mi vida está fantástica

i´m on the computer of my ¨sister¨here. she is back from the school for the weekend and she has to go back for exams monday. first off, i need to tell you about her. (by the way, my spanish dad is here too!) ok amaela (i think that´s how you spell it, it´s a basque name, which is another language spoken in this region cuz i´m in basque territory when i´m in spain. it´s pronounced a-maya) is soo so cool. she´s an art student, i think i told you... at a college nearby in bilbao. she´s like exactly how you would expect a spanish artist to be. super creative looking and really original. she came in wearing an argyle cardigan with this shirt that said in english ¨i like my men how i like my chocolate - sweet and rich¨haha and had this sweet clip in her hair. she dresses almost exactly like noodle does! in a spanish version though. anyhow, she came is kind of hard to understand. but i guess she is looking for a flat with her boyfriend. she told me all the best bars to go to and it was quite funny because my spanish dad was being silly like real dad and telling me not to stay out too late (but in a joking way, of course - kids here stay out til like 6 or 7 in the morning!) when we went to one of the bars she told me about, it was the coolest thing ever. i guess only i and two other girls i was with thought so. the others didn´t think it was as cool. but it WAS cool because it was like a bar version of the donkey. they played jack johnson and matt pond pa and i just about freaked out when i heard it. matt pond pa in spain? good music! we were talking to these nice spanish boys who were informing us about the city and how they studied abroad in michigan. they told us more places we could go... and then we left.

but this is all straying off topic - basically, amaela is really really cool. it was just so great to have the whole family home here. they were so happy to see each other and when they interacted, it was as if it was our family was here. i saw the same sarcasm, jokes, teasing, everything! and i guess it was just really encouraging to me because it´s just so true that everyone everywhere is exactly the same. people are all the same. the culture could be different, so much could be different, and people still laugh, love, cry, throw fits, and everything. it just makes me emotional to think about their interactions, and i think it´s because i miss you guys so much. i am just wishing i could be sitting in my own family room. but i do love it here... everything about spain is just so great. i love it. but i just feel like i left my life behind and i am excited to pick it up where i left off. like i´m living, but not really living. i love every day, but i know it´s just a snippet, and then things will go back to normal.

luggage arrival has made my life so much more comfortable already. i can´t tell you how happy it makes me. i felt like i was on survivor or something. i would never survive on that show. it was tough. i think pilar liked her gifts... the chocolate maybe more than the cd. they haven´t listened to it yet. i´m hoping maybe amaela likes it.

i really am loving every minute of this. i just know how lucky i am to be seeing all this for REAL in person. it´s just beyond words. i hope that i am still feeling so excited when i get used to life here. but it´s gonna be wonderful to be able to understand the people around me and communicate better.

yesterday was our first excursion. we went to olite, an old town in navarra, the region that pamplona is in. it´s very close to here, but it is just beautiful. it´s a town of many vineyards and bodegas. i think that´s what they are called... the wine factories. we visited a bodega where we got to see how the wine was made in this huge, huge metal things and the barrels it is stored in and everything. it was interesting... wish i would have understood a little more of what the tour guide was saying though. we also had a wine tasting right there at the bodega and i have come to the conclusion that white wine is my favorite... so sweet! and besides white wine, i like younger wines (jóvenes) more than older ones (crianzas, reservas, and gran reservas - the oldest). the younger ones are frutier. anyhow, we also went to the museum of wine and learned more about it! wine is such a huge thing here. The people drink it with every meal... almost. it´s been pretty weird to have wine at every meal, especially when we are on school sponsored trips. it´s hard for me cuz if i drink like two glasses i´m feeling tipsy, so i have to refrain. it´s gonna be a miracle if i don´t come back an alcoholic.

just kidding! alcohol here has a different meaning really. it´s not so much drinking as a mode of getting drunk. it´s a very social thing, but the attitude is very different. it´s just strange for me to adjust because i´m used to not being allowed to drink alcohol at all, and here, i am offered it at every single place i go.

anyhow, we also saw this amazing castle that was restored from the middle ages. it was fantastic. gorgeous. beautiful. the insides were very simple, but the architecture was just incredible. what a day. we played tag and soccer with the little kids who lived in the village, and they were ADORABLE! loved it. we also saw another church, maybe the third one i have seen in spain. they are very important historical landmarks. it is pretty interesting, which is suprising to me, cuz i´m not a big history buff. i have learned in spanish more about rococco, barouque, romantics, and gothic stuff than i ever have in english.

what else? lunch was good again, there´s like 7 courses for every lunch. it´s their big meal, not dinner. today i had this brothy soup and steak for lunch. i´m feeling pretty weighed down right now. i need to do some serious running here. haha! my parents here are watching spanish soap operas - telanovelas. ok, the other thing is this. they keep claiming that the food is really healthy. well, yes, it is all extremely fresh, that´s for sure. but there is so much meat! i don´t know if that could be very good for me. my mom here keeps cooking more and more things for me. i need to escape so i´m not obese.

anyhow, i hope everything is well at home. i miss you guys incredibly.

p.s. my address is


Avenida Zaragoza 10 2(degree symbol)dcha.
31003 Pamplona
España Spain

here in pamplona!

ahhh it´s so good to be online! i cannot stand this lack of communication i feel.

