I am veryyy excited because one of my close friends from Penn, the one and only Annie Bellis, has finally arrived in Madrid!
Upon her arrival, after eating lunch and walking around, we decided to go to a bull fight with some of the other girls. This decision was quite an interesting one seeing as I absolutely hate blood and am not a big fan of violence. I saw it as one of those "things you have to do in Spain", like see flamenco dancers, or go the visit la Alhambra. Well, I was wrong. You really REALLY don't HAVE to go see a bullfight. Luckily, this one was cheap (becasue they were killing baby bulls, depressing right??) so I didn't feel bad when I had to leave after only about 30 minutes since I was so sick to my stomach. I actually started tearing up in the Plaza de los Toros (I'm ridiculous, I know, judge me) but it was so sad seeing these stupid people on horseback stabbing baby bulls. The matadors were kinda cool to watch when they were like doing tricks and making the bulls run in circles, but then when they were stabbing bulls in the neck, they stopped being so cool. The whole crowd also got like really into it, including a 10year old boy sitting behind me, which just made the situation worse. But we left early and got a drink so that made the day a little better.
ANYWAY, onto happier news: we just finished our first exam and now we're home free for the weekend, which many of us (people on my program) are spending at oktoberfest!!
I'm pretty pumped for this weekend because i've obviously heard a lot about it, and when else am i going to get to experience such a fratty scene? Luckily there isn't much to see in Munich, so we won't feel too bad pushing tourism to the wayside while trying to experience the 'culture' of the infamous festival.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Valencia
Seriously I just wrote about Valencia TWO DIFFERENT TIMES AND MY BLOG WON'T POST IT. mierda. this is annoying
In short: Valencia is on the eastern coast of Spain and is the 3rd largest city in the country, even though it doesn't feel like it. We got there early Saturday and went to the largest market in Europe (or the world, i forget) which was really cool, and then spent the day at the beach which was beautifulll- great weather.
For dinner, a lot of people on my program were there, so the majority of us ate together at this paella restaurant (Valencia is the birthplace of paella)- DELISH. Afterwards, we headed to a bar for some obligatory chupitos (shots), agua de valencia (orange juice, cava, and various other alcohols) and sangria. Then onto a club called Las Animas de la Playa which was a 2 story outdoor club that was pretty fun once the night got started (like 2 hours after we came... getting used to Spanish time is a process)
The next day, needless to say, we were quite tired but still toured the Church of Valencia and the Miguelete (very peaceful and beautiful), and walked to la Ciudad de las Ciencias y las Artes (really cool architecture)
After two long days, we were home around 12:30 for some much needed sleep. This blog is really boring/sounds like the trip wasn't that fun, but it was GREAT because so many people from the program were there and the weather was perrrrfect both days. I'm just too lazy to detail more/ honestly if my blog messes up again I'm gonna break something.
My upcoming week will be pretty tame because I need to save up my energy for next weekend- OKTOBERFEST!
In short: Valencia is on the eastern coast of Spain and is the 3rd largest city in the country, even though it doesn't feel like it. We got there early Saturday and went to the largest market in Europe (or the world, i forget) which was really cool, and then spent the day at the beach which was beautifulll- great weather.
For dinner, a lot of people on my program were there, so the majority of us ate together at this paella restaurant (Valencia is the birthplace of paella)- DELISH. Afterwards, we headed to a bar for some obligatory chupitos (shots), agua de valencia (orange juice, cava, and various other alcohols) and sangria. Then onto a club called Las Animas de la Playa which was a 2 story outdoor club that was pretty fun once the night got started (like 2 hours after we came... getting used to Spanish time is a process)
The next day, needless to say, we were quite tired but still toured the Church of Valencia and the Miguelete (very peaceful and beautiful), and walked to la Ciudad de las Ciencias y las Artes (really cool architecture)
After two long days, we were home around 12:30 for some much needed sleep. This blog is really boring/sounds like the trip wasn't that fun, but it was GREAT because so many people from the program were there and the weather was perrrrfect both days. I'm just too lazy to detail more/ honestly if my blog messes up again I'm gonna break something.
My upcoming week will be pretty tame because I need to save up my energy for next weekend- OKTOBERFEST!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Spain, finally!
So now that I'm a little more settled in my new casa en Madrid, I decided I should blog! Aren't you all so excited!? There aren't too many exciting events to write about ... yet ... but I'll detail just a few.
