No zapatos en Espana

I was doing a little wandering around the Barcelona streets yesterday, when I went into a shoe store. I hate to shop for shoes, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a very cute pair of black flats that were not too expensive. I marched up to the counter to ask for my size.

"Tiene estes en Cuarenta y dos?"- (Do you have these in size forty-two)
"No, no vende cuarenta y dos en Espana...solo cuarenta y uno" (No, we don't sell size forty-two in Spain, only size 41).

Basically, my feet are too big to buy shoes ANYWHERE in Spain...nothing like something like that to make you feel like a freak! :P So to anyone else with big feet, don't come to Spain to buy cute shoes...they don't exist in our size!

randomness

It has been brought to my attention that some people actually check this pretty often, and that I should therefore write more often/more exciting stories! Not sure if that means I should write more exciting stories, meaning more in quantity, or that what I write should be more exciting, in quality...but moving on!

I am writing an academic paper on the effects of blogging on self-identity for one of my classes, which has led me to go back through my old blogging entries, starting with my Xanga blog that I started at the beginning of college. It is amazing to go back and see how much I have changed and grown in four years. That is one thing that has encouraged me to keep writing for so long (regularly since the 6th grade!)...I love to go back and read about the person I used to be, and be glad that I have grown since. Can anyone else relate? With that being said, anyone who has journals/diaries and at some point has the urge to destroy them because they are too embarrasing, too hard to read, etc....DON'T DO IT! You will thank yourself later by being able to learn from your past experiences.

This weekend was pretty uneventful overall. I did have to stand up in front of everyone in church, today, which I was not expecting. I had lunch with the pastors this past week to interview them for a religion paper, and from our conversation Pastor Dan discovered that I hated standing up in talking to people. For some reason, this meant that I was the perfect person to volunteer to come up front during worship service today. Luckily, there were 3 other people up there, and it wasn't for too long, but still, my face was a very lovely shade of pink the entire time (no surprise to those of you who know me)!

I am extremely blessed to have found ICB in Spain, though. So much of the positive experiences and growth I have had here so far are due to this church and this wonderful group of people that have become my family. Wednesday night at home group, we are even going to have a dinner together...complete with a turkey, stuffing, and squash casserole! It will be bittersweet, though, because we're also saying goodbye to Tim, who is moving down to the south of Spain...

That's all for now because it's time to watch the Titans become 11-0!!! (If I can get the game streaming...)

Comments, thoughts, updates are always appreciated!

Weekend trip!

This weekend from Thursday night to Monday morning, my friend Dannie and I traveled to southern Spain to see Granada and Cordoba. I picked Granada because so many people I know that have traveled to Spain before told me how amazing it was...one even said that it was her favorite city in Spain. Cordoba was only a short 2 hour train ride away and has the 2nd largest mosque (next to Mecca) in the world, so we decided we had to see that, too.

The best way that I can possibly describe these cities is "picturesque". Barcelona is many things, but that quality is not one I would use for it. Granada and Cordoba, however, were the perfect representation of what I expected Spain to be like...the small, quaint Spanish city with amazingly friendly people and delicious. It was breath-takingly beautiful in a way that Barcelona could never be. I am so glad that I was able to experience this side of Spain.

Another characteristic of these small, Spanish towns was how hospitable and friendly everyone was that we came into contact with. We never spoke English to anyone, but for some reason I found it easier to understand Spanish there. Maybe it's the lack of the Catalan influence/tension, or maybe it was just that the people just seemed more willing to talk. Whatever it was, we were truly blessed to meet wonderful people throughout the weekend.

After spending a weekend in gorgeous southern Spain, I am relieved to be able to say that I am still glad I am in Barcelona because there is just so much to do here that I haven't done. In Granada and Cordoba, we felt like we covered most of the things to do there in less than 3 days. It was the perfect place to visit for a weekend. Now, I come back to busy Barcelona...so much left to do, and time is running out!

Pictures of Granada
Pictures of Cordoba

Estoy en amor...

It's happening again....I'm falling in love...

....with Europe...

For so much of the first month I was in Barcelona, I just wanted to be back in Vienna. After coming here, I was so convinced that the constant high I felt there was specific to that particular place with those particular people in that specific point in time. Maybe that's not the case after all.

Don't get me wrong; there are things about home that I am still looking forward to when I return in 6 weeks (real breakfast, American football, etc). However, the longer I am in Barcelona, the less I remember that list and the more I realize what I am going to miss when I leave. What scares me is that this might really be the last time I am in Europe for a very long time. Who knows, it could even be the last. There's no telling where life will take me.

A month ago, I made a list of all the things I missed from home. Now, I am going to make a list of everything I can already tell I will be sad to leave behind in Spain:
*Being able to walk everywhere!
*The endless number of delicious cafes, and with that, delicious coffee and pastries
*Always having something new to explore
*Public transportation (not paying for gas!)
*Meeting people from all over the world and learning about different cultures
*Speaking Spanish as a part of my daily life
*The wonderful weather here (most of the time)
*Menu del Dias...yum
*Lemon Fanta!!
*Conchita
*ICB and the people there

Possibly more will be added in the future! Hasta luego!

Meine Woche in Wien

You know how sometimes you remember something as being so amazing and wonderful, only to go back and be disappointed that it's not really as good as your memories?

Well, Vienna was not one of those cases. I felt like a kid in a candy store the entire time I was there, walking around with a silly grin on my face. The smallest things- from recognizing German words, to sitting on the U-bahn, to browsing the coffee aisles in Zielpunkt and Merkur- made me so overwhelmingly happy. I spent all week visiting my favorite places, usually spending most of my time alone, but yet surrouded by warm memories to keep me company.

