Brief summary, well, kinda brief

So as many of you have noticed, I've been horribly behind on my blog for about a month and some. But I am doing great, still have had many travels and plenty of adventures, but unfortunately since Spring Break, my classes had all bombarded me with papers, projects and exams. So I haven't had the time to update as to my travels yet, but no worries, I will hopefully catch up before mi familia come to visit in almost a week and a half! But I figured I would at least give ya'll a taste of what all has been going on for me since my last post!

Well, as you know, I was going to Rome....it was amazing. I saw everything, all on foot (go figure, since it's a big city) which was wonderful and tiring. I learned more about myself and because of changing in plans I had to stay in a hotel room by myself (I later stayed with Grandpa Ron’s friends in their home in Rome). Which before this moment, would have been hard and depressing for me. But I had never felt so at home with myself. I felt that Rome made me into a new, vibrant version of myself and I've never felt so free in my own skin up to that point. I toured with other friends that I knew were going there and although we went into it (Amanda and I) not knowing much about each other, we became the greatest of friends. While in Rome we went on a hiking tour with friends of Grandpa Ron through Etruscan ruins (the people inhabiting the area where the Romans lived before there were Romans). We saw sulfur waterfalls and cool sulfur springs and hiked up to an old Roman village that Napoleon himself came through and conquered during his reign.

Needless to say, Roma had treated us extremely well and then we were off to the beaches in the southern part of Spain for the rest of Spring Break to meet up with some friends. The beaches were great! A little chillier than I’ve experienced but for good reason…these beaches happen to be right next to the mountains, so the cooler current in the mountains would be pulled toward the sea in the afternoons. I’ve never seen mountains and beach at the exact same time, and I have to say it was gorgeous. In the states we think it’s great if we are within an hour to the beach or the mountains but we never have both! Weird to think that here they can have both at the exact same time! While there I became friends with one of the bartenders who happened to be a soccer player on Alicante’s futbol team in Spain. And that upcoming weekend they were to play Barcelona! In all my excitement of hearing this, I mistook a translation of a verb that sounded like the same meaning in English when asking if he was excited about the game. Well me asking in what I thought was the correct form was really asking him if he was ‘excited’ about the game. Another blunder in learning a new language and assimilating to the culture I guess! Back at school I met one of my neighbors on the bus who really applauded my coming here to learn Spanish and said that my pronunciation and speaking was great!

That weekend we went to Paris, my second venture to the city of lights! We had a great time, my friends and I, and this time I actually got to see more of the city of foot than I did when I first went 5 years ago. It was funny going back to the city that inspired me to study abroad in the first place. I remember going to Paris my first time and knowing I would be returning to see it again in the same light. It took 5 years, but I actually did it. All this work to come back and see this city that gave me so much the first time around and see it again as a completely different person! Obviously, I had a great time.

Then that following weekend, my friends and I went to Amsterdam. That city isn’t called Disneyland for college students for no reason. We had a great time there and got to see the biggest surprise of all in the city…Amsterdam is actually one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and so eco-friendly that I was saddened to come back to Spain where pollution and smog is all over the main cities. And in case you are wondering, yes I did get to see the Red Light District. What an eye-opener that this is people’s daily lives! And short of the few people that wanted to speak Dutch to me, everyone spoke English which was a nice change! I even got wooden shoes!

I had a couple of days at school before my next excursion that I was looking forward to my entire trip. My friend Jessica and I were spending 5 days in beautiful, party-happy Ibiza. Ibiza is one of three islands in Spain in the Mediterranean Sea and has gorgeous beaches with clear blue water. Jessica and I were much like Amanda and I in Rome where we started out knowing each other pretty well and by the end of the trip, becoming the closest of friends. Just relaxing, letting time pass, being bold and becoming even more comfortable in my own skin. I should explain being bold. The beaches in Spain are common to nudity and while I didn’t go sans bathing suit I did go sans top. Fortunately there weren’t any men where we were on the beach unless you count little boys in elementary school with their moms. Probably the strangest and most liberating feeling I’ve ever had. I only did it once with Jessica before we started to become paranoid that guys our age would come around. But we still applauded ourselves for our temporary boldness. We had the most amazing time and I’ve never been so happy to be here in the moment without planning or future thinking…I know, big deal!

