Coming back...

I think I've decided I might just start this blog up again.  The only thing that was holding me back is my own self-consciousness in my writing skills...well, and my thinking skills.  I feel like people who keep blogs are really deep thinkers, and I would never really call myself a deep thinker.  I take that back, I would say that I have deep thoughts, they're just not overly intellectual.  If that's possible.

I think I won't tell anyone that I'm doing this for awhile, and then later if I feel like it I'll spread the word.

Anyways that's besides the point.  I'm going to keep a blog starting now and going through the next semester documenting a major life transition time.  I started getting serious about my graduation and future job today.  I visited with my advisor in the COMM department this morning to make sure that I am lined up to graduate in the fall.  I forgot to register in November like I was supposed to, and so right now I don't have all of the classes I need.  I need to get into Finance 409, and I've been trying, but it looks like I might have to wait until add-drop week.  I also made a stop into the Texas A&M Career Center this afternoon to meet with an advisor who helped me put together my resume.  As I was sitting in the waiting room I started to get overwhelmed with the whole job search that I'm just beginning.  Apparently resume writing is its own art form, so is interviewing.  Then, if I do happen to get a job when will I start and what exactly will it be?  I'm just not sure that I know what I want to do yet.  How did college go by so fast?  I was supposed to have it figured out by now.  Right now I'm looking into an entry level Human Resources position, possibly directed toward college recruiting.  Wouldn't that be fun??  I'll keep updating as the search progresses.  

Did I mention I'm going with Campbell to see George W. Bush speak at Graduation convocation this Friday?  That's right.  The current president of the United States will be in College Station this Friday.  I'm stoked.  :)

hmm ok that's all for now.

love sarah

Barcelona

Hello from Barcelona!



Today we arrived in Barcelona after a 12 hour, over-night train ride across Spain. The train had little compartments where the seats folded out into bunk beds. Three beds stacked on top of each other. Calli, Katie, Katie and I shared our compartment with a nice lady from Salamanca who used to be an english teacher but now doesn't remember any english. She said that she barely spoke english in the classroom when she was teaching it anyway. We were a little confused.



So who wants to guess the first place we went to in Barcelona? Of course we went to starbucks. I love spain's coffee (Café con Leche), but my iced caramel machiatto was refreshing and reminded me of home. We hung out for a few hours and wandered around Madrid until we could check into our hotel. Our hotel is nice. The four of us are sharing one room with two twin beds, so we'll just have to squeeze tight for the next few nights.



Today we went on a Fat Tire Bike Tour of Barcelona. It was a four hour tour, and we saw all the important sites of the city. We saw Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, we went to a pretty park with a beautiful fountain, also by Gaudi called "Cascades". In the park there were lots of people picnicking and enjoying the beautiful day. We ended the tour at the beach where we ate dinner with the rest of the people on the tour. Every person on our tour went to A&M. It was the four of us and then 6 other finance students studying abroad with the A&M. The aggie network is everwhere!!

...i had left off here in Barcelona and now i will finish:

The next day we went to the park where we saw Gaudi's cascades and read for hours and that night we saw a movie in english--What Happens in Vegas. It wasn't a great movie but we were so glad to be watching a movie that we understood that we didn't really care! After the movie we went to Hard Rock Cafe. Needless to say, we had a very American night.

Our last day in Barcelona we went to the beach. The beaches in Barcelona are part of the Mediterranean and it was absolutely beautiful. We laid out all afternoon. The sell everything at the beach. There were men walking around singing little songs about all the cold drinks they had for sale, and Calli and I both got massages from Asian women walking around saying "massage?" I'm not sure how certified their services were, but Calli and I both enjoyed it very much. If we decide not to come home, we can just give people massages at the beach to make a living...That night we ate at a nice restaurant on the beach called "Arenal". There we celebrated Katie Crawford's 21st birthday and enjoyed watching people at the beach. Later that night we went to watch the "magic fountains" of Barcelona. They are these huge fountains that turn all different colors and change as music plays. I'm going to try to post a video of that on this blog. I took about 5. I'll do that in just a little while.

We took an 11 hour train ride home on Sunday. It was almost too much to handle, but we survived. The trains are a very nerve racking thing because they don't give you much time to get on or get off. The four of us brought 2 gigantic suitcases to Barcelona (we packed for 3 weeks instead of 3 days) and they were hard to get on and off the train. So in all the hustle and bustle of getting everything off the train I forgot to grab my school work from under my seat. Every single handout and every single note I've taken in the last 2 weeks is gone. I started from scratch on Monday. Oops. I don't think it'll be that big of a deal though because I'll just study with Katie and the tests shouldn't be that hard. I can't believe we only have 2 weeks left! It's flown by!

