Home sweet home :)

Well who would've thought getting home would be the most ridiculous adventure of the past 9 weeks. Not much sleep happened the night before we left for the airport. We got up around 5:15 to finish packing and to have time for the 3 of us to take showers before breakfast at 7 am. Keep in mind this was around 10 or 11 pm home time. Anyways, our flight left on time from Madrid to Atlanta. 10 hours , 4 movies, 1 episode of Castle and a couple of plane meals later we arrived in Atlanta! Much to my surprise going through customs went well... no thanks to the passport control lady and security lady, but it went smoothly for the most part. We got to our gate and our flight was on time... everything was A-ok! I went to get a frosty because, well it's been a couple of a months since I had one. As I was inhaling it on my way back I could see my friends in the distance not looking too happy. Unfortunately our plane was delayed an hour and a half. Well then it was delayed again... oh it gets better... it was canceled. Dr. Jensen ran straight to the help desk only to find that they had put us on a flight leaving the next morning. We were't going to have that... I mean we were a 2 hour drive and a 40 minute or less flight away from Birmingham.. so she tried finding a shuttle... nothing was working. Finally, the only angel Delta has saved us. She somehow managed to get all of us on an 8:30 pm flight. Now, keep in mind that this flight would be leaving at 2/3:00 in the morning to us. So, we were all irritable and exhausted with bloodshot eyes.

We were happy at this point...

Megan and I in the airport in Madrid

Molly and me on the plane!

So, things were looking up... until the storm clouds rolled in. We could feel another delay about happen... sure enough. To make a very long story a little.. less long...we didn't end up leaving Atlanta until midnight. We were all to our being awake for over 24 hours mark and we just wanted to be home. On a lighter note, a Samford graduate sat next to me on the plane to Birmingham. He actually had gone on the same Spain trip as me about 7 years ago with the same professor that was on the plane with us! It's a small world after all. On another great note, our luggage was sitting there waiting on us when we got to the airport. I was honestly in and out of that airport in less than 10 minutes! Carlos picked me up and I stayed at Ericca's that night. There was no driving home at that point. The next morning I had a little car difficulty, but all is well now. Had a cup of coffee with my Starbucks fam, and got to see Kelley!

Now I'm home with my WONDERFUL and chaotic family. The house is a zoo and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've had my sweet tea, now just waiting to have some BBQ sometime soon. Ironically, my first meal back in the states was Japanese food last night. Doesn't make much sense but it was delicious. The poor waitress thinks I'm crazy though. I looked pretty rough and tired, and managed to order my food in Spanish... didn't even think twice about it. I wondered why she was staring at me awkwardly... then it hit me. Oops.

Mom, a very tired Courtney, and John at Kobe's

I can't believe I'm home. It's a bittersweet feeling still. I keep thinking that I have to get up and walk 30 minutes to get somewhere, but no I can jump in my car if I want to! It really is hard to believe that my journey to Spain is complete. There are things I miss already, but I can honestly say that I'm more than happy to be where I am now. I learned a lot about myself while I was gone and about the things that are most important to me in life. There are so many things I took for granted, even the small ones that I will be grateful for now. I'm thankful for my family and my own traditions. I have such a strong desire now to learn more about other cultures and explore more into my own. I'm walking away from Spain with a new sense of independence, the knowledge of a new language and culture, a deeper respect for change and differences, and a deeper respect for myself. My family and my friends continue to be my rock even when I'm on another continent. God bless them, and God bless America :)

It's time to say goodbye!

Last night was a fabulous night in Madrid! I went to dinner with Emily and her sweet family! It was so nice to meet them (officially.) I felt like I knew them already because of our skype conversations, but it was so exciting to have her family here! I was greeted with smiles and hugs! We had great tapas at a cave restaurant next to where we ate one of our first nights in Madrid (the first time.) We had the usual Tortilla Espanola, pimientos, croquetas and of course bread and churizo. It was delicious! We tried to get nun cookies after but they were already closed up for the day. I’ll be attempting again today! We walked around the city and visited the bullfighting ring in Ventas. We wanted to see our madre in Quintana where we lived in Madrid but for some reason, she decided to go out on the town! Our sweet madre never left when we were there but the one time we wanted to see her she wasn’t at home! It was fine though, because we went to our usual café and saw our friends that work there. They had missed us! We were greeted with smiles and ice cream… couldn’t have asked for a better night!

