Life is Either a Daring Adventure, or Nothing.

The trip is drawing to a close. After three days and two nights in Paris, we are on the EuroStar headed back to London for one final night in Europe. It’s hard to think that I started this journey six shorts weeks ago. As sad as I am to be leaving, I’m so excited to get back to the states to start my next adventure there.

            Paris was….Paris. The first day was rough, as always. I’ve just learned to come prepared for a beating the first day in every city. I knew I was in for an adventure when I slept in and missed my bus to Madrid. I was supposed to meet Nicole in a taxi at 6:00 am to catch our 6:30 bus leaving Oviedo. Of course, I’ve had too much luck this trip and I was waiting for my disaster to happen. I slept in and woke up at 6:50. Once I got my bearings, I called my professor who was still in Oviedo and had him look up buses since I didn’t have Internet at my house. He told me that the next one left at 7:30. So I had about 20 minutes to finish packing, say goodbye to my host mom, catch a taxi to the bus station, buy a ticket, and board. Thanks to my newfound abilities to communicate in Spanish and a rush of adrenaline, I made it. I had contacted Nicole and Andrea to let them know I would be there as soon as I could and then I settled in for the 5 and a half hour bus ride. Unfortunately, I had paid for the nice bus to leave at 6:30, complete with movies, food, and a trip directly to the airport. Instead, I had to buy another ticket for the ghetto bus with nothing but elevator music and a trip to the bus station. So then I had to find a cab, get myself to the airport, get through security and find the girls. To tell you the truth, I loved it. I loved being independent and finding my way through Madrid by myself, speaking only Spanish.

            Once we landed in Paris, we bought Metro tickets and tried to decipher the map in French. We saw what looked like the general area of our hotel and made our way there. Of course, Paris is absolutely gigantic and we were nowhere near where we thought we were. We headed out of the station, three bags each, and started walking the streets. We were looking for a taxi, or anyone who spoke English, but neither were anywhere in sight. After about 2 hours of straight walking, checking maps, and feeling ridiculous, we found someone who tried to help us, with broken English. It was soooo clear that we were out of place. The funny thing about being in a country where you don’t understand the language, yet speak two languages, is you automatically speak any language you know. I kept speaking Spanish to people, desperately trying to communicate. I’m an idiot though because of course, they speak Spanish about as well as I speak French. It was a nightmare. After walking for another hour, we finally hailed a taxi and somehow managed to let the driver know where our hotel was.

            After 14 hours of travel, we got settled in and had a nice long night of sleep. We woke up the next day ready to explore the city. The weather however, wasn’t on our side. We got POURED on all day. We saw l’Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysees, and the Louvre through the rain. We were absolutely soaked, but it was all part of the experience. We took an early night and relaxed in our hotel room with pizza and moves (we needed a little America). The next day we were prepared to go hard, and did we ever.

            We hit just about every place on the tourist trail: Moulin Rouge, Sacre-Couer Notre Dame, Lovers Bridge (Pont des Arts), Luxembourg Gardens, and the Eiffel Tower, this time with blue skies and sunshine. We also met up with a friend for dinner at this local place that legitly has you sit in a dungeon lit by candlelight. We met Gabriel (the friend) in London when we were there five weeks ago, and he’s studying in Paris. So we’ve kept in contact with him the whole time we were in Spain and it was great seeing him again. It made me realize how crazy life is. You never know who you will meet and how they could impact your life. He was definitely a blessing, helping us with all of our questions, and being our translator when needed. He took us to the Eiffel Tower that night and we got to see it one last time, lit up and shining over Paris. We took a tour to the top and looked out at the lights of Paris.

            We went and got crepes today as one last memory of our trip and made our way to train station. Paris was the perfect way to end the trip. Even though I can say about five words in French and we got rained on, lost, and walked til we thought our feet would fall off, I couldn’t be happier. It made me realize a lot of things.

