Homebound

Wow 4 months and I am heading home. I can’t believe it. It has just flown by. I will start with what I did this week.

Monday I took my patho/pharm test. I woke up when I had to be at the metro so I rapidly got dressed and ran to the metro. My professor ended up being on the same metro as me. I took it and yeah. I did not do as well as I hoped and it definitely was not what I could have done. But I am glad it is over, I can go home and relax and cuddle with my dog and family and not study for the test. Monday after my test there was a workshop on how to adjust back to the states and how to use study abroad to better your chances of getting a job. Then we went to see the Sant Jordi festival. Sant Jordi is basically the Valentine’s Day of Barcelona/ Cataluña. Sant Jordi is based off an old folklore. This princess was swallowed by a dragon and a prince killed the dragon and cut the princess out and flowers grew from the blood. So on this day men give women roses and women give men books. So there were books and flowers everywhere! There are authors who come in from everywhere to sign books. One of the authors was Carlos Ruiz Zafón who wrote Shadow of the Wind which I had to read for my literature class and I wanted to get my book signed but I got there too late. However the best thing probably happened to me! Christopher Paolini who wrote the Inheritance series was signing books! Me and my roommate found English copies of the 4^th book and we got them signed! Best moment ever, the line was so long and people were pushing, best moment of my life. It was a good Monday. My roommate and I also got roses for our senora. Also there was a Barcelona vs. Chelsea game so some people in my group and I went to go watch it at a bar. It was so intense they could have won! But it was fun to just hang out and see a game.

Tuesday it was a reading day for us to just read our notes. So I shopped for last minute presents. Then I worked on my final for lit which was essays so it wasn’t too bad. They were due Wednesday. My art paper was due Wednesday. Thursday I had my art final and it went better than the midterm. So a lot of us were done Thursday afternoon so we had a movie afternoon at the school. We watched Bridesmaids. It was super fun.  For the evening we went to a bar to just relax and hang out- they had popcorn so I snacked on that.

Friday- last full day in Barcelona. So I slept basically all through the morning. I did more lastlast minute shopping. Then I went to lunch with some people in the group at Bo de B because I was craving more rice in a sandwich. I did more shopping and went home to repack my bags. I have a bad feeling I am going to hit with an over bag fee.  My group and I went to see the Montjuic fountain show. It was so cool, I heard it is better to see at night since you can see the colors. We had a good bye dinner and it was sad but the food was so good. I went to church because I had too. I had to say the lastlast good bye to my new friends there. I am just chilling at my homestay until 4 in the morning and taking a taxi to the airport.

Barcelona has been great and wonderful. To quote Bridesmaids people do grow and do change. When I come back I will have changed and the people at home have changed too. But I am ready to bring the new me home and bring the new me home and put that in affect for what is best for me and my family. I have been on facebook way too much and I have been looking at the people who I knew in high school and I have probable had an experience that may not have- Some have kids, work at jobs, but I go to school and work and I am making the best choices for myself. I have to thank Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship because I could not have had this amazing experience.

I will post over in the next few days on how I have adjusted. The nursing aspect of this experience continues through May with clinicals and labs. It’s going to be an exciting month. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog!

The Homestretch

Looking at my journal this week was not really interesting and I have to study for my Patho/Pharm test that is tomorrow so this will be another quick post.

           Tuesday for literature class my roommate and I had to cook a meal(Arroz a Banda) from the book that we were reading, Los mares del Sur. Our senora wasn’t opposed to us using the kitchen but she did a lot of the cooking, mainly since we did not know how to cook fish or shrimp and we didn’t want to get people sick. The presentations were good, our Professor invited the senoras to class, and my senora had to be the cutest out of the group- she reminds me of Dora the Explorer. Wednesday I had clinicals and they were a little less exciting since I haven’t really been sleeping and I was just so tired. I ended up taking a nap that afternoon, because I was so exhausted.

           Thursday I had my presentation for my art project. The paper is basically finished I just have to reread through it. Also I had my literature test on Los mares del Sur. Let’s just say it went better than last test but I got lost on the vocabulary.

           Friday, I had lunch with people from my group at Bo de B. It is a sandwich place by the beach and it was pretty tasty. I would have never thought to put rice in a sandwich but it was so good. You may be thinking I have to get rice, no you don’t but it was an option, and a good one at that! Then to celebrate our last full weekend in Barcelona we went to a bar, and they had free popcorn!

           Saturday I didn’t do much besides study for my patho test. I went to lunch with some people in my group but that was basically it. Sunday was super sad. It was my last time going to church. They had a pancake lunch for family that is moving and the put me on stage too to say good bye. They have really made this experience so much better. I got to know local people and they helped me so much with my Spanish. I have a lot of good memories with them.

Okay now patho! Last week in Barcelona.

Playing catch up

I am writing this really late at night so hopefully it makes sense not that some or my earlier posts make sense. This will probably be a short post since I did not do much. I stayed up really late all week and tried to get all my homework and studying done but it is Sunday night/ Monday early morning and I still feel so behind! Well I have had all semester to get this art paper done and I still procrastinated until the end.  It was reduced to 8- 10 pages which I am so happy about I would be freaking out if it had to be 12-15 pages. It would not be too terrible if it wasn’t 1.5 spacing, I am just so used to writing double spaced.

