One of Two

hello everyone! so this will be one of two more posts on my blog! I am safely back in the States!!! I am happy, but at the same time very sad to leave Salamanca and all of the friends I made. I am going to post once more about my time in Paris. It was freaking awesome! hahahaha! Just be patient. I have a lot going on right now! I'll also post the rest of my pictures! I love you all!

Amamos Teressa!!!!

I just finished my final!!! I think I aced it! I am about to go out on a run and then we are celebrating Sean's 21st birthday in Salamanca! How crazy is it that it's our last night here?!?! It is a beautiful day... gosh I feel so blessed! 

These past couple of days have been full of the plaza mayor, shopping for friends, studying, and NOT eating in the dorm. Wow the food has just gotten SO much worse! I know this is short, but I will update soon and tell you more about what's going on! 

Oh, and my teacher's name is Teressa... Teressa es muy divertida! We love her! We bought her some Vino for helping us so much! AHHHHHH!!!!!! This is crazy!

Amazing Grace

These last couple of days have been so much fun, but at the same time I have been really sad. I can't believe the month is almost over. Don't get me wrong, I miss all of you so much, but I have had the most incredible experience over here!

This week has been full of class, class, and more class. Ha ha! I got an "A" on my midterm, which shocked me! My spanish is getting a lot better! In fact, I am forgetting my Deutsch! So sad! Our little group over here ate lunch in the Plaza on Monday. It was glorious! We went out that night to an Irish pub that was fantastic.

Yesterday, I realized I was getting really sick. It is not a good time to get sick! I went to class, took a siesta, went back to class, played some soccer and then a group of us went to the Plaza for some sangria and vino. I realized that it is those moments that I am going to miss the most. Sitting in the Plaza Mayor with the people you love sipping on some wine. Heck until December 17th I can't even drink wine in the US. We told my teacher the drinking age in the US was 21 and she said that was ABSURD! After we hung out at the Plaza we went to Leonardos! Our dinner in the dorm last night was awful, so a couple of us grabbed some food to go, then we headed back to the C.U.M. dormitorio.

I feel a lot better today thanks to Clariton. I think our plan is to relax today, hopefully lunch will be good... but who knows?!?! It seems to be getting worse. Then I'm going to go on a run, go to class, and finally play some soccer. We have been playing 6v6 and 3v3... it is really kicking me into shape! 

I love you all and please check out my pictures, I've posted more!!!!!!

Fanny Pack

So, we just got back from Portugal. WOW!!!! It was a short trip, but it was so worth it! We left on Friday night just before dinner and headed to Portugal. I still don't know the city we stayed in, but I will find that out as soon as possible. Our four star hotel on the beach was incredible. It was right next to the casino. Even though we got there pretty late, we decided we didn't have much time there so we headed to this restaurant/pub. They had a band there. I am still not sure what kind of band they were. They sang some songs in English, Portuguese, what sounded like German, and they were wearing Scottish kilts. Hmmm??? Well, it didn't matter what in the heck they were wearing because they were AWESOME!!!! Cait, Sean, Gregg, Caleb, Ben, Scott (Mrs. G's husband), and I had so much fun! 

The next morning we woke up around 10ish and headed to the beach... the beach was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! They had volleyball tournaments going on, everyone was playing soccer, and the waves rocked. Almost all 55 Auburn students were together on one part of the beach. We played around 

with the frisbee and the volley

ball while catching some rays. Oh, did I mention I am burnt! I love it! This day was one of my favorite days in Europe. 

The food in the hotel was incredible. WAY better than food here in Spain. We got dressed up and watched the sunset... we were at the western most part of Europe watching the sunset, how sweet is that?!? We went out that night, but I was really tired and went to bed early! 

We headed home at about 11 a.m. and headed to another city in Portugal. BUT-- there was a bike race going on with about 1 million participants and we couldn't find a place to park the bus so we headed to a smaller city which was so fun! We ate some pizza and walked around the ferris wheel! They had these cute stores full of jewelry and puppets! We hopped back on the bus, watched a depressing movie, and headed back to Salamanca.

I got to talk to mommy, katie, daddy, and geoff today on skype... I love skype! It was the first time I have talked to my dad all month. He was eating Moe's. I was pissed at him for that. Food over here just isn't the same as American food! I went on a run after dinner and now I am sitting in my bed. I miss you guys... I know I say that a lot, but I really do. I'll be posting pictures soon! If you haven't seen them yet the link is just below! I love you all!

