I Know I've Been Horrible About Updating...

...but this week has been SO crazy. I'll recap when I get back home (in less than 48 hours!), but I have zero time right now. We have to be on the bus in an hour, and I still have to get dressed and the rest of my stuff packed (which is not much at all) and eat breakfast.

It's hard to believe this is our last full day in Espana. It's been such an incredible journey, and I am so grateful that God put each and every one of the people on this trip in my life. I'm still not fluent in Spanish, but as long as they don't speak like they're running out of breath, I can understand, and if you give me a minute, I can respond. I've definitely gotten better, I know that for sure.

For the twelve of the group headed to Salamanca today (class again tomorrow...enjoy!), I am praying for you and I love you and I miss you. Post pictures all the time and Skype me when you can : ) It's going to be weird not having you around after we get back to Madrid.

We've got one more thing to look at in Granada before starting on our six hour drive back to Madrid, so hopefully I'll get some sleep.

And when I get home, I WANT SOME PEANUT BUTTER!

Hasta luego!

(Or until I get home!!!)

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

As I Am Very Tired, I Shall Only Post a Short List

(This list consists of the various and sundry thoughts I have accumulated during our two days of the Andalucian tour)

• Windmills. They're awesome. And pretty.
• I swear, Coca-Cola just tastes better over here. And Fanta Naranja (Orange, for those of you who need to brush up on your Spanish) is DEFINITELY better.
• Did you know that buses have a certain amount of time they have to rest over here, as required by national law? It's pretty intense, but it's cut down tremendously on the amount of bus accidents.
• I really do love fans. I'm going to be that quirky girl with the fan sitting at Samford football games, I really will. I love them.
• I also have a really bad habit of collecting scarves. They're pretty, cheap, and light. Therefore, perfect items to pick up while traveling.
• On that note, my suitcase WILL be under the weight limit. I can actually pick it up now.
• I miss my big bed, I really do.
• First thing I'm making when I get back home: PB&J with a glass of really cold milk.
• I have now seen the Spanish Bradley Cooper, and he can flamenco dance. Life. Complete.
• I had piping hot, fresh out of the oven bread for dinner tonight, and it was the best thing ever.
• This morning, I ate bacon...in the Jewish Quarter of town. Oh, the irony.
• I'm still looking for a beach hat.
• Even though I complain about it, at the end of the stairs/ramps, I am always glad I climb up really tall towers in historic places.
• Horses smell.
• Birds don't aim their poop very well. Or maybe they just target girls in white shirts. (Thankfully, it was our last stop before the hotel and the majority got on my arm and not my clothes)
• Magnifying mirrors make you aware of how desperately you need an eyebrow wax.
• On that note, I NEED A PEDICURE.
• I'll sleep on the bus tomorow.
• My, this list was longer than expected.

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

Two Days of Relaxation and Random Sightings

So for the first time in this entire Spain experience, we had TWO complete days where we had nothing to do. I guess technically we had that during our free weekend, but seeing as how we had to explore a city in two and a half days, I don't count that.

See, Friday we finished our classes (hip hip hooray!), and Saturday we had our last excursion to El Escorial and El Castillo de Manzanares. They were both incredibly gorgeous, but I think we were all kind of over excursions by that point. We just wanted to get the Andalucia trip started!

Sunday (yesterday), Karin and I woke up early (only out of necessity) to go to El Rastro once more for the last of our souvenir shopping. Yes, I am competely done. If I have forgotten you, I am sorry, but you can live with it (I'm only kind of kidding...if you were that important, I wouldn't have forgotten you).

After Rastro, we came back to the house and packed a bit while watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (we rented it on iTunes). I had to convince Karin it was worth watching, and I guess she finally came around. Haha. However, I've had the "Sabine Women" song stuck in my head ever since. That, and "Goin' Courtin'."

We wanted some chocolate and churros in the worst way, so instead of a "real" lunch, we took off for Sol and La Chocolateria San Gines. Of course, being as directionally challenged as Karin and I are, we got lost. No surprise, huh? However, we got to explore Sol a little bit (well, the streets around Sol. Sol itself was full of those darn protesters again. On a Sunday of all days!) and I found an even better souvenir for one of the people on my gift list, so it was good.