            1: Spanish has become like home to me. I love the familiarity the language gives me when I hear it, and I love having the ability to communicate in Spanish when I need to. We definitely take for granted the fact that the whole world speaks English (más o menos)

            2: I’m capable of travelling on my own, doing things my way, and figuring out how to get by. I can use the undergrounds, find places to stay, hail taxis, and communicate-ish.

            3: Amazing long-lasting friendships can be formed no matter where you go. From Eduardo, from Nikki Cafe, who kept me company, helped me practice Spanish, and kept me fed and full of coffee everyday, to my host mom who was patient as I struggled to understand her and sat through my broken Spanish until I could start having full conversations with her, to Gabriel, who we met in London and spent time with in Paris, as he showed us his favorite spots. I met so many people that were so willing to open up and help. I’m especially thankful to Andrea and Nicole, who will forever be the girls who were there with me to take on Europe for the first time.

            4: Leaving home makes you realize how much else is out there. I have seen a lot, experienced more, lived with a different family, made new friends, and divulged in other cultures. It gave me a hunger to see the world, that I don’t think will ever be quite satisfied. I’m ready for the unknown, the confusion, the frustration, and the absolute thrill of being a nomad for a bit.

            5: Leaving home also makes you realize how good you have it. I have the most amazing family that supports me, encourages my dreams, and taught me to never stop exploring. They are incredible and I can’t wait to take them here to see what I’ve seen. I also appreciate the familiarity that home brings, and the comfort of being home.

            I did it. I took on Europe by myself for the first time. There will be many, many times to come with new places, new faces, and new memories. It’s time to start the next chapter of my life.

Las Chicas Americanas en España

He hecho muchas amigas nuevas aquí en Oviedo. Hemos tenido muchas recuerdos inolvidables. Hemos compartido esta experiencia increíble juntas. Espero que podamos seguir siendo amigas cuando volvamos a los Estados Unidos. ¡Le amo todos!

Vive Tus Sueños y Nunca Pares de Explorar

    Después de cinco semanas, no puedo creer que mi experiencia en España haya terminado. Estoy pensando en mis expectativas, y no podría estar más contenta con mi tiempo aquí. España era todo lo que quería y más. El número uno de mi "Bucket List" está marcado, he estado en España. Ademas, he estado en Barcelona, Madrid, Ribadesella, Covadonga, Luanco, León, Astorga, Gijón y por supuesto, Oviedo. Las excursiones me dieron la oportunidad de ver muchos sitios alrededor de Oviedo. Oviedo es absolutamente bonito. Tiene mucho carácter e historia. Los edificios y las calles son muy bellas y viejas.
     Durante mi tiempo aquí, he hecho muchos recuerdos, amigos, y he tenido experiencias inolvidables. He conocido a gente maravillosa. Ellos fueron muy amables y pacientes. Me ayudaron con el idioma y hablaron conmigo.
     Fui muy afortunada con la familia de acogida que yo tuve. Mi mamá de acogida era muy guapa, amable, y simpatica. Sin embargo, ella hablaba muy rápidamente y generalmente,  yo no podía entenderla, pero ha hecho aprender rápido y ahora puedo entender a casi todos. Estoy emocionada por regresar a los Estados Unidos y hablo español con la gente allá. Espero que ellos puedan entender mi acento Asturiano.
    Me encanta España. Ha sido una experiencia increíble. Estoy lista para mi próxima aventura.

No One Remembers Nights They Got Plenty of Sleep.