In my program, we live with host families. My family is made up of two sisters who are probably in their mid-70s (not married, no kids) and a niece who is 21 but she's currently with her boyfriend living in England and I think is coming back in October. Anyway, their names are Concha (short for Concepcion) and Paloma and they're too cute. Everything with them is great so far, except I can't understand half of what they say, but hopefully that'll change soon.
I arrived on Wednesday and had a chill night of unpacking and bonding (aka watching the gameshow Pasapalabras with my senoras and not understanding anything on TV). The next day we had our first orientation session at the new school, so it was nice to see everyone in my program, and also speak English. yesss. We took a test (mehhh) and then everyone went out to do errands/kill time before going home to our families.
Much later (12), people were trying to make plans to go out but those got kind of messy so the group ended up kind of splitting up. Anyway, I went out with a few people (in the POURING rain) to a club called Joy in Plaza del Sol which is pretty central. It was a pretty big club and so crowded with people. We made our way around the dance floor and to the stage and then went upstairs for a different scene. We even saw a bride who I guess was having her wedding after party there (interesting choice as there were dancers on stage and a cage in the middle of the dance floor, but that's just my opinion).
Then this Portuguese guy came up to use and asked us if we had "seen a shoe, a heel". we accused him of using a pick-up line, but he had no idea what this was, so we ended up chatting with him. Soon his friends came over and we were all talking to these really interesting international people from Portugal, Germany, Venezuela and more. They gave us tips on places to go, and we of course asked them about their respective countries and their semesters in Spain. We ended up talking for a while, but I was so exhausted by 4:30 that we left the club (early).
The next morning, after 4 hours of sleep, I was quite tired. But alas, we had more orientation stuff- got our schedules and did a walking tour of the city center for 3 hours. We didn't eat lunch until 3:30 and needless to say, all of us were STARVING. Good thing the tapas were delish. I had a couple of glasses of Sangria so between the walking and the Sangria, I was ready for a serious siesta upon my arrival at the apartment. 2 hours later I was a happy camper. I woke up and went for a run before returning home to shower and have dinner. No one really made moves to go out/ things got messy again, but it was alright to relax.
Today is Saturday, so Allison and I just toured around the city center more, went to the park and went shopping. Tonight for sure we'll all go out sooo I'm sure we'll find some excellent fiestas! Sorry this was kind of boring, but more stories later! Oktoberfest is approaching...
Sidenote: one thing I forgot to include about Rome is Allison and my failed attempted to get into the Vatican. The guards decided that our shorts were too short to enter- harsh.
In my program, we live with host families. My family is made up of two sisters who are probably in their mid-70s (not married, no kids) and a niece who is 21 but she's currently with her boyfriend living in England and I think is coming back in October. Anyway, their names are Concha (short for Concepcion) and Paloma and they're too cute. Everything with them is great so far, except I can't understand half of what they say, but hopefully that'll change soon.
I arrived on Wednesday and had a chill night of unpacking and bonding (aka watching the gameshow Pasapalabras with my senoras and not understanding anything on TV). The next day we had our first orientation session at the new school, so it was nice to see everyone in my program, and also speak English. yesss. We took a test (mehhh) and then everyone went out to do errands/kill time before going home to our families.
Much later (12), people were trying to make plans to go out but those got kind of messy so the group ended up kind of splitting up. Anyway, I went out with a few people (in the POURING rain) to a club called Joy in Plaza del Sol which is pretty central. It was a pretty big club and so crowded with people. We made our way around the dance floor and to the stage and then went upstairs for a different scene. We even saw a bride who I guess was having her wedding after party there (interesting choice as there were dancers on stage and a cage in the middle of the dance floor, but that's just my opinion).
Then this Portuguese guy came up to use and asked us if we had "seen a shoe, a heel". we accused him of using a pick-up line, but he had no idea what this was, so we ended up chatting with him. Soon his friends came over and we were all talking to these really interesting international people from Portugal, Germany, Venezuela and more. They gave us tips on places to go, and we of course asked them about their respective countries and their semesters in Spain. We ended up talking for a while, but I was so exhausted by 4:30 that we left the club (early).
The next morning, after 4 hours of sleep, I was quite tired. But alas, we had more orientation stuff- got our schedules and did a walking tour of the city center for 3 hours. We didn't eat lunch until 3:30 and needless to say, all of us were STARVING. Good thing the tapas were delish. I had a couple of glasses of Sangria so between the walking and the Sangria, I was ready for a serious siesta upon my arrival at the apartment. 2 hours later I was a happy camper. I woke up and went for a run before returning home to shower and have dinner. No one really made moves to go out/ things got messy again, but it was alright to relax.
