The Most Beautiful Place On Earth

Oh My Gosh!!! Spain is absolutely gorgeous!  I'm in the process of putting pictures on Facebook, however, the internet here is not very strong and extremely slow, so that's a work in progress.


Once Jordan and I arrived in Spain, we hopped on the metro bus with some girls that he had met on the plane.  We finally got off the train and stepped outside to beautiful buildings in Madrid.  Jordan insisted on getting these girls a cab to make sure they got to their hostel.. which made us miss El Museo del Prado.  I was pretty bummed, but I wasn't going to let it get me down.  We went back to the hotel and napped and showered and starting exploring Madrid.  We ate at a little pita shop.. it was DELICIOUS!!!  I was kinda nervous to speak Spanish at first because my Spanish isn't where I want it to be.  This is what we saw when we got off the metro link:

This is what we saw as soon as we came upstairs from the underground subway

We finally met up with our group and toured El Palacio Real.  There was such cool paintings and sculptures in there.  Later, some of my new friends and I went to Reina Sofia, an art museum.  We saw tons of painting done by Fredrico Garcia Lorco and Picasso.. even Picasso's most famous painting called Guernica.  It was amazing.

La Palacio Real

This is the building across from El Palacio Real.  I don't remember the name, but I know that the Spaniards hate this building because they think it looks bad with all the different architecture.

We left the museum and took a power nap.  We went out to eat at a little restaurant.  My friend Yurani and I split a pizza.. it was about the size of a personal pan pizza, and we drank sangria. It was sooo delicious.  This is the craziest thing.. water is more expensive than wine.  It's because Spain has a shortage of water, so tap water is not used in any restaurants or vendors.. all bottled water called agua mineral.

Lauren and I

We left the restaurant and went to the most amazing night club of all times. It's called La Kapital.. it's 7 floors high and has different furniture and music on each floor.  All the guys were dressed up in suits and the girls in fancy dresses.. we were way under dressed, but we wanted to see it!  Unlike Americans, Spaniards go to clubs to socialize and dance.. not to get sloppy drunk.

La Kapital.. look down from one of the top floors onto the dance floor.

We got back to the hotel at around 3:00am.. I Skyped with my parents and then went to bed.


This morning we got up and drove to Toledo by bus.  This is the most amazing city I've ever seen in my LIFE. It's so beautiful and different.  We got a guided walking tour of Toledo and a panoramic view from the bus. It's truly amazing. I can't wait til I can post pictures on here!! We had a 3 hour meeting with ISA to discuss everything about host families and academics.  I can't wait to meet my host mom and grandma tomorrow!

Today I was the "Chica de Toledo" according to our tour guide  because my coat is the same color as their flag.

My new friends and I.. Jamie, Becca, Me, Lauren

The city of Toledo.. it's soooo pretty!!!

The flag on the left is the flag of Toledo.. the same color of my coat! hahaha

The "salad" I got before my meal at a restaurant in Toledo.. it's tuna, salsa and green olives. It was delicious.

Cupacalbras.. "The dish of Toledo" It was amazing!!

We all went out to eat and had a great time, I'm so tired I had to come back to the hotel and crash.. I'm meeting some awesome people.  Can't wait to post pictures to show all my sweet pictures to you!!!

Let the Adventures Begin!!!

Yesterday was an extremely adventurous and somewhat stressful day.  I woke up at 7:45am.  At around 8:00am, I got a call from United Airlines telling me that my flight from Washington DC to Madrid had been cancelled, but I was scheduled for a flight today (January 27) at the same time (5:30pm).  Since my group with ISA is supposed to be taking a panoramic tour of Madrid, I didn't want to miss out!!  I called United Airlines customer service and was on the phone with them for most of the morning.  I ended up rescheduling my flight: I would fly from KC to Washington DC then from DC to Frankfurt, Germany and then from Frankfurt to Madrid, Spain.  PERFECT! I would get to Madrid at 11:45am and still have time to do everything with my group.. this sounded great!!  However, I was scheduled to leave Dulles Airport in Washington DC at 5:21pm and there was a big storm coming in.. :-(

My dad took me to the Kansas City airport.  We didn't really know what was happening when we got there.. so we had to find the United terminal and check my bag in.  We waited around until it was time for me to go through security.  I felt like the biggest ding dong going through security.. I had no idea what I was doing!!!!  The lady behind me and some security lady had to help me! Hahahah!! Oops!  Once I got in security and on my flight I was fine.

Ready to fly to Washington DC

Dad and I at the airport

On my flight, I met a very nice lady named Mary Beth.  She was traveling to London for business, so she gave me the low down on international flying.  We talked the whole way.. she was so fun and nice.  I'm so glad I had someone like her to sit next to.  Once we got to DC she helped me find my gate on the big board that lists departures and arrivals (haha.. sorry I'm not using technical terms!)

In order to get to my gate I had to go up and down escalators and on a train that takes you from one terminal to another.  I met up with another guy in my group named Jordan and we waited and waited for our flight to board.  We FINALLY all got on the flight and were ready to go!  We both had 2 seats to ourselves.. enough room to spread out and everything.  So we sat on the plane and waited. and waited. and waited.  Unfortunately, since this plane was headed for Germany, we were in the vast minority since we didn't speak German!

As we were sitting on the plane, we watched more and more snow accumulate on the ground.  We got an announcement that we would be the first international flight to leave, but the plane was too heavy.  They had people taking cargo off and of course it was the cargo in the very back.  In the mean time, the cargo carrier got stuck in the snow.  By the time our plane was ready to leave, we had been sitting on the plane for almost 2 hours.  At this time, we found out that we would be unable to take off because the runway was covering with snow faster than they could plow it.  We all got off the plane and rescheduled flights for today.  The line for customer service was taking forever, so I cheated and called United's 1-800 number!