SPAIN PICTURES!!!!

Study? No Way!

Back to school, back to school, to prove to daddy i not a fool! Ha! We have been quoting Billy Madison all trip! It is awesome!

So, classes started again today. I seriously wanted to shoot myself in the foot... the three hour class periods are horrible, and we have TWO of them a day! I just got playing soccer with about nine other guys. It was really awesome! We lost, but I am getting my touch back and that makes me extremely happy! 

Not much is going on today. I am about to get in the shower and then a group of us are going to the Plaza Mayor and studying. We have our midterm tomorrow... I think I'll be fine! Teressa, our teacher, says it will be "muy facil!" I hope I spelled that right! 

I am so blessed and thankful to be here. I have made some incredible friendships! Right now I am watching the sunset and I wish all of you could be here with me. It's also really neat that Blane and I both are in Europe! I love it! 

Well, check back in tomorrow! I just wanted to point out that I am proving all of you (Katie, Andrew, Lindsay and Paul) WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!! I have posted like crazy!!!!!!! He He! I miss everyone!!!!!

Here is a shout out to Cullen Johnson... he makes me smile! :)

Si Si Si Si Si Si

Hey everyone! I have been putting pictures up from my trip! Just click the link below! I miss all of you! I got to talk to mommy, brucie, katie, andrew, lindsay, geoff, and james today and it was WONDERFUL! I love you all!

Moni's Pictures

Dos Coca Colas...Kaw!

OK so we just got back from Andalucia, what an awesome trip! First I am going to summarize what has been going on recently. I have been away from my computer so I didn’t have any time to write down the details so here are some of the most important things tha

t happened… classes started, cait went to the hospital, classes continued, we played soccer, I’ve been running, creepy Spanish movies in class, the food got worse, Mexican food night, we found out our teacher speaks English, medieval, movie quotes, wine night in the plaza and Camelot!

 Now… Andalucia. First we traveled to Toledo. The bus ride wasn’t bad. In fact, I slept the whole way. Toledo was a really neat city. It is still surrounded my medieval walls and is designed so that the city is like a labyrinth. I learned some interesting facts about religion and captured some great photos! The tour was really great. It 

went by a little fast, and before we knew it we were back on the bus to head to Granada.

 Granada was an incredible city. The first night was very relaxing, minus the fact that I fell when I was running. The next day we toured the Alhambra which used to be a mosque, but the Christians turned it into a palace…I think. Haha! Sometimes I don’t pay too much attention to the tour guides. Oops!  The buildings and gardens were so beautiful! After the tour, Cait, Mark and two guys from Hampden-Sydney, Peter and Andrew, and I all had lunch! It was delicious! Then we made our way to the pool where we layed out and talked all afternoon. That night most of the group went to see a Flamenco show, but Cait and I decided to stay in. I didn’t fell too well and my cut hands were really bothering me.

 The next morning we headed to Sevilla. Sevilla is AMAZING!  After we checked in to our hotel we headed straight to the Cathedral. The Cathedral in Sevilla is the third largest in the world! It was incredible. We looked around for a while and then Cait and I decided to get some lunch. We ran into some of our favorite people: Rocio, Chandler, Matt and

 Spencer. THE SEXY 6! We had some nachos and drinks and then we ran into some of our other favorite people: Sean, Gregg, Caleb, and Ben. It was crazy… see all of these people di

dn’t go on the trip with the group, they did their own thing and stayed in Sevilla all weekend! So it was crazy that we ran into them!

 That night the sexy 6 went to see a Flamenco show. It was so entertai

ning! This little girl sang and danced and it was incredible! After that we met up with the other group and hung out on the roof of their hostel. It had the best view of the Cathedral! We then made our way to a local bar where we danced the night away! After we did something kind of crazy… we jumped off of the side of the bridge into the Rio Guadalquivir. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! I will never forget that moment.

 Well, we just got back to our dorm. The bus ride was so easy. I slept the whole way! Now, I am about to go on a run and then get ready for dinner and go to sleep! Andaucia was great! I had an incredible time, but I miss everyone back home! Keep in touch: email me afanama@auburn.edu

 I love you all!

Granada!

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted anymore updates on my day to day activities. I think I am going to summarize what has been going on in a couple of days...

For now, we are in Granada, Spain. I just got done running. I ran with Cait and it was quite an experience. I tripped on a rock and fell face first into the gravel... my hands are scraped up and they hurt really bad.