Oh but Wednesday I had clinicals and it was probably the best day of my life! I was in the pediatric unit and oh my gosh babies! I had a different nurse and she spoke a little English but we spoke Spanish because she said it is a good language learning time and I was like definitely. We first saw a toddler and she was super cute she had a combined appointment with her older brother and they were taking an eye exam and they had to use their hands to demonstrate the way the E is facing and the little girl went first and her brother went and she was showing him the way the E was facing but he wasn’t looking at her, cutest thing ever! Then the baby parade started: we had a 17 day old baby, 4 months, 8 months and others but man so cute. With each of the babies they took measurements and it was interesting oh important the nurse made it seem that the baby should be near the 50 percentile. If I have not been obvious enough I think I want to do be in the pediatric unit and it is super cool that I am in this room, it will toughen me up to the crying. All the babies were good until they got the shot. But I still have at least 2 more years until I decide what I want to do.

Friday was another Conocer Barcelona. They stopped making them mandatory which means we want to go now. In the morning we went to Camp Nou! I have not been there yet, well only from the outside I may have gotten lost trying to find my church which was in the opposite direction. It was fun we had a guided tour from one of the professors from the school who teaches Sports and Society. We saw the trophies from not only their soccer team but their basketball, hockey, and racecar team.  Then we got to sit in the bleachers for a little bit. Then we got to go near the field and take pictures unfortunately the soccer team was at an away game. It was also my señoras birthday so my roommate and I bought her a Messi Mug because she is in love with him! She liked it and we wrote her a card in Spanish. It was good. Then in the afternoon we had a Conocer Barcelona at the Sagrada Familia. It was still marvelous even though I have been there before. It was a guided tour so I got to learn more things. Also we got to go up the towers probably the coolest thing ever. However you take the elevator up then you have to walk all the way down a winding staircase that is poorly lit! I went super slow down the stairs with my hands griping the walls since some of the way down did not have a railing! About half way down there was a couple and the guy told the women to look down and I was like it is probably a bad idea to look down. It was funny because I was talking to them in Spanish and I had no idea who they were.

On Saturday I was walking around and I was like why are my legs killing me! Well it was all those stairs! I also went to a baptism on Saturday and Sunday church. Not an amazing week but it was a good week.

Springbreak 2012

Oh Springbreak, Some people might imagine beach, tanning, relaxing. Well I got plenty of relaxation. I slept so much, it was nice. I also ate so much ice cream/ gelato.  I did not get to do as much as I would have like too though since it was raining basically Tuesday- Friday. For a country that never rains it had to pick Spring Break to be rainy.

Casa Batllo roof

                Well Monday I had a fabulous day. I have been waiting all semester to go to Casa Batlló and the Pedrera by Gaudí. I woke up and the line for the Pedrera was huge so I went to Casa Batlló first and wow was it amazing! There are no straight lines in the building; it kinda looks like a dragon, especially on the roof. Oh you get to go on the roof, and I am a chicken when it comes to heights but I had to just suck it up and head up. I loved all the colors in the building! There was an audio guide on the tour and I liked what it says, that Gaudí was able to respect the forces of nature, religion, and put it into his building which put him above all architects. Then I got some lunch and went to look at the line for the Pedrera which still had not gone down. So I went to buy some peach rings and waited in line. The first thing you do when you go in is go up to the roof. I did not have time to prepare but I still went up but I did not stay long but the roof is basically the best thing about the Pedrera. The Pedrera is a building the Gaudí built to be used as apartments, so there was a level that displayed what an apartment would have looked like during his time. There was a level dedicated to the architecture plans for his other buildings. It may have been nicer with an audio tour but it was a letdown after Casa Batlló.  

                Tuesday was the first day of the crazy rain so I went to school to print out things I would need and I worked on some homework. I wrote a lot of postcards which I have failed to do all semester. Wednesday it was still raining so I went to find the aquarium, well tourists and parents alike were trying to keep their kids busy so the line to wait to go in was an hour long and I did not feel like waiting. There was a mall next to it so looked in there for a while. I got onto the metro to see the movie times for anything just to get out of the rain. It was still too early for them to open and The Vow wasn’t until 4 and it was 1. I went and got lunch and I was already wet (Lucky I did bring an umbrella from home but my pants and shoes were all wet). I walked around waiting for the movie to start. It was me and a bunch of old ladies in the theater to watch Todos los dias de mi vida. I swear Spanish is more romantic. It was so good!

Monjuic Castle

                Thursday it wasn’t raining yet so I was like I am going to go to Monjuic which is a mountain in Barcelona and it holds all the 1992 Olympics. Well once I got up the mountain it started to rain! I made my way to the Miró Museum. Miró makes no sence! But I had to go for my art class and I wanted to get out of the rain. Then I went and got lunch then went to the CaixaForum which I had to go for my art class to since it had an exhibition on Goya and Delacroix. They were both so good exhibits. I took the bus up to the castle on Monjuic which hold so much history. During the Spanish Civil War prisoners were held and killed there. It is a sad but pretty place. I took the Teleferic down which is basically a glass box with seats and you go down probably the scariest thing but you got some beautiful sites of Barcelona.

Hippos Sleeping at the zoo

                Friday I went to the Marina Museum because they were hosting a Titanic Exhibition! Their main exhibit was closed but the Titanic Exhibit was so good. There was an audio tour and I loved it. That night I went and saw Titanic in 3D. It was okay in 3D, it was actually a lot darker looking in 3D but I was still crying at the end. The snacks at the theater are cheaper here than in the states. I have not had popcorn in a few months it was so good! Saturday I went to the zoo! Their zoo has a nice collection of animals. They were so cute. I went in the late afternoon and they were all taking a siesta.

                Sunday was Easter and I went to church and it was good. I talked a lot more Spanish and it was nice to be around and talking to people after talking to myself all week. Today, Monday my roommate and I spent all day catching up on our homework that we should have done all week. Luckily she finished but I have patho objectives that I am slowly making my way through.