Tonight we will probably lay low and start studying for exams. Clemen has lots of movies so we might try to find one that has english subtitles. I think that's all for now! Thanks for checking in! OH...i'll post that video in a sec.

Santander

Hello friends!

I'm sorry that it has been awhile since I've blogged. Our internet was out at the house for the majority of last week and we were out of town this weekend. So let me start where I left off last time and take you up to this very moment.

The weather in Salamanca got better starting on Tuesday, and our moods got better too. The cold weather was really starting to wear on us and we have been so happy to welcome the warm sun each afternoon after our classes. It still starts off a little chilly in the mornings, but by the time we're done with class the weather is perfect. It's probably been in the 80's every afternoon here. Muy bien.

We have really been wanting to try this Spanish/European fast food company called "Pans & Company" so on Thursday we decided that we would skip lunch at our respective houses and eat Pans together in the Plaza. The food, the company, and the weather was all very good as we sat and talked and read together in the Plaza for the majority of the afternoon. There has been a big festival going on for the last 2 weeks (as I mentioned in my previous blog, the video is from the festival) so on Thursday there was a Spanish radio station there to hear what the people of Salamanca had to say about all of it. Katie and katie left at about 5 and Calli and I stayed to read a little more and we listened to the DJ's as they interviewed different people walking through the plaza. When I saw one of the DJ's walking toward Calli and I, I had a moment of panic and then calmed myself as she chose to interview Calli first. She started speaking very fast asking Calli lots of questions. I guess Calli kind of got nervous too and couldn't really understand the girl and so when she put the microphone to Calli's mouth all Calli could say was "No hablo mucho Ingles". Oops. She meant spanish. Everyone knew that, so it was OK. So then the girl says (in spanish), OK then we will talk to your friend here and put the microphone up to my mouth and all I could think to say was "I speak even worse than her" but what came out was "mas menor" which means "more smaller" or "more younger" to which Calli burst out laughing and I just put down my head. Every eye in Salamanca zeroed in on us and the main DJ at the front just kept repeating "mas menor...hmm....mas menor".

On Friday after class we left to go to a town called Santander for the weekend. Santander is a beach town in north Spain. We were a little nervous about the weather because when we got there it was really cold, but the next morning when we walked out of our hotel the sun was shining and it was a really pretty day! We stayed at the beach all afternoon. We had lunch at telepizza, which is another European fast food place and went back out to the beach. We've all been reading a lot on this trip. I started a new book, A Severe Mercy, and I have not been able to take my nose out of it since I opened it. Santander was beautiful. We went to the cutest little park on Saturday afternoon. We saw 2 brides getting married, lots of little kids playing in beautiful green fields, and a beautiful, old palace. In the park there was also a small zoo that had penguins, ducks and sea lions. Dinner Saturday night was kind of an adventure. We took a taxi to a Mexican food restaurant (yes, they have mexican food in Spain) but the restaurant was completely empty so we wandered around the town until we found somewhere better. Dinner was very good, and Santander was fun to walk around in at night. Calli got a lot of pictures of Santander, so I will steal them from her and post them soon.

We just got home and are worn out and ready to go to bed. I will try to be better about updating more frequently. What an adventure we are having here in Spain! I hope that who ever is reading this is getting to experience it a little bit with us :) more later...

A Lazy Saturday

We have now made it to Salamanca. Each Spanish city we have visited has been completely unique of the last and Salamanca is no exception.

We arrived here in the afternoon on Wednesday and met our Madre's. Calli and I had received correspondance that our Madre's name was Clemen and that her profession was homemaking. Our letter said that Clemen lives with her Mother (91) and two daughters, but other than that Calli and I didn't really know what to expect. When we met her for the first time we were showered with hugs and kisses. She was so happy to see us :) When we got to her house we were pleasantly surprised to find the apartment quite spacious, and we also found that we would be dwelling in the same room. That was a huge comfort to me and Calli because we like to stick close together most all the time--but especially in foreign countries.

Our living situation is especially lucky for two reasons. We LOVE our madre and we have wireless internet in the house. So beside having such a comforting connection and counsel living with us while we're in Spain, we will also be able to keep you all posted pretty regularly on what we're experiencing. Internet is quite a commodity here in Salamanca, and we are VERY lucky to have it free and in our own room. I'm writing this while sitting in my warm bed in my pajamas and slippers.

That's another thing...my bed is warm which is a stark contrast to the weather outside! Normally the summer weather in Salamanca is warm and aggreable, but since we've been here it has been so COLD!! As we enter the month of June most people are still wearing boots, scarves and heavy coats. Calli, Katie, Katie and I just didn't come prepared. Our plethora of shorts, dresses and sandals still sit in our suitcases untouched, and the one fleece and pair of jeans that I brought are worn with my closed-toed flats on a daily basis. I wish I had a pair of boots, and I'd buy a pair if they were on sale in any store, but all the stores are selling summer clothes right now. Because it's June and it should feel like summer.