Today is Saturday, so Allison and I just toured around the city center more, went to the park and went shopping. Tonight for sure we'll all go out sooo I'm sure we'll find some excellent fiestas! Sorry this was kind of boring, but more stories later! Oktoberfest is approaching...
Sidenote: one thing I forgot to include about Rome is Allison and my failed attempted to get into the Vatican. The guards decided that our shorts were too short to enter- harsh.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The story of Yossi (or, our trip to Ios) and then some
ok sooo i blogged a while ago but do to the status of the hostels we have been staying in, I have not had internet. Luckily I wouldn't have really had time to use it if I had it anyway.
So I'll recap a little on the various places I've been since my last blog.
Firstly, more on Ios. Unfortunately our night out in Ios started on a sad note. We bought 3E white wine at the market (whyyy isn't it this cheap in the states!?) and were gonna crack it open post-dinner. Our plans were foiled when we realized we had no bottle opener- rookie mistake. Though Allison tried to google ways to open it, we failed miserably. We decided instead of continuing on this miserable path, we would just go to Fun Pub to find our Australian 'friends' from our hostel. We got there and it was quite a scene (mostly of Australians), but then all of a sudden everyone left at like 12. Weird? Yes. We were very confused/ upset because 1. we had not seen our Australians, 2. we had not seen the giant Jenga set, and 3. we had not taken obligatory shots of ouzo.
LUCKILY when we were leaving the pub with the crowd, Allison essentially ran into oncoming traffic/ right into another Australian guy. He informed her that it would maybe be a good idea to look before she crossed the street...details... then we obvi started chatting it up with him (accent, enough said.) and he told us of the ATVs he and his 4 Aussie friends had rented, and the yacht that they also had rented. He proceeded to invite us onto said yacht after the night's festivities. This turn of events was a complete 180 from the cork mishap an hour earlier. We were very enthusiastic about this journey and continued to talk to our new friend. We got on the topic of our lack of experience with ouzo and he insisted on buying us shots. perfect. So we wandered back into Fun Pub (saw the giant Jenga but unfortuantely did not get to play- I trust that it was fun/ I'm jealous that you got to try it Becky... we should all return to Ios to play a round together) and us + Australians took shots together. Apparently you're not supposed to use your hands but the 3 of us failed at that. Oh well. Upon realizing that ouzo is absolutely vile (see ya later Owen, I agree with Suz), we left the bar (with Australians of course) and headed up the hill to go to the other bars/clubs.
There, we made a fatal mistake and wandered RIGHT INTO YOSSI'S ARMS. ugh. He semi-attacked us and dragged us into his (empty) bar. Needless to say, the Australians were not into Yossi's 'scene' and went on to bigger and better adventures. Allison appropriately dubbed this "yacht block". grr.
Still, Yossi bought us shots and made us drinks and we chatted with him for a little before he returned to working the crowds outside. So we left his bar and tried to look for our yacht-ing friends, to no avail. We bounced from club to club but ended up going home earlier than the typical 7am night in Ios because apparently the clubs were like shutting down the next day. Who knew that party season in Ios ended?! ...Return trip soon anybody??
So that's basically Ios (this blog is running long and I'm rambling so I'm going to consolidate more). Then Allison and I moved on to Santorini while Kristina left for Edinburgh. Nothing too bloggable happened in Santorini- we wished that we had had a couple more days there because it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we were sad to leave. We had dinner and breakfast with an amazing view, lounged on black beaches, and saw more donkeys (YESSS). When I upload pictures, I'll post some on here because the view was stunning.
Then onto Rome wheee! Allison flew out much earlier than I did, but when I finally got there around 5, I met up with her and Noah! Exciting to see another Penn face. We did all the normal touristy stuff, spent lots of time people watching, and ate some seriously tastey gelato. Unfortunately Julie we did not get to go out in Rome :( BUT when we all travel to Ios, we can fly to Rome after! Perhaps I'll start planning a summer trip...
That's all for now. We're waiting in the airport in Rome currently and moving on to Madrid. So the next time I write, I will have met my familia! !que emocionada! (check me out, I'm sooo good at spanish already)
So I'll recap a little on the various places I've been since my last blog.
