Lo pasando bien...

The title means "living it up", "having a good time", "enjoying myself", you get the point! WOO HOO! I'm on vacation! Tomorrow I will be leaving Spain for a reverse vacation...going home for vacation, instead of away from home. I've never gone on a reverse vacation! I'm looking forward to it, and can't wait to see all of you. I will have to post some more pictures once I'm home and have some time. I haven't posted pics in a while because my camera was broken, but now it is semi-fixed (it's a little fiesty, but works 75% of the time) so I have some pictures to post.

I finished writing my last "final paper" on Friday at six pm, but managed to celebrate before that! In the last two weeks of school I wrote 30 pages of research papers (in Spanish, of course!) and took two finals. I'd say I deserved to celebrate. So, Friday me and my girls went to "Los Baños Árabes", Arabic Baths. Yes, that's right. Four of my best friends from the program and I went for some relaxation, and relax we did! We kicked back, rotating from pool to pool, drinking tea, and getting massages. It was great. Then we chatted over "pisto" in Sol (yes, where the attempted robbery occured...I was more careful this time). "Pisto" is one of my favorite Spanish foods. It is a tomato/vegetable stew with a fried egg on top. You eat it by dipping bread in it. Yum!

Saturday was my first day of freedom...nothing I HAD to do! I went running in Retiro, got my hair done, went to Bible study, and went out with my roommate and her friends. It was a great day. In our Bible study we had a Muslum visitor and the leader asked each of us to share our testimony with him. That was really neat. It was challenging to share my own testimony, but great to hear how God works in people's lives! I think we should share our personal stories more often in church.

Today I was a tourist in Madrid again and loved it. Sometimes in the air pollution and traffic I forget to enjoy life in the city, but today I fell in love with Madrid again. I got up early and bought a few last minute Christmas gifts in the Rastro (huge Sunday morning flea market near my apt), went to church (I decided the church I go to is a little too conservative for me, but I still enjoy it), then I shopped and wandered and took pictures till I dropped. I ate a sandwich at "Rodilla", a Spanish sandwich chain (it means "knee", yeah, I don't get it either but the sandwich was delicious). Then, it was so chilly out that I wanted a hot chocolate to go and since I don't know of any bars that will give you "Cola Cao" (Spanish hot chocolate) in a paper cup, I went to Starbucks. As a rule I don't go to Starbucks because I hate them, and as I walked out with my overpriced hot cocoa it dawned on me that that was my first Starbucks purchase ever (and hopefully last)...although they do use fair-trade coffee...hats off to the company taking over the world faster than McDonald's. Speaking of McDonald's, I was forced (not really) to eat there last week, too! Rocío, my intercambio (person that I talk Spanish and English with), suggested it and I said "sure". Up until last week, I hadn't indulged in any fast food (except two cones from Mickey D's in September... .60 Euros, how could I resist?).

Well, enough babbling. I'll put up some pics of the Christmas lights in Madrid and "ya verás" (you'll see) everything! Merry Christmas and I'll see you all probably before you read this (unless you are in Spain, in which case I'll see you in January)!

Home for the Holidays

Some of you are wondering when I'll be home. I will be home from Monday, December 18 (10 pm) until Tuesday January 2. I'll be staying at my parents' house. Call me if you want to hang out (698-6715)! Yea! I can't wait to see snow and eat fudge. (Of course, I'm excited to see all of you, too.) I heard Christmas music for the first time here today. They just started to turn on the Christmas lights in Madrid, too. It's really pretty, but makes me ready to go home. :) See you soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, here it is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I didn't play a single board game, watch football, put up Christmas decorations, or go shopping this weekend. (In fact, I haven't played any board games in Spain!) I did manage to eat some turkey, sweet potatoes, and pie, though. Yes, that's right. We had a "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner at my good friends' Julie and Sarah's apt. Their Spanish roommate, Laura, was generous enough to host a big crew of hungry people, and Julie's sister, Amy, (who was visiting from the states) was generous enough to cook! It was a huge success despite the Spanish obstacles we had to overcome to make it happen. Julie and Amy spent a couple different afternoons tracking down a turkey (still had a few feathers on it...at least it was fresh!) and the ingredients at specialty stores. (Julie, where did you find that turkey?) Sarah found me some pecans and a Spanish version of corn syrup for my pecan pie. (All the Spanish people I talked to had never even seen pecans before.) Amy, who doesn't know Spanish, blew a fuse while cooking alone in the apartment and had to find help from the neighbors. I cooked my pie at my friend Kristen's house and faced some challenges myself. I had no measuring cups, so I just guessed. The oven didn't have different temperature settings, so I just put it in and hoped for the best. Well, it was more like a broiler with an open flame, and the top burned in 15 minutes. The inside wasn't done so I lowered the shelf and covered it with foil. I let it bake longer and packed it up still warm for the 40 minute Metro ride. On the metro Kristen's yummy pasta leaked all over the floor, but when we finally arrived, it was worth it! The food was amazing and there must have been 20 people there...about eight Americans and the rest Spanish friends. Some of Laura's friends came dressed as American Pilgrims! It was hilarious! There were all REALLY nice and friendly and Laura had typed out a speech to toast Julie and Sarah (and Julie's dog, Lucky...who I love). We ate my pie and Sarah's apple pie for dessert. They both were huge hits (even thought mine was burnt)! The next day was Thanksgiving... went to class and wrote a paper.

I am thankful that God has...
given me good friends here (Spanish and American).
given me a great roommate.
kept me healthy and safe.
given me a loving family.
kept my brother Chris alive with his blood clots.
kept my grandma alive after a surgery and infection.
provided my grandma with Sharon, who takes good care of her.
given me a church family here.
given me the ability and opportunity to learn and study here.
created everyone and everything in the world so uniquely.
spared me getting robbed (two close calls now).
given me His Son and eternal life!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'LL SEE YOU AMERICANS IN LESS THAN A MONTH!