The trip here was great! I slept all 8 hours. On the way we stopped in Toledo. What a beautiful place! I'll have more updates soon, and I'll put pictures up. Our internet in the dorm is slow so it hasn't been working!

I love you all and I just wanted to let you know I am safe!!

Princess of Segovia!

Day 4 Segovia

 SEGOVIA!!!!! We woke up ver

y early, grabbed our packed lunches and hopped on the bus to head to Segovia. Segovia is a city very close to Madrid. It is famous of its beautiful castle and aqueducts. The people there are so friendly!

 A bunch of us decided to stop listening to the tour guide after 15 minutes and do our own thing. One of the coolest things was seeing a band play through the town. They serenaded our Auburn group! One guy was so friendly, he whipped out a knife and gave Cait, Gregg, Caleb and I some of his sausage. You can see what I’m talking about in my pictures!

 My favorite part was the castle… aka Cait’s home! Yes, we determined that Cait would be a very good princess. After touring the castle a big group of us decided to pay 2 Euro to go up to the tower. After climbing at least 20 flights of stairs, we made it to the top. I wish I could put into words how beautiful the scenery was. Wow. We took pictures, ate lunch and then headed back. It was such a fun day! Someday, Cait will be the princess of Segovia and she will invite me over to play!

That night, we went to the Plaza Mayor for ice cream and wine. We 

went with a large group and we ended up getting split up. All but four of us went to the Irish Rover, a bar in Salamanca that is very popular with Americans. On Sundays it is Trivia Night. After Cait, Gregg, Matt and I were done with our ice cream, we went to look for the Irish Rover to go play with all of our friends. We ended up getting lost and found a concert in the park! The woman singing had the most beautiful voice! After the concert was over we found the bar and started playing trivia with the rest of our friends. I ended up going to bed pretty early. It was one of the best days I have had here, full of laughter and great conversation.

Laughter is the best medicine...

Day 3 Madrid to Salamanca

The bus ride was quite an experience. As soon as we got on the bus at 9 a.m. the laughter

 started. Stories from the night before and Lauren Whidman sleeping with her mouth open on the bus kept us laughing all the way to Salamanca. I planned on sleeping the whole way, but when you are with some of your best friends that is impossible. The scenery was flawless.

 When we arrived in Salamanca we got our rooms and then headed downstairs to start our tour. I spent the entire tour taking pictures. I took pictures of cathedrals, weddings, old buildings plazas and Jeff Hajek, We learned some interesting facts about Salamanca. Cleary I didn’t pay that much attention cause I can’t remember one to tell you right now!

 That night, everyone was pretty tired from Madrid, so Laura Barron, Cullen Johnson, Lauren Whidman, Cait Haygood, Jeff Hajek and I all went to the Plaza Mayor and sipped on wine. 

We shared some laughs and some good conversation. We were all in awe of the fact that we were in such a beautiful city. I went to bed early (1 a.m. is early over here) because we had our

 excursion to Segovia the next day. It was nice to get some rest for once!

God Bless America

Day 2 In Madrid

 My first tour! Cait and I woke up at 9:52 a.m. Our tour started at 10 a.m. We rushed downstairs, grabbed a piece of bread for breakfast and made it just in time for the tour! Our group took two buses. We saw parks, an enormous statue of Don Quixote, the outside of the Real Madrid stadium, two famous museums, cathedrals and, my favorite part, the palace! We toured the palace for about two hours. The crystal chandeliers and intricate decorations blew my mind away. I couldn’t imagine living in a palace with over 200 rooms.

After the tour, Cait and I ate lunch at the hotel. A “jamon und huevo” sandwich. After lunch I had my first SIESTA! In Spain, they take about one to two hours a day for a siesta! The whole city shuts down and everyone takes a nap or just rests. Cait and I took about a four-hour siesta. It was glorious!

 When we woke up, it was time for dinner. We showered and got pretty dressed up to go to a tapas restaurant. There was a large group with us. Rucio and her two Spanish friends came! We went to a restaurant in the middle of the Plaza Mayor.

