Last Day in Malaga

So, today is officially my last day in Malaga.  My excitement to get home and see everyone that I love and miss so much is overtaking the sadness of not being here anymore.  Like I've said, I had an awesome time here but I think that I am more than ready to get home and be back to normal life.

Yesterday, Ryann and I went to school and came home, ate some lunch (noodles with the nata sauce) and then headed over to the ISA office after a little siesta to turn in our RealComm phones that we had while in Spain.  We met up with our friend Amber and went up and chatted with Iker for a while.  Then we got some Smooy, of course:), and headed down to a florist shop to buy a potted flower for Carmen to show our appreciation for all that she has done for us while we have been here.  We picked out a really pretty flower and headed home to give it to Carmen.  She was so happy when we walked in the door and ran up and hugged and kissed us both.  She immediately went into her living room and put it on one of the main tables in place of a fake potted flower.  She was so excited.  We were really happy we could do something to show her how much we have appreciated her.

After that, we came home and studied and finished packing most of our stuff up.  We were really worried about whether taking the A2 test (the class we were actually in) or the B1 test (which was a level higher).  We decided just to take the A2 test, so didn't study much and went to bed so we could get a good nights sleep in before our exam. 

This morning we woke up, got ready and headed off to school.  I took some pictures of our last walk to school and our last day at school.  Once we got to school, our first two hours of class were a review with Alvaro.  This morning while we were eating breakfast, I made Alvaro and peanut butter and jelly sandwich so he could try it before we left.  He was so excited I made him one and really like the taste of it.  Anyways, we began to review, and Alvaro convinced us to take the B1 test, because he controlled 3/5 of our final grades and he knew we would pass what he was grading us on.  So, we trusted his judgement and decided to take the higher exam.  The grammar was pretty intense, but we got through it.  The writing and the lecture exams were really easy.  I feel so relieved that the exams are over.. now I just have to wait for my grades!  Other than the test, school was good today and we had an overall really nice last day.  All of our teachers were sad to see us go and gave us all dos besos and told Ryann and I over and over again multiple times thank you for paying attention and etc.

Alvaro and his PB&J Sandwich

 Paqui, our grammar professor

Esther, our listening professor

After school we went to the ISA office to say goodbye to Iker because he was leaving around 4 this afternoon to go to Madrid and pick up a new group of students.  He was really nice and told us to come back multiple times.  We have really appreciated all that the ISA staff has done for us.  They are all really fun. 

We came home and of course Carmen had made us Albondigas (YES!).  She said she made it especially for our last dinner there.  She also bought us really nice sandwich bread to make a bocadillo for the bus ride.  She told us she had to do some running this afternoon to stores but that she would be back in time to walk us to the Cathedral to say goodbye.  I think she is really sad that we are leaving.  We are going to miss her a lot.

We just finished up packing most of our stuff and are just going to relax and then shower shortly before we leave to keep as fresh as possible.  Then pack up everything and head down to the cathedral for our lovely 32 hour trip home.  We leave here at 8pm (Spain time) and head to Madrid.  We should reach the Madrid Airport at around 3am and our flight doesn't leave Madrid until 12:30pm.  That means after a 7 hour bus ride we are stuck in the airport waiting for 9 hours.  Not fun.  But after that our trip should go by quickly.  A flight from Madrid to Paris (2hrs) an hour layover, our long flight from Paris to Quebec (7hrs) an hour layover, and then our flight from Quebec to DETROIT!  We should arrive home at 9pm (Michigan time) and 3am (Spain time) which means a total of 24 hours solely in an airport or on a plane.  Even though it sucks, every second will be worth it to get home.

"And remember...Don't let your arms get tired!"- Hook

Hasta Luego Malaga

So, at this time tomorrow night I will be on a bus on my way to Madrid to start my journey home to the U.S.  I've been pretty homesick most of the time I have been here in Spain, but that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed my time here.  I have had a lot of great experiences here and met many awesome people that I know I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life.

This experience has changed me in many different ways starting with my Spanish.  I feel more confident with speaking to people and I'm not afraid to mess up anymore, because honestly it's inevitable when learning a different language.  I've learned a lot while here about the language and I can't wait to go home and continue taking Spanish classes at my school and continue to use Spanish throughout the rest of my life.

Secondly, I have a whole different respect for long distance relationship, and as mad as I would get at people when they would tell me being away from Nick would make us stronger, it's true.  I feel like our love has grown since we've been apart.  I knew that I needed Nick in my life, without a doubt, but being away from him showed me that I really really need him and that I wouldn't be Lauren without him.  :)  Although it has sucked talking to him over skype everyday, at least I get to talk to him everyday!  I'm trying to be more positive.  Even though we still have almost 5 weeks to go, I think it will go fast and I'm looking forward to the plans we have together when he gets home!

