Hola Manzana, Vamos a España

Well well now. I have been back in the US for about a little over a month now. Hard to believe. It still feels like im not a part of it all, not included in the jokes-the who’s who or the what’s what. Yet that feeling is slowly going away. I feel that im back in touch with most of my good friends and it feels wonderful to see people whom I missed and couldn’t keep up with while I was in Spain.

Being back home was joy. Pure joy. When i got off that plane, i cried and cried of happiness. One cause i was just excited to get out of the airports and two cause I dearly missed my parents. But then I had to go back to Iowa, for school. There was a good week of me feeling like i wasn’t human to these people. It was such an odd feeling. I wanted to go back to spain so badly. Spain has so much life and culture and history…then i come to Iowa…and all i have is sorta the depressed monotony of the Iowa slow life. Also my problem was that I couldn’t get into my schedual here. The school in spain was so different that I kinda got really shocked when i came back. So with this shock it took me about 2-3 weeks to get my act together. Now i have a schedual all planned out and i am working out whenever i get the chance to keep me busy.

*SIDE NOTE*

I’m in the midst of a double weight loss/health competition. My mom is one and Vishal is the other competitor. With my mom we are just slowly trying to lose weight and eat healthier and just be active. With Vishal I am trying to lose 15lbs in the shortest amount of time possible. The winner of this competition wins an evening out that costs 100+ dollars!!! So with my competitive nature…I’M GONNA BEAT HIS ASS COLD!!!! There will be no competition cause I will be so far ahead that it wouldn’t be fair for him to compete anyway haha. Yeah I have a big head…i know, but im just so competitive!!!! 

*BACK TO LIFE*

Yes…so working out. I know my classes when they are and when i have free time and im slowly working on catching up in classes. My teacher mixed me up with the readings so I’m a day behind!!! But no matter I’m a trooper! Also 2 classes i have in sociology are sorta the same so i get them mixed up all the time! Homework for one that i thought was for the other and stuff like that, i mixed up a reading and put it in the folder for the other class so i thought i lost it haha!

Eh…I’m really missing my homies (peeps, friends, buddies) back in spain. SHOUT OUT TO ALL OF YOU!!! MISS YOU MUCHO! Si no sabes ingles jeje….echo de menos mis mejor amigos!!!! Life here in the US isn’t all what you think it is. The majority of it is spent indoors cause we have snow…TONS OF SNOW RIGHT NOW ABOUT A FOOT OF SNOW. And i kinda get depressed cause of winter and the fact that staying out and enjoying the cold isn’t really that enjoyable haha. But at least I have my friends and they keep me busy too. Weekends are a time when I don’t make plans usually cause I know other stuff will be happening anyway, and that I should just say yes to opportunities. That’s how you figure stuff out. You say yes then you see what’s up and then decide weather or not you want to do it again or not. You can find out a lot about yourself and others from taking opportunities.

Well to conclude…(this probably won’t be the last update but for now it’s the conclusion to my adventures, it all comes full circle)…There are so many things that spain taught me. I was taught about how different people, and those from very different cultures, saw the world and interpreted things individually. This opened my eyes to many more possibilities that i could strive for here in the US. To make my life better and to mold my life just the way I want it to be. Spain has taught me how to make new friends and to appreciate cultural differences. I know now that if you are who you are and you don’t hide that away, you can make so many connections that are deep and fulfilling. I’m sure too that Spain has made me a little more mature in some respects. I now am focusing on life beyond coe, my college. I now see that life is approaching and I gotta see where it can take me. In Europe they kinda gotta decide what they wanna do earlier than we do here, because the school system is more specialized. So watching how they deal with seeing the future I know I can do that as well and it’s not going to be that hard or scary haha.

