So Sad... I'm Leaving Soon

Sorry for the delay in my writing. I just really haven't really wanted to sit down and write any blog posts. I was trying to savor every moment in Europe while I could. As of today, I will be home in 15 days. Scary to think about. I really want to stay!! =(

Okay, good news is I have so much to talk about. I will start off with the most recent. This past weekend, I went to London, UK. When I say I loved that place, it was definitely an understatement! I absolutely can't stop thinking or talking about it. It's my home, I'm convinced! There are so many cool things I loved about London. I loved the people, the English feel, and the royal highness. At first, before visiting London, I thought the whole royal thing was a bit corny, but now I'm a royal fanatic!
Not a Kate Middleton stalker, but more of a enthusiastic to learn more about the history of the kings and queens of England. I believe it makes England... England!

I took pictures of course. I went to the London Eye, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, did a tour of London, The Penthouse, and wondered around for a while. For only two days, I think that was amazing! I must go back, there was so much I missed!

Belly Dancing in Granada

Last night, I've probably laughed harder than any other night here. About 10 people in my program and I, went belly dancing. I was pretty excited because I love to dance and I have never belly danced before. I was going to have a great time! So our tour guide, Dani, led us down this dark alley. I'm thinking this is some sort of sick joke until we finally saw the dance studio. Helena Rull was the teacher.

She was a very nice woman with a natural talent to move her hips like a Shakira video. I 'thought' I was a great dancer, but I'm not compared to the hip swaying that belly dancing demands. It was an amazing experience. I definitely will go back if time permits. 

I was, however, on the verge of dying from uncontrollable laugher at the tour guide. He couldn't keep up with the dance moves. To put it nicely, he sucked! I was laughing so hard at him, which I think he even got a kick out of, because his moves were too bad to be true. It was hilarious! I had a fantastic time!

Helena Rull and I

Helena, I, Ariah, Ciara

Tour Guide aka Horrible dancer on the left of Helena Rull

The Dance Studio

Hola Chicos

I had a fantastic week!

Well first, this weekend I partied in Sevilla with some friends. It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing, but it was well enjoyed. We took a 3 hour bus ride there and met up with other people in Sevilla. We stayed in Triana Backpackers and it was okay for a hostel. I would recommend for anyone who stays in a  hostel to bring a top sheet or blanket, and also bring shower shoes! If you can't get a private room, bring a lock for the lockers and make sure you keep your things in order if sharing a room with others. Be clean. Be safe. Be courteous.

I had two midterms this week! I did two last week, and the other two were Monday. I passed of course! I think I'm getting better and better at speaking Spanish and being comfortable speaking Spainsh everyday. Practicing really does help. The professor for Spanish grammar, writing, and oral is amazing! She allows the class to talk as much as they'd like about Spanish, while embedding us with Spanish lingo! It's fun and I see a huge difference in my confidence to speak the language. Today, we did intercambio with some Spaniards at the school. They really gave me another perspective on learning a new language because I always complain that spanish-speakers speak too fast! While speaking to them, I was conscious to speak at a normal speed because they would get confused. It's a great experience to get your fluent weight up!

This weekend I will be partying (and studying a little)! I'm pretty excited for Friday because I'm going belly dancing! Can't wait! I'm also going to Morocco next weekend so I will keep you updated! 

Adios Chicos!

I failed miserably!

I had 4 things to do and only did one! Sorry guys! I really tried! I got so sick on Thursday and that pretty much ruined my whole weekend. I was supposed to head to Seville and Cordoba with my program, but ended up staying at home to better myself, get rest, and study. Maybe I'll go one day.

I did, however, eat a shawarma! Tasty!!! It was the best treat I'd had since I got here! I have chicken and falafel, which was A-Mazing! Ahhh... I love shawarma!