I've always said that I wanted to move away from Michigan and live in a different warm place.  Although I love the sun and could spend everyday on the beach, I miss my home.  I miss the country and the beauty of Michigan.  To me, Lake Odessa really is more beautiful than any large city.  I will never take for granted the beauty of Michigan summers, falls and springs.  Or my wonderful house with my wonderfully comfortable bed.  I think coming to Spain has changed my opinion completely on wanting to move away.  I need my home, the country and my family more than I thought.

Also, being here has changed how I felt about my independence.  I always thought that I could live on my own and be able to take care of myself in a large city.  NOT TRUE.  I am way to paranoid and have anxiety in big crowds of people and place with loud music (AKA the city).  I've decided that I should never leave the country and I should never live alone without the people that matter most in my life.  Thank you to everyone that has supported me throughout my life.  I've taken way too many things for granted and all of you are one of them.  I love you all very much!

I've missed many things at home and I've learned many things while here.  I can't wait to be home but there are many memories that will be engraved in my head for the rest of my life from my trip to Malaga.  Because of this trip, I've been changed for good (yes, I am listening to the Wicked soundtrack right now) I do honestly feel that way though.  The experiences, people and time away from the normalcy of my life has changed me, for the better.  This will be one of my last blogs here in Spain, so Hasta Luego Espana y gracias por todos! 

Vaya con Dios!

Mis Amigos Nuevos

So, since I include various people in my blog off and on, I thought that I would write about the new friends I have made while here to let you know about the people that Ryann and I spend most of our time with.

AMBER

Amber is from Wyoming but now lives in Nebraska with her husband of almost 3 years.  Amber and I get along amazingly well and I know that if we lived closer she would be one of my best friends.  Dean, her husband, sounds ridiculously like Nick.  I think every single YouTube video that I find hilarious, she does also and vice versa. I love her because we get to talk about wedding stuff and she is a blast.  Our personalities fit perfectly together.  I've had a great time getting to know her while I was here in Spain and I know that our friendship will be a lifelong one, even if we don't get to talk all the time or see each other every year.  Ryann and I were trying to convince her to move to Michigan yesterday. :)

PAUL

The minute that I met Paul I literally told him that he would be one of my best friend of the trip.  Paul is an amazing guy.  He is from Arizona but now lives in Indiana.  He is very cultured and has visited so many places.  From the moment we met him, he was telling us facts about Spain that we didn't know.  He is awesome.  We get along really well because we both are very open to hear other people's opinions.  Paul also is really mature and I feel like I fit in well with him because I'm not here to party and go out every night like most of the people here on our trip.  Paul is so easy to talk to and I'm so glad that I met him while we were here. 

NATALIE

Natalie is the most bubbly person I have met in my life.  She is very animated and always has a positive word to say about everything.  She loves being here in Spain and experiencing the culture, language, food and people here.  At first, she was living alone with her Senora and could speak little Spanish but somehow managed to communicate.  She is a trooper.  Natalie has a large heart and is very caring.  I've had an awesome time getting to know Natalie and I hope that we will keep in touch throughout the rest of our lives.  She is such a sweetheart. 

HANNA

We've spent a lot of time with Hanna while we have been here.  Hanna is roomates with Amber and Ryann and I have done pretty much everything with the two of them while we have been here in Spain.  Hanna is a really strong person and has gone through a lot in her life and overcame many obstacles.  She is really fun to be around and I've made a lot of memories with her here in Spain.  Again, she is someone I will keep in touch with after we leave Malaga. 

COURTNEY

Even though Courtney and I haven't spent much time with each other outside of ISA functions, I absolutely love her.  She is so sweet and I wish that I would have spent more time with her while here.  We started talking because our clothing choices are the exact same.  There have been multiple times where she has had on something I own and vice versa.  We get along really well and I'm so glad that I got to meet her while here.

I've had a great time here in Spain and without the people here, it wouldn't have been the same.  Thank you to everyone who made it so special.

Where has the time gone?

So, sorry for the delay in writing.  I just feel like at this point I want to go do as many things as possible and by the time we get home and settled in, I'm way too exhausted to write on my blog.  I have a little bit of catching up to do since the last time I wrote..here goes nothing!