Wow, what can I say about Barcelona? There are just some things that can’t be summed up in words, and I feel my weekend in Barcelona is one of those times. There were amazing memories, spontaneous adventures, and a touch of disaster. We knew it was going to be an interesting weekend when we got to the airport at 6:00 a.m. and Andrea realized she had booked the wrong flight. Heather, Nicole and I were set to fly out at 8:00 a.m. and Andrea’s flight didn’t leave until about 9:00 that night. So she spent a nice 14 hours sitting in the airport. We left her there, promising to meet her at our hostel later that night and loaded the plane.  We felt like true European travelers with nothing but our passports and backpacks. When we got to Barcelona, we caught a cab to our “hotel” (or so we thought). The thing about booking online, in Spanish, is you never know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. So we told the cab driver the address and he dropped us off on a little street next to a pizza shop and a flower shop. We looked at each other, paid the cab driver, and stepped into the street. There was NO WAY this was our hotel. So we walked to the irongate door and buzzed for someone to let us in. We started making our way up an antique, narrow staircase. It looked exactly like our five floor walk-up apartments. We never saw a sign for a hotel, but the address said second floor, so we knocked. An adorable Australian lady opened the door and asked if we were staying in the hostel. Turns out, our “hotel” was a teeny tiny hostel occupying one floor of the apartment building. It was absolutely beautiful. We had a room all to ourselves and the hostel had an open living and dining room, a kitchen, and a patio.

After we got somewhat settled in and bought some groceries for the weekend, we headed to the beach. We’ve gotten realllllly good at figuring out the underground systems in Europe, so we bought a metro ticket to take us to the coast. The beach was absolutely amazing. It was packed, full of surfers, locals, tourists, and a whole lot of topless-ness. We spent the afternoon watching the surfers and taking in some Spanish sun. A bunch of our friends studying in Oviedo were also in Barcelona, so we met up with them at a local hangout that night. After hanging out for a bit and chatting with the locals, we headed back to the coast for the ritzy night clubs. They are extremely difficult to get into, but because we had so many American girls, they let us all in for free. Spanish night life is absolutely crazy. We got to the nightclub and it was nuts. Inside, it was really dark and the music was bumping. We were all enjoying ourselves, dancing in the way only Americans can. Our boys were watching out for us like all the professors had advised them to do. Spaniards can be very upfront so our boys were supposed to step in and be the “boyfriend” if they needed to. Well, us girls kept getting pursued so our boys stepped in. When you have drunk Spaniards and testosterone-loaded boys, something is bound to happen. There was a mini brawl but luckily, only one of our boys got hurt. He had a black eye and some cuts on his face, but other than that, we got out unscathed. We spent the night walking along the beach and calming down before catching a cab home. What’s Spanish nightlife without a little excitement and a bar fight?

We spent Saturday as tourists. We took a double decker tour bus all over Barcelona and saw the Sagrada Familia, the FCBarcelona Stadium, and more. Barcelona is absolutely beautiful. We went to local markets and headed back to the beach. That night, we were going to go out again, but after the night we had before, the boys just wanted to relax so we had them come over and hang out on our patio for a bit. Andrea had booked the wrong flight home as well so she had to catch a cab at 4:00 a.m. We relaxed, walked around, got tapas, and talked on the patio before sending her back to the airport. After she got her cab, we all caught one to the beach for a swim in the ocean under the moon. We swam and hung out on the beach before watching the sunrise. It was PERFECT.

…our other group of friends however wasn’t so lucky. They were supposed to hang out with all of us on Saturday night, but earlier that day, their apartment had been broken into and all their passports, wallets, and money were stolen. They spent their vacation at the police office.

After a weekend full of no sleep, hospital visits, pickpockets, robbers, and wrong flights, all we wanted to do Sunday was sleep on the beach. So we did. We hung out and swam before meeting up with everyone at the airport. 3 days, 2 nights, and too many American adventurers for Barcelona to handle.

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia fue construida por Gaudí en el siglo XX. Gaudí se murió en 1926 y la basílica no fue terminada. Solamente un cuarto del edifico fue hecho, más o menos. Ahora mismo se sigue  construyendo todos los días. En 2010, la Basílica estaba a medio hacer. La Sagrada Familia era el proyecto de la vida de Gaudí. La Sagrada Familia es problamente la basílica más famosa en todo el mundo.

