dishes and got into a water/soap fight

-sssssiiiieeesssstaaaaaa (aka long nap)

-went to store with my sister and bought stuff to wax this guy's legs- yep guys here commonly wax their legs

-actually waxed this kid's legs lol- hilarious

-waxed a one place on one of my legs

-made a secret sister pact to never discuss our conversation that occurred on the way back to her house

-now blogging

-My Life-

Thank you Dear Lord, for literally surrounding me with love, adventure, peace, and happiness!

Thunderstorm

Dude, first time that it has stormed here and I'm loving it. I love storms in America haha, but here it is different. It is storming and it is siesta time--how perfect!

So this weekend with family was banging! I had so much fun climbing mountains, eating BBQ, taking pictures of sheep, and most important having girl talk with my little sisters. Marta and I slept in the same room and whispered about boys all night because her parents were in the room closest to us. I loved it, it made me miss my little sister sooooo incredibly bad! (Love you Caroline)

I will have to post pictures!

Today was the day of the Subjunctive Quiz. Honestly it could go either way. At this point I just want to pass. I know that sounds terrible, but my Spanish family and Spanish friends can't even do my homework, so how the heck am I supposed to lol.

After a three page mind draining quiz Sarah and I started our walk home. What happened.... it started pouring down rain. Typically Americans walking around with no umbrellas or jackets refusing to wait for it to disappear. At this point, all we could do was laugh.

I relaxed at Sarah's for a bit then headed home still wet and cold from the rain, when I got home my brother was already here studying. I asked if I could study with him but he said he was about to cook and I could help him with that if I wanted. So that's what we did. Cooked lunch for the familia lol. It was so fun. Felt like home lol. Just having a fun relaxing day with the family and friends and really really really dreading that I will be leaving these wonderful people so soon.

I miss my friends and family at home but I know I will get to see you again soon. These people I might never get to see again. It's kinda sad how great people come into your life only for short moments. We should definitely remember to make the best of every moment we have.

As my wonderful boyfriend recently told me, there is no reason to complain or pout because I'm living an awesome life.

Graduation Day

Hola Friends and Familia,

Today is Friday and I had no class so I had plenty of time to blog. So lets start with Yesterday

Thursday: My family wanted to meet me at a resuarante for lunch and I said ok. They said Taberna so I went to Taberna. After 30 minutes had passed the time they said they would be there I know I hadn't understood them correctly. So I just started walking back to the house thinking maybe I got the day wrong. Then I see my Spanish brother running up and down the street lol. I yell to him and I go to meet he, he calls his family, and I'm thinking he probably said that I found that stupid American girl lol. jk. Then I go to the restaurant and of course feel terrible, but of course they say "no pasa nada" (nothing happened-its nothing-don't worry about it). So we eat. and I eat all the different types of fish and seafood they bring to the table lol. Yep, seafood, even swallowed an oyster whole. Great. lol. Then we head to the bowling ally but it is closed so we had to another bar for coffee. My mother, my two sisters, and I play pool. Im really really terrible lol.

Then I head to Sarah's house to go to her parents' work. They are work at a language school and her father takes us to a room of about 15 elementary-middle schoolers and we talk in English. They ask us every question they can. It's so fun. Sarah's dad is hilarious and her mother is beautiful inside and out. She introduces us to all these people and even calls us "my girls." We leave and head back to my house where we hang out with my sister on our computers, then we go for a run. Marta is amazing at running so needless to say I was dead after running with her. Then we headed back home and had pizza and watched a movie. We kicked a soccer ball around a little and it made me realize how much I miss soccer and want to play.

Friday- Today has been so chill and I've been by myself for most of the day because my American friends are in Malaga and my Spanish family has had school. It was cool to have the place to myself and just shower and listen to music as loud as I wanted to. I had three chocolate muffins for breakfast. It was great! Then I met my family at their school to head out for lunch. I had on my mom's skinny white jeans and a black tee and a bright orange scarf. Needless to say I got a lot of stares and yells today. Ugh, that is the one thing I hate here.

We went to a pizzeria and it was banging. I had tropical- jamon, pineapple, corn, cheeze, and orgeano.

While eating this group called "baseball" came on. They are like an 50's style singing group that sings modern songs. My family loves them. Guess what song they sang.....