Firstly, more on Ios. Unfortunately our night out in Ios started on a sad note. We bought 3E white wine at the market (whyyy isn't it this cheap in the states!?) and were gonna crack it open post-dinner. Our plans were foiled when we realized we had no bottle opener- rookie mistake. Though Allison tried to google ways to open it, we failed miserably. We decided instead of continuing on this miserable path, we would just go to Fun Pub to find our Australian 'friends' from our hostel. We got there and it was quite a scene (mostly of Australians), but then all of a sudden everyone left at like 12. Weird? Yes. We were very confused/ upset because 1. we had not seen our Australians, 2. we had not seen the giant Jenga set, and 3. we had not taken obligatory shots of ouzo.
LUCKILY when we were leaving the pub with the crowd, Allison essentially ran into oncoming traffic/ right into another Australian guy. He informed her that it would maybe be a good idea to look before she crossed the street...details... then we obvi started chatting it up with him (accent, enough said.) and he told us of the ATVs he and his 4 Aussie friends had rented, and the yacht that they also had rented. He proceeded to invite us onto said yacht after the night's festivities. This turn of events was a complete 180 from the cork mishap an hour earlier. We were very enthusiastic about this journey and continued to talk to our new friend. We got on the topic of our lack of experience with ouzo and he insisted on buying us shots. perfect. So we wandered back into Fun Pub (saw the giant Jenga but unfortuantely did not get to play- I trust that it was fun/ I'm jealous that you got to try it Becky... we should all return to Ios to play a round together) and us + Australians took shots together. Apparently you're not supposed to use your hands but the 3 of us failed at that. Oh well. Upon realizing that ouzo is absolutely vile (see ya later Owen, I agree with Suz), we left the bar (with Australians of course) and headed up the hill to go to the other bars/clubs.
There, we made a fatal mistake and wandered RIGHT INTO YOSSI'S ARMS. ugh. He semi-attacked us and dragged us into his (empty) bar. Needless to say, the Australians were not into Yossi's 'scene' and went on to bigger and better adventures. Allison appropriately dubbed this "yacht block". grr.
Still, Yossi bought us shots and made us drinks and we chatted with him for a little before he returned to working the crowds outside. So we left his bar and tried to look for our yacht-ing friends, to no avail. We bounced from club to club but ended up going home earlier than the typical 7am night in Ios because apparently the clubs were like shutting down the next day. Who knew that party season in Ios ended?! ...Return trip soon anybody??
So that's basically Ios (this blog is running long and I'm rambling so I'm going to consolidate more). Then Allison and I moved on to Santorini while Kristina left for Edinburgh. Nothing too bloggable happened in Santorini- we wished that we had had a couple more days there because it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we were sad to leave. We had dinner and breakfast with an amazing view, lounged on black beaches, and saw more donkeys (YESSS). When I upload pictures, I'll post some on here because the view was stunning.
Then onto Rome wheee! Allison flew out much earlier than I did, but when I finally got there around 5, I met up with her and Noah! Exciting to see another Penn face. We did all the normal touristy stuff, spent lots of time people watching, and ate some seriously tastey gelato. Unfortunately Julie we did not get to go out in Rome :( BUT when we all travel to Ios, we can fly to Rome after! Perhaps I'll start planning a summer trip...
That's all for now. We're waiting in the airport in Rome currently and moving on to Madrid. So the next time I write, I will have met my familia! !que emocionada! (check me out, I'm sooo good at spanish already)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Arriving in Ios
We left plenty of time to get down to the port from our Athens hostel, but of course there was construction on the subway lines and we had to backtrack/waste about 30 minutes attempting to get to the port. We made it with about 15 minutes to spare, but got to sleep a little on the Ferry (despite a screaming child acting like a monkey that Kristina and I almost killed).
We got to our hotel in Ios and found that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Thanks for the suggestion Becky McClain!! Not only is it only 13.50E, but it has a pool, wifi, incredibly friendly guests, and beautiful décor. After unloading our stuff, we headed down to the beautiful beach and got to see all the pretty white and blue houses along the way. This is the Greece I imagined.
This island’s claim to fame is its HUGE party scene. Apparently bars and clubs stay open until 4ish, at which time people flood the streets dancing until 7am. Not really sure if this actually happens, but you better believe we’re going to find out. We’ve already been invited to go to “Fun Pub” by some Aussie’s (accents, YES PUHLEASE) that are staying here (apparently it’s ‘really fun’… hence the name… and there’s a giant Jenga set- sweeeet) and also to go to a place called “Kou Bar” (sp??) by our friend Yossi from the beach (the guy who made us pay for our beach chairs but then chatted us up because he was originally from Miami). After sleeping for four hours at the beach, we’re ready to see what Ios nightlife is all about.