Mi Fin de Semana en Barcelona

En el fin de semana libre, fui a Barcelona con muchos estudiantes de la Universidad de Utah. Heather, Andrea, Nicole y yo nos quedamos en la Bohemia Barcelona, un hostal muy cerca de Las Ramblas. El hostal era muy bonito con mucho carácter. Cuando estuvimos empezando nuestra viaje, tuvimos un problema pequeño, Andrea ha reservado un vuelo diferente. Nosotros salimos a las ocho por la mañana, y ella salió a las ocho por la noche. Durante el primer día, Heather, Nicole y yo pasamos la mayoría de nuestro tiempo en la playa porque hacía mucho sol. Después, nosotros regresamos al hostal para prepararnos para la fiesta de la noche. La vida nocturna en España es increíble. Esa noche, nos reunimos con amigos en una discoteca cerca de la playa. Era muy exclusiva, como éramos muchas chicas en nuestro grupo, entramos gratis. Hubo problemas y una pelea en la discoteca. Pero, por suerte, solamente uno de nuestros amigos estuvo lastimado. Al día siguiente, nosotros visitamos y vimos muchos sitios turísticos y tuvimos una noche muy relajada con los amigos. Durante la noche, nadamos en la playa debajo de la luna y miramos el amanecer. El domingo era nuestro ultimo día y nosotros nos relajamos en la playa antes del vuelo a Oviedo.

Covadonga, Mi Lugar Favorito en España

No puedo creer que llevo en Oviedo más de dos semanas. Estamos en nuestra tercera semana. Oviedo es tan bonito pero, durante nuestras excursiones, hemos visto muchos otros lugares. Por ejemplo, he visitado Luanco, León, Astorga, Ribadesella, Los Picos de Europa, y Covadonga. A pesar de que no está en Oviedo, de todos, Covadonga es mi favorito. Covadonga tiene una cueva con la virgen de Covadonga. Ella es la Patrona de Asturias y es una de las siete Patronas de Las Comunidades Autónomas de España. A mi, me encanta el campo, y Covadonga es absolutamente bonita. Está rodeado de arboles y exuberante vegetación. La Basílica está ubicada sobre la montaña.

Luanco, Asturias

En Martes de Campo, no tuvimos clase. Unos de los estudiantes y yo fuimos a Luanco, más o menos 40 minutos de Oviedo. Era un día perfecto. Hacía sol todo el tiempo estabamos allí y el agua era completamente azul. La ciudad de Luanco es pequeña y tiene mucho carácter. Que era como yo imaginaba a la costa de España para que parezca. Comimos en un restaurante local con pescado delicioso. ¡Quiero regresar!

Costumbres Españoles

     Las costumbres en España son muy diferente que en los Estados Unidos. En clase, nosotros hemos hablado sobre esto y estuve sorprendida. Me parece que España es más relajado, pero también, Oviedo es la ciudad que nunca duerme. El horario es muy diferente. Se come muy tarde. Generalmente, la gente come cuando termina de trabajar o estudiar. Ellos comen almuerzo a las dos o tres y cenan entre las nueve y medía y las diez. El tiempo después del almuerzo es para la siesta. Durante la siesta, la gente duerme y relaja. Después de la cena, la gente sale y no regresa hasta la madrugada. La edad para beber es dieciséis años. Los españoles no esperan al fin de semana para divertirse. Ellos salen mucho de noche durante la semana.

      Al saludar o despedir, las mujeres se dan dos besos y los hombres generalmente se dan la mano. Los abrazos son solamente para situaciones muy emotivas. Por ejemplo, viajes, funerales, etc. Sonreír a los extraños es también muy raro. No lo sabía. La primera semana, le sonreí a muchas personas y le dije “hola”. Aparentemente, eso no es bueno. Yo y los estudiantes estuvimos sorprendidos. La mayoría de la gente aquí simplemente asiente con la cabeza o no hace nada.  

Is This Real Life?