Thursday night, I got really sick. This flu turned into tracheitis and the ambulance had to come and inject me with something to make me breathe. I was so SCARED!!! I was intaking a miserably 30% oxygen and I could feel my body shutting down. My hands were purple, my left side was numb, and I was trying to just breathe! I couldn't. Friday morning, I went to get x-rays, checked out and given a stronger asthma pump to help with the breathing issues. Something is seriously attacking my body here!! Hopefully, I find out exactly what's making me sick before it gets to that point again! 

I have a midterm on Tuesday, which I've been preparing for. I'm pretty ready! I love my level of Spanish because, now, I feel like I can actually speak Spanish. That's great. 

Hola Chicos!

Everything has been going relatively smoothly so far. I pretty much have a study day, a cleaning day, a club/party day, I travels most weekends, and during the week is all school and extra-curricular activities. 

So far, I am going to Cordoba, Seville, Rome, London, Morocco, Madrid, and Barcelona. Whew!

I know it's a lot of traveling, but who knows when I'll be back in Europe. I'm just trying to make the best of it and carpe dieming! lol

I really wanted to go to paris, but it doesn't look like it will happen! Hopefully, I will be able to come back with my family or friends to go to Disneyland. Can't wait!

I also am considering the Arab bath, here in Granada. I've been to Jeju Spa in Atlanta, so I'm pretty sure it's the same concept. I more than likely will just take advantage of the massages and hopefully they have a sauna. I'm not really a public bath person. It really just freaks me out by thinking about it, so I'll pass. 

I keep hearing about this wrap called "shawarma". I really want to try that while I'm here in Granada. I also ordered my first delivery pizza here. It took me a good 25 minutes to do that. But now, I really know my take out! 

I am sick, once again. Pretty much the whole weekend was a miserable one. I can't seem to knock this virus! Ugh! But I know I will get it together! Pray for me!! 

Okay... I will speak to you again after I've accomplished my to-do list:

- Eat a shawarma 

- Go to the Arab Bath

- Take a dance/art course

- SEVILLE & CORDOBA this weekend!! 

Missing home!

You don't miss what you had, until it's gone. True story. I notice the small things that I took advantage of while at home; like being able to go to the doctor when I'm sick, driving to the grocery store, calling and texting people for the simplest things without hesitation, eating whatever I want whenever I want, telling people that I don't eat pork and they give me other options, watching tv with my mom, beating up my little brother (always), seeing my sister laugh, my cousins and grandma asking me to drive them places... the list could go on. Many of these things I complained about in he past, but I'm glad I have a family to come home to on December 21st. So many people don't have that. I'm grateful. However, coming to Spain was the best decision I could've made. I'm definitely enjoying it!!!

Lagos, my favorite place

Sorry! I've been slacking. I was supposed to write on Sunday but I was busy on the bus heading back home (Granada) from Lagos, Portugal. Yes, I finally went! Glad I did. I almost didn't go because it was just so hectic all last week with me trying to overcome the flu and getting back and forth to class everyday. But I got all of my homework done on Thursday night, packed, and headed to the bus! We started leaving from Granada to Seville to pick up other people who were coming along on the trip. Once we did that, around 10:30am, we were headed for Portugal.

Once we arrived, we unloaded and headed to the hotel rooms to get ready for the beach. Arrived at the beach, and had so much fun. I played volleyball for the first time in my life and found out that I'm actually pretty good. I might be training for the next for years for the Olympics, but we'll see. :)

I also went to Nah Nah Bar to eat the Top 50 Burger in the world. It was completely AMAZING!!! Lagos is a definite must see before you die. The caves, the beach, the sand feels like a cashmere blanket in your feet. I saw the "End of the World" and it is definitely the end of the world. You can't see anything! Just my luck that my battery died in my camera and phone and I was unable to take pics. But I happened to jump in a few of my friends pics and they took some of me! Thanks guys.

I also had so much fun at a few bars and clubs. Lagos' night life= LIFE! The bars are so much fun. We happen to go to one and the owner was American. He played country music for us... which I'm pretty ignorant about, but it felt like home. I enjoyed it. The clubs are great, too. For some reason whenever I go out, I seem to have the biggest audience for my dancing. I had a few drinks so I might have exuded Beyoncé in my dance moves. Ha!! I had a great time though.