Happy April Fools Day

I hope nobodies gotten to make pranks pulled on them today! I know I did not have any.
        Well the realities of being back in Barcelona hit and it hit hard. Since I did not bring any homework with me to Morocco I had a lovely pile waiting for me. Monday I went to school early to watch all the recorded nursing videos we missed from the previous week because we could not connect. Probably the worst torture I had to put myself through. Then nursing class, then doing more nursing homework to get ready for an exam we are supposed to take Wednesday but got an extension to take it Thursday, I know what kind of extension is 1 day but with Spring Break the following week we took the one day. Tuesday I spent the day still playing catch up with nursing and trying not to fall behind in my literature class. So Wednesday while the U.S. nursing class took the Patho test the Barcelona class was studying. We had to connect for Foundations but we couldn't connect again! Well we only missed 10 minutes.
        So obviously its been a rough start to the week and I wasn't sleeping much, then waking up late and missing breakfast. So me and my sister skyped and it made me feel better, we complained to each other about our lives which helps me to just get it out and not have it feel bottled up. Also clinicals on Wednesday were good, it was the same nurse I was working with last week and she is so nice. I saw more people get there blood drawn. Then in her office, we saw a couple of the same patients as last week but a lot of new ones but the same aliments, pressure ulcers, a long clotting time, and high blood pressure. 
        Thursday was the strike, the public transportation was working on limited service. Only 3 hours for the morning rush hour and 3 hours for the evening rush hour. All of the professors and staff at my school were like be careful, its going to be busy, and it may be better to walk to school. So me and my roommate walked to school in the moring it was only about 40-45 minutes, not bad, and  there weren't a lot of people out. So I had class then I took my test. My test was on the brain and diseases with the brain. Honestly the test could have been a lot harder but it was fair like all the other tests. By that time other students already had stories about the strike! In Spain everyone has the right to strike but it must be peaceful. So a lot of stores were not going to open and if they tried strikers would throw things at them, try to close their gates, they smashed windows, and they also put firecrackers in garbage cans so they blew up. After lit class my roommate and I walked back home and where the strikers had moved was were we needed to go to get home. They had signs and were marching but a lot of people just took the day to walk around and relax. We didn't meet any trouble and we may or may not have taken pictures of the 2 blown up trash cans that were still smoking. So its Spring Break now! I had a 2 way skype with my brother and my sister which was fun.
         My first day of Spring Break, Friday a couple of the students who were still in Barcelona and our staff went to a hostel, InOut Hostel that lies on the outer side of Barcelona to volunteer. InOut is a hostel that is staffed by people with Special Abilities, kinda like Lambs Farm if you live in the upper part of Illinois, except instead of a farm it is a hostel. It is a really nice hostel that is in Barcelona but is out of the craziness of the middle of the city. So we painted picnic tables and I was like oh yes my mom will let me paint! Then I got all full of paint, I am not really sure how I did it but I got paint on my lip, face, shirt, pants, hands, arms, and shoes. I was a mess, my senora asked me what happened to my pants when she was washing them ooops. We got lunch at the hostel and we spent the afternoon thinking of ways to increase the name of the hostel hence the long description. I went to church that evening and we had the lesson and then we played Just Dance 3! It was a fun day.
 Saturday I may have slept in really late but it felt so good after not sleeping much all week. Then I went on search for some lunch, I was trying to find this sandwich place everyone in my group said I had to try but I may have not been able to find it so I just ended up at a bakery and got the menu del dia. Then I went walking through the streets of the Gothic Quarters.
      Sunday, It was the first Sunday of the month which means some museums are free! So I went to the National Museum of Catalan Art, which houses artists from Cataluna. It was nice, I like works of landscapes a lot more then I like portraits. Then I went to the Picasso Museum. The line for the museum was so long so I got some gelato to eat while I was in line. I am such a smart cookie. The Picasso Museum is kind of small. It houses a bunch of his earlier works but not to much from his Black and Rose Periods. But they did have a collection of his ceramic works. I was going to go to the zoo but it was 4pm and it closes at 5pm and I was like I need more then an hour so I just walked around. So I was just riding a bus and I saw the Torre Agbar. So I walked to it, it was a lot farther then I thought it would be, but I made it. It is a lot prettier in the night time then it is during the day. So I went home and I wrote some postcards because I have been so bad at sending them. It has been a nice Spring Break so far.