I’ve officially lived in Oviedo for a full week now! Only four more left :(

            The first couple of days were reallllly rough. I’m not going to lie, it was definitely difficult to convince myself that this is where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing. When you are surrounded by a completely new place and new atmosphere, it’s hard enough. Throw in a language that you can barely understand and it’s even harder. I met my new host mother, Maria, and she is amazing. I already love her so much, but the language barrier makes things VERY difficult. I am understanding more and more everyday, thank goodness. I was so excited to start classes, for the sole reason of not feeling like an idiot anymore. You can only smile and nod for so long.

            In the beginning, I could tell mi mama nueva was getting frustrated with me, which is completely understandable. She speaks so fast, and the accent here is incredibly thick. But I just keep smiling and commenting and she speaks as though I know everything she is saying, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I can’t wait until the day that I actually do. She is a great cook and the eating schedule is completely different than what I am used to. I eat breakfast before school at about 9:00am and lunch doesn’t come until after classes, at 2:00pm. We then have siesta and the rest of the day for homework and exploring before dinner at 9:30pm. These past couple of days, me and the other students from the U have spent the evenings exploring the center of the city. It is SO beautiful. Words cannot describe how much I love this city already. It has so much character. The city is extremely old and the buildings are breathtaking. The shopping here is amazing. There are shops and boutiques everywhere you look. I love the schedule here. It leaves so much time for exploring. However, they stay up realllllly late which makes waking up in the morning even harder…

            The city is so historic and the buildings are beautiful. The cathedral stands in the middle of town and everything kind of webs out from it. Meeting places are always in the plazas. I feel like I am living in a movie or a storybook. It’s too beautiful here to be real life. I live in an apartment above the street the school is on. The streets are all lined with shops, with the apartments above them. I am on the fourth floor (which is technically the fifth in Spain), so I get a perfect view.

            Everyday has been amazing. The school threw us a party on Thursday so we got to go to a really cool restaurant and hang out with the professors and students. This is the city that never sleeps. Even my cute old host mom goes to bed way after me. She tells me to go out every night after dinner and see how the nightlife is. This town is so laid back, yet so exciting. There are streets and streets of only dance clubs. On Saturday, we took a trip to two cities in Spain, Astorga and León. They both had so much history and character. We had free reign to walk around and explore. The architecture of the buildings and cathedrals blows my mind. They are GIGANTIC and so detailed. I wish the pictures did them justice. 

            I can’t believe it has already been a week and I only have four weeks left. It’s weird to think that life at home is going on without me. It’s not real life here. As much as I miss friends, family, and the familiarity of home, at times I never want to leave here. I just think that certain people from home should take a little trip out here to visit :)

Fotos de los Lugares y las Calles de Oviedo

 Los lugares y las calles en Oviedo son magníficas. Toda la ciudad es muy bonita y limpia. Las calles viejas son mis favoritas. La ciudad tiene historia rica y puede verlo en todas partes. Cada día, voy a explorar y siempre encuentro nuevas piedras ocultas. La área alrededor de la catedral es especialmente bonita.

Mi Primera Experiencia en Oviedo, España

Mi primera experiencia en Oviedo, España

            Cuando pensaba sobre España tenía muchas expectativas. Hasta el momento, España ha cumplido con la mayoría de estas.  La ciudad es muy bonita y me encantan todos los lugares. Pero, el primer día fue más difícil de lo que yo pensé. Después de muchos días de viajar, estaba muy cansada. Me dolía la cabeza y necesitaba dormir. Pero, quería conocer a mi mamá nueva. Cuando la conocí, ella al principio me hablaba muy rápidamente y yo no entendía.  Toda la noche, intenté hablar con ella pero fue muy difícil y yo estaba muy frustrada.

            Esa noche, tenía mucha hambre porque no había comido en todo el día. Pero, yo sabía que las personas de España no comen hasta las nueve de la noche. No hablé nada, solamente me senté pacientemente hasta que ella me dijo estamos listos para cenar. Nosotros miramos un programa de televisión que no entendí.

            El primer día fue muy difícil, pero ahora, entiendo mucho más. No puedo entenderlo todo, pero me gusta Oviedo y no puedo esperar a aprender más español. ¡Esta es la oportunidad de la vida!