Spain has also made me appreciate things back here at home too. Such as the woods and the beauty of nature that we have. Spain is actually kinda a desert haha. There are palm trees but then they are growing in sand. But yeah the nature here is so different and now i appreciate it more. Same with my home. I really appreciate what home i have, cause they usually have only apartments. I have always appreciated my home cause of Iowa haha, but now I see my home as a place of happy memories and a place that I can always go to to relax and enjoy small moments (such as cleaning my room, cooking, TV, dogs, crafts, music). 

My time there will always have a special place in my heart and mind. I will never ever forget my experience there and how they have shaped me. Thank you Spain. Thank you for everything you gave me. Thank you to my friends who helped me and entertained me haha and basically made my time in spain glorious! Love you all so much! I will return some day. Never forget me! Nos vemos mi amor…ciao besos!!

P.S. photos will be posted at a later time to wrap it up photo style!

And here starts the entry of depression and sadness and deep thought and crying and hunger but not enough hunger and scaredness to eat, just enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.

I’m here in the airport of Valencia, grateful to edwin who could drive me here, and i have 5 hours to wait till the check in opens up . I have never stayed in an airport overnight. This will be interesting. Let’s ask myself some questions shall we? How do i feel right now. Well im sure my mood will change for one im in the monthly girl mode and two i feel sick to my stomach with sadness. I’m basically feeling like a zombie, which could have been due to my lack of eating basically anything all day except for dinner (which was very good and prepared by my sister of the house). I feel the want and need to cry but im also very disappointed, enough disappointed so that i can’t cry. Plus im kinda alone in the airport, with little people around me so i dont want to disturb them, some are sleeping. I’m hoping to stay up at least till i can get through security.

New question, do you want to rant about your day? Why yes thank you for asking I do want to do a little rant about my day. So I got up and was all ready to go to Valencia to see the aquarium oceanografico place. We get there, lauren, justin, fabio y yo, and we don’t know where it is. So we just walk around basically and then after 2 hours or so we find the tourist info place. Then we figure that it will take us 30 min to walk to the place. Eh took us a little longer cause we paused and saw the city and etc. Which don’t get me wrong i loved just seeing the city but i really really wanted to go see the ocean thingy. So we finally get there to the ocean thingy and they tell us it closes at 6 and it was 4:30….the cost to get in was 20 euro….so the gang decided and I understood that 20 eruo for 1.5 hours to see it all was not valuable. So we try to get a bus back cause we are tired and jazz, the first bus passed us…non stop…our faces were priceless so was the face of the vecino around us who was laughing. So we walk to another stop, ask the bus driver what bus would be better to take and he points us to another stop further up the street. We wait there and finally finally, now it’s like 5:30, get a bus. This bus thankfully takes us to the train station and we hop on a train and leave. Getting to castellon at 7ish. I get out and we say our goodbyes etc and i again was about to cry to fabio, whom i will most definitely miss super much, and went to corte to get more min on my phone. Then we went to laura’s house to get stuff that was there like the mixer. We saw guillermo y laura and then had tea and i needed to go to pack. So lauren, justin, and I go in the elevator…we get down about 5 floors from the 10th and suddenly it all goes black…

WE WERE STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR. I FLIPPED MY SHIT. MY HEART WAS GOING CRAZY.

Thankfully laura saw that the lights went out and found us on the 4th floor to help us. We called the company through the elevator and all and they assured us it might take an hour or so. I WAS AGAIN FLIPPIN OUT. I thought to myself here i am in an elevator, late to pack my things and this had to happen. I was supposed to meet edwin at my house at 10 to go the the airport. So you can imagine i was not happy. So we open up the door to see if we were on a floor in in between and we were in between. Laura and guillermo came down to accompany us and i would say in 20 min the elevator began to start again. I was so excited. Got to my house packed so quickly it was worthy of a world record and went to eat dinner, which was great, i was really really hungry. And then went down to see edwin, now im here. All unhappy and excited to go home all at the same time. How about another question?

What things stood out to you in spain?