Clinicals, Camels, Morocco, Africa

It has been a very exciting week! Wow it was fun and exciting!  Tuesday evening 3/20 I had a typical Spanish cooking class! I miss being in the kitchen, it happens at school too this isn't a new feeling. I love cooking and baking and anything food. We made pan and tomato- which is toasted bread with garlic, tomato, salt, and olive oil, simple and delicious! We also made a butternut squash soup- we topped it with a shrimp, pan fried leeks, and cheese. I am not a fan of shrimp but I tried it with the soup and it was not bad its just shrimp is not my cup of tea. Tortilla de patata- which is an egg omelet with potatoes, onions, and we put leeks in it. We also made paella! Man that was so good- it had asparagus, green and red pepper, garlic, onion, peas, tomatoes, and chicken. It was one of the best things I have ever eaten! Also we had creama catalana- which is like a custard that has crystallized sugar on top. The chef only knew my name which I thought was funny because he would call me over to help. I was so full at the end of the class all I wanted to do was take a nap but I had to prepare for a Patho presentation. 
               Its Wednesday and it was such a long day. I woke up and I only had to wait for the bathroom once. My senora bought a new kind of cereal, it was so good! Best way to start the morning. Then I went to clinical and I meet up with the boss lady at the hospital and she showed me where I was going to go. Well she took me to the place where they draw blood. In my head I was like man do I really have to watch them take blood for 4 hours. Side note they usually have put me in there while I was waiting for my nurse to show up. Today I asked why they took so much blood because I swear whenever I am there, there is like 100 people going in and out and I was starting Barcelona was full of vampires! So I asked the nurse why they always seem to be taking blood. She said because usually most people here come for preliminary testing but some patients are anemic and it is to see if they are at a normal level and other aliments. Well then I went to the nurse I was shadowing to her room where she meets with patients and does teaching, diabetes testing, ulcer care, and hypertension. It was cool, I like her independence that she is in charge of these patients. The two other nursing girls that go to the same clinic but on another day asked my if I liked going. I was like I really do. Yeah there are times its annoying that I have to wait for them to eat but I like the slower pace, the personalized attention for patients, its a type of location that I am like to work in when I am older. I think I may like the big hospital setting but it seems just overwhelming at times. Well then I had to go to school but I had to get rapidly to go. Well then I had to get the computer stuff to watch the nursing classes and our IP address keeps changing and the firewall at Wesleyan won't let in strange IP Addresses(usually a good thing but not in this case) it happened on Monday too and we missed lecture for Foundations and Patho. But we had that presentation for Patho and we couldn't connect! It took an hour and a half before we could and we still did our presentation but we went through it pretty quickly and we had to go into Foundations. I hate public speaking and I froze during my part of the presentation! It was so bad everyone says that its okay, they are your peers but its different. I was pretty sure I had my material down I was practicing the night before I just got so nervous! Last week I had to do a presentation in my literature class and I didn't feel nervous so I guess I just got a double whammy for this presentation. After nursing I had to work on a group presentation for my art class which we got done. Then after dinner me and my roommate were talking to our senora just talking, she was telling us stories from other students she has had in the past, it was good. Then me and my roommate had to pack up our room because we are getting a different room. Since it is close to the time where students go on Spring Break there are a bunch of students who will be coming in and out of our homestay so she needs our bigger room so she can stick more beds in it. So we are getting a different room. I have accumulated so much stuff!! I don't know how I am going to get all my stuff home! I have a month to worry about that. Waking up at 3:30a.m. to go to Morocco!
             I am not a morning person waking up at 3:30 was not the easiest thing that I had to do but my roommate and I did and we made it to the metro early and had to wait for the metro in the rain. It wasn't fun- cold+rain+4am=a one unhappy Amanda. Well the airport was fine, there was no problems, Take off was not the smoothest I have every been on and nether was all the turbulence, and neither was the landing lol. I swear I will get used to flying. Well we get to Malaga, Spain to take a bus to Tariff, Spain to catch the ferry to Tanger, Morocco, Africa! Cross 3 continents off that bucket list- Africa, North America, Europe! I am in Morocco because my group and I were doing the Moroccan Exchange Program. It is a 4 day cultural exchange to get deep into the roots of Morocco and build a new perception of culture. So now we are in Morocco, we got onto another bus and we drove to a women's shelter, Darna, in Tanger. It is for women to learn skills like sewing and hand sanitation, learn how to read, write, they have computers so they can learn about computers too. It allows for them to gain a skill so that it is easier to get a job. They also have a restaurant so we ate lunch and talked to 3 Moroccan students and talked about their culture and stereotypes we have and trying to learn from them. We then had a three hour drive to Rabat where we meet our homestay families. While driving we made a pit stop and we rode camels! I couldn't believe it. The camel I got on had a loose saddle so the girl that was on it and jumped down. It was super high I can't believe that I did it, but I am so glad that I did. My host mom was so nice. Her husband and her kids live in the US and she lives in Morocco with her mom and her 2 brothers. She is a teacher at a French school. She spoke perfect English, she was the sweetest last ever. Me and another girl from my group had dinner with her and her mom and it was soup and bread it was so nice. It is super interesting they sleep on couches that are backed on the wall.  I slept so well I was so tired.
          Friday: Breakfast was bread with nutella or jam. Then we had a bus trip to a small town outside of Rabat, Sale. Sale has a big homeless population and it has one of the biggest slums. We drove to the Nonprofit organization that helps people get there high school degree so that they can have a better life. See picture to the right. Well we meet 3 students ans we discussed some of the ideas/ perceptions we have of each others culture and we tried to work through them. Then we saw Roman Ruins and they were pretty cool. There were ancient eels that only come out if the girls are not pregnant- luckily an eel came out so the group of girls I was with we are all good. Then we had lunch at our homestays. It was so good. After lunch we had a walking tour of Rabat with students from the University, they showed us the beach, the Parliament, the market, how to write our names in Arabic, and we just got to know each other. Then we went back and we talked to an ex Peace Corp volunteer and a Fulbright Scholar about their experience in Morocco, what they do, difficulties they have. Then we had maybe the most awkwardest experiences in my life. In Morocco and other places they have public baths called the hammam. Well women don't wear tops and all the women are in one room bathing. I was decked out in my bathing suit but it was so relaxing. It was like a steam room and you just sat and bathed. It was a good experience but I don't think I ever want to do it again.
       Saturday it was an early day. We woke up and we had a 3 hour drive to the Rif Mountains. We had a pit stop in a city where we got supplies for lunch and we picked up our cultural translator. We arrived to the Rif Mountains were we meet this guy and his family who live in the mountains. He is a farmer and he lives the most simple but loving life I have ever seen. He didn't speak English but from the little things he did and his family did were loving. We had lunch with them and we talked about how they live and how the drought was affecting his family. He took us up to the Mountain and we saw the most beautiful landscapes. Beautiful! I had to use the bathroom so bad and the bathroom was a hole in the ground man that was the first and last time I hope I have the opportunity to do that.  We then had another drive to Chefchaouen. We walked to our hotel and then we had free time to shop until dinner. I bought a leather camel to signify my first camel ride, and just my whole experience in Morocco. After dinner we had a group pow-wow just talking about our experience. We had to answer 2 questions

• When did you realize that you were in Africa/Morocco/Muslim country.
• I said when we first got to Rabat and my homestay mom, the girl I was living with and I were walking to our homestay. There were no women out and we got weird looks being on the streets. Also there were a lot of streets we went on that weren't lite and it felt like she was talking us through a labyrinth.
• Also what has this experience taught you.