Pastor Laura (whom I stayed with and she was so wonderful!) talked my first night there about how some people's native language is different than their heart language. I think the same can be true for places. I think that although my home is Tennessee, Vienna is my heart city...

(Read on if you have any interest in what I did in Vienna, although much of it only will make sense to people who have been there!)

So, here is what I managed to see/do/eat while I was in Vienna for the week:
FRIDAY: Woke up to fresh brewed Julius Meinl coffee prepared by Laura; walked to IES; strolled down Kartner Strasse; had a delicious Dark Chocochino and muffin at Coffee-to-go (Coffee Zum Mitnehmen) and had a kaiserkrainer for lunch; went to Stephansdom and shopped in the Graben; walked all the way down Mariahilferstrasse; went to ClubSchiffe, which is a club on a boat on the Danube
SATURDAY: Naschmarkt in the morning, where I bought some pumpkin seeds from Styria; I visited the Prater and took pictures of rides I had been on the first time I was in Vienna 8 years ago; I ate my favorite dessert EVER in the Palmenhaus; went to the opera to see Barber of Seville, which was fantastic; went and had a drink with 2 Americans and 2 Polish students I met at the opera
SUNDAY: Went to church at ESUMC :), went out to lunch with Selena, Christian, and their kids, along with some other church members; wandered around Stadtpark in the afternoon; had dinner over at Missy's apartment that night
MONDAY: Revisted my old stomping grounds of the Meiselmarkt, Johnstrasse, and then finally Selzergasse 12; I actually followed someone into the apartment building and wandered up to where we used to live, only to have a guy ask me if I needed help...he was kind of attractive, and actually looked like he could have been Frau Sardar's son...; visited Schonbrunn gardens with the gorgeous fall colors; met Eleonore (the teacher I worked with in Vienna) at Cafe Diglas for cake and coffee; walked around for a long time
TUESDAY: Cafe Dommayer, as suggested by Missy and Kai, which was delicious; went to the chocolate museum for lots of free samples :); went to Merkur; wandered around some more; met Laura for dinner and had a great Viennese meal~ Weiner Schnitzel, potatoes, and sturm!

Some observations of things that have changed:
*The U2 is now twice as long! I was really freaked out by this...
*An opera is now 3 euros for standing room, instead of 2 (Esther, be glad we studied there last year!)
*Plus is no more :( It has been replaced by Zielpunkt
*Kauf & Spar has been totally rearranged...I only know this because I frequented the grocery stores/cheap discount stores way too often in my 4 months there
*Frau Sardar's name has been removed from Selzergasse 12
*The Westbahnhof is under MAJOR reconstruction...Katy, I was going to take a picture of the escalator for you, and you can't even go in right now....sehr traurig!

PICTURES OF VIENNA
Click the link for pictures....for my roommates, I will be sending you a few videos soon ;)

"When will you realize, Vienna waits for you"

In less than 48 hours I will be in the wonderful land of pastries, classical music, schnitzel, Deutsch, and of course, the best coffee in the world :) As requested by the lovely Katy Cordle, I want to write as much as I can about the experience, and so it starts now.

So much has changed in the past 2 months. When I booked my flight to Vienna, it seemed like the one thing I had to look forward to in the near future. Now I am adjusted to Barcelona; I am starting to remember less the things I miss so much about home and instead realize all of the wonderful things that I will be leaving behind come December. Even still, I am so excited to get on that plane to Austria and revisit the city that still has a piece of my heart.

Leaving Vienna last December was one of the hardest transitions I had to make. As strange as it sounds, I was so homesick for the place I only lived in for four months. I can't wait to go back and be able to fully take it all in. I know that it will be much different; I am a different person, and the circumstances are definitely not the same. Part of what I loved about my semester in Vienna were the people I shared it with. It will be strange to go back to a place that is missing such an essential piece of what I think about when my mind drifts back to those 4 months. Even still, I know it will be a fabulous week!

So look for posts of randomness...I plan to spend a lot of time just wandering around back to the places where I went everyday and took for granted. Expect pictures of Selzergasse 12, Johnstrasse Ubahn, and maybe even a little video of the famous Karlsplatz metro station announcement :) Until then, auf Wiedersehen!

Conchita

I realize more and more each day how lucky I am to have such a wonderful senora. I knew from the minute she opened her door to me with open arms and kisses on the cheek (typical Spanish greeting), that she would be a blessing in my life.

Conchita is a mother, and that totally reflects on how she treats me. She is always making sure I eat enough "Quieres mas? Un pocito, un pocito!" (Do you want more? Just a little, just a little!). When we were homesick the first week, she made us tea and talked to us for 2 hours about how 4 months was short, and that we were so lucky to be able to come to Europe. The first weekend that I was away for orientation, she packed Lexi and I little bags with apples and juice to take with us, and sent us text messages the first night that read "Buenas noches, besos" (Good night, kisses).

The IES guidebook mentioned that some families treat students like tennants and not like family. I was a little nervous about going to live with someone I didn't know at all and who didn't speak my language. However, she has been more than hospitable to me in every way. From talking to other people about their homestays, I can tell that I am extremely fortunate.

I know that when I leave here, I will be sad to leave her because she has become my family while I am away. As difficult as living apart from other students and speaking only Spanish has been, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of the semester. God answered my prayers that I started saying way before I left Spain!