We are in Florence! We arrived late Tuesday afternoon and checked in to our hostel before searching for some dinner. There is a panini shop across the street as well as a bakery so now we've had two nights in a row of sandwiches and canolis, but that's ok because they are pretty delicious! We got up early yesterday morning to catch a train for a day trip to Pisa. 

We got up early this morning because we had an appointment at the Vatican at nine. With no problems with the commuter train this morning, we arrived early and got to skip the lines to get in. We first walked through the giant museum part that leads up to the Sistine Chapel. It took quite a while to walk through that part, which was interesting but started getting a little crowded with tour groups. We at last made it to the Sistine Chapel and spend a good deal of time there. I don't have any pictures because they yell at you if you try to take them. It sort of rains on your parade so I didn't bother trying.

After the chapel we walked out of Vatican city at the museum exit and then around to St. Peter's Basilica. Here we got to see the Pieta and walked around for awhile. Since we got such an early start, we were done with Vatican city by around 1:30 and stopped for sandwiches. The weather predicted a high percentage chance of rain, but luckily we managed to stay dry all day!

From the Vatican we took the metro to the Bocce della Verita, the Mouth of Truth, as seen in Roman Holiday! Apparently it was popularized by the movie and now there is a short line and you have to pay 50 cents. We waited for about ten minutes and got to take our photo. From there we walked to the metro along a huge road where we got to see all the Roman ruins around the Colosseum from a distance. It was so cool!

Austin asked if we were interested in seeing Paul's chains and the Moses statue that he saw on the first day before we arrived. We decided it would be a good stop and it was worth it! It was in a rather small, uncrowded church and was only a short walk from the metro. For the evening we planned to finish soon after sundown with Gelato and the Trevi fountain again before coming back early to cook at home. 

We stopped for Gelato at Giolitti which was delicious! I tried a mix of coconut, nutella, and café. Once we got home we ran across the street to the grocery store and got pasta, cheese, sauce, and bread, and made a delicious dinner. Tomorrow: off to a new location!

Our first day of Christmas break was a huge success! Justin, Ryan and I got in last night at 11:30 and quickly found our way to our apartment where Austin was waiting. It's very nice and modern and only a 3 or 4 minute walk from the train station. We got a little bit of a late start after a very delayed train, but made it into Rome by 11:30. Our first stop was the tourist info station to pick up our Rome Passes (free transportation for 3 days and two sites of our choice) and then headed to the Vatican to try to see the Pope. We got there just as he went inside, but that was ok. 

We didn't stay at the Vatican long because we are going back later. We headed instead to the Colosseum and spent a few hours there and at Palatine Hill. It's crazy that all these ruins are so, so old! Since we'd gotten a late start though, it was already late afternoon when we were done. We walked to the Pantheon just as the sun went down. After that we walked around and all the way up to the Trevi Fountain where we threw our coins in,  then took the metro back to our apartment to make dinner.

Tomorrow's a busy day and it's already late, so we are getting ready to head to bed. So far I am loving Italy and have personally found Rome much less stressful than Paris. I can't wait to see more of it tomorrow!

I have gone way too long without blogging, but now that finals are over I can start to catch up! No worries–I'm not going to be one of those people who just stop blogging. Now that I'm on Christmas break, I'll be giving tons of updates on travel and everything else!

The last six weeks have gone by so fast. We all knew that once we got back from Fall break we would just have to buckle down and get ready for the end of the trimester. These last two weeks have been the most crazy with tests, Christmas parties, vacation planning, shopping trips, and more Christmas parties. 

Last week we had two days off for festivals which was a great opportunity to finish some end-of-the-trimester papers and homework. I had written three papers and read three books, all of which I finished up on Thursday. On Friday Justin, Jon, Hannah and I went up to Castellon to go to the mall to shop for our "Secret Amigos" (more later). I'm not a big mall person, I don't usually love shopping especially in Christmas crowds, but the mall reminded me so much of the States and we had a good time shopping and getting Kebabs. 