Wow, what didn’t stand out to me in spain. The men, the cars, the bathrooms, the lack of hot water, the food, the people, the plazas, the parks, the ocean, the various vacation trips i took to see more of spain. Uff it all has left an impression on me.

• First and foremost is the people i have met here. I will never ever forget them.
• The food is interesting. It’s fried it’s fresh it’s crisp it’s flavorful, basically better than american food by far i think.
• The little details i see everywhere. Like the attention they pay to the streets. They collect the trash here every night not like in the US where its once a week. Also things like the relations between people here. They seem to have more friends and have really really good friends.
• I loved going to a mosque to see the actual service and participate in a service with head gear and all. We even were taught what they said and how to read the book of prayer they had.
• Granada, i really really really loved granada. More on that when i have time.
• Biking, i have passionately loved every time i got on a bike here and road around. I got to know basically all of the city by bike. Then the best biking memory was probably the marathon where i tried to bike the marathon and ended up seeing bands and runners and balloons and celebrations etc. 

I basically don’t want to write about what i will miss about spain but rather what i loved and will never want to ever forget about spain. But my mind keeps going to, “Oh i will never return and oh woe is me i will miss (blank blank blank).” Gotta keep my mind on track. It’s 12:45. Im starting to get cold.

A little bit ago i was asked how i felt? Well yes like i said it has changed. Now the stomach ache is gone but i still don’t wanna eat. I think i need sleep to sleep off how terrible i feel. It’s kinda like the feeling of tossing and turning at night and you cant get comfortable. Ah more people are coming here to sit with me, now i feel better about this. I think here they do this more often than in chicago maybe? But yea they are all camping out and having a bocadillo. Ah i will miss too the fact that i could just talk in spanish whenever i want. In the us now they will probably just look at me oddly, but i think it will take me some getting used to (just talking in inglish). Plus my spelling still sucks. Well what else. I wanna pass the time up but this doesn’t seem to be doing me any good. I have games on here, yeah i will play some games and hopefully not get bored and sleep. I have an alarm but eh….better to not sleep. Ok be back later..

Well im back, now im in New York trying to get to chicago. Everything keeps getting delayed. Well let me back track and tell you of my Valencia night experience. I ended up staying up right till my flight (where i took a brief 30 min nap). I met a nice german musician named Dieme (not sure how to spell it but i told him the joke of what his name sounds like in spanish and he laughed). But he showed me tons of great videos of super bands in spanish cuba etc. We just talked and ate candy till it was time for our flight. While we were waiting i taught him some spanish like “no tocar” lol. He was a really nice travel companion. So I get to Madrid, and my flight is delayed super by 5 hours. I end up crying in the terminal cause by now i had not slept slept in 28 or so hours. I was up from 9am on the 28th till i got on my plane to New York which took off at 1. So…lets see. Start at 9am go till 9am the next day until 1 yeah that’s 28 hours. So i was cranky, i haven’t changed clothes in 2 days. I haven’t brushed my teeth…i feel like shit. My tummy hurts, Im on my period, I had 3 pieces of luggage to lugg around the immigration people ufff. Not a good day at all. So now im here in NY just tyring to waste time. They said we were to leave at 5:30 but that was a lie. It now is to leave at 6:45 so it’s getting there it’s 5:44. UFFFFF ANOTHER HOUR. ALL I WANNA DO IS GET HOME. Oh and at immigration check in it took 50 min casi una hora to get my luggage. I wasn’t sure i was gonna make it to my flight. That was nerve racking, given the fact that i had my period and needed to take care of a few things.