Jordan's mom was still in Dulles waiting to make sure our flight had taken off safely.  Since we didn't leave we met up with her and hung out for a little while.  While we were walking through the main terminal we saw the line for taxis to take people to hotels.. it was approximately 200-250 people long.. absolutely ridiculous!!!  She was trying to decide if she wanted to stay at the airport or drive home to Baltimore.. about an hour and a half away from the airport.  She finally decided that she was going to try to make it home,so we got gate passes and went back through security (where I needed help again! hahaha).. we found enough empty seats without arm rests that we were able to each have enough room to spread out.. AND we were next to an electrical outlet (which are scarce here!). 

Main Train Area.. looks sweet

I made a little sleeping pad on the seats with my luggage, coat, and jackets.  One more problem: there were SO many people snoring that I couldn't sleep! I finally plugged my headphones in and blasted them so it would drown out the snorers and I went to sleep.  There was a man sleeping on the other end of my chairs, so from right to left it was his feet then head, his bag and then my feet.  He was snoring SOOOO loud I kicked his bag into his head and he stopped!!! Woo!! I slept on and off for about 7 or 8 hours.  I woke up at one point and was FREEZING, so the nice man across from me gave me his blanket because he wasn't using it anymore! How nice!

I'm a mess haha!

Since I'm so smart, I had packed all the mini toiletries I would need, so I was able to brush my teeth and wash my face this morning when I woke up and change clothes. It feels good not to have to be in the same thing I wore yesterday!

Today we've just been hanging out.  I paid for internet today.. it's way over priced, but at least it's giving me something to do until our 5:30 flight.  We also had to make sure our luggage would arrive in Madrid with us, and not in Frankfurt like it was supposed to.  I might wander around later and explore this giant airport.. who knows.

I've been trying to put pictures up, but for some reason it's not letting me.  I'll see what I can do.

Side note: There is this little evil bird flying around our gate that Jordan and I have been taking pictures of to pass time.  Just like my mom.. I love taking bird pictures!!!! hahaha

Little Bird

The next time I post on here I will have already made it to Spain!!!

Love you all!
Sarah

Look at the snow!!!

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To..

I had a great last weekend (for a while) in KC.. I hung out with Mitch on Friday Night.  We saw No Strings Attached.. hilarious movie!  On Saturday night, Mitch and I went to Mr. Sushi with Marcie (Mitch's sister), her husband, and another couple.  Talk about good food!! After we went to The Peanut in Lee's Summit and met up with Cara C, Keshia, her boyfriend Nathan, and Megan Sharp.  We had fun hanging out.. I hadn't seen Cara or Keshia in forever!!

My parents had a Going Away Party for me for my family to come say bye to me before I leave.  My mom made tons of desserts and we hung out and talked about my upcoming trip.  We had a good time!!! (and even though it was my party and I could've cried if I wanted to.. I didn't!.. just to make that clear)

I finished a scrapbook of Kansas City for my host family.  I've included pictures of my family and dog, and tons of postcards from Kansas City.  It's a cute little book.. I hope my host family enjoys seeing where I'm from.

Only 3 days til I leave for beautiful Espana!!! I'm so pumped. I'm all packed and ready to go.  I'm sure I'll be back on here before I leave.

Sarah

(No, this is not a picture of me)

Do I have everything I need?!

I know I haven't posted in a while (sorry!), but really this blog is supposed to be about my adventures in Spain, not my adventures in the US (I haven't really had many lately, but that's beside the point). But I decided that I would update you on my preparations for studying abroad.

As you can imagine, this is a very detailed project I've got going here.  I'm trying to remember everything I need and everything I think I'll need (for living, studying and going on excursions throughout the country), but I can't over pack because it'll make my suitcase too heavy, and I want to have room to bring home souvenirs.  I haven't flown on an airplane since I was like 12 years old, so this packing process is nerve wrenching for me!  Thankfully, my aunt and uncle are pros at this stuff and gave me the low down on airport security during dinner the other night!

My mom and I have been busy shopping for everything you could ever imagine in a travel sized container.  Anything I take on my carry-on bag has to be 3 ounces or smaller and has to all fit in a quart sized bag (what a headache!).  We've also been shopping for simple clothes I would be able to layer and that would be comfortable to wear.  All this shopping really hasn't been that bad, I just don't want to forget anything!  I started packing today.. I've got skills when it comes to packing as small as I can.  I think I will have lots of extra room when it's all said and done! YAY!

I fly out of the Kansas City airport on January 26, 2011 at 12:09pm (10 days away!) and arrive in Spain on January 27, 2011 at around 8:00am or so.  It sounds like a really long flight, but remember that Spain is 7 hours ahead of us, so I'll actually be landing in Spain around 1:00 or 2:00am our time.  I WILL have my cell phone with me, it's free for YOU to text ME, but it costs me fifty cents for every text I send.  Saying that, the best means of communication with me would be Facebook or email.. anything that's free.  I don't want to come back from Spain with a million dollar cell phone bill because I texted people like I do here.  YIKES!

I'm definitely excited to get this trip underway, but I'm also very nervous.. not because I'm scared of what's over there, but just because I've never been over seas AND I've never flown by myself.  Oh.. I'll have a friend on the airplane.. a guy that's also going to Spain through the same program I'm going with, so we can be besties all the way there (hopefully)! haha.

I will for sure miss my family and Mitch.. since I've spent the most time with them since school was out.  Fortunately for us, there's Skype, email, phones, blog, Facebook and anything else you could imagine for us to communicate with. :)

I'll keep you updated on my upcoming journey to Spain!