One fun activity was a Navidad party our Folklore class put on. We combined the top Spanish Holidays into one event one morning before lunch. We each had to draw a name for an "amigo secreto" (AKA Secret Santa . . . we tried explaining this to them but here that means "secret saint") and had to leave them little notes on a board every day and then get them a Christmas present. We also celebrated the Lottery Day which is December 22 and the start of the Christmas celebration here in Spain. Then we gave out our Amigo Secreto gifts and moved on to New Years. For New Years Eve here in Spain, everyone must eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, each to the rhythm of the clock striking 12. It turns out this was easier said than done. Our Folklore teacher told us that at her house, she peels and seeds all the grapes so that they are easy to swallow. We had no such luck and no one could eat them all in time without laughing. The party ended with sparkling apple juice and an impromptu flamenco dance performed by two of our teachers.

This week was finals and I was surprised by activities even the nights before finals. At Union we pretty much just study and pack during finals week, but here we had yet another Christmas dinner hosted by the dorms as well as a tradition some PUC kids brought over... boxer (yes, and bikini) caroling for those so inclined. Needless to say, I didn't get very much sleep this week with all the happenings. Finals finished on Friday at noon and then Seth and I went up to Castellon to visit the mall one more time. Last night was a little crazy because everyone in the dorms were either packing or leaving, and I woke up early this morning to hearing suitcases rolling down the hall for so many early-morning flights. 

I am all packed and ready to head off for Christmas break! We are meeting up with Austin, my other cousin who is Justin's brother, and we are so excited to see him! Our flight leaves tonight but we'll probably head out to Valencia sooner just to make sure we make it on time. I'll keep you all updated on everything for the next three weeks of break! 

Another week has come and gone in the life of this ACA student. It was very busy but brought us one step closer to Christmas break! We're only two weeks away now, and with so much to do I am enjoying taking a break this Friday night. 

Monday and Tuesday are the days with the most classes for me, but somehow end up also being the most productive. I managed to read on of my books and finish the paper on it by Wednesday night, taking off a huge load of stress. Another major project is booking the last places to stay for Christmas break which is proving harder than we thought. Luckily we are almost done and we have gotten all the major events organized. 

The best part of my week came yesterday, when Rachel and I got our Christmas care packages from Humanities at Union! I can't even say what my favorite thing was, but the letters and cards from my friends meant more to me than all the candy and goodies and veggie meat. YES, Rachel and I received Vega-Links and two cans of Fri-Chick, much to our glee. The kind they sell here in Europe is not very tasty and we usually avoid it at all costs. My other favorite item was tea in all of my favorite flavors: Chai, green with mango and green with mint.

The Humanities division did an amazing job of sending so much love across so many miles. Our friend Emily was one of the girls in charge of the project and she even knitted Rachel and I each an adorable headband/earwarmer! We also got issues of Human Ties, the Clocktower, and the Peanut Gallery. 

As the weather gets chillier here in Spain, I find myself reminiscing about the midwest and, yes, a white Christmas (which there is a chance of in Lincoln). I've been thinking of my dad and how much he loves the cold and realizing that I do too. Many people have been stating that it is simply freezing outside when it reality it's really just chilly. I guess most of them are from Cali so I can't blame them. I, on the other hand, enjoy bundling up and putting on boots and coats and scarves. I think of my family, cozy in our house in Kansas, talking and making potato soup. I think of my friends, warm in toasty dorm rooms and apartments, studying for finals and feeling the anticipation on campus as students get ready to leave for the break. We might not have snow, and our "cold" might mean nights of 35º and days of 50º, but the holiday spirit is building up here as well. I love walking back from dinner in the dark, the sun setting so early (especially on Friday nights!), and the warmth of my little radiator when I get back to my room. 

Enjoy the holiday season, everyone. Embrace the cold. Drink a cup of tea. Burn some christmas candles. Put on a scarf. Watch Miracle on 34th Street. Happy December!!!

We only have two and a half more weeks until break and they are going to be crazy! Between now and then we have finals, books to read (in Spanish of course!), projects to complete and plans to make. The weekends are always a nice break, and this weekend was very fun.

Justin and I had lunch at our teacher's house after church on Sabbath. Each group here has a sponsor and they have us over to their house for lunch at least once during the semester. Our teacher was able to have our whole group over at one time, and she made a wonderful variety of foods for us to choose from. We enjoyed eating in an actual home and chatting with Maria Jose and her family. She has two kids who go to school here so we talked with them in Spanish. 