Other Things:
1. Greek is an alien language. I don’t understand it at all.
2. I haven’t found Kostos, but I’m still looking- why was Lena so lucky? At least there are lots of Australians here which is equally as wonderful.
3. I just went on a run and went down a dirt path at one point (sooo adventurous right??) and saw a Donkey! I think it was stuck. It started braying at me. We weren’t friends.
I’ll probably blog tomorrow before we leave this wonderful place to give updates on what is sure to be a memorable, or not so memorable, night (Justttttt kidding mom and dad…).
We got to our hotel in Ios and found that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Thanks for the suggestion Becky McClain!! Not only is it only 13.50E, but it has a pool, wifi, incredibly friendly guests, and beautiful décor. After unloading our stuff, we headed down to the beautiful beach and got to see all the pretty white and blue houses along the way. This is the Greece I imagined.
This island’s claim to fame is its HUGE party scene. Apparently bars and clubs stay open until 4ish, at which time people flood the streets dancing until 7am. Not really sure if this actually happens, but you better believe we’re going to find out. We’ve already been invited to go to “Fun Pub” by some Aussie’s (accents, YES PUHLEASE) that are staying here (apparently it’s ‘really fun’… hence the name… and there’s a giant Jenga set- sweeeet) and also to go to a place called “Kou Bar” (sp??) by our friend Yossi from the beach (the guy who made us pay for our beach chairs but then chatted us up because he was originally from Miami). After sleeping for four hours at the beach, we’re ready to see what Ios nightlife is all about.
Other Things:
1. Greek is an alien language. I don’t understand it at all.
2. I haven’t found Kostos, but I’m still looking- why was Lena so lucky? At least there are lots of Australians here which is equally as wonderful.
3. I just went on a run and went down a dirt path at one point (sooo adventurous right??) and saw a Donkey! I think it was stuck. It started braying at me. We weren’t friends.
I’ll probably blog tomorrow before we leave this wonderful place to give updates on what is sure to be a memorable, or not so memorable, night (Justttttt kidding mom and dad…).
Ancient Athenians Must Have Had Really Good Legs
THERE ARE SO MANY HILLS. Jeezzz. The first one I encountered was right after I got off the bus from the airport. What a debacle. My flight got in at 2pm and after for traveling for over 20 hours, I was exhausted. After waiting for 2 hours for a bus that was supposed to come every 20 minutes, someone mentioned to me that the transit workers in Greece were on strike. Super. I found out that the buses weren’t going to start running until around 4:00, and cab rides to the main city center (Syntagma Square) would be over 60E. Two people approached me, asked me if I was alone, and then subsequently offered to share a cab with me. At first, I thought this was a great idea. However, flashbacks of the movie Taken came rushing into my head, and it was clear that these people were probably going to kidnap me in the cab. So I avoided going with them. Stupid. The bus didn’t come until about 5pm – after 3 hours of standing waiting- and when it did come, the overflow of traffic caused a literal mob scene of people slamming up against the bus and packing it probably 3x capacity. I was one of the last to get on the bus and legit almost went into hysterics. Luckily I was too tired.
I got to the (kinda sketchy) hostel and went out to grab a bite (authentic chicken souvlaki yummm), then got lost for an hour as it started to get dark, and finally found my way back. Allison (Norman) and Kristina (Harter)- my travel buddies- arrived circa 3am because one of their flights got delayed. Yikes.
Needless to say they were tired the next day, but we all rallied to wake up at 8:30 and get going on the ancient sights. We hiked the hill up to the Acropolis and walked around the Parthenon and erechtheum, temples, and theaters. It was really hot and steep, but pretty sweet. Then we walked down to the Agora (marketplace) and got some more ancient dust on our feet. hawt. I wish I remembered more information from my History of Ancient Greece class (amazinggg, I highly recommend it), but alas most of McInerney’s lecture points escaped me. After walking around the ancient sights, we headed to the new Ancient Acropolis Museum which was phenomenal.
Quick lunch break (Greek Salad and pita, so delicious) and then we shopped around a little before heading to Lykavittos hill. Great, more steep slopes. Allison had read that it provided a spectacular view of the acropolis and the metropolis of Athens at sunset, so we decided to take on the challenge of climbing the “hill” (re: cliff). It was definitely worth it. Beautiful sunset, and a nice rest at the top. My legs better be dayum good after this. My calves are yelling at me.
On the way down my legs felt like jelly and were shaking but it was fine. We had dinner near our hostel and got free wine while watching some authentic Greek dancers at the restaurant next door. It was perfect. Then they got Bakalava and I got asked if I was a cheerleader? Gotta love American stereotypes.