right now i´m in some spanish class with real spanish kids but the teacher let me and a friend come in to use the computers during class. how confusing! i couldn´t understand what she was saying at all! i just had my first class and it was pretty good. she talks fast but she uses mostly words taht i understand, and that´s quite a step up from some of the tours i got yesterday. i think i will do ok in class, but it is gonna be very hard i just attended my first 400 level class ever! eek!) anyhow, my suitcase has arrived and will be delivered to my apartment today! i´m sooooooooo so happy. i can´t even describe in words the comfort it gives me. phew.

this is so strange. i swear, half of my thoughts are in spanish now! when i wake up, it´s difficult to start in spanish. but i find myself replying to people automatically in spanish sometimes now. and perhaps it isn´t too long from the time i will be dreaming in spanish!

this life is crazy. i feel like there are a gazillion new suprises everyday and i often want to cry or laugh or something because i´m so overwhelmed with excitement. there´s just so much emotion in me. but i miss everyone soo so much and there is nothing i can do to get that out of my head. i dreamed i was home last night and i was crying of happiness but i knew it would end so soon and i didn´t want to go back to spain. tears are welling up in my eyes at this moment. being here is so bittersweet. i miss everything and yet i have so much to learn here! i´m so so overwhelmed. in a good way though.

i can possibly get text messages... try this number and we´ll see if it works, but keep in mind it costs 10 cents for each of us for each message i think. 01134638718280

hope it works! i´ll message back if i get messages.

depressing and lost luggage.

we arrived here safely early this morning. Madrid. Unfortunately
our baggage was lost, putting a damper on everything. It's cool here, but I'm extremely depressed
and
moody from lack of sleep, difficulty communicating with everyone, weird food and food schedules, and
the
expenses this lost baggage is causing both Kristen and I. We spent about 10 dollars on two pairs of

underwear and toothbrush (each). I want this to go away. I think they will send our bags to
pamplona - we
gave them our addresses.

on a good note, we ate in this really cool cafe for lunch and ordered some spanish food. we saw some

amazing architechture too. the bank of madrid - i think it's the oldest building in spain. our hotel is right by the puerta del sol, the center of the city, the "sun" of the city.

but i feel like we would have had the energy and time to do a lot more if we didn't have to deal
with all
these baggage problems. i miss you guys a lot.

This is the point in my trip where I almost want to turn back and go home. But I know things can only get better from here. I am going to need to go out and buy some things to hold me over until we get our luggage in a week or so (ugh so depressing, I had EVERYTHING i needed).

two days left.

So, i just learned these things.





1. there are no smoking sections anywhere in spain - they smoke in airports, all parts of restaurants.


2. you can drink in the street.


3. public displays of affection are totally acceptable.


4. the ok sign is very offensive, and a thumbs up has no meaning


5. i cannot understand about 1/4-1/3 of the spanish that i read


6. stores close at "lunchtime" 1-3 pm


7. wine is cheaper than coke (the pop, that is)


8. bread, olive oil, and ham are very good.


9. people like to stand uncomfortably close.


10. my host mom might hate me. i'm scared.


11. you are a party pooper if you go home at 4 a.m. oh no.


12. there is history in every part of pamplona. cathedrals, etc.


13. when people meet me, they will kiss both of my cheeks.


14. i better start liking coffee now, cuz it's the most popular thing to do.


15. i am FREAKING out.


16. Oh yea, I'll live next to this:

La Ciudadela

i leave in three days

My errands are run. but my bags aren't packed. i think you could say i'm procrastinating. it just doesn't seem real that i'm going to be in another country for like 8 weeks! i have never been farther than cancun in my life. i barely speak or understand spanish. what was i thinking?

i guess this is the period you would call denial. like, what am i doing? i'm leaving everything i know.

i'm leaving EVERYONE i know. and i think that is the scariest part. i keep looking at my parents and getting all weird and mushy. i leave them constantly for ou. i have been away from them for longer than this. but i haven't been unable to reach them. well, i can reach them. but what, 5 minutes a day by phone?

and my friends! i am used to not seeing people at other schools, but my ou friends are my soulmates. family away from family. i can't believe everyone is just there without me. ou is in session, and i'm sitting in cleveland! what? i hate it. i want to be walking up huge hills, seeing ADAM TORRES in the NEW front room. i missed that tonight. that is my culture. adam torres in the front room. having no life because i work at too many radio stations. using my huge computer in the dorm room. haha. what a beast. i'm leaving this:

so, i'm sure in a few blog entries, i'll be contradicting this entry... loving things. at least that's what i hope. right now is the worst time because i'm thinking about all the things i'm leaving and that i'm missing, and not really about what is to come.

but when i get past all this worry, i'm excited. when would i ever, EVER, in my life live in Spain? for 8-ish weeks? never. never. never. i have to take advantage of this when i can.

ok, i'm living right next to this park called La Cuidadela with a host mother - Pilar. Can't wait to meet her. the park next to me is shaped like a pentagon/star. it has free art exhibits and huge stone walls and fun stuff like that. i'm meeting new people. people who look at the world in such a different way from me. i don't really know everything that i can write about that will be exciting yet, but that will be upon me soon.

for now, i'm gonna try to get everything i need to done. like maybe sleep. it's 1:10 in the morning and i just don't feel like sleeping. but i should, and i will, and i'll wake up and pack and pack and pack.

miss friends already :(

my blog isn't working.