My last day in Spain is practically over! It started off well… I suppose. I accidently slept through breakfast, but that’s okay! Sleeping in was nice. We went to lunch at VIPS, and by we I mean all of us except Emily! This separation anxiety thing is just not working out for me! No worries, I saw her a little later… now I’m getting ahead of myself. After lunch, Taylor, Molly and I went to Retiro Park. It was so nice having today to hang out there for a little bit. We went to the rose garden, the lake where I had lunch everyday, and ate our popsicles in the shade. It was a little toasty outside, I’m feeling the consequences now but it was worth it. After Retiro we ventured back to the hotel for our last Spanish siesta! As soon as we woke up it was practically time for dinner at the hotel! Then, I met Emily and her family to say our goodbyes! I know you will be surprised, BUT I didn’t cry. Perhaps that will come tomorrow. It’s bittersweet. I love Spain and I have a new respect for this culture. This has been my home for the last 2 months… But, I feel accomplished and my time here is done. I have no regrets, new friends, and priceless memories.

All the packing is done, and my clothes are laid out for tomorrow morning. We are leaving the hotel at 7:30 in the morning so we will be getting an early start! I’m so excited now that I don’t even know if I will be able to sleep tonight. Our flight leaves around 11:30 in the morning my time…, which is 4/5:30 at home so I’ll be arriving in the land of sweet tea and BBQ around 5:30 pm with a smile on my face!

I can’t believe it’s time to say goodbye to Spain, what an adventure this has been. Spain, you’ve been so great to me, you’ve taught me so much, but it’s time for me to go home. Hasta luego : )

One step closer.

The BEAUTIFUL plaza mayor... no picture will ever capture it's true beauty.

7/23/10

Friday

Our last day in Salamanca has been quite a success and it’s not even over yet! We had a very chill morning, studying her e and there. We had lunch at our all time favorite restaurant in the plaza mayor. We enjoyed our last “mixto con huevo” which is a ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top. Absolutely one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Our finals went as well as they could I suppose, but most importantly…. WE ARE DONE WITH SCHOOL. To celebrate we went and had the most delicious ice cream in Spain. After I finished my “ferrero and tarta de queso” ice cream cone we did some last minute souvenir shopping. Now it’s time to pack some more. The manager at our favorite restaurant told us to “squeeze the fun out of Salamanca” so that’s exactly what we have to do! It’s our last day here, so we have to soak up every moment at this point!

My other half

My comercial correspondence class with our teachers, Alicia and Maria!

Tonight after dinner we are going to the plaza again to reminisce with friends. I know that we will still be together this weekend but it’s mine and Emily’s last night before her family is here! She’s leaving in the morning to go to Madrid and I won’t leave until noon. It will be the longest we’ve been apart!

Dinner was so fun tonight. We had the most typical Spanish meal as our last home cooked meal here. Carmen made us paella, tortilla de patatas and the most delicious salad in the entire world. We had great conversation and our padres felt the need to share life lessons with us. They want us to just be happy no matter what we do! How precious are they? I’m gong to miss them. Truly have been blessed with great families here!

It’s a bittersweet feeling being done! Not much left to do but finish packing and enjoy our last night in Salamanca with great friends.

Looking forward to it :)

7/24/10

Saturday

Well last nights outing was quite the adventure. We sat in the plaza together one last time in Salamanca. Of course we chose our favorite restaurant and enjoyed the beauty surrounding us while reminiscing of our favorite moments in Spain. After a couple of hours there we decided to walk to the cathedral. It’s in a beautiful location and is illuminated at night so we wanted to see it one last time. We all layed in the grass to look at it above us. It was so perfect…. Until… somebody, somewhere didn’t want us on that grass. For a total of about 5 seconds the sprinklers came on and we were soaked. Poor Caitlin was sitting right next to it so she got the really bad end of the deal but it was a priceless moment that we’ll remember for a long time! Way to end on a fun note, right?

