Let's give this another try, shall we?!

So, I def failed at keeping my blog going last year!  Oops...

Fortunately for me, the Spain adventures didn't end with the school year like they were supposed to!
I decided to MOVE to Spain!  It was a tough decision.  I had to sell my car, leave my job, and the comfort of my university.  But, three months into this new experience, I can say that it's def been worth it!

The new year is coming (yay 2014!) and yes, I'm going to be one of those people who make resolutions.  One of them is going to be to be better at posting here.  And if I fail, feel free to ridicule me.  I welcome it.

I'm not saying it's going to be a consistent thing, maybe just here and there.  But, I want to remember this experience, and this blog is the best way to do it!  So, here it goes... I'm really going to try!

Can I just take a moment...

to complain?

I'm sorry, I try to keep a positive tone to my posts, but, when looking back at these in years to come, I'm going to want to remember every detail, not just the good.

I've been extremely frustrated with my classes here the last few months.  Like REALLY frustrated.  I'm not saying that I blame my teachers, myself, or even the classes themselves.  I want to blame something, but really, 1) I can't and 2) It's not like it's going to help anything anyways.

I'm currently taking undergrad courses.  And don't get me wrong, I'm learning a lot.  And it's really interesting.  However, the testing is all memorization and NO application.  "Here, take this wonderful book, read it, but on the test I just want you to tell me the entire history of the author, the year it was written in, and the main topics that it contains (without, of course, developing any of those topics)."
What hurts my heart a little, is reading these books, which I love, finding SUPER interesting themes and topics, but knowing I can't do anything with it.  If it weren't for the fact the the teacher just puts random paragraphs on the test, and you have to identify which text it comes from, I probably wouldn't have to read the book at all!!  I just want, SO BADLY, to write a research paper, investigate SOMETHING, ANYTHING!! I feel like I'm mentally trapped. Every time I open a book my mind goes crazy with thoughts, questions, ideas... but to what end? I can't do anything with them!!

I will never again complain about having to write a research paper.  You can hold me to that. 

Alright.  I'm done.  Sorry for the rant.  But sometimes, it just feels good to get it out.  I'm going to try to keep a positive attitude, and take away as much as I can from these classes, and hopefully be able to apply it all down the road somewhere...

Carnival in Ciudad Rodrigo!

So, this post is a little late, but here it is!!

So, on Feb. 9th (?? maybe...) I went to a city, about 45 minutes away from Salamanca called Ciudad Rodrigo to celebrate Carnival!! (For those who don't know, Carnival is kinda like Mardi Gras.  It's the last huge celebration before lent.)  I went with two friends from the States who are also living in Spain right now, and we had a great time!
Everyone dresses up for this event, and a lot of times, groups dress up together.  We decided to dress up with the traditional masks, wore sparkly tights and scarves, and painted our nails!!

The first part of the day was spent walking around the city, taking in the sites, enjoying some drinks and tapas, and taking it all in.

 Walking around the outside of the city...

 View of the bull ring... we couldn't tell if it was still in use or not, since the bull fight they had that day was in the city, and not there...

Some people walking around all dressed up.  

Some of the more interesting things we saw were...
Cute costumes!!

 And crazy rides...

After walking around, we went to see a bull fight!! I was really conflicted about if I wanted to see one or not.  I'm not a fan of what happens, but at the same time, it's such a part of Spanish history and culture, that being a student of Spanish culture, I felt I should see. I will say, I had no idea what to expect, and I didn't think it would be as awful as it was.  There were times I almost cried!! But, I saw one, and if in the future any of my students have questions about it, I can tell them about my experience.

Here are some pictures.  I'm not going to put any of the sad ones up, and I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about what a bull fight entails.  I will, however, put up a video soon explaining it all (just me talking about what I saw... haha) so if anyone wants to know, they can watch it, but if they don't, they don't have to.  I'm also putting the video up more for myself so I can remember everything, since I highly doubt I'll be going to one ever again.

Overall, it was a great day!
And it looks like there were a lot of people that had a good time as well...

Quirks about Spain that annoyed me at first, but now I kinda love...

1.  The sun doesn't come up until like 8:30!!! Now, I know it's cuz of the season and such, but even in winter in Chicago, it's up by 7:00!!
This really bothered me at first, since I came to Spain still functioning on a US schedule.  Getting up at 7 was almost impossible, since it was SO dark, and for SO long!!
BUT! now that I'm a little adjusted, I like getting up at 8, before the sun, and feeling like I'm getting up SO early! haha

2.  Lunch and Dinner SUPER late!!
Lunch time is usually between 2-4 and dinner between 8-10.  At first this was really hard for me, especially since I'm used to eating dinner SUPER early (Even for US time), but even without trying I have found myself not getting hungry until around 2 and 8.  (It helps that I generally have pinchos [tapas] around 6 or 8).

3.  Daily "siesta"
From 2- roughly 5 everything closes (except a few bigger stores and the cafes/ bars).  This took awhile to get used to, since that is when I normally get out of class and want to run my errands.  However, I like being forced to go home, eat, and relax for awhile.  It takes a lot of the pressure of constantly going and getting stuff done off.  Gives me time to appreciate life, reflect on my day, and plan my evening.