Then I returned back to school to then venture on my last trip. This one worried my parents, family and friends more than I’ll probably ever know…and to be honest I was stunned a little by me going and by my boldness in being there. But I went to Morocco for the weekend…yes, I ventured to Africa! And I know it sounds silly, but it really was a completely different world! The people, the culture, the customs, and I loved it. I played with monkeys, got a henna, was startled by snake charmers who wanted to teach me, learned to haggle and explored the culture for 3 days there and it was awesome. We stayed in Casablanca (yes, like the movie) and one day traveled to Marrakesh. Unfortunately, I got a nasty stomach virus just before I left for Africa and instead of it passing like I thought, it became worse as the trip went on. I did manage to still explore and have a good time up until my body protested, and by then it was time to venture back to Spain.

At this moment, I’m getting better since I’ve returned to Spain (after an interesting visit to the doctor) and am now taking the rest of my finals here. All my friends here leave on this coming Tuesday and so until then, I’m saying goodbyes and remembering good times. I hope to be able to at least catch up after they leave since I will be in Alcala for a week before my family comes to visit me!

I haven’t had much time to really hang out with my host family since Spring Break and feel somewhat rude, so I’ve decided instead of traveling crazy fast like I have been, to slow down and hang out before I return home. Then my family comes to visit for a week where we tour through the major part of Andalucia (the southern part of Spain) and I can’t wait. It’ll be a great week of fun and much needed time of seeing my family. Then as they fly off to the states, I return to Alcala to pack my things and then I’m immediately off to return home!

And I can’t wait! I can’t wait to see all my family, be in my culture and to really see how I’ve changed when I’m back in my own environment. Looking at it now I can’t believe that all these adventures and experiences I’ve condensed down to four months and now I can count down the days I have left. A little over two weeks here is what I have left, and I wish I could give something back to Spain since it has given so much to me. While in Ibiza, Jessica and I had a conversation that I’ll never forget and it was a reoccurring one. I couldn’t believe how much I’ve opened myself to everything, everyone and more importantly to myself. I feel more like myself than I have in my whole life and more sure of myself as well. I truly feel like I’ve found who I am, and I didn’t even know I was looking for who I was. Not only has my experience here guided this process but it was accompanied by a book that I happened to come across by pure chance but now I feel it was perfect timing for me to have. My friend Shannon needed a book to read since she had read all of hers and in offering one to her, she gave one to me. I never stated that I needed one, but maybe something told her I needed it. Eat, Pray, Love was the book bestowed to me and it really is the quintessential book to have if you are at a juncture in your life where you are in a foreign land looking for yourself. I couldn’t have picked a more perfect book to have guided me through this experience and not only have I grown as a person inside but as a person wholly. It really helped to broaden my mind and perspective toward everything in my life, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

When I first came here, everyone would say that when I returned that I would emerge as this whole new person. Which I didn’t understand and didn’t want to happen. I didn’t want it to happen because I’ve always liked myself and I thought it meant that I would change in a way where I wouldn’t be friends with the same people, wouldn’t want the same things, and I would return this totally strange person with crazy stories. But being here, I realize what everyone really meant. Not that you would come back as, for example, I’m Addy and I come back as Janice, someone no one knows and who I don’t even know. But that I would return as a better version of myself. Which would mean a whole different person…an emergence of a vitalized and vibrant me. Possibly the best me I can be? Who knows…only time will tell. But I am most definitely happy with myself and the fact that deep down I felt the need to do this for myself. I never knew I could grow and emerge so much in only 4 months! But I’m so excited to see where my life will take me from here on out and what I make of myself in the future. I’m so happy and thankful also for the fact that I have such a wealth of family and friends who are so supportive of my experience and me. Coming here I’ve realized that many aren’t blessed to have the love and support that I have while I’m here which makes my return home that much greater and more exciting as it approaches. Can’t wait to update in detail on my travels and love and miss you all!

It's been awhile

I know she's meaning to post soon, but between finishing her semester and being sick again, it's been difficult to get everything written. In the mean time, here are a couple of photos to whet our appetite for her adventures.

She hasn't forgotten us

Addy has had five papers to write in the last couple of weeks and figured school was more important. She should have some new posts on Wednesday the 9th. She knows there are a bunch of us anxiously waiting to get the latest installments.

Until then, here's a current picture from when we were talking this morning on Skype.