Emily left this morning. Probably one of the most typical goodbye… movie scenes I’ve ever been a part of. I walked her downstairs where her taxi awaited her. The cab driver took her suitcase and put it in the car and then Emily and I hugged. I stood there waving as she drove away. Wow, does that not scream the goodbye in the “Parent Trap” minus the rain? It sure does. I mean, I’ll see her in about 3 hours anyway, but it was still emotional. Haha. I walked around a little bit after that to admire the beauty of Salamanca one last time. I was gone less than an hour and when I got back to my room my madre had already stripped Emily’s bed and had her sheets washed and on the line to dry. I was shocked! It didn’t make the separation anxiety any easier!

After attempting to fit all of my belongings in my suitcase, I went to Gil with Morgan, for one last delicious pastry. And by one last delicious pastry I mean, I bought 6 of the little bite size ones. It’s the perfect scenario for the indecisive… which is me to a T.

I spent some time with my padres this morning after Emily left. I hadn’t ever been alone with them before so carrying on the conversation with them by myself was a challenge, but wonderful! They are too sweet. I think my madre could tell I was anxious to leave because getting to Madrid was the next big step in heading home. Not to mention, I’m so thankful we get to go back to Madrid. This is where we all started so this is what I consider “home” in Spain. It’s the perfect place for closeure! So anyways, my madre came and gave me a hug and told me that she was going to miss me. My padre called a cab for me and we squeezed into the tiny elevator with all of my luggage. He told the taxi driver where he should take me. Then sweet Miguel stood there and waved as I drove off. He’s so precious! I’m going to really miss them!

Now, I’m in MADRID! The bus ride wasn’t too bad and passed by quickly. I’m staying with Carmen and Molly since Emily is with her family! Cant’ wait to see them later on tonight! It’s going to be a quick “parent” fix until I get home and get to see my own! (Luckily I got to skype both of my parents today, which was AWESOME.) Our hotel room is big and beautiful, with air conditioning and a shower that I can use for more than 3 minutes at a time! YES! It’s the little things, huh?

I don’t have definite plans right now. Just taking it easy! Can’t wait to see Em and her family later. It will be a great two days in Madrid, and then I’m homeward bound.

Forever Blessed.

Today was a milestone because we had our last excursion with the school! We went to "La Casa Lis" which is a museum of modern art. The physical house was gorgeous. There was a huge stained glass ceiling, beautiful windows and walls... the art however... ehhh. They had an entire floor dedicated to the ugliest dolls I have ever seen in my entire life. They even had clown-like dolls--my worst nightmare. I'm sure, had I stared long enough, I could have found something to respect, but for now... I will walk away with precious memories of that beautiful stained glass ceiling.

Emily and I went for tapas before our group meeting after our excursion. We ate at this cute, outside restaurant with a perfect view of the stunning cathedral. It was breathtaking, as always. We just sat and stared at our beautiful scenery trying to accept the fact it was our second to last day in Salamanca. Unfortunately, it came to our attention that tomorrow is mine and Emily's last day together--officially anyway. Her family is coming in on Saturday so we will add much more to the bunch. It's hard for me to imagine flying home without my other half! It's been such a blessing getting to know her! Thank you Katie Carroll for introducing me to a new best friend! You are wonderful.

After we had our LAST classes at Sampere we came straight home to pack. We want to get a head start on things so we don't have to worry about it tomorrow. After finals we are celebrating until we leave Saturday morning! We will have from Saturday afternoon until Sunday night of free time in Madrid! It's going to be fabulous. I plan on spending much of my time in Retiro park which was my source of sanity and peace in Madrid my first month here. I'm going with Emily and her family to visit Carmen and David (our padres from Madrid) for dinner! It will be so refreshing getting to see them again. They were huge blessings in Madrid. I can't believe that the end is in sight now. I will be home on Monday! 3 days everyone, 3 days!

That's my source of motivation to get through tomorrow! We are studying for exams now! I have 3 tomorrow, one oral exam and 2 written and I will walk away with my spanish minor! How incredible, right? So grateful for this experience. So grateful for these precious friends I've met and for this new culture I've embraced.

