Vivo en España!

Greetings from ESPAÑA!!!!

La Plaza Mayor- Madrid

This was a sweet castle we went to in Segovia

My host parents, Lydia and Pedro. They are the sweetest little couple! Each a whopping 5 feet!

     I am so sorry this is the first blog from here in Spain! I stay real busy with school, and traveling around the country! It has been nothing but one huge adventure thus far! There are 27 students in our program. Each of us are living in pairs or trios with host families. My room-mate is Charee' Neves from Wyoming and she is awesome! We have a lot in common, and we make an un-beatable soccer duo! Our hosts are an older couple in their late 50's named Lydia and Pedro. They are very health conscious, and so we eat super healthy, stay active, and do things like Tai Chi and Meditate. It's awesome. I feel like I am benefiting so much from living with Spaniards, as opposed to living by myself. They love to talk, and after each meal we sit and chat for at least 30 minutes while they sip coffee and nibble on gelletitas ( little cookie/biscuit things jaja) PS, get used to the "jaja," I'm using it while I can pull it off, living here in Spain! 

 

This is a street in Alcala de Henares, where I live 

  This is a typical day for me: 

Wake Up 7:45 

Breakfast 8:00-8:30

Bus for School 8:40 

School 9:00-12:00 

Almuerzo 2:00 (everything shuts down 2-4 for people to go home for lunch...rather frustrating at times if you need something, only places owned by Chinese people are open) 

Soccer or some sort of Activity...Madrid, Prado, Parque etc...

Dinner 10-11 ish pm. (ya I know, it took some getting used to!!!) 

This is part of the school I go to, we are at an International branch, with students from all over the world

     Most every weekend we travel somewhere in Spain. Last weekend we went on a four day trip to Southern Spain, and it was awesome! Tomorrow we are leaving on a trip to Northern Spain to Leon and Burgos. One of my best friends from High School/all growing up (Nathan Gordon), is on his mission  in Burgos, so I'm hoping by some crazy chance I might run into him! haha, there are four sets of LDS missionaries here in Alcala de Henares where we are living. We have had the chance to go to church twice now, and it's a really cool experience. I had to read out of one of the church manuals during Sunday School and it was interesting when I was put on the spot like that! haha But overall, I feel really confident in my language skills. Every day I have to remind myself that this is a unique opportunity that I have to take advantage of!! It is easy to stay quiet and not say a whole lot, but it totally helps when I just put myself out there and SPEAK! We are required to speak Spanish when we are at school (well obviously, because our professors are Natives of Spain) but ya my room-mate and i speak pretty much all the time in Spanish, so it's good! 

      

We went to a Flamenco Bar, these guys were pretty Legitimiate. Gypsies know how to work it on the dance floor. Especially that dirty guy with the greasy hair...

This is a city called Sevilla, it was rad!!! 

       I love MADRID! We take the train into Madrid, and it takes about 30 minutes by the time we are downtown.  I love going and just walking around, or going to the Parque and people-watching. There is is much diversity, and history packed into that city! I have really missed that since being in UT. I love learning about other cultures, religions, and customs, and in that city there is so much of it! The city I am LIVING in, is called Alcala de Henares. It has a population of about 200,000 people, so it's a decent sized city. We have bus passes that get us all around Alcala and Madrid, so we can do what we want to do whenever. 

This is outside the MAdrid Temple, it is so pretty! 

This is a pic I took when we were at the Metro in Madrid