Then we headed home to sleep until our 5:30am wakeup call for our early ferry to the island of Ios.
I got to the (kinda sketchy) hostel and went out to grab a bite (authentic chicken souvlaki yummm), then got lost for an hour as it started to get dark, and finally found my way back. Allison (Norman) and Kristina (Harter)- my travel buddies- arrived circa 3am because one of their flights got delayed. Yikes.
Needless to say they were tired the next day, but we all rallied to wake up at 8:30 and get going on the ancient sights. We hiked the hill up to the Acropolis and walked around the Parthenon and erechtheum, temples, and theaters. It was really hot and steep, but pretty sweet. Then we walked down to the Agora (marketplace) and got some more ancient dust on our feet. hawt. I wish I remembered more information from my History of Ancient Greece class (amazinggg, I highly recommend it), but alas most of McInerney’s lecture points escaped me. After walking around the ancient sights, we headed to the new Ancient Acropolis Museum which was phenomenal.
Quick lunch break (Greek Salad and pita, so delicious) and then we shopped around a little before heading to Lykavittos hill. Great, more steep slopes. Allison had read that it provided a spectacular view of the acropolis and the metropolis of Athens at sunset, so we decided to take on the challenge of climbing the “hill” (re: cliff). It was definitely worth it. Beautiful sunset, and a nice rest at the top. My legs better be dayum good after this. My calves are yelling at me.
On the way down my legs felt like jelly and were shaking but it was fine. We had dinner near our hostel and got free wine while watching some authentic Greek dancers at the restaurant next door. It was perfect. Then they got Bakalava and I got asked if I was a cheerleader? Gotta love American stereotypes.
Then we headed home to sleep until our 5:30am wakeup call for our early ferry to the island of Ios.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Final Countdown
Firstly, I apologize for the lame title of this blog. Instead of following Molly Otto's advice to "make a witty title" I probably chose the blandest (is that a word?) title ever. But whatever, I'm over it.
So tomorrow I leave for Greece which is SO weird. I feel like I've talked about going to Madrid for so long that it's just seemed really distant, like it would never actually happen. Surprise, it's happening. Part of me is sad to leave Philly after visiting for a few days, and part of me is, of course, really excited to be studying abroad. The thing I'm most nervous about is my (at least perceived) lack of Spanish skills. I tried to brush up using Rosetta Stone and watching Pan's Labyrinth, but I'm pretty sure both of those endeavors failed. Although I did learn how to say "full moon" (la luna llena) which they repeat about 100 times in the movie, and also how to say 'turn left' (gire a la izquierda) which they repeat about 1,000 on Rosetta, I don't remember a lot of the conjugations and vocab. I think I'll look through my Spanish notebook later... ughh back to schoolwork already.
My other main concern is my luggage. I am a notoriously TERRIBLE packer so this has pretty much sucked. I think I'm just hitting the limit for my suitcase, but I've kind of accepted the fact that I'll have to pay some overweight charges. It's better to pack too much than forget something in my opinion. So my day today will pretty much consist of packing and repacking and freaking out that I'm forgetting something. Should be pretty great. Maybe taking a nap too because I'm suree that I won't be able to sleep tonight. Let the adventures begin!
So tomorrow I leave for Greece which is SO weird. I feel like I've talked about going to Madrid for so long that it's just seemed really distant, like it would never actually happen. Surprise, it's happening. Part of me is sad to leave Philly after visiting for a few days, and part of me is, of course, really excited to be studying abroad. The thing I'm most nervous about is my (at least perceived) lack of Spanish skills. I tried to brush up using Rosetta Stone and watching Pan's Labyrinth, but I'm pretty sure both of those endeavors failed. Although I did learn how to say "full moon" (la luna llena) which they repeat about 100 times in the movie, and also how to say 'turn left' (gire a la izquierda) which they repeat about 1,000 on Rosetta, I don't remember a lot of the conjugations and vocab. I think I'll look through my Spanish notebook later... ughh back to schoolwork already.
My other main concern is my luggage. I am a notoriously TERRIBLE packer so this has pretty much sucked. I think I'm just hitting the limit for my suitcase, but I've kind of accepted the fact that I'll have to pay some overweight charges. It's better to pack too much than forget something in my opinion. So my day today will pretty much consist of packing and repacking and freaking out that I'm forgetting something. Should be pretty great. Maybe taking a nap too because I'm suree that I won't be able to sleep tonight. Let the adventures begin!
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