Forever blessed.

My heart beats like a cold potato

Today.

-Went to get coffee at the cafe we pass every day. It was closed.

-Walked to school, dropped off our stuff.

-Went to the park to eat our lunch that our madre packed for us.

-Well, hello unidentifiable meat.

-We went to our favorite restaurant in the plaza with the adorable manager that loves us.

-He told us to "Squeeze the fun out of Salamanca." ..... in english.

-Emily and I did my homework...

-What a sweetie.

-Had a photo opt.

-Class...

-Rented "Buscando Nemo."

-Okay, what's the name of that movie in English all you English-speakers?

-Going once, going twice....

-Finding Nemo.

-We started watching it.

-I woke up for dinner with Emily looking at me saying, "Okay drooler, time to eat."

-You should've seen my pillow.

-During dinner I said that Sergio Ramos was "mi corazon y mi alma." (my heart and soul.)

-My padre declared his love my madre and said "Mi Corazon palpita como patata frita.”

-Translation: My heart beats like cold potato? Charming.

-Studying at McDonalds.

-What a day.

Highlight: The sweet man at the movie rental place gave me the poster of "Tiana y el Sapo" that I've had my eye on every time we go in there. :) That's "The Princess and the Frog" by the way!

Hold the lomo

Well, the “one week left” countdown started yesterday! So weird to believe that this time next week I will be HOME.

With one week left we re-started our usual routine… we went to the library! Sunday was a lazy day because we were so tired from Portugal, so Monday (yesterday) we wanted to get as much homework done as possible. I mean, who wants to spend the entire week in the library when there is so much left of Spain to see! My time is limited now! So, after conquering three journal entries and writing two business letters in the library we came back for lunch, which was thankfully not like lunch on Sunday. Sunday we had 2 hot dogs without the bun, 2 fried zucchini slices, 1 fried egg and a mound of steamed rice with a lovely glob of ketchup. What a combo. Dinner wasn’t much better that night either. If we had only had the pasta salad that came first it would’ve been great, but please, hold the lomo. But Monday’s lunch was meat, potatoes, carrots… it’s a dish that really, really wants to be my mom’s pot roast, but let’s be serious, what could ever compare to that?

School was fun and different yesterday. My grammar glass went by much faster than usual and so did my business class! Unfortunately my professor had a family emergency so she couldn’t be there but it made class much easier for us. We were outta there in 30 minutes! Sah-weet! The even cooler thing is that our Samford professor that is here with us (Dr. Jensen) went shopping with us after school! No worries, I didn’t buy anything else. Emily and I started the packing process on Sunday night and I quickly realized that there is officially no more room for anything. Coming home should be quite the adventure.

On our way home from school we may have stopped at our favorite pastry shop. I’m a huge Panera fan, Starbucks fan… homemade dessert fan, but wow… not much has ever compared to this place. We get the sampler platter of whatever we want and it has never failed me yet. Delicious!

When we got to our street we saw our construction worker friends back at work. We haven’t seen them in a few days so it was a nice surprise! We got to talk to Alejandro (after about a month here, we finally learned his name) for a few minutes. He is from Argentina so it was a little difficult to understand his accent but fun nonetheless!

After dinner, which again, if it just stopped after the first dish, everything would be fine! We had gazpacho, which is a huge favorite of Emily’s and mine. Probably on our top 5 things we will miss most about Spain list. But no, we added the biggest piece of fried fish I’ve ever seen in my ENTIRE life, and about 10 french fries. Would you like some fried food anyone?

Emily, Taylor, Molly, Carmen and I decided to go to the river after dinner. Once we finally figured out where we were going it was beautiful! We walked along the bridge for a little bit and wondered around the city capturing its beauty at night. It was fun getting to hang out with each other and hear about everyone’s free weekend. We stopped at a little café to get a drink and some ice-cream and then sat on a bench in a very cute park near the center of town. After Molly and Carmen left, Taylor, Emily and I went to play on our favorite playground near our house. They have a swing that could hold about 10 kids I’m pretty sure. Somehow the three of us managed to sit on it at the same time. Definitely some priceless memories made! I sure will miss that swing.