We finally made it to La Chocolateria, and while we were enjoying our delicious chocolate and churros, we saw the guys who sell the knock-off bags and pirated DVDs running/speed walking through the street we were on...with two police officers chasing/corralling them on their motorcycles. It was really weird/intersting to see. However, what's REALLY interesting is that we saw the SAME guys and the SAME police officers about ten minutes later doing the same little routine. That time it was just straight up funny. Karin and I cracked up about it for a good five minutes.

We then headed to Retiro to walk around a bit. We got some Fanta Naranja and sat down to watch the boaters in the lake. A woman with her friend and her three young kids sat behind us. The oldest boy started poking me in the back, so I turned around to talk to him. He was SO adorable. I spoke to him in Spanish (he understood me!), and his mom had him practice some of his English on me. Too cute. His name was Lucas and he was 5. His younger brother (who I also spoke with a bit), Matteo, was 3, and they had an infant sister whose name I can't remember. It was the sweetest thing to sit there and talk with them for a few minutes.

Our most random sighting in the park was this little girl just carrying around a little white bunny. It doesn't seem like it would be that random, but when was the last time YOU saw someone just carrying around a bunny in a giant park in Madrid?

After one last loop around the lake, we headed back to the house for a much-needed nap. When we woke up (well, I woke up and then made Karin wake up), we mostly finished our packing. After dinner with our madre, we chilled out at the house for a bit before headed to bed (a lot of the others in the group go out at night...Karin and I just can't get into that. After dinner, we just want to go to sleep!)

Today (Monday), we slept in. Those three words are heavenly, no lie. We haven't done that since I don't know when. When we woke up, we took our time eating and getting ready to go out and go shopping on Gran Via. I think we went shopping on jus tthe right day...almost all the stores had massive sales going on! I'm talking 50%+. Unfortch, the one thing I was shopping for was in the one store with no sales. However, I'm VERY happy with my cute rose-red romper (say that five times fast). I'm glad I am, too, as it's the only thing I bought today (did not find a beach hat that was too my liking anywhere today).

Right now we're just relaxing in Starbucks (our WiFi spot) for a bit before dinner with madre. Our last one! We bought her some flowers yesterday at Rastro as a thank you gift. When we brought them to her, she looked at us and said "No es mi cumpleanos!" (It's not my birthday!). She was really pleased and put them on the dinner table in a cute vase.

Not much packing left to do. I'm SO ready to go to Andalucia tomorrow. It's my only vacation this summer, after all...haha.

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

My Vacation...Somewhat

Since I'm not sure how my whole internet situation is going to be this next week (our tour of Andalucia), I'm going to give all of you a rundown of how the trip is going to pan out so that you have a bit of an idea if I can't blog to tell you all about it.

Tuesday: We leave. We see La Mancha (windmills!) and Cordoba (Mezquita, Jewish Quarter), then go to Sevilla to spend the first of two nights.

Wednesday: Day in Sevilla (maybe we'll see Tom Cruise...he's filming there right now). Roman ruins, cathedral, Alcazar, Maria Luisa Park, and Barrio do Santa Cruz. That night...FLAMENCO SHOW! Ole!

Thursday: Travel to Gibralter where we get to go to the Rock : ) Shopping during the afternoon, then head for Torremolinos for the amazing hotel (so we're told) for two nights.

Friday: Free Day. My guess is that we'll spend it all on the beach. But that's just a guess.

Saturday: Travel to Granada. Visit Cathedral, Royal Chapel, tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, shopping in Alcaiceria. At night we have a nighttime tour of the Arab quarter for "views of the Alhambra illuminated by night." (Yes, that's quoted from the itinerary)

Sunday: Tour of Alhambra and Generalife palaces. Return to Madrid to spend the night.

Monday: Head to airport to head back HOME! I can't remember what time our flight leaves. I'll get back to you on that...

This week has been great, and I feel really good about my grades. I am so ready for a week of relaxation before home!

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

Finito : )

I am posting this just to say:

I AM DONE WITH SPANISH FOREVER!

And now I have 9 days left in Spain to enjoy that fact.

Plus, I'm pretty sure my grade is good.

All this makes for a happy Jackie.

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

Short and Sweet

I’m keeping this short. There is work to be done.

Monday: We went to the Real Madrid stadium. I am not a futbol fan, but this excited me. We (Karin and I) went with Courtney, Caitlin, Emily, and our new German friend Mooritz. It was a lot of fun. I’d love to see a game there somday.

We got to see so many different parts of the stadium, including getting to walk the pitch, sit in the player's chairs (so comfy!), and go to the press room (I cannot tell you how excited that part made me. It was intoxicating.)