4.  Throwing napkins and trash on the floors of bars and cafes
Ok, so this one still kinda annoys me a lot (and half the time I just want to walk around and sweep all the floors...), but it's SUPER interesting to me!
I had a friend tell me once (And I haven't researched this, and hopefully will one day) that when they do this, it's to show how popular the bar is.  More trash (napkins, sugar packets, etc.) on the ground, shows that more people go there!! It's not at all to say they're dirty, cuz they're not! It's just the floors!!

5.  Walking EVERYWHERE... ALL the time!!
Yes, I found this EXTREMELY annoying at first, and REALLY just wanted to jump in my car and drive wherever I had to go.  But now, I enjoy this.  It's a time for me to listen to music, think about my day, and not to mention, everyone could use a little more activity in their lives.

6.  The lights in the bathrooms.
Alright, so, when you go to a bar, cafe, restaurant whatever, and you go to the bathroom the lights are generally on, right?! Well, not here! You have to turn them on, and they're generally on a timer.  This can be really frustrating when all of the sudden the lights go out, and yes, I would freak out the first few times this would happen, but now I expect it, and it's just a reflex to reach back up and turn them on.  No problem.  It's nice because it makes perfect sense! Why waste all that energy?

7.  Not to mention every toilet flushes differently.
Ok, not EVERY toilet, but yes, I have seen more creative ways of flushing toilets here than ever in my life.  There are some with buttons, some with those pull things that come down from the ceiling, some with foot petal things and the list goes on.  It's always an adventure!
Oh, and ps I have yet to see a toilet with the normal handle on the side like we have in the states.

I'll probably add more to this list as I discover things, or slowly grow to love the things that still annoy me...

Reflecting...

Yes, I know, I still have to finish my posts about Andrew's visit and going to France and I PROMISE to do that soon.  However, I just wanted to take a moment and share my recent thoughts.

As I reach the half-way mark of my time here in Spain, I've been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting, not only on my time here, but on my life in general, and the trajectory that has lead me to this amazing experience.

Every once in awhile, something will happen that will spark a random memory, a song, smell, anything.  It's funny thinking back on random moments of my life.  I can't believe how much I've experienced.  I am EXTREMELY thankful for these moments, because they constantly remind me of all the love, support, and opportunities that have been afforded me.  I have done more in my short life than most hope to do ever, and I can't wait to see what the next chapters of my life bring.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude!

There have been many moments in my life that I wished I could change.  Changing schools in 9th grade, dating certain people, being friends with others, etc.  However, looking back on these moments I realize that if it weren't for those things, I wouldn't be who or where I am today.  EVERY single experience, good or bad, every person, whether or not they hated me or I hated them, all spurred me forward to bring me to this point in my life.  So, I am thankful for each and every moment/ experience/ person who has come into my life.  And of course, those who are still in my life and constantly sharing their love and support with me play a HUGE role.  Combined, they made me who I am, and you know what? I'm pretty happy with who I am.  Ya, I know, there are a few areas in my life I could improve, but that's true for everyone.  At the end of the day, I know who I am, and I know what made me who I am, and I'm eternally grateful for that.

So, this is just to say thank you to the small world of people who have touched my life.  If it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't be sitting here, in my little closet-sized room, in Spain, living my dream.

Quick Reflections

As of yesterday, I have officially been in Spain for 4 months!! This is a little mind blowing for me, and this blog is to explain why.

While I can't believe how fast time is going, and that I have less than 6 months left here, I'm also conflicted with the feeling that I've been here forever but in a good way (of course).  I have a life, like a real life here in Salamanca.  I have friends, I pay bills, I have certain stores I prefer to shop in, cafes that I'm a "regular" in... I really can't believe how much I completely feel like I have created a nice little life for myself here.

Now, this is completely different from the last time I was in Spain, for a couple of reasons.  1) I was living with a "family"- that really means one older lady.  She was really sweet, and absolutely adorable, but, it's not the same as now, where I have my own place, a roommate (who's awesome), pay bills, cook my own meals, do my own cleaning, etc.  You know that feeling when you move out of your parents house and get an apartment of your own?  Well, I feel like in my "Spanish life" I've "moved out" of my "parents' (Carmen's)" home, and into my own place... does that make sense?
Reason 2) I'm older.  I know, I'm only 3 years older than the last time I was here, but it's amazing how different that can make my experience. Last time I was in Spain, I'm not going to lie, I was all about boys, clubs, and cafes... I didn't care about school, nor did I really have to.  I just wanted to go out, flirt with all the cute Spanish boys, and stay awake until the sun came up.  This time, however, I still enjoy going out for a drink or two with some friends, but mainly, we just stay in, talk, watch movies, make tortilla, and maybe open a bottle of wine.  It's nice, and I feel like the friendships I'm making are much stronger than the ones from Santiago because of it.  Not to mention I have a WONDERFUL boyfriend, so going out to look for cute Spanish boys no longer seems appealing to me.  Needless to say, my entire experience is completely different.  It's more like "real life" and not so much like that crazy semester abroad that so many people associate with living in Europe for school.
Another thing that has made me feel more like I LIVE here, and am not just visiting... is that a friend and I have decided to try to run a 1/2 marathon! I'm extremely excited about this! Training has been hard, but I'm really enjoying it!! AND I might even join a gym and do pilates... See?! Things I would only do if I LIVED somewhere.

Well, that's all for now.  I promise to post about Christmas and New Years within the next 48 hours.