What's up, Portugal?

Well waking up at 3:15 came awfully fast yesterday. Emily and I set on our way around 4:00 am for our approximately 3 minute walk to the train station with our chocolate sandwich and hard peach in hand. We got their about 27 minutes early and just awkwardly stood outside the train wondering if were supposed to just walk on.. or wait for someone to tell us. So, since we were clueless we waited for this gel haired man to finish smoking his cigarette and followed him on board. His seat would be right in front of me. For some reason, Emily and I decided that it would be necessary to talk in a British accent the entire time. We also felt the need to give the random people on the train with us names. There was Philip and Peter who not once opened their eyes--even when we had to show our passports. Impressive. Then there were the 4 British boys who kept staring at us. We named them Jonny, Harry, Grant and Joseph. Don't judge, it made the time go by much faster. There was a man we didn't bother to name, but let me tell you, he was ready for anything. He was ready for the perfect storm, a trip to the dessert and/or Africa. He had on a nice safari hat, about 8 rain jackets and some camo pants. He was ready to go! Then there was the girl who was sitting in her seat... inside her sleeping bag? Our favorite was crazy haired man. He always had a smile on his face and we did a nice wave after sharing zero words with each other. Funny thing is, after we were dropped off in the middle of the sketchiest train station ever we ran into this man as we were exploring through Coimbra. He attempted to speak to us in Portuguese but we didn't have a clue what he was saying. This language sounds like drunk Italian, French, German and Spanish. We tried telling him we didn't understand but he kept on talking. We finally just walked away. Well, here's the funny part. We saw him AGAIN. We saw this thing acting a bit spastic in the distance... well what do ya know... it was that same man! After not being able to speak a word to him he still wanted to say hello! What a doll.

Our first stop in Coimbra was a cafe that used to be an old church. It was beautiful. After our energy boost (which is exactly what the coffee will do, my sister Beth would love it ;) we we continued on our journey. We found a cute market with clothes, woven baskets and fruit! Precious. Then we found the prettiest park I think I've ever seen. It comes pretty close to Retiro in Madrid which is where I spend on planning my last day in Spain. There were 3 bridges that went across this river. One was a walking bridge that was made out of stained glass! Absolutely incredible.

On the other side of the bridge was an outside gym. Yes, complete with a stationary bike and machines for you to get a quality ab workout. We were feeling a little exhausted once we crossed the river. We had searched for the University of Coimbra high and low. It was a hike but it was worth it. We saw the most incredible views. So once we found some shade across the river we planted ourselves under a nice shady tree and took a nap.

One of our favorite moments was when we saw the big grass bear. No really, a big grass bear. We don't know why... but... here it is..

Our lunch was intersting too! We ate on a little patio near the top of Coimbra. We had a cabbage-y vegetable-y soup, roasted chicken, rice and fries..... and bread :)

We stopped by a little restaurant to have a fanta de naranja (orange fanta) in the afternoon we we needed another boost. Our waiter came up and said, "hello." We were already confused what language to speak in this country so we responded in English. Turns out this strange man speaks 7 languages and works at a kiosk. We asked him if he has ever visited the U.S and he said, "No, I've only been to Houston, that's in Texas." Emily and I just looked at each other and smiled. Before we left he told us to give NYC kisses for him.... We waved and walked away. Oh Portugal.

We got some pastries to go for our train ride back. We officially saw every inch of Coimbra! It was a wonderful excursion. We met some lovely ladies on the train and had great convos with them. They were a little repetitive but all is well ;)

As we were approaching Salamanca I looked out the window and saw the entire city lit up. It was the most breathtaking view I've seen yet. Everything came into perspective then. I love Madrid, and my love for Madrid has hindered my respect for Salamanca. I think the entire purpose of going to Coimbra was for the train ride back. Seeing Salamanca from the train made find the respect I've needed for it. I'm sad it took 3 weeks to happen but ya know, I'm so blessed to be here. Tomorrow starts the one week left countdown. Such a bittersweet feeling!