• This experience has taught me everything. I definitely helped me make see that there is a lot of similarities in the values that I have. Also has taught me to try to find the finer things in life. Also there is an extreme generalization in media that does not show the sides of cultures. It has also helped my to see the finer things in life and the things that I take for granted like a flushable toilet, running water, toilet paper. Also Morocco is beautiful!

       Sunday: I woke up and with some people we had a walk to the outside gate that is up the mountain of Chefchaouen. We had beautiful views of the city and the mountains. We walked back, checked out of the hotel. We had breakfast on the bus and we drove to Ceuta to cross the border to the Spain. Spain owns a little part of Africa and then we had to take the a ferry across the Straight of Gibralter it was super windy so our first ferry got canceled and then we had to take the second one, it was super fancy and they played Pink Panther cartoons. Also Spain does have daylight saving so we ended up losing an hour because the time changed that morning. We had a bus ride to Malaga where we got to our plane to Barcelona.
        It was such a good weekend I learned to much. Best weekend ever. To bad reality came back and this week will be super busy with papers, tests, and a possibly the biggest transportation strike in Barcelona on Thursday. Until next time!

          

A little over a week update

       Another week has gone by and I feel more behind in my work then I should. Monday I had a free day so I studied all day at  school. Tuesday was about the same as Monday just studying after my classes.Wednesday I had clinicals and it was nice seeing a different part of the hospital. I really didn't get to see much, it was just sitting around waiting for patients to come in. The nurses I was shadowing were nice but they didn't really do much. They get the urine and blood samples and but it through the machine to test it. But after that the nurses don't really do much. I saw them but a make shift boot on a women: which I thought was pretty low quality. It was like a metal ladder that birds walk on but bigger wrapped in gauze then wrapped in a medical wrap and bent to fit the lady's leg and then wrapped her leg in more medical wrap. Friday I cleaned out my whole computer! I sent it to the original computer settings and it is working fine. But now my original theory that it was the wifi at my house was causing the problem is confirmed because now I can't even connect to it so that is why this post is late because Monday I had to work on a huge nursing project and I didn't have enough time to get it posted while at school. Well Saturday I went to a church talent show and my barrio and I did a dance to Grease Lightening. It was super fun we had costumes and got our make-up done all 50's style. I am glad I did it because it opened more conversation  of the ladies in Relief Society to talk to me! Sunday I went to church and worked on homework. I bought a waterbottle over the weekend, I was excited. Also we got 6 new roommates! They are from Norway and they seem super nice, they are only here for 4 days. But there is 10 of us sharing 1 bathroom!This isn't an interesting post but this weekend I am going to Morocco! So that should be interesting!

Tarragona

AWWWWW. That is how I feel right now. My computer has not worked in 2 days and it is so annoying it won’t load up anything. So I have to do this in safe mode even though I feel like this post is going to be one big rant about how I am 10 seconds away from drop kicking my computer. It was working perfectly before I left and ever since I got here I have to wait an hour for it to completely be able to load so that it will work. Luckily it was after I got my FAFSA done but not before I could send it. Ug this has been annoying. My senora says it only happens to a couple of students and I got to be the luckily one. I just hope that it works properly back in the US. If not at least I have a warranty with Wal-Mart and actual IT people to help me at school.

               Well what did I do all week except wait for my computer to work. I went to church on Sunday. Monday I had a Patho Test and leaving the test I did not feel happy with it but I ended up doing better than I thought. Wednesday I had clinical again and my nurse told me one of the patients we see died. I am not having very much luck with these elderly people. But we ended our time with this cute old guy. He was my favorite by far. That was my last week of going house to house which I am glad because I get to see a new part of the clinic but I liked seeing that personal relationship with the patients. Thursday I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t going to lunch with my group so I went and figured out why, because they complain too much. I know I am complaining right now about my computer but that is something I need to function, most of my homework I have to get online also, I need my computer to stay close with my family, Remember they are my rock. I don’t complain about how I don’t have the right shoes to go with my outfits or how I don’t have enough outfits, or how I miss my closet(that’s the weirdest complaint I have ever heard).

               On Friday we had a group trip to Tarragona. I wasn’t very excited to go because all we were going to go see were Roman Ruins (rocks). But these Roman Ruins were so cool! Tarragona is about an hour and a half out of Barcelona. It is a city built on top of a city. Tarragona was the biggest Roman City back in the day. Then it was a Christian city, the Christians built on top of the Roman Ruins. The ruins weren’t in a stuffy museum they were all around town. Well there was some in the museum but we skipped those. We had a walking tour of the city which the guide showed us the ruins. They were everywhere; there was some in a bank and randomly on the street. We saw the amphitheater, an old horse racetrack, and more. We had lunch and then we went and sat at the beach, I had to put my feet in. The water was so cold but I just put my feet in there we people who went in in and got soaked. I don’t think that was a fun ride back to Barcelona for them… I went to a young adult activity at church and it was super fun. The influence of the music from the US kinda surprises me because I wonder if they understand what the artist is saying well I speak English and sometimes I don’t. Saturday my roommate and I were going to eat lunch at Els Cuatre Gatz where the artists, Pablo Picasso, and more would share ideas but it is so expensive.  I was craving pizza so we found a cheap pizza place and then we got gelato and ate it in Park Ciutadella. Then we decided we better go back and to do homework. That’s when I skyped my mom and got my FAFSA done. Then I went to a young adult dinner and this girl told me her whole life story, I didn’t even know this girl. I guess that’s cool she felt she could open up to me but I barely could understand her she had a different accent, I talked to some of the other girls and they say they have sometimes understanding her too.