By the time we were ready to leave it was already 5:30 so Justin and I had the drivers drop us off at the train station on the way back to ESDES. We were planning on meeting Ryan and Shannon there to go into Valencia for the night. We had one main goal: to go to Taste of America (this time it was open) and get our hands on some Dr. Pepper and mac & cheese. Basically the store is a like an over-priced, very selective Walmart. All our favorite would-be-cheap foods marked way up in euros. A can of condensed mushroom soup? Three euros. yikes. I was able to get away with a can of Pepper and one of Vanilla Coke for about a euro each. Other favorite items? goldfish crackers, celestial seasonings tea, poptarts, and reeses PB cups. 

It was fun seeing so many familiar brand names and items, but it did make me miss home a bit. The funny thing is, even though I miss my friends and family and Mikey every day, it doesn't make me as sad as it used to. When we got here one teacher told us that eventually we would just get used to not understanding everything the teachers were saying. I think it's true of everything here. I never stop missing home, I've just gotten used to missing it. I've gotten used to hearing Spanish, and I've gotten used to sleeping later and sleeping less. 

We continued our evening with a stop at H&M which was quite enjoyable for all, and then moved on to Lemon Grass and the Kebab shop for dinner before catching the 9:30 train home. Hannah and I stayed up late making popcorn and watching Far and Away, which only made us want to go to Ireland more! Soon, Sunday came and with it a large load of homework and other various tasks to complete. For the next two weeks, I'm going to be in reading and writing mode. I have three little papers due, but when they are in Spanish they take a long time to write (by hand . . . no one uses computers for papers here) and one and a half books left to read. It's time to crack down on this stuff! Until I have another free moment, ¡hasta luego!

This is Hannah and Eloise. They are two of my close friends here in Spain; Hannah came through SWAU and Elo came through Andrews. They actually met at the airport on their way to Sagunto, and discovered that they were attending the same school. When the shuttle picked them up and dropped them off at the dorm, the deans told them that they had already been assigned as roommates! We've been hanging out all year and I love these girls. 

Within those first few weeks, everyone at ESDES had the same conversations with everyone else here: Where are you from? What college or university to go to in the States? It was like Freshman Orientation at Union where you meet so many new people and try to remember which academies they are from. Because of this, it didn't take me long to realize that Elo was from the north and Hannah was from Texas. I told her that I had thought about going to SWAU and asked if she liked it. I soon learned that she had never attended school there, she had actually graduated from another Christian college and was going through SWAU since she lived in Keene. Then came the shocker: "I'm not actually an Adventist" she told me. 

The main question after this, for me, was "why?" Hannah had already graduated with a degree in Spanish and English (just like I'm working on!) and it seemed strange that she would pick our program out of so many options for studying abroad. She is a member of the Church of Christ and was looking for a safe program with students who care about studies, learning, culture, and who had morals similar to her own. I was so impressed! She told me she was relieved at her first impression and that she was enjoying it already. 

Hannah and I have been friends for two months now and in that time we've had lots of discussion about this SDA group she's thrown herself into. Some of my first words to her were, "You are SO brave!" I know that I could never through myself into a whole year abroad, knowing absolutely know one, and not even knowing that I could find "Adventist Connections" that are so prevalent in our church. Hannah admitted that she had been a bit nervous but decided to join ACA anyway. Living in Keene, she does know some about the SDAs and once she arrived she realized that she fit right in. We have asked her lots of questions about her church and have answered many about our own. I asked her if it was very strange to her to transition to suddenly observing Friday night to Saturday night as Sabbath instead of Sunday. She told me that it was a bit strange at first but that she enjoys our view of rest and relaxation for a whole 24 hours. We also reviewed some lingo she would likely here, such as "haystacks" "frichick" and "veggie meat." 

I admire Hannah for all that she has done. I respect her religion as I know she respects ours. I love learning about the differences and similarities between us and what it means to each. I told her that I have been wanting to blog about her courage in coming to ESDES with ACA. It turns out she had just written a blog for her friends about us! You can read her blog here. 

Being here in Spain is teaching me more than just how to travel, how to speak Spanish, or how to make new friends. I'm learning more every day how each of us can get along even with differences, when we realize that we all have common goals. It might sound cliché, but it's true. Many of us have differing religious, political, or cultural views, but we all have something in common. It could be passion for language, love of God, interest in new cultures, or longing to travel. 