Candy Shop! I about spit my food across the table when I heard the English lyrics. They obviously had no idea what the song was about. I couldn't stop laughing yet I couldn't explain it in front of the whole family! Talk about awkward.

Then I came home and took my siesta. Now im dressed and ready to head to my brothers graduation from highschool. He is all dressed up in a suit. He is so handsome and is so excited. Its adorable. We keep calling him hombre because today he becomes a man lol. Im very happy for him because he works very hard at school.

I don't know what the night holds because I will just be with my family but I'm excited to take a break from the usual craziness and staying up late. I love you guys, and really really really miss my family. I only have 10 days left here. Pretty crazy!

i love Ubeda

So of course, after a long venting session about how I'm not treated like an adult here my Spanish family insists on taking me to a bar. lol. and then the next day they want to take me bowling. I am so grateful for them and how they are really working hard to make sure I have an awesome time here in Ubeda.

I love Tapas. Ps. the count is now at 3 (this is the number of pounds I have gained)

Mi primera problema

Ok guys,

So I have been doing the best I can to make sure I stay contacted with everyone, yet it still feels like everyone is not getting the attention they deserve. Don't worry...because my family here in Ubeda feels the same way lol. Why does it always feel like a big contest on how you spend you time or why do people get so upset when you do your own thing.....

Let me start by saying I have the greatest mother in the world. Literally, she is so sweet and loving and for her to let me go off to Spain on my own is great. Thanks mom for never hounding me with a million questions or questioning whether I love you or not because I spend time with other people. Like Mom you are seriously the greatest (of course besides Caroline). You AND Dr. P are such wonderful parents. I love spending time with you because you are so youthful and wonderful, and you don't mind when I go and visit my friends. Thank you for never making me feel like it is such a hassle or a necessity that I spend every moment with you. You love me know matter what and I can't thank you enough for just wanting what is best for me and makes me happy. You are so selfless. Both of you (yes, im sobbing while I write this because you have no idea how much I miss your love and amazing parenting skills)

With that being said, I got in trouble again. Haha, like I suck as a Spanish daughter. So last night after what I thought was a great day with my family got a talking to. LOL. It all started when I came home from shopping and a friend's house and asked if I could go bowling. Well this led to a long discussion on how I'm never with my family and how I'm always out. ----Here let me explain that I'm always out with Spanish people lol. I don't just go hang out with my American friends. I'm constantly surrounded by Spanish people and trying to speak Spanish or do Spanish things like Salsa with Sarah's family----- GOD MOMENT (janie) thankfully the Lord opened up my eyes to understand almost every word they were saying so we didn't have to have a long drawn out talk because I already was on the brink of tears. Then I politely said they were right (which to some extent I do totally agree) and thought that was the end. Nope. My Spanish Dad literally made me go bowling after I begged and pleaded to not make me because I just wanted to stay here now. (like is this not exactly the scene of an American high-schooler and their parents) So I went bowling and sucked. (karma)

But..... Today is a new day, and even though I'm doing to do everything possible in Spain because who knows when I will come back, Familia es Primera. I love my family here, they are so sweet, they even told me that were disappointed in me in the sweetest way lol. So I'm going to try my hardest to turn down all the invitations to do other things and spend time with my family. They are great people and they really like me. It's just hard to know how to balance your time and make sure everyone is happy. A problem that I also have in America.

So, this post probably won't interest you at all but it has been the main thing weighing on my mind all night and day, and probably will continue to the rest of my time here. (12 more days in Ubeda, 6 in Spain, and then 14 in Rome, Paris, and London with my amazing sister and awesome roomie Jessica)

Also, I wanted to take the time to say thank you to someone very special for reminding me that I am a witness and an outsource of God's love and mercy. I will def. put up another post about the great diversity in beliefs here, but for now know that I speak to God often (thankfully he speaks English) and I need to continually have my loved one's support and prayers as I try to show the people of Ubeda and Europe that a relationship with God is possible.

Ok. enough for now, 3:00 and time for lunch (yep I said lunch) crazy huh.

If you read this around 10:00 your time pray that I have the ability to tell my Spanish family that my class is required to go to the museum today. haha I hate being a people pleaser.

Amanda