I'm so lucky to have gone to Portugal. I'm really grateful! Hopefully you will be able to do so!

My Roomies and I + A few Photos!

Me, first day here

L to R: Me, Ariah (Roomie 1), Claudia, JoJo, Ciara (Roomie 2)

Paella

We visited the Alhambra

Me at the Alhambra

Club night!!

It sucks not being able to buy itunes when you have influenza!

So this week was madness at it's finest!

1st: I lost my wallet during a trip to Nerja with the group. Contents included: passport, drivers license, credit cards, insurance cards, and a brand new coach wallet my mom'd just bought for me before I came here. Well, first it was a big deal because I was supposed to head for Portugal for the Oct 5-7 weekend, so I really needed my passport. Don't ask why I took in to Nerja, stupidity at it's finest. I ended up contacting US Embassy in Madrid to get a replacement and apparently, you have to make an appointment to see them. I had school, so I don't know how that was going to happen. I can only miss 4 days!

Thankfully, a shopkeeper remembered me from purchasing all of the beach goodies from her store and sent an email to my school letting me know that I had left my wallet in her store! She shipped it to the office in Granada and I got it back! Yay!

2. I have had the worst sickness/cold for the past 2 weeks. It's been getting worse and worse but I have been trying to use home remedies as well as Ibuprofen to stop my throat from hurting. I came down with a rash on my face from eating strawberries and went to the 'Farmacia' to get some hydrocortisone cream. It works. So this cold, wasn't necessarily a cold. I found this out Thursday night, when I woke up and vomited all over the living room floor. My roomie had company so I just know I freaked her out! Talk about first impressions. That night including this morning I vomited 6 times. I called the ambulance, but they said I should take a cab to the nearest clinic. Hmm... if only I knew how to call one. Damn. I cried. For the first time on this adventure, I realized I was not offered the luxuries of being in America! I wanted to go home at that moment.

My roomie stepped in and called the cab, and he took me to the Clinic where the doctor interviewed me in her office/patient room, and looked at my throat and listened to my lungs... told me I had the a flu virus. I believe it.

3. I wasn't able to go to Portugal anyway. Darn! Maybe next time?? But I will be in bed most of this weekend. All I'm eating is bread and crackers... and drinking this solution the doctor gave me that tastes like orange gatorade mixed with pedialite for babies. Completely disgusting but it makes me feel a whole lot better!!

4. I can't seem to buy itunes, now that I canceled my cards when I realized my wallet was gone. I really want to see Scandal!!!

5. My classes were changed! My professor told me to take a final exam for the spanish level I was on and guess what? I completely passed! She was so proud of me. I told her that in the U.S. Spanish teachers mostly focus on grammar, not speaking. So just because I struggle speaking, doesn't mean I'm a complete dummy when it comes to Spanish! I'm actually pretty good! So bottom line is she boosted me up, and I smiled after that.

Hopefully, I feel a lot better after this weekend. Hopefully, I can purchase iTunes to watch  Scandal. And, hopefully, I don't take my passport out again and lose it!

First Week in Spain

First Week in Spain:
Getting to Spain was easy. Preparing was very stressful. Arriving felt rewarding.

I arrived in Madrid after flying for 8 hours. The flight wasn't all that bad. I spent most of my time watching American sitcoms, movies, and listening to music on the complimentary Delta screens. I really recommend flying Delta for international flights. When I arrived in Madrid, I wasn't quite sleepy, but tired from the flight, of course. I walked around Madrid's airport for a 4 hour layover to fly Iberia to Granada, Spain. I had to wait 30 minutes before my flight to Granada to find out which gate I was supposed to be. That was so confusing.

Once I arrived in Granada, I was immediately greeted by Jorge, who is the Student Life Advisor of CEA in Granada. He was standing there smiling with a sign that said CEA. Smart move. There was one other girl by the name of JoJo who rode with me to our housing. I was designated to the apartments and she was in the residency hall. When we arrived at the apartments and felt at home. Well, I had no choice. I was staying here for 3 months, with no option of leaving and going home.

