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).

"finals week"

I made it. All the way to finals week. I can't believe how fast this semester went! I feel like it was just last week that I skyped my mom for the first time freaking out because I didn't want to be here anymore. Keep in mind that that was the first day in Spain, I hadn't slept in 2 days, and I was both physically and mentally exhausted. Now, almost four months later, I know I am going to miss Spain so much and I am going to be so sad to leave. I am going to miss my host mom, her cooking, and our talks about Twilight, Edward, and Jacob. Buuuttt, I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to see my family, hang out with them, and be able to talk to them in person!

I am finally in "finals week", which is NOTHING like finals week at Bethel. I always get so stressed out around finals time, but this time is so much different. I am still nervous and stressed out, but not nearly as stressed out and nervous as last year. I had a presentation today in my photography class about my own photos and it was so easy and actually fun! Tomorrow, I have an "entrevista" for my Advanced Communication class. All that is, is talking to Ricardo. Just talking. It is just to show that our Spanish has improved and our communication has gotten better. Then I have "trabajos" due on Friday ( they are basically 1 1/2 page papers about an article that our professor gave us and we had to do 5) for Art and Civilization and a test for that class on Monday. Also due Monday is my final paper for Modern Literature. I am really stressed, but I am pretty sure I will do just fine.

I have 4 days that I am looking forward to! First, tomorrow I get to go to Breaking Dawn with my host mom. Second, Monday I am going to be done with all of my finals and just get to relax my last 3 days in Spain. Third, Wednesday we all have our goodbye dinner with all of the students and their host mom's. Lastly, Friday I GET TO COME HOME AND SEE EVERYONE!!! There is a downside to having 3 free days because we will not have anything to distract us from being so close to being home. I still have a ton of shopping to do for Andrea, Dad, and Mom so maybe I will be able to do that this weekend and next week.

Everyone here is so ready to come home because we all miss our family a ton! I feel like it was a good thing that no one from my family visited me because I feel like I would have missed them more when they left. I was a little sad when a ton of people had their parents and friends visit, but now I think that this was probably the best situation for me because I wouldn't have wanted them to go. I am more than ready to come home, see my family, go to Caribou and Big Bowl, then go to bed! I am so excited to see you all! Love you all tons!

Thankful...

I thought that I should probably post something on this fine Turkey Day... It is definitely not gonna be the same, but I know that it will be a ton of fun with all of the people on this trip.

I am thankful for....

• My parents, who always support me
• My sisters and Mike, who are always looking out for me
• Grandma and Grandpa Kramer, who are ALWAYS at sporting events, choir concerts, and big events in everyone's lives, and for just being there whenever. Also, for being the best grandparents someone could ask for :)
• My friends, who are always there if I need to talk (or text)
• My host family, who make living in a country far far away feel more like home
• My AMAZING sister Andrea, for always saying something positive to me when I am complaining about not being home
• My OTHER amazing sister Amanda, for always talking through things with me

I can't wait to come home TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW!!! I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving and I can't wait to talk to you all today! (p.s. remind mom to skype!). I love you guys and I can't imagine what my life would be like without you! Thank you for everything you guys have done for me!

Love you a lot! Happy Thanksgiving!

BOTHERED!

I know that I am SO incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to be in Spain for close to four months, with my meals provided, a somewhat comfortable bed, a great host family (with amazing food when it isn't fish), but I can't help but be a little depressed right now. I realized at the beginning of the trip that I am going to miss everyone's birthdays, but I just realized about a month ago that I am going to miss Thanksgiving for the first time in my entire life. AND it's the first holiday that Andrea and Mike are home for good! BOTHERED! I don't get to spend it with my crazy family, eating until I am so full that I don't want to smell any food anymore then eating dessert. However, I do get to spend Thanksgiving with 21 other students who are in the same situation. We apparently have someone "growing" our turkey (exact words) and a couple people are making pumpkin pie for us, but it most definitely will not be the same without Dad, Andrea, Amanda, Mike, and Kyle's sarcastic comments. And I am going to miss hearing Dad and Uncle Kyle laughing at the same time. Best. Part. of the holidays. EVER! DOUBLE BOTHERED! I miss you all so much and I can't wait to get home and see you all in 16 days! (Yes, I am counting down)

Amanda- You better be proud! This is the second day in a row that I have posted something!
Mom- You were right. I am most definitely happy that you told me I couldn't stay for j-term.


*If you haven't seen the YouTube videos "Robert is bothered" you probably won't get the reference. The videos are great so go watch them.