              Sunday I woke up for church. Tried to get some of my homework done after but my computer didn’t want to work so that was a no go. Then I was so annoyed that I went to a young adult activity that they have Sunday nights and I was kinda happy I did. The sister missionary made homemade chocolate chip cookies. I know I talk so much of how good the chocolate croissants are but nothing beats a fresh homemade chocolate chip cookie.  The chocolate chips hadn’t even resolidified that’s how fresh they were. One of the girls asked me if we always eat cookies at our meeting and I was like pretty much and she asked about brownies too. I have been bringing up church a lot lately but I am not trying to convert anyone. Before I left my Spanish professor told me to not hang out with the gringos and get to know the people of Spain and going to church was the only way I saw that possible. It is a great experience for me to learn and speak Spanish because they don’t understand English, well a couple do but I usually speak Spanish to them. I even got a Book of Mormon in Spanish so I can read along in class with my English and Spanish version so I can look up a word I don’t know. It has been enhancing my learning experience and making me happier. I just need to find an old lady to adopt me and make me food lol just kidding I have my Senora for that =). This week is Illinois Wesleyan University’s Spring Break so there are no nursing classes so I am trying to work on my 12 page art paper and projects for my Literature class.

March Madness

Before you leave to study abroad you will be told a hundred times that you are going to hit a wall a couple of time and all you need to do is talk to people in your group, talk to your señora, talk to your family well this wall I feel just keeps hitting back. Bring Ibuprofen, Advil, or any specific brand, type that you like. I went to church and talked to an older sister missionary who is kind of going through the same thing, the inability to talk to her loved ones and being in a different country with a language which isn’t your native language. She just said to keep the faith which is true faith tend to gets lost in the drama of the days and unfortunately this week was full of drama.

            Tuesday wasn’t that exciting. Wednesday I had to go to clinical. I had to wait an hour for my nurse to show up. Well I am not sure what regulations I have to follow when I write this next part but let’s just say that there was a lady collapsed on the street by her car. CPR was conducted for 40 minutes where she could not be revived. Paramedics finally showed up and that’s when they called time of death. It made me really consider if I want to be a nurse because we were in front of a hospital and they could do nothing to revive her. I was confused. I have dealt with death before so that didn’t really affect me, not to lie it did but I was more confused on how they could not do anything.  Then I had to take a test for one of my nursing classes, which I ended up doing fine on and glad that the days early events didn’t affect my grade.  

            Thursday was just about as exciting as Tuesday was. So on Friday since I had no classes, I went to the University of Barcelona to do some more research on my art project. Then I went to the Filmoteca to do some more research. My art project is Surrealism Movies. It’s a weird topic but interesting. I am focusing on Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, and Federico Garcia Lorca. Then I had lunch with the nursing majors so we could work on a project, we didn’t get much done in the 2 hours we were together. Then we went to the beach because it was a beautiful day out. I went back to the apartment and it took my computer 2 hours to load before I could do anything. I was frustrated, tired and it was time to eat and while I was eating I decided to go to a church activity and I was glad I did. A lot more people are talking to me and saying hi so it nice and it is helping my Spanish so much more.

            Saturday I slept in. I was so tired. Then I went to Park Guell. Which is so cool! It is so colorful with all the mosaic tiles. It is huge too. Trip is complete! Let’s go home just kidding there are so many things I have to see! I guess there was not too much drama it just feels that way when you are going through the days.

Clinical, Toledo, Madrid

Wow it has been one crazy week and that is why this is a day late. It was midterm week so it was pretty stressful. Wow I am half way through my program! It’s going by so quickly.

                I had a midterm for my Art and Surrealism class on Tuesday so I spent all Monday studying for my test and the test was pretty hard. She asked a lot of small details and there was one question that me and other students in the class had no idea the answer to but hopefully I was able to bs may way on my 2 essay questions but we’ll see.

                Wednesday I had my first clinical! I was super nervous and I got to the site an hour early so I had to walk around for a while to kill time. Then the lady to meet me was 10 minutes late. Then the people I was supposed to be working with were not going to get there for another hour. So I watched people get there blood drawn. Then they sent me to the cafeteria to get something to eat, to kill time, and when I finally got food they came to get me. Then I sat in the office for another 30 minutes until we did anything. Spanish people have no sense of time, which has been the trickiest thing to get used to. Then we finally did something. I partnered with a community nurse. We went apartment to apartment to see patients who could not get to the clinic. I thought I was not going to like it because I was invading their personal space but they kind of ignored me. I also liked the personalized care that the nurse was giving. It was a mix of professionalism but with a Spanish twist. She called her patients dears, queen, princess, which in my nursing classes we have been told not to do because it is degrades them. She also greeted most of them with kisses. I saw a bunch of pressure ulcers, which was not to exciting but I liked it. Then the nursing majors in Barcelona and I had to give a presentation in our Foundations class which was really interesting. It went pretty well, and our connection did not have a lag so they could understand us. Our project was smoking cessation in Barcelona, because smoking here is really prominent.