THURSDAY NIGHT
Ryann and I headed out to the San Juan festival around 9 and met up with our friends at the beach.  There was a large group of the ISA students there and we sat with them.  For me, the festival was cool but I hate large crowds of mainly drunk people and loud music, which was mainly what the festival was about.  I tried to have a good time, but when I'm in situations like that I get really nervous and uptight and all I did all night was worry about where Ryann was and if I had all of my things with me.  It was a really cool celebration and I'm really glad I went, it just wasn't my thing.  It would have been a lot more fun if all of my family and friends were there and if I had felt more comfortable.  Anyways, the beach was packed and people were everywhere.  There was a concert, with a Spanish singer named Carlos.  His music was really good.  Ryann and I walked in the water at midnight because that's what you are supposed to do.  We ended up leaving around 12:30 and got home at 1.

FRIDAY

We slept in and didn't go to school, because no one does on the day after the San Juan festival.  We woke up and went out to go buy the last of our gifts for people at home with our friend Natalie.  It was a nice afternoon.  We came home and ate lunch and then took our daily siesta.  After that we went out with our two other friends Amber and Hanna.  They had slept on the beach the night before and Amber got her camera and phone stolen so we were shopping for her a new camera.  Of course, while shopping I had to get some Mango ice cream.  I'm obsessed.  We hung out for a while and then Hanna went home to eat and Ryann, Amber and I went out to eat Mexican for a last celebration while we here in Spain with her.  The restaurant didn't open until 8:30 and it was around 7:30 when we got down to where it was located so we went to the beach and sat and talked for a while.  It was a really nice night.

SATURDAY

Yesterday morning we got up and went to Nerja with our two friends Natalie and Amber.  We looked around in the shops on the way down to the beach and I was suckered into buying a pair of really cute sunglasses.  We went down to the beach and pretty much just laid there all day and slept.  Natalie and I snuck off to the rocks and got some pictures there while Ry and Amber were snoozing.  We stayed at the beach from about 11 until 4:30.  It was a really nice day for our last weekend here.  We were all looking for churros with chocolate to eat but we couldn't find a place that had any, so we stopped at a local cafeteria (diner) close to the bus stop.  The people were really friendly there and were trying to help us with our Spanish.  We needed to pay the bill and our friend Amber went to tell the lady.  She looked at her and said "Necesito pegar," which is Spanish means I need to punch.  Everyone in the place started laughing hysterically and they told her that she had just told our waiter she wanted to punch her.  Amber felt really stupid, but they were nice about it and told us to come back and practice our Spanish.  We came home, ate dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.  We went to bed really early because of the long day at the beach.

We came home and Carmen had made us Paella with chicken nuggets, french fries and fried bread.  It was absolutely delicious and as much as I miss American food, I know I'm going to miss Spanish food too along with Carmen and our friends here.

I got up at 1:30 to talk to Nick while he was stopped in Philadelphia on his way to Ireland.  I've been really worried about his trip and it made me feel a lot more releaved that he was safe.  This morning he called me as soon as his got to Ireland to let me know he was safely landed.  It really hit me hard yesterday that we won't get to see each other for another 5 weeks and I had a really hard day, but I keep trying to think about all of the awesome things I get to do when I get home, like camping at Higgins, 4th of July celebrations and finally start showing everyone my engagement ring.  I think being home will help a lot and knowing that Nick is in Ireland having an awesome time will make me feel a lot better.  At this point, I can't wait to get home! 

SUNDAY

This morning we woke up at about 930 and hung out in our room for a while.  We had breakfast  and Carmen made us Churros with chocolate to eat.  They were really good.  Kind of tasted like fried pancakes.  We came back to our room and packed up a lot of our stuff which has made me really anxious to get home.  I have all of my clothes packed except for the stuff I need for the next couple of days.  We just have to pack up the essentials now.  We are hanging out and studying here until around 3 and then going to the beach with our friend Amber.  

Can't wait to get home and share my experiences and pictures with everyone in real life.

Vaya con Dios!

La Semana del Despidida (Goodbye Week)