First days in Spain :)

After two long days of travel, I am finally at “home” in Oviedo, Spain. We arrived in Madrid yesterday (Saturday, the 19^th) after flying from London. Already, I knew I wasn’t in my comfort zone any longer. The flight attendant spoke in Spanish and then English. However, her English was so laden with a Spanish accent and spoken so quickly, I couldn’t understand a word. I was given a rude wake up call. I thought I knew enough Spanish to at least get me by and I couldn’t have been more wrong. When we got off the plane and into the Madrid airport, reality set in. I was in a completely new country where everything was in Spanish and I was the American that stood out like a sore thumb. After walking miles through the airport, we finally found the train and metro stations and bought tickets for both. We caught the Metro to our hostel and immediately, we were targeted. Luckily for me, a gentleman let me take his seat so he could stand. Nicole and Andrea weren’t as lucky. Nicole was pushed up against a sketchy looking guy who kept pushing into her so she couldn’t move. I shouldn’t have realized right away that he was a pick-pocketer, but we were so exhausted, we weren’t thinking straight. As soon as Nicole realized her wallet was gone, we tried to confront him, but of course he pretended like he didn’t know what was going on. The people in the train seemed to understand that she had been pick-pocketed, yet no one said anything. We were flustered and scrambling to think of the right words in Spanish. A small miracle happened then, and we knew we were being watched over. He dropped her wallet to the floor. She didn’t come away completely unscathed, but fortunately, all he took was her money. Her cards and ID were safe.

            After that terrible start, we got off at the next stop and transferred trains. After a few more transfers and stops, we started making our way to our hostel. It was on the Calle Jesus y Maria, which is a little alley way off of the main cobblestone roads. Of course, luck was not on our sides that day. It started pouring rain as we were trudging along carrying our maps and luggage. At least we can say we have had many, many adventures. We arrived at our hostel and were so relieved so see it clean, colorful and cheery. Our room was on the fourth floor so we started lugging our stuff up. All I know is I have climbed thousands of stairs and hauled my luggage countless times. Traveling sure does get you into shape.

            We settled in and headed out for food. My oh my. Spain is on a very different schedule than the rest of the world. Lunch is at about 2:00 and dinner starts around 9:30. Of course, we were hungry at about six because we had been travelling all day and hadn’t eaten. (I feel like that became the norm for us. Tired and hungry.) We walked around to explore but everything was closed because of the siesta. So we walked into the closest open place, which was a bar with a few tables. Of course at that hour everyone was only ordering drinks, but we needed food! So we sat down and ordered water. (Which, by the way, is NEVER free here. If anything, water is the most expensive drink you can order!) After about 20 or so minutes drinking water and never being approached by a camarero (waiter), we were starting to get concerned that they weren’t serving food at that time. So of course, looking even more American, we asked, in Spanish, if they were serving food at that time. We got a nice laugh from the guy and he brought us menus. We understood most of the words, but we still had no idea what to order so we ordered blindly. We have had the WORST luck with food on this trip. We ended up eating sopa castilliana, a soup with bread, eggs, ham, and garlic, and a simple ham sandwich, or so I thought. Mine showed up with a raw egg plopped in the middle of it. After picking at our food and eating what we could, we decided dessert was a good idea to fill our stomachs. Wrong. The dessert, if you could even call it that, was horrible. It was supposed to be a churro filled with cream, but it definitely didn’t taste nor look like it.

            As horrible as our first day was, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It just makes travelling to new cities all that more exciting and memorable.