Tuesday: Directly after class, we went to the Royal Palace. It was unnecessarily elaborate, and the king and queen don’t live there (the location of their house is super-secret), so I wasn’t too interested. It was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, and worth a visit, but I was tired and cold and hungry. Therefore, not much attention was able to be paid. It was pretty, though. Too bad we couldn't take pictures inside.

Funny Moment of the Day: Logan told the lady putting the "coatroom" tags on our backpacks that he had a meeting with the King...she told him that he was at a discotec and then put on of the tags on Logan's wrist. : )

However, afterwards, a group of us (Allison, Courtney, Emily, Karin, Carmen, J.T., and myself) went to El Espejo for their special cinnamon ice cream thing. It. Was. Amazing. We’re planning a return trip before we leave on Tuesday.

Oh, and then we walked to the metro and then home in the rain.

Wednesday: We all started to get very anxious about the finals (Friday) and the oral exams (Thursday or Friday, depending on when we signed up). Karin and I spent the afternoon at Starbucks doing homework. I think I’m good for exams, but I’m trying not to get cocky.

My oral exam is TODAY at 6:30 PM (that’s 12:30 PM for those of you in Georgia). Prayer is appreciated.

Off to study!

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie

Sunday: A Day of Heavy Backpacks

Showering on Sunday morning was painful. The backs of my hands were burned, so just washing my hair stung. Not a fan. But there was nothing I could do.

We packed up and checked out of the hotel, then made our way to the main street for breakfast in a café. I had a class of freezing cold milk and was in absolute heaven. I miss cold milk.

Oh yeah, so you know how I mentioned that our backpacks were heavy on Friday? Well, on Sunday, we had to carry them around ALL. DAY. LONG. Not cool.

However, we decided to make the most of it and take the bus tour of Barcelona so that we could just set our bags down most of the day. Yay for being smart!

We rode the red line all around the main part of Barcelona. We saw SO much: the Olympic stadium, the ports, the shopping center where we would later eat lunch (at the same spot the other girls at dinner Friday when we were looking for them), and so much more. I took about a thousand pictures of architectural details. I love European buildings!

And, of course, I put on sunscreen to prevent further sunburning on my arms.

At the end of the line, Karin and I made our way to our chosen restaurant for some paella con mariscos. I was excited to try this dish because I’ve heard so much about it and hadn’t had it yet. Plus, it had seafood (my favorite!). What’s not to love?

Well, it came, and Karin looked at me and said “What are you making me eat?”

I guess she had a point. The seafood did still have eyes, after all. However, it was all so delicious that I didn’t even care. And this is unusual for me, as I am normally very cautious about food.

We had a nice conversation with the Australian couple sitting next to us, Karin and I informing them about what we knew about Spain (they really didn’t know that much) and giving them advice on what do and what to see. I felt so legit in that moment.

We spent some time after lunch shopping in the mall. And, though I tried on a lot, I bought nothing. Nada. Zilch. In fact, all I bought period in Barcelona souvenier-wise were three postcards. Karin, however, bought a gorgeous bathing suit I am extremely jealous of. I tried on bathing suits, too, but I’m discovering that Spain fashion is not geared toward women bigger than a B. Disappointment, anyone?

After shopping, we stopped at the waffle stand again for more deliciousness before getting back on the bus and headed out toward the green line. This line stopped near the biggest mall in Catlonia, right across from our hotel, and we were excited to shop in it.

Problem. It was Sunday. And the stores were closed. *boo* I was very unhappy.

So, Karin and I rode the bus a bit more, then headed to the airport. We were sad to leave Barcelona, but happy to return to Madrid. I had really missed it.

We felt quite legit navigating the train and metro systems to the airport. And by that point, we were so giddy with exhaustion that we kind of floated through the whole experience.

Oh, and you know how we were disappointed that we’d have no more shopping? We were wrong. Barcelona’s airport pretty much has a mall inside it. There’s a Zara and everything. I got Karin a little model of the benches (funny story behind that purchase…but I won’t go into that here) as an apology for being so blech-y on Saturday. She was very excited.

We made sure to keep checking the gate so we wouldn’t get caught be surprise like we did in Madrid, but thankfully, Barcelona is much more consistent. We got on our plane with no problems, and I stared out the window the whole way back.

All in all, a very good trip. I was thoroughly satisfied with the whole experience. And next time, I’m putting on sunscreen every ten minutes.

Hasta luego!

Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.

~Jackie