 Earlier that day we went to the grocery store and bought cheap boxed wine! I got Sangria! It is illegal to have open containers in public in Spain and it just so happened the only place we could drink our juice boxes of wine was in an area of Madrid where there was a Gay Festival going on. It was Gay Pride week in Madrid and there was a parade going on that night. It was a really neat experience. Everyone was having such a good time! Gregg even bought our group a bottle of champagne to celebrate the 4^th of July!! We tried to sing “God Bless America” in the middle of thousands of Spaniards! It was awesome! We only stayed for about an hour until we headed to our next destination…

 We hopped on the Metro and headed to the place where I felt most at home: the Real Madrid Stadium. There is restaurant/club inside the stadium. When we walked in I was in awe. Yes, everyone here has given me a hard time about it, but I even started crying! It was so incredible to see a SOCCER stadium as big as the football stadiums in America. Every game they fill the stadium with 90,000 screaming fans all dressed up in red and yellow! 

Finally!

Travel Day

Arriving at the airport was a rush. The first face I saw was one of my good friends Cullen Johnson. It was so comforting recognizing one person out of sixty Auburn students at the Atlanta airport. He calmed all of my nerves…except one: my luggage. Yes, my luggage was so heavy, that, with confidence, my “freakishly strong” mom fell flat on her face trying to carry it down the stairs. I’ve never seen my sister laugh so much in my life! When the scale read 51, Cullen and I died laughing. Because I’m awesome, I ended up transferring clothes out of my big bag to the smaller one… 49 POUNDS!!!!

 

The rest of the airport experience went really well! The flight to Paris was 8 hours. I made some friends right away. After endless nights of NERTS you’d think I would be tired of card games, but you are wrong. We bonded by playing Crazy Eights before the plane took off. I took two Tylenol PM and don’t remember eating my dinner that night.

 

We landed in Paris and a small group of us had 15 minutes to get to our connecting flight. The flight to Madrid was only an hour and a half long! Much different from the eight hour flight to Paris!

 

Finally, after our bus almost left us at the wrong hotel in the middle of nowhere in Madrid, we made it to our gorgeous hotel. My roommate’s name was Jenny. She is such a sweetheart. We have become great friends already. The rest of the Atlanta crew wasn’t supposed to arrive for another three hours. The small group and I went on our own tour of Madrid. After seeing a small portion of the city we went into a small café where we watched two brothers, Caleb and Ben, have their first beer in Spain. They were very excited!

 

That night, Jenny and I met up with Cait Haygood, Sean Thomas, Gregg Peters and Matt Jones. We found them at a cute outdoor restaurant looking right at a beautiful park. They were drinking wine and eating tapas! From there we just enjoyed a night out on the town. One of the guys on the trip, Chandler, has a girlfriend here in Spain. Her name is Rucio. She took us to a Plaza. These are very popular in Madrid. Each city has a Plaza de Mayor. I didn’t take any pictures this night, but don’t worry, there are plenty more for you to look at!

 

On the way back we walked down a street that had theatres showing HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and Beauty in the Beast!!!!! This made me so happy! Overall, the day was perfect! I felt so blessed to be in Madrid. God got us there safely and I couldn’t wait to see what He had planned for me for the next month!

No Internet...

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I haven´t had the Internet this entire time! I am currently sitting in an Internet cafe with some friends... the good news is I have been writing in Word and I will post those blogs as soon as I get a chance!

YOU ARE ALL SO AMAZING AND I MISS YOU SO MUCH!

I am having an amazing time! God is great! I hope everyone´s summers are going great! Don´t have too much fun without me!

I love you all!

Almost there...

I thought this could be a great way to share with you while I am in Spain!

Here is a little information about my trip: I fly out from Atlanta on Wednesday. We land in Paris, and then make our way to Madrid. We stay two nights in Madrid before we travel to Salamanca. There is a very large group of us going from Auburn. I'll be studying Spanish at a University in Salamca. Here is a link that can explain a little bit more if you are interested: http://media.cla.auburn.edu/forlang/study_abroad/spain_summer/index.cfm

This summer has been amazing so far! I've made new friends, tried new things, and even welcomed a new member into our family! My sister and Andrew got married on June 21st! All of my family came to Atlanta for the wedding! We had a blast! I am so happy for my sister and Andrew... I mean if it wasn't for me, they wouldn't be together! ;)

Last weekend I went white water rafting with the college ministry at my church! I can't even put into words how much fun we had! The car ride up, the tent "experiences," and even the car ride back were almost perfect! It truly was a wonderful experience. It can't get any better than spending time with the Lord, while camping and rafting on the Ocoee River with the ones you love! I can't wait for next summer's trip.

The next time I'll post on here I will be in SPAIN! I am so excited! I will miss all of my friends and family while I am gone! Please check-in with me on here to see what I am up to, it might be hard to keep in touch with everyone while I am away. I love you all!

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4