Hours later, I met my roommate, Ariah, whom I met before I got to Granada via Facebook. She was excited, scared, and reacting the same way I was. I'm glad we met beforehand, that was the greatest Facebook stalking move that paid off tremendously.

I then ran into Ciara, another roommate who was lost. Ariah and I walked outside unknowingly meeting her to welcome her inside. That was awesome because we were worried about her getting to the apartment. I even went the extra mile and contacted everyone on her Facebook page. Another Facebook stalker move that paid off, tremendously.

For the next days our group of 5 took tours around the city, getting acquainted with the school, classes, and the neighborhood. The non-highlight of my first week was taking a Spanish placement. Rant begins... Well, our whole day was filled with walking around the city, eating a lunch, and taking a tour around our spanish classroom building. At 4pm, we were escorted to a room where we had to take a placement test that determined where we would be placed in classes. For some reason, we weren't being told that this test determined the required classes we took. So, I bummed. I was tired, jet-lagged, and full from the great pizza I'd eaten moments earlier.

The great pizza I'd eaten earlier. Yum.

 Not to give excuses, but come on. You cannot expect the best out of those conditions. Anyway, they ended up putting me in elementary spanish because of it, and I was not having that. My spanish level is way higher than that! I was never qualified for elementary spanish in college, so I definitely knew i could do better. After consulting with the student life advisor and the head of studies, she agreed that I would get permission from my professor to be moved the first week of classes. Still stressful, but I'll take it.

We visited the Alhambra, which is the Muslim castle that towers Granada. It was very beautiful. The towers give you a full view of all of Granada, including the mountains and scenery. Was like nothing I'd every seen in real life. I took a boat load of photos, bought a ring, and forgot to buy postcards. Oh well... I might go back just for that.

Me, R1, R2, Jojo, Claudia, and Juan (Tour Guide)

I also took a shopping trip with Ariah and Ciara. I love the shopping world here. Directly next to high end stores, you may find a really discounted store to get boots for 18 euros and less. I bought some rain boots, totally worth it, for 18 euros. I bought these cute pants for about 15 euros, and a fur vest from H&M. Yes, they have H&M! Brilliant move Granada, just brilliant. They also have Zara, one of the popular stores here. While we are on fashion, Jorge insisted that I leave the "tracksuits" at home. He says that Spaniards do not walk around looking like they are always going to the gym. And he's correct. They walk around dressed to impress, every and all day. This is something I will most definitely have to get used to.

18 euro rain boot (I did get the other foot for free): win

I experienced a little of Granada's club scene on Friday night at this club called, Los Camborios. We can never remember the name, but people here call it 'The Cave'. Rightfully so because it's literally a cave. I have two funny moments you must never repeat about Friday night. One was, I was alerted via Facebook that I had been selected to receive a free champagne bottle for my friends and I. Feeling like that meant I was on some sort of VIP list, I went right up to the door and told that man, I was VIP. He looked at me very strangely and said, we do not have VIP here. Mhmm... I thought maybe this guy didn't understand English. I then told him I was, 'Muy importante persona". He laughed, a couple of other people laughed, and I was annoyed. We finally got inside and I was able to redeem my promo, and enjoyed the champagne anyway. The second really funny thing was, I had one too many. I started dancing to Beyoncé's Single Ladies, in which my subconscious mind knew every dance move to the video that was playing on the projector. John and I were battling it out on the floor, doing the Beyoncé dance while everyone watched and pumped us up. So embarrassing! Oh well...

This Sunday, well today, we took a bus to Nerja Beach and Frigiliana. Nerja reminded me of a smaller version of Miami Beach, Florida. Nerja is located an hour away from Granada and the weather there is much different from Granada. It was 79 degrees today on the beach and I did not bring any summer clothes whatsoever. It hit me off guard, but I still had a great time in the water, with my people, and eating ice cream. Yum.