I'm so proud of my friends for everything that they have done to be here. I'm also so proud that we all get along and love each other without thinking twice about our differences. 

Happy Thanksgiving from Spain everyone! ESDES was kind enough to give us the whole day off of classes and we got to have a huge Thanksgiving dinner, making my first Thanksgiving away from home absolutely wonderful. 

We've been working on prepping the food for our Thanksgiving dinner all week. I volunteered to help with the food committee and we started cooking on Monday. The menu included mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, salad, and apple and pumpkin pie for dessert. Monday we cooked for about four hours, cutting up pumpkin/gourds for pie, rolling out pie crust, and chopping sweet potatoes. Wednesday we spend almost five hours cutting onions and celery, making corn bread, finishing the sweet potatoes, and chopping what seemed like a hundred million green beans.

I started my own Thanksgiving celebration Wednesday night by watching Dan in Real Life and sleeping in Thursday morning. I helped in the kitchen all morning, mincing 130 cloves of garlic and chopping even more onions. Needless to say, my hands still smell. It was so worth it to have food that was actually salty though! Other Thanksgiving day activities included some girls who ran a "turkey run" and a game of football Americano. I missed the game since I was cooking, but those of you who know me will know that it really didn't affect me. When everyone came in the caf for lunch, we took a break to eat. One of the guys who organized the football announced that they had forgotten to sing the national anthem before the game so we all stood up in the caf and sang it together. It must have been strange for the kitchen crew to see us all drop everything and sing, but it was such a reminder of home and brought tears to my eyes. 

I had to teach in the evening at five, but not to worry, Thanksgiving dinner wasn't scheduled until 7:30. I was talking to my monitor, Petar, about how we usually eat Thanksgiving "dinner" around 2 or 3 PM. He told me, "You get American food but you get it on Spain time!" which was so true. I got done teaching at six and headed back to the dorm to get ready since dinner was a very formal affair. Think academy banquet. Even though banquets sometimes have the connotation of being lame, this was so much fun! We were so delighted to have food that tasted like home and to be all dressed up and enjoying the musical stylings of our very talented students. Our teachers all came and brought their families and wished us a happy Thanksgiving. 

The evening started with a play put on by the Teatro Clase, which was a funny rendition of the story of the pilgrims and the indians in Spanish. I'm not sure why but it struck us all as hilarious to see everyone acting it out in Spanish. The class did a great job and all were entertained. Finally, we got to eat! All the teachers got to go first and we observed that they all got normal-to-small sized portions while we were loading up on flavorful mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. There was plenty to go around and we are hoping the caf gives it to us as leftovers today!

The best part of the evening, however, was not the food. After we ate, Juan Antonio, the ESDES director, stood up and told us he had a special surprise. ESDES had contacted our parents and asked them to send special mail to give us during our Thanksgiving feast since we couldn't be at home with our families. In walked all our monitors and teachers with armloads of envelopes and boxes and passed them out to all. I got a card and letter from my parents and the waterworks began. Smiles and tears around the room suggested that many others were receiving similar letters.

This Thanksgiving was nothing like any others I have ever experienced. I've never had Thanksgiving dinner with so many friends all in one place, and even though I miss my family so much, I loved every minute of it. I'm so, so thankful for the new friends that I have and for the new experiences I've had with them. I am also extremely thankful for the ESDES staff who are so kind and generous and make our year in Spain so much easier. Most of all, this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for support. Without the support of my parents I would never have even considered spending a year abroad, and without their continual support I would have probably found a flight home after my first night here. Without the support of my boyfriend, Mikey, I would probably never have been able to up and leave Union and the shelter of my friends there for a whole year. I could never have arrived without the help of my Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Jesse who did so much to help Justin and I with our visas and our flights. My grandparents have also done so much to encourage both Justin and I and have always taken such interest in our lives and our studies. To all my friends, family, the Humanities division, and everyone else: Thank you. Without you, I could never be where I am right now. 

It's Monday and my week is off to a great start! This morning I had a test in Gramática that I studied for all day yesterday, and I think it finally paid off! Most of us are having a hard time adjusting to the academics here so it feels good to know that you are finally getting into the rhythm of school. Then after a full day of classes, I came back to the dorm to find that an envelope from my mom arrived, carrying the most important piece of plastic I have: my new debit card.