Yesterday was like any normal day, except for the fact that Carmen made us eggs, bacon and toast instead of just the normal piece of toast.  It was really nice of her.  Ryann and I had been planning on going hiking this friday later in the day because of the heat, but some of our friends contacted us and wanted to go after school yesterday so we decided that we should tag along while other people are going.  School went well, of course something silly always happens like Alvaro singing "Macho, Macho man."  Someone always manages to say something inappropriate in our class in Spanish without realizing it and Alvaro just cracks up.  Our craziness usually starts during our second period with Alvaro.  Yesterday the other girl in our class, Rachel, was late for class and was standing below us in the courtyard talking to a boy.  Alvaro made us call to her and tell her she was late and then he yelled out of the window "Rachel el es tu hombre?" (Rachel, is he your man?)  Her face got really red and she ran up to the classroom.  In the mean time, Alvaro had locked the door and was standing behind it giggling and when she tried to open it he kept asking her why she wasn't coming in because it was unlocked.  This sounds like a mean thing but it was really funny and we were all laughing about it throughout the whole time.  Yesterday he announced to us that we were, "Mi clase numero uno de OMG" (His number one OMG class).  It was really funny and we all laughed for a while.I wish I could express to Alvaro how incredibly awesome he has been.  He makes me want to come to school and makes all Spanish people way cooler than I thought before. Alvaro also told Ryann and I that he thinks we should take the test higher than the class that we are in and that he is really proud of how well we speak Spanish.

We had a sub for our grammar class and it was really boring. We reviewed the past perfect and the preterit.  It was just a boring review day.  Our listening class was good.  Esther is really nice all of the time and always helps us with words or phrases we don't understand.

After school we ran over to the sandwich shop across the street, bought a sandwich and got water and headed off on our hike.  Our journey started off by a local Spanish woman telling us that we were going to die if we went on the hike because it was way too hot.  She was really encouraging us to go:).  We went anyways, despite the local woman's advice.  Our hike up was hot, steap and we got lost a couple of times.  Ryann was about to give up a couple of times because of her knee and her random fainting spells, but I encouraged her and tried to stay behind her most of the time to make sure nothing happened.  After an hour and half, we finally got to the top of the mountain and the hike was well worth it.  It was a beautiful view of the city of Malaga and the pictures don't do it justice.  You could see everything.  Our school, houses, apartments, stores, the ocean and ships sailing on the crystal clear water.  There were two peaks and we were on the smaller of the two but Ryann, Amber and I decided to head back home before climbing the other because we had our going away dinner at 8 and it was almost 430 by the time we headed down the mountain.  So, we made the trek back down and headed home to get ready.  I wasn't very sore yesterday but now my butt-cheeks are really sore.

We came home and got ready.  When I say got ready, we really got ready.  It wasn't my normal basketball shorts and sweatshirt.  It was a semi-formal event so I had a dress, jewelry and flats on with my hair done the best it could be without a straightener, curling iron or blow dryer.  We met at the ISA office with the rest of our group and headed out to a fancy restaurant to have dinner.  We were served pretty much a 5 course meal.  We had rolls (I had 7 in total:)), salads, two different appetizers (including one with bull tail), our main courses and dinner.  Ryann and I had pork for our main course and it was really good.  All of the dishes were made really well and it was a nice last time with our whole group.

This morning we woke up and went to school.  Because some of our group went to Morroco this weekend, Ryann and I were left in our class alone with Alvaro.  He was really happy about it though because we reviewed the Subjunctive, which will be on the B1 test he wants us to take.  Even though he is our conversation teacher he taught us grammar all morning because he wants Ryann and I to be as prepared as possible for the test.  He even told us to hide our worksheets and homework from our grammar teacher because he didn't want to step on her toes but wanted to teach us more.  He is awesome.

Paqi was at school today and we learned a lot about using cuando, si, and then past, subjunctive and future tenses.  We did a small review about future.  At this point my head is exploding and I don't think I can learn anymore grammar!  Esther's class was pretty chill and we did some listening exercises but other than that just chatted about el dia de San Juan (which is today).

After school we came home and Carmen had made us Albondigas (YUM) with mushrooms and chicken nuggets and french fries and bread.  It was so delicious and easily filled my starving tummy.  Then we took our afternoon siesta, well I did, Ryann is still taking hers :).  At 6 we have a short meeting at the ISA office and then will come back home and get ready to go to the beach for the dia de San Juan.  This festival celebrates the coming of Spring and is said to be a really magical night on the beach.  Here in Malaga, bonfire are lit all across the beach and many things are done such as jumping over the fire, touching the water or swimming in the ocean because it is blessed and will answer your wishes.  It's just a really cool thing that they do here and Ryann and I are really excited to say we went.  After our meeting we are coming home and getting our stuff around and ready and heading down to the beach at 9 to meet with our friends and have a good night.  The actual celebration starts at 12 but the beaches will be packed at 10.  A lot of people drink while they are there but Ry and I are going to pass on the alcohol and enjoy a nice, crazy evening. There will be pictures tomorrow.

Because of the festival, no one goes to school here so Ryann and I will be skipping as well and finishing up our gift shopping and head to the beach for a while.  Counting down the days until I'm home but trying to enjoy every last one here.


Vaya con Dios!