            The next day, we woke up and took the metro and a train to Oviedo for another six hours of travel. Oviedo is absolutely breathtaking. It’s much more open, clean, and relaxed than Madrid was. Much more my style. We got off the train and immediately stepped into a local festival going on. There was food, balloons, and costumes everywhere. I was filled with excitement. We asked some local policemen directions to the University and starting lugging our bags up and down the streets. We got to the Casa de las Lenguas, met the rest of our group and waiting nervously for our host families to show up. One by one, students met their families and headed off. My heart was pounding so badly when I heard my name called. I walked over and greeted my new mom with the traditional double cheek kiss. She is absolutely precious. Her name is Maria and she speaks very quickly with a very thick accent. I was so overwhelmed. I can only understand bits and pieces of what she is saying to me and so I just nod and smile like an idiot. I tell her I can speak and read Spanish, but when someone is speaking to me, I can’t understand much. Language barriers are AWFUL. She doesn’t speak any English and I feel so lost still. I ask her questions, but don’t understand the responses. I don’t know if I am going to disrespect her or her husband by not adhering to what they want. I asked if their were rules as from what little I could understand….I don’t believe there are. But I’m still not sure and so nervous to do something wrong because I don’t know what’s right. I know the first week is going to be so overwhelming, especially combined with all the travel I have done. I’m so excited for next week to come, when I feel much more comfortable with understanding the language. It’s going to take a lot of work, but I need to keep reminding myself, “this is what I’ve been waiting for and what I’ve always wanted.”

            I don’t have Internet at the house and so I have a feeling I’m going to become very familiar with the local cafes. I can’t wait to start taking classes and hopefully learning A LOT so I can feel less like a stranger in a strange land. 

When in London...

Westminster Abbey

Remember when I said our motto on the first day was "our adventure will start tomorrow"? My oh my, were we right. Yesterday was everything I imagined London to be. We started the day having a very 'hostel-like' breakfast. A thin piece of toast and some cornflakes. Hey, what can you expect when it's free? We did a walking tour of London where we met some amazing people from all around the world. Somewhere between Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament, we made friends with a boy from Australia, a guy from Brazil/France (he liked to bounce back and forth), and two adorable guys from Germany. We ended up spending a lot of time with them, going to the National Gallery and eating fish and chips at a local pub. I definitely felt multilingual as we dabbled in French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and English. 

Our new friends: Gabriel, Moritz, Karsten, and Steve

 Our time with them was cut short because we had to jump on the tube back to our hostel to get ready for the night. We saw The Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty's Theater. It was amazing. That has always been my favorite musical and being able to see it in London was unreal. We were starving after and considering it's London, not Utah, we had so many options to choose from, even though it was 10:30 at night. We ended up at a sushi bar called Yo. We were drawn to it because instead of a traditional set up, all seats were situated around a revolving belt. Food just goes around in circles and you pick the plates you like and are charged for each individual plate. It was adorable and absolutely delicious. As we made our way back to the Underground, the streets were alive with music, lights, and people from all over the world. London has the most amazing feel. 

The London Underground

Today, we had the whole day tomorrow to explore the city. The Underground Tube is amazing. It takes you anywhere you need to go. We spent the day hoping on and off wherever we pleased and exploring more of the city. We ended up in the most unusual places, some definitely better than others, but that's the best thing about it. You never know where you will end up. We went back to some of the places from yesterday to get a better look and went to unknown places. We visited coffee shops, pastry hubs, and a sports bar-type restaurant for dinner. We ate dinner at about 9:30, which is good practice for Spain, considering that will be the norm for the next five weeks. After walking mile after mile, it feels so good to get back to the hostel and kick up our feet in the lounge, surrounded by conversations from all over the world.

 We leave for Madrid bright and early in the morning. It makes me sad to leave London after so little time, but I can't wait to get to Oviedo, unpack my things, and meet my new family. 

So, This is What a Tourist Feels Like.

       Well, I officially survived the 12 hour plane ride and first day in London. It's off to quite the adventurous start. We started yesterday from Salt Lake International Airport at 2:35 pm and had a connection flight in Dallas- Fort Worth. After a three hour lay-over, we boarded the plane at 9:00 pm for a red-eye to London. We couldn't have planned it better. I was able to sleep most of the nine hour ride making the jet lag much more bearable. I also didn't have anyone next to me on either leg of the flight, which definitely didn't hurt. We landed at 12:25 pm London time…5:25 am Utah time. So I felt somewhat okay about going all day, but it's hitting me really hard right now. After walking around all day and navigating a foreign city, nothing sounds better than falling asleep. Luckily for me, it's 8:30 pm now, so no one would think I was that weird.