We started orientation classes on Thursday. Calli meets with the advanced spanish speakers, Katie B meets with the Intermediate speakers, and Crawf and I meet with the special group-the Beginners. There are 6 of us in our little class and we meet in a tiny room in the ISA office for about 3 hours a day and learn the fundamentals of Spanish. We actually love it. Katie and I are definitely in the right level as we have taken Spanish in high school, but needed a heavy review of the basics. In a place that we don't understand the language about 90% of the time, it is refreshing to go into a classroom and understand the Spanish that we're hearing for 3 hours of a day. Our teacher is very patient and speaks slowly. She speaks no english, but explains everything she is teaching very well, and so each day we leave feeling more confident and able than we were the day before. We have only been here about a week but our vocabulary and speaking ability has already increased so much! I still feel pretty shy when speaking with my Madre but Calli says that I do just fine. Every meal at home feels more like a language lab than a time to eat and unwind, but that's OK. We're here to learn, right? I think it will feel more comfortable after we've been here another week or so.

The food. It is interesting for sure. Our madre cooks every meal and prides herself in her cooking. She tells us it is verey important to her that we like what she makes. The first day we were here Calli and I were so excited o have spaghetti and chicken. It was SO GOOD. Since then we've had meatballs and potatoes, a bright, orange-yellow potato puree, fried fish, lettuce and carrots, some kind of vegetable soup, and toast and jam every morning. The toast and jam is delicious. We also eat a lot of bread, but our meals are so spread out that we are STARVING by the time we eat our next meal. Chocolate croissants have become my favorite snack for the inbetween hours of breakfast and lunch. And lunch and dinner.

Last night was our first night out on the town. Calli and I met Katie and Katie in the Plaza Mayor where they have been holding a festival for the last week. We watched a dance show that looked like cirque de sole in the plaza. I'm going to try to post a video, because my words probably won't do it justice. Actually, the video might not either. Everything was lit up. The costumes were so cool. There were butterflies with giant wings and umbrellas and then dancers who descended from a giant, lit-up crane that came from behind the buildings and landed down on the stage. That's what the video is of. I really enjoyed it, but that might just be because this kind of thing is right up my alley. I think some of my friends got bored with it :/ But see for yourself.

OK, I think I've about talked your ear off so I'll close this blog for today. I will post more frequently now that I have a steady internet connection and so many adventures to talk about. I'm loving it here, and I'm having a blast.

Talk to ya soon!

Monday May 26, 2008

Today we left from our hotel in Madrid. Before we left the city we visited El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace) and La Sofia Reyina. The Royal Palace was amazing. It hasn't actually been lived in since the 1930's but it is still the official meeting place for all Royal events and Gala's. All the rooms have been preserved and restored, and we were able to take a tour inside the palace. I had never seen anything like it. It was room after room of the most ornate furniture, art, walls, chandaliers and even the floors were beautiful.

From there we went to La Sophia Reyina, which is a contemporary art gallery where many of Picasso's most famous works are displayed, including the Guernica. I never really liked Picasso until today. Our tour guide was fabulous, and she was so enthusiastic about informing us of all the background that goes with the artists works. It is really quite amazing how much a picture can communicate.

After the museum we traveled to Toledo where we spent the evening and we will spend the day tomorrow. It is completely different from Madrid and so cute! We had dinner at a great restaurant tonight called La Abadia. I'm excited to see where we go tomorrow!

I'm going to try to post a slide show of our trip thus far.

Hola Mis Amigos!!

So I've made it to my first stop in Madrid, but not without a few kinks upon arriving. Nothing too serious except for my debit card did not work when I got here and so I had no way of getting Euros. After 2 collect calls with mom she finally got my card to work and I was off to flag down a taxi.

My taxi driver did not speak a lick of english, and I don't speak a lick of spanish. My first language crisis. I guess we were able to communicate enough for him to understand where I needed to go, and he was very patient with me. He told me about all of the attractions in Spain that we were passing on the way and I kind of repeated the words he said like I was understanding it somehow. All i could think to say was "Oh, es muy bonita!" I said that about the bank, some kind of arches that were cool, the military headquarters...Everything...muy bonita!

I'm at my hotel now and it's perfect. So cute. My room is quaint and perfect. I'm in the lobby right now on my computer and it's really pretty. There are just open doors leading to balconies all over the 9th floor. It's so pretty. Muy bonita.

Anyways, just thought I'd let ya'll know that I made it over here! We'll see if i venture out into the streets of Madrid. That may be my adventure tomorrow. Right now i'm going to go sleep off the jet lag.