Some of you may not know, but less than a month ago, I had a terrible, terrible week. We had just returned from our trip to Andalucia and I was left with a a stomach bug from Morocco, not enough sleep, and a week of school before going to Paris. In addition, at the time it felt like everything was going wrong. We got back our first grammar test and it was muy malo. I kept feeling sick and was worried about the upcoming trip to France. A package from my mom got lost in transit after 3 weeks of waiting and we had to do quite a bit of hunting to find it. Then, Friday, the day before going to Paris, I went into town to get cash for my trip from the ATM and lost my wallet within five minutes of withdrawal. 

Needless to say, I was a bit of a mess. The thoughts that ran through my mind were rather pathetic and typical of self-pity-parties. Why does everything always happen to me? Why do I have such bad luck? I just want to go home! But alas, after problem-soving, generous friends and amazing parents, all of these problems have vanished. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Last week was Semana de Oracion (week of prayer) here at ESDES. Granted, I didn't attend every night since the sessions were quite long and I had a good deal of homework, but I did go to several. The second night the speaker said something in Spanish that I really appreciated. Basically what he said was, "Problems: Do you see them as an opportunity or a setback?" Yes, losing your debit card and having to use your friends as personal ATMs for two weeks is a bit of a setback. Yes, having to visit the post office and discuss the whereabouts of your package at length isn't fun. However, I have never had to speak so much Spanish at one time since I've been here.

During that week, I asked the deans several times where my package was, since I had received a slip and they had taken everyone's slips to the post office and gotten them all together. When I asked for mine they didn't have it. After a lot of research I realized that the package was, indeed, somewhere at ESDES but not in my possession. I talked with the deans, the assistants, and all the girls who help out in the dorm, explaining and re-explaining my problem. Finally one dean took me to the post office and we at last recovered the lost box. During that whole week, I spoke so much Spanish and learned so many new words! If I hadn't had the problem, or opportunity, I would have probably spent all those afternoon with my friends, speaking English. 

The same goes for everything else. The deans here are so, so kind. They know that there's a lot we can't do on our own here and they do everything they can to help. Vanessa, who works with the deans, always has a smile and helps everyone with everything. She is the very first person I met when I arrived on campus and she showed me to a room and gave me a big hug when I teared up at the thought of spending my first night in another country all alone. Last week, she drove me back and forth to the police station to fill out a request for my missing wallet. We chatted the whole time, and she was so patient with my Spanish and helped me learn some new words. 

Everyone has problems. Everyone has bad luck sometimes. What I've learned from this year is not to throw a pity-party every time something goes wrong. The first step is to fix the problem and then find ways to avoid it in the future. We have a joke in Humanities where I work about "first world problems." The typical example is "There's not a parking spot for my Ferrari that's close enough to my yacht!" So when I'm so sad about "I lost my debit card in Spain and now I have to pay back friends for my trip to Paris." how about "WOW! I get to live in Spain and go to Paris for a week! How is anything bad about that?"

It's not. Not at all.

Feliz Sabado todos! It's a chilly morning here is Spain and as I browse my Facebook newsfeed I see photos of my dear aunt's flowers, all the way back in Kansas, still blooming this fall. They were so pretty and reminded me that I had taken some photos in Paris especially for Aunt Judy and my dad and never got around to posting them!

Our first day in Paris, after we went to Mass at Notre Dame, we walked about a block to Sainte Chapelle. On the way there, we stumbled upon a most strange market that sold two catagories of items: pets and pet supplies, and flowers and yard plants.

After gawking at the strange array of bunnies, birds, and chinchillas for sale, Rachel and I wandered over to a plant stand with beautiful flowers and grasses. I immediately thought of two people: my dad and my Aunt Judy.

 I've spent many Sundays walking around our local Family Tree Nursery with my dad, trying to find just the right flowering plant, exotic grass, or bush for a spot in the yard, and I know that Judy has spent a good deal of time doing the same. My dad loves grasses and I thought he would enjoying seeing these dusty-blue-green ones. Rachel and I walked around for a bit, commenting and taking photos, and I wished the two of them could have been there with me. 

Before I left this fall, my dad and I added some rose bushes to our selection of backyard plants. I think of them every so often, and I know that when they bloom in the spring he'll be thinking of me. I should be back just in time to see them in June and we will have many more gardening projects together to look forward to.