       We definitely proved we were naive, American girls when we tried to figure out the London
Underground system. We're staying at the Journey's London Bridge Hostel so naturally, you'd think to get off at the London Bridge stop, right? Wrong. We were completely lost in the busiest, dirtiest part of town, but what's a vacation without a little aimless wandering? We finally flagged down a taxi, who then proceeded to dart in and out of traffic like a madman. He was super cool though, and gave us good conversation while he drove us to our hostel Our hostel is in Kennington, a cute burrow a little ways out from Central London (as far as I can tell). It's a very laid back feel, exactly how I imagined hostels to be and I know I will be out like a light tonight, regardless of the ten strangers sleeping around me.

Journey's London Bridge Hostel

        The city is large and crowded and a little overwhelming, but I know that's all because of the lack of sleep and food. Tomorrow will be a new day with fresh energy to explore. I can now say I have the tube system down like a pro. Through finding our way through the tube system, getting into our hostel, and back into central London, the lack of food was definitely bringing us down. I haven't eaten much in two days. The timezone change is throwing me off and the plane fed us dinner and breakfast at the most bizarre times. Of course I wasn't hungry for a meal at 4:00 am, so I picked at some lettuce, at a cracker, and went back to sleep. So after exploring, checking in and walking for a bit, we jumped back on the tube and headed over to the London Eye pier for our first European meal. After walking down street after street, our feet were hurting and we were dying of starvation so we walked into the next place we saw…."Chopstix", an all you can eat China buffet for about 17 American dollars a person. It was awful, and so I'm now going on day two of no food. However, I'm too tired to even think about it. Our motto today was, "our real vacation will start tomorrow". We had plenty adventure for the first day, so I still consider it a good start.

Me and Nicole on the London Eye Pier

       It's a lot colder here than I expected. The sun shines, but the wind bites. The exchange rate is horrendous and its sickening to think how many American dollars we are paying for something (the Chinese buffet being a shining example). But hey, it's London, we're young, and that's what vacations are all about. So far, I wouldn't change a thing. I can't wait to finally get a good night's sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to find out what London has to really offer. If this blog makes zero sense, it's because my eyes burn from lack of sleep and I'm way too tired to go back and reread it, so give me a break :)

The Final Countdown

            It's the weekend before I leave for Europe and so many thoughts are running through my head. What to pack, what to leave behind,  who to see. It seems like the more I check off my to-do list, the more I add. I've waited so long for this. It still hasn't hit me that I'll be traveling Europe and living in a foreign country for seven weeks. Not until I've survived the 13 hour flight and made it through customs in London, England will it be real for me. After a few days in London, I'll head to Madrid and have one afternoon and night to explore the capitol city before boarding a train the next morning to Oviedo where my new university and host family await me. According to the Study Abroad office, I am living with one woman in an apartment above a cute street lined with shops. I cannot wait to meet her and develop a long-lasting relationship. I'm so worried that my inadequate language skills will make for a very awkward couple of days, but I know that living around her and speaking Spanish exclusively will improve my abilities exponentially. 
           I'm so excited to meet the locals, develop friendships, and see the city through their eyes. The excursions are probably what I'm looking forward to most. I have serious wanderlust and want to see as much of the country as I can, especially the surrounding areas. Having Tim as a tour guide will make it all the more special, since he has been there before and knows the area so well. 
           In four short days, I will be crossing off Number One on my bucket list.  For as long as I can remember, Spain has been my it destination. It's finally becoming a realization and I couldn't be more excited. Fear of the unknown has no place in my life. I'm ready for this leap of faith and am going to take it in stride. The world is made to be explored and I plan to do just that. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm going to make the most of it. ¡Hasta pronto España!