                Thursday passed without much. On Friday we had an early flight to Madrid! I am still not used to flying; on take-off I stopped breathing for a minute. But once we were going straight I was fine. Landing was a little bumping. It was a 40 minute flight to Madrid and once we landed we got on a bus to Toledo. Toledo is a small but big town an hour out of Madrid. It is really medieval but a touristy spot know for being Spain’s old capital. I really liked Toledo, they had lots of Knight things, and it was cute. They are also known for their Marzipan. We spent all Friday afternoon in Toledo. We went to back to Madrid for free time. Me and my roommates in the hotel hung out in the room then we went and walked around Madrid’s nightlife.

                Saturday morning I had eggs and bacon for breakfast in the hotel. It’s been 2 months since I have had eggs for breakfast. Then we had a tour of Madrid of the Cathedral, the Palace, Plaza Sol, and other parts. Then we had free time for lunch. Then we had a tour through the Palace and you weren’t allowed to take pictures. The palace has 2000 rooms and we got to see about 20 rooms from the whole palace. Then I saw the royal armory and the royal pharmacy. Tapas are really popular in Madrid and Spain and the group I was with had an optional Tapa tour of Barcelona. I was the only person who did not go. I am mentioned before that I am LDS and well there is a Temple in Madrid that I wanted to see. So I got help from one of the leaders in my group to figure out how to get to the temple. I got there and there was a wedding. Well there was a wedding party waiting for the couple to come out of the temple. I sat hidden in the gardens so that I could see them come out. They did and it was so cute and romantic! I walked around the outside of the temple to see it and when I came back to the front nobody was there and there was a fake white rose and  I took it for memories.  I got back to the metro and I took it to see the bullring. Bullfighting is still legal in Madrid unlike Barcelona but it is so expensive to go in and I went to late to see the inside. Then I went back to the hotel because it was getting dark and I did not want to get lost in Madrid all by myself. A couple of girls and I went to the bar to just hang out and it was super fun. The bartender was super cute so I was okay with the fact that he laughed at me for ordering water. We did not go to bed until 4 in the morning, the latest I have ever gone to bed in college.

                Sunday I woke up 10 minutes before we had to be at breakfast at 9 am. I was ready in 7 minutes packed and everything! I was super fast. We went to the Sophia Reina Museum and it is super modern. I don’t understand how a rippling cloth is art but supposedly it is. We only had an hour scheduled for it. It is a 5 story museum! I was walking around like a chicken without its head trying to see everything in the museum! Then we went to the Prada museum and we had a guided tour for an hour. We only got to see a couple of works from Vasquez (las meninas) and Goya (his black period). It was nice but I felt like I had no time to see other things in the Museum. Then we had a tour through the Parque del Bien Retiro. It has constructions so it wasn’t really grassy, but there were a lot of people just walking and enjoying the Park. Then we had free time for lunch and after lunch we had an hour to kill so we just sat in the park soaking in the sun. The plane ride to Barcelona was better in the fact that I was breathing but during takeoff we kept going sideways! I hope I get used to flying.

Just another week in Barcelona

My mom told me that I need to start proofread my posts but they get so long sometimes so I am sorry if they have been terrible. So I think I will start typing them in a word document to make sure that everything sounds somewhat better.

On Monday I found one of the campuses of the University of Barcelona. There is like 6 of them, they are separated by the subject matter. I needed the school of Bella Artes. I needed it for the library to work on my 12 page paper in Spanish! Crazy…  Well turns out the library is not in the school so I had to ask a lady at the front desk and she spoke to me in Catalan! Well she used hand signals so I got the gist of it and found the library. It was nice to be in a library where people came to study. My project for my art class is going to be good because I found some really good sources.

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day.  It is not really celebrated in Spain; there were a couple of guys who had flowers, and one of the stores was giving out heart shaped balloons but that’s about it. So finally the real reason why I am here has started! 2 months in, me and 2 of the remaining nursing majors were placed into a clinical location. So we had a tour through the clinic site. I am not allowed to say where, I think HIPPA violations but I can describe it! It is kinda like a really big doctor’s office. There is no ICU, or anything of that, all they can do is minor surgery. They had a dentist office which I thought was really weird but children under 12 in Spain/Barcelona get free dental care. So like an idiot I signed up to go to clinical all by myself! I am really nervous of not knowing what they are saying and if I was with someone else we could figure it out but nope I don’t have a compatible schedule with the other girls. But all I am doing is observing, I don’t get to do or touch anything so that’s good. I am nervous but excited to start clinical because it lets me experience different areas in the hospitals to help determine what floor I want to work on when I am older. I think I am interested in Pediatric but who knows I could end up in the ICU. But if I really like this whole working in Spanish I may look into a place that is geared to only Spanish speaking clients. iOh the possibilities! So after all that and school me and my roommate bought Valentine’s Day cupcakes, which were so good. We also bought a cupcake for our doorman because he is so nice and he shows us videos of old Spain. I got a cookies and cream cupcake and it was the best thing I had, I swear because they use real sugar that everything tastes so much better! I also got a cookie which was so good too. If you are in Spain check out Lolitas Bakery it is on Provencia by the Pedrera.

Wednesday night we had another Conocer Barcelona. It was right after the nursing classes so I had all my stuff. I had my laptop, camera, money (only like 20 euros) and they took us to the sketchy part of town, Raval! I had to carry my backpack on my stomach so that I could watch it. I didn’t feel unsafe because there were 3 guys in my group so that was good. But it would have been nicer to do it earlier. After the walk through the Raval we say a flamenco show. It was good, kind of awkward. The people did not interact with the audience, they we there to just do their thing.

