home sweet home!

As I look back at my time in Spain, I think of all of the amazing things I got to experience. I got to see more of the world and some of the places that I have wanted to see my whole life! I went to Rome, Greece, and obviously Spain.I have been missing Spain so much, mainly because it is so laid back there. Here at home, everything is "go, go, go" and I miss just being able to walk everywhere. 

It has been strange being home because it is so different from the world I had been living in for the past 3+ months. I get to work now (which is awesome but so tiring), I get to drive, I get to make my own food (but I do miss having all of my meals made for me a little bit), and I get to see my family and spend Christmas with them. It was so hard to not be here on Thanksgiving but I am so blessed to have had this amazing opportunity.

I have also been thinking a lot about the day I came home. I started the day out on the wrong foot but the end of the day was amazing. In the morning we all got on the bus to go to the Madrid airport. I ended up getting really sick on the bus which made me feel gross all day and the plane rides didn't help much. Great last impression on the other students, right? I only got sick the one time, and after that I felt much better. I was getting so excited on the last plane ride and I couldn't sleep to make the time go faster. It was horrible. When we got to the airport, we all waited for everyone and then we all speed walked/ran to the baggage claim where our families were waiting. I was one of the first ones on the escalator to go through those glass doors that I had been waiting to see for many weeks. I was about halfway down the escalator when I found my momma walking to the doors I was about to come through, and when I finally walked through them, she yelled "MY BABY!", and started crying. I got to hug my mom for the first time in about four months and it was so nice to FINALLY be able to see her in real life. I, of course, started to cry  while I was hugging her and then we made our way to see everyone else who was farther behind her. I got to hug my dad, my sisters, my brother-in-law, and my sisters boyfriend. It was so nice to be home and finally have my family around me. Andrea looked at me while I was hugging my dad and asked me, "Are you really already crying?". I have been replaying this in my head because this has to be one of my favorite moments in my life so far. I was, and am, so happy to be home again and be able to talk to my family whenever I want, but it has been weird getting used to everything here again. I had such an amazing experience in Spain, and I know that at some point in my future I am most definitely going to go back to Spain and most definitely go to Segovia to visit my host-family. 

I just want to say thank you to my family for supporting me and my decision to study abroad this semester and for helping me along the way. I love you all!

Tomorrow, TOMORROW!

I come home tomorrow! It hasn't quite hit me yet, but I keep getting excited, and then sad, then excited again. It is a vicious cycle. It seems so surreal! I cannot believe that this semester has gone so fast! I also can't believe that I didn't know any of the people that came on this trip at the beginning. I love that we have all gotten so close because we are like a family. If I hadn't gotten close to any of these amazing people, I don't know if I could have made it through the whole semester.

Anywho, I can not wait to see my family when I get to the airport tomorrow night. I am so excited to be able to talk to them in person, eat dinner with them, and actually give them hugs! (there has been a great lack of hugs over here in Spain) However, I am not excited for the weather. I thought it was cold yesterday, but tomorrow it is going to be about 100 times worse. It was about 55 degrees today and sunny. When I get back to the States, it is going to be extremely cold and snowy. YUCK!

I can't tell you how excited I am, but at the same time I am sad to leave. I love the culture here, the language, and the people. My host family has been amazing, but they are nothing like my real family. I miss my sarcastic family! I love you all and I can't wait to see you guys for real!!!!! and not on stupid skype.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK TO AMUURRRICA!

there's a light at the end of the very long tunnel

We are so close to the end! I can't believe that I leave THIS WEEK! IN TWO DAYS! (if you are counting the right way, it's 2 days). I am so excited to get back to real life.

This has been like a dream come true. Starting in Middle School, or maybe a little bit before, I decided that I wanted to study abroad in Spain. Now, don't ask me how I thought of this because I don't have an answer for you. I have wanted to study abroad here since as long as I can remember, and I actually did it. This is probably one of the best decisions I have made in my life, and I am so happy that I got this opportunity. Living here for the past three and a half months has taught me so much about the language, culture, history, and people of Spain and I don't think I could have gotten this much out of just staying at Bethel and taking classes. This has been such and amazing experience and I am so sad to leave such a great culture and country, but as I said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I get to see my amazing, supportive, and loving family again!
To Do When I Get Home:

1. Hug my family
2. Go to Caribou
3. Go to Big Bowl
4. Speak in ENGLISH!
5. Lay on carpet
6. Watch a movie on the couch
7. Sleep in my own bed!
8. Play with my puppy
9. Bake something
10. Decorate for Christmas

and so much more! I am so excited to see you all in less than a week! Love you tons!

seven days feels like a lifetime...

It's official! I only have seven days (including today) left in Spain! Technically, if you count correctly, I only have six days left but that is beside the point. I am so excited to come home and see everyone, but everyday feels like it is dragging on. I try to not think about it but that hasn't been working so well for me lately. I am almost done with all of my finals! Monday is my last day of classes and I have a test at 9am and a paper due at noon and then I am free of homework until January! I have been working my butt off the past few days making my homework "perfect" and putting the final touches on some papers that I had to write for today. I have loved being here so much, I can't even begin to tell you. I have had so many amazing experiences and met so many amazing people this semester! But if I am being honest, I am so ready to get home!!! I am going to miss seeing everyone basically everyday, but I am so excited to be able to meet new people, especially my new roommates for next semester. I am also incredibly excited to be able to go back to work! The earning money part of that is just a bonus! I have been so blessed with this opportunity to live in Spain for almost four months and I have learned as much as I possibly can this semester about the language, culture, and customs of Spain. I am a little nervous to come home because I have heard that jet-lag and reverse-culture shock are a lot worse coming home than it was on the way here (hard to believe but I guess we will see). I was SO tired the first couple days that we were here and it was so hard to get used to the time difference and the eating time changes because meal times are so much more spread out! I just hope that everything is back to normal by the Monday after I get back because I have so much that I have to do! You all have no idea how ready I am to come home but I am also really sad to leave here! I am going to miss it here so much. The students all have a ton of stuff planned the last 6 days that we are here to keep us busy and not thinking about home so I hope it works! Love you all and I can't wait to see your faces! Especially the faces of my Momma, Dad, Andrea, Amanda, and Mike (and possibly Trevonte?) when I see them at the airport/Big Bowl!

Besos muy fuerte!

P.S. I have learned that blogging about coming home gets the thoughts out of my head for a bit longer than if I just shove the thoughts away, so I am sorry if it is repetitive (but not really).