Well now that im back i certainly feel like a stranger. I keep thinking in spanish. Thank god the couple with me in my aisle were from spain so i could talk with them. I told them all about PB&J, milkshakes, burgers, IHOP, pancakes, pie and all sorts of good food places to eat. But yes coming back i feel out of place. I can’t really speak regular inglish yet, it is coming back to me but im using some sorta made up frases that i sort think are correct. Like they were shooting out luggage…um sounded right at the time. So i hear tons of languages now all around me, indian, asian, dutch, spanish, baby talk, baby cries, couples bickering, some south american languages, coloquial black, white, gangsta, and many many more. I feel sad for them, the vecinos here that is. Cause they havent (or probably havent) experienced spain. Just knowing what i have done and seen, ufff, how can anyone not go to spain. But coming back i feel a sense of superiority but not like an “im better than you mentality”. More like i feel worldly and my mind is expanded. I feel like i know more than the last time i was here in this hell hole of an airport. Smelly, dirty…but hey atleast the bathrooms have toilet paper….which is another thing that spain has that i dont want to catch on over here in the us. Some how all bathrooms, in restaurants or bars or clubs, do not have toilet paper. You gotta get used to bringing your own paper out when you go out. It’s kinda ridiculous. But hey i guess they save money that way lol.

UFFFFF they keep reading out planes that are not mine….but i know i still have an hour to go, but i always get excited when they call out new flights but none of them are for me.

So all in all..yes im not happy. I will be happy when i get my sleep back on schedule, see my family, my dogs, have a shower (a nice long one without worry that the hot water will run out) and my new clean pj’s at the house.

OH WAIT I FORGOT ABOUT MY PRESENTS…how could i do that. Mom said i have tons tons of presents!!

I don’t know if i already told you this but i got my grade back from Geography. This was the hardest test i thought…and guess what….well i gotta first explain the system they have to you. They have 0-10 and 5 is passing. So now that you know that…my grade i got was an (DRUMMMMM ROLLLLLL PLEZ) AN 8!!!!!!!!! He even said my work showed signs of being a 9 but only i had some mistakes so he gave it an 8. But yes, so i have passed one class so far….let us see about the other ones. I kinda wish i had Internet here but im sure they do have it im just not close enough to it. UFFFF. And this test i thought was the hardest so if i passed with an 8 which is good even for those spain kids lol then i can definitely pass the other ones for sure!!!!! Ok here is to good thoughts. Im gonna go to the bathroom and get all ready and put my stuff away and hope that my flight comes up soon. I WILL BE HOME SOON, and its odd but i do feel like i miss home even though i feel out of place in my own culture lol.

Hasta luego

FINALLY FINALLY IM HOME

Well let’s see…my hell trip is over. I actually cried when i saw my mom and dad. And vishal came to see me too. I was beyond crazy. I hadn’t slept but the last leg of my trip was hellish too. I went from NY to Indiana to Chicago. The small 2 hour trip was awkward. I was trying to sleep. When i went to one side i was cold when i turned to the other side i was hot. Then i had very very little room cause the plane was super small. So i was internally crying. I was so happy to just be home and out of the airport. I then realized that when i got home I had not showered in 2 days, had been wearing the same jeans for the past 3 days, not brushed my teeth in 2 days, or washed my face, or anything in 2 days. So i was beyond feeling like a lump of gross. But when i got home i was able to open my presents and i made a haul….an over haul or just basically robbed my family. I will let you know what i got later. And i will update on the last week of my trip soon, but today i just wanna get loose ends up like photos etc and this lol like post photos here and jazz.

P.S. I passed 2 classes so far. Gotta wait on the next classes!!!!

It was a sunny day, a bit fresco pero mejor de otras dias…pienso que 16 grados!!! So i took advantage of the day and went out for a bike ride. To my surprise i see so many things that made my day!!!

All started with this loud announcer voice like the ones in futbol games “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL” you know those ones haha!!! So i follow the voice and see the crowds surrounding these people walking like they are in pain. I then remembered today was the day of the marathon castellon. I follow the runners to see where they went after they were finished and then saw that there were still more runners on the other street so i followed them to see them run. This is where the magic started. I saw these people who didn’t know most of the runners cheering for them and urging them forward. This is probably one of the most beautiful things i have seen in castellon. The pure feeling of accomplishment and achievement was everywhere. If you were a spectator you felt that you were a real help to the runners. If you were a runner you felt empowered just because there were young and old alike standing at the rails cheering you on.

I decided to continue on my lonely bike ride round and round the city…passing the runner every so often in the streets. Yet also i passed many other FREAKING AWESOME things in the street too. Things like a concert just happening in a plaza. They were playing really good music too! I stopped to listen for a little then again carried on my way. Next up were the puppies, so so many puppies lined the streets with the people to watch the runners. I wanted to pet them but in all of the chaos it was better not to haha.

But even though i want to have my simple bike ride…i keep seeing the runners and the people helping them on…so with this energy in the air i followed them on the side on my bike to see where the track led. Then as i went further and further with them i decided to trace the trail and do the marathon via bike. I was doing my darndest when the end of the line came. The ambulance and cops tailgating came up and said i needed to go on the sidewalk :( but that didn’t stop me. I carried on and followed the green line of the marathon. It took me all around castellon, but at one point i needed to give up …the line was scratched away or washed away….and the heavy flood of people was killer, people in spain don’t care if you are behind them…they don’t move for nothing. Like even when you are walking past them, they get so close to you and then slightly move the arm away from you, but they do not move the body…crafty they are.

Anywho…Then i just bike down the streets weaving in and out of traffic (well there wasn’t traffic cause they closed down the streets…) so more like weaving in and out of the lines on the road to some really good tunes till i found a bike rack to put the bike back on. Then just walked back home slowly enjoying the nice air and nice beautiful day. When i got home we had a wonderful salad, of which im having everyday when i get back to the us. Just a salad with oil and vin. Simply muah (insert italian hand gesture lol). Then mom made these fish cuts and fried them. UFFFFF they were divine. They were buttery and lemony and everything. It was a great start to my day…cause after lunch was time to study study study…like i said i probably wouldn’t be on here until after finals…but today needed to be written down for all to see and enjoy, the feeling of today was simply amazing and it made me proud to be here to experience the culture and the people first hand. Photos will be posted tomorrow…i have some food pictures too!!! and photos of the town at night for christmas…lights and all! Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

I didn’t know you have a blog =D

Jes <3

How do i begin.

Oh yeah my birthday…

So it started the night before/morning. I wanted to go out with my best friends here to dance. I had bought a bottle of vodka….(which by the way felt really weird to do. It’s so foreign to me :/) so i could toast with my room mate in the US. She couldn’t get on and i was kinda sad cause I missed her so much, i still do miss her haha. So then i met up with my best italian Fabio. We chatted, sang and basically just hung loose. Then since he is more of a woman than i am, he took 20 min to get ready and we were late to get into the club free of charge. Not that it bothered me, i actually laughed at him. He had to do his hair super perfect and he even asked me about fashion….like i have any idea about fashion lol.

So we go out, and my walking is not the greatest in the shoes i had, they were very hurtful (my terrible american vocabulary ugg). They tend to dig into my heal. But we made it to etro (de club). Danced the night away like i wanted with my best friends. Next day i didn’t even feel sick. Which i hope to never feel sick after drinking, it’s my goal for life, keep it in moderation.

Woke th next day and was ready to open up my gifts! My mom called me actually and i opened my gifts with her on th phone. I got tons of cards and a birthday book that had well wishes and memories of me from family and friends. I really loved it. It meant so much to get some things from home. I’m starting to get homesick, but it’s the last leg of the trip so this is manageable. Also when i get back home I will have my birthday gifts and christmas gifts to sift through!!!

Later that day i had my bowling extravaganza. I brought along Marianne, Kristina, Michala, Lauren, Justin, Victor, Sandra, Edwin, and Fabio who ended up winning the day lol. It was great to bowl again. I love it so much, not just for fun but to test myself. I think bowling takes skill, or some skill haha. So we were about to leave when justin told me he left his wallet and lost it at the lane. I followed him back and when i got there i saw everyone else around something. They had gotten me a surprise birthday cake! They sang happy birthday and all. I got to blow out all my 21 candles too! I was touched that they did that for me, the small things here are what make my day. So we at the cake and then separated ways. Me, Justin, Lauren, and Fabio went out to eat at a chinese resurant buffet. IT HAD BEEN SO  SO LONG SINCE I HAD CHINESE…and to compare chinese food with the chinese food back home…i would say hands down that the food in the US is way betta, the chinese food that is. But here they try to do a good job. It’s just that the spanish dont rally like the chinese food style and taste so the chinese are tweaking the tastes for the spanish people more or less. Still i had 2 plates and i was done, out, stuffed. So ended my birthday, with friends in a chinese resturant.

Next on the agenda….MADRID

So this past week day from monday to wends i was in Madrid to see a concert of M.I.A. and just to see Madrid. I went with Krystal and Leo on the plane. It sorta rained the whole time we were there but that didn’t stop us!!! The first day we got there we saw M.I.A. at night. She was superb, she really knew how to get everyone jumpin. And i knew a few of her songs cause she mostly played old ones. Some she played i didnt even know were hers haha. I knew Krystal loved her so i creeped up closer and closer and we ultimately go to the front line. Krystal was crazy happy and im glad. Sadly in Madrid on Monday night they have a curfew that she couldn’t play music after 11:30 :( but that was ok cause i was really tired after that concert so we just went back to the hostle (of which the hostle was amazing!!! It was supa cheap and had the best location and best views!!! Photos later).

Next day we walked around the city, mostly up calle major to see what was poppin. We ambled upon the market. Which was quite adorable, and we found vodka in a tube…Europe…you never cease to amaze me. There were so many vendors with cute things and with tasty treats i didnt want to leave. Next up was a few small plazas, of which i took photos so dont worry. Then lastly before we went back to the hostle…was plaza major….this plaza….no joke was like a christmas wonderland town. Madrid knows how to do christmas. There were people in costume, people selling reindeer hats, people selling foods, people selling trees and tinsle. UFFF it made me miss christmas really bad!!! But what i really wanted to see was the royal palace of Carlos 3 i think. We waited in line but it closed soon. I said to myself that i would get up early the next day and stand in line to see it at 9am. AND I DID…Crazily enough. It was worth the wait. This palace was gorgious! You weren’t allowed to take photos but i did lol. And i took them without flash cause i know with flash it hurts the colors in the wallpaper. That was my morning, then went to hostle and checked out. We had our lunch thingy breakfast. Then off to castellon via plane and train. I really would have loved to stay longer there but my finals are next week, starting tuesday…

Last night i went out, and that is the last time im going out in a long time…study study study. I hate the system here cause you have no homework, no tests during the year….no nothing to determine your grade, JUST ONE TEST. IM KIND OF FLIPPIN OUT. But studying is going well…yesterday i studied for 10 hours more or less. It was hard but i did it! Kinda makes me feel powerful yet lame at the same time. Which reminds me, gotta get back to studying :( sat+sun+monday) all study days!!!! Wish me luck. Probably won’t be on here till all tests are done. I will be home soon…which means there will be a post about the things i have learned in spain lol the cliche post lol. See you all later! Wish me luck!!!

I’m 21

This will be a new step for me, since i tend to forget my age on random occasions. Now i think i will remember. Yet the walking into a bar thing will be kinda like a 5 year old who knows they are doing something bad. I probably will blush and everything haha. Well cheers to a good day, and night. As a present to myself i will sleep in very good tomorrow. And also tonorrow i can cutnate sobre las cosas que pasaron durante mi dia de me cumple. Wow i just do that, i got from inglish to spanish quite often lol silly me. Buenas noches amores!!! I will tell you more tomorrow!