Thursday we went back to the clinical site to get an overview of the health care system of Spain. Here is a rough sketch; Spanish people pay a high tax which is then used to pay for health care. They have big hospital, small care clinics like my clinical site, and private hospitals. Well everyone is covered to use the big hospitals, small care clinics and then you can private insurance. Medication is free for elderly.

Friday I went to a church dance. It was totally different from the church dances back in my stake. The music was a lot more fun and they did not play so many slow songs! It also started at 10 at night and finished at 1a.m. which is so totally weird because the church dances usually end at 10. It was a lot of fun though. I got to meet more people and talk more Spanish which is fun. It’s not easy to talk when there is loud music but I managed. A lot of people were surprised to know that I was from the United States because speaking is not really my problem with Spanish it’s the whole comprehending what they are saying that takes more time.

     Saturday I was a busy bee with my homework, I got a lot of things done. Also for one of my nursing classes, my fellow Barcelona nursing students and I have to give a presentation on smoking on Barcelona. We wanted to show just how much Barcelona smokes so we each went out and we videotaped people smoking. It was kinda awkward but I will never see these people again it’s a big city. I feel like they were all hiding from me because usually they are everywhere but I couldn’t find any. There are 5 of us we will pull something together. Me and one of the nursing majors jokes that are lungs are getting so bad but when we go to the states our lungs will get better because we feel that even though our numbers for smoking are higher we don’t see it as much in our everyday lives. On Wednesday we are to give our presentation over polycom and it will be very interesting and we are hoping it will go well. We are pioneering, smoothing out the bumps for other students. I got to talk to my mom, it was nice. We have exchanged some facebook messages but that is about it. Also we fixed her microphone problem so I actually got to see and hear her and have a conversation with her. Instead of her and me typing and looking at each other because that is weird sometimes. Also Saturday night I went and saw a movie with some people from my group. The movie was called Drive with Ryan Gosling. I have a confession, the movie was in English. I know really bad that’s not emerging myself in Spanish but I won’t leave Barcelona until I see a movie in Spanish in a theater. It did have Spanish subtitles not that helped the movie had an awkward silence to it. I was thinking it would be like Fast and the Furious but it wasn’t, it was gorier.

I am almost half way and I am already getting anxious to leave. But there is still so much of Barcelona that I have not seen that I want to. That is why I decided to stay in Barcelona for Spring Break. It is so much cheaper to see Italy, Germany while I am here but I came to see Barcelona and during the week it is hard to see it and the weekend I am playing catch up with my homework so I end up studying all weekend. One day, in the future I will come back and see more of Europe.    

Pete's Dragon

       I am listening to Pete's Dragon while typing typing this post and it is such a cute and good movie! That is a good movie. I told my sister to be my candle on the water. If you know the movie then you know what I am talking about but if you haven't you should watch it! But I'll try to give it the best shot at it, the Nora watches the lighthouse to direct the ships back to the coast and she is going to be the steady rock for Pete. So my sister is going to be my rock and be the person I can cry, complain to. Its a good study break.
        This week was pretty blah, I had two tests this week and a project due and it kind of took over my life. I spent alot of time studying for it and yeah. Blah. Well its not going to get easier.  I have alot of small projects due this week. But we are talking about last week so on with the story.
    My senora bought croissants and so I now I can just put nutella on them and feel better about myself so I don't have to go and buy them =). They are not the same as the chocolate croissants but they hit the spot. I tried a new place for lunch and it was the best thing I have had in a long time and it was spicy too! I am going to have to resensitize myself to spicy foods when I get home because it is non existent here, well none that I can find. Friday we had a Conocer Barcelona and it was to see the markets of Spain, I would have thought more than one more but we only saw one. It was a great learning experience to show how shopping in America is different than shopping in Spain. There are no Wal-Mart, K-Marts, Aldis, or Walgreens here so you have to go to these markets or there are some chain supermarkets but you go these markets and you get food. They have everything from butchers, fisheries, vegetables, fruits, and candies and you just get your food there. Nothing is prepackaged all fresh trust me they were filleting the fish right in front of you. It's kinda of stinky and culture shocking! Well Friday night we had reservations for the Barcelona Ice Bar and it was super cold! It was -14 degree Celsius. The walls and furniture is made of ice. They had sculptures and a bar of ice. For 15 euros you got a coat, gloves, a drink, and unlimited time in the ice bar. I don't drink so it was fun ordering at the bar because well they allow children in but all the bartenders laugh at me for ordering a nonalcoholic drink! So I asked him what he had without alcohol and he said juice so I had an apple juice at the ice bar in Barcelona in a ice cup. It was so good!
     Saturday I spent the whole day in the library. I finally sucked it up and figured out how to get a library card so that I can access the wi-fi. It wasn't so hard but it was fun to talk because they were talking me to in Catalan! Then they gave the information for the library in Catalan. Not really helpful but I can get the information on the website. Oh I forgot to mention that the closest library to me is by the Sagrada Familia! So I have to walk past it when I go! Also my library card can be used at any library in Barcelona so that's cool.
     I went to church today! Finally after being sick as a dog, I was able to go. There were different people there this week. A sister picked me off the metro and asked me if I was going to church and I said yes and we had a nice conversation to church and all in Spanish!!!!! My teacher made me say the prayer but she said I could do it in English, good thing because I don't think I could do it in Spanish I am not that good. I meet a girl and and she said she is interested in learning more English and I want to learn more Spanish so I think I found and intercambio partner!!! More Spanish! So I get on the metro and then on the next few stops a guy and his brother came on the metro and the brother sat next to me. I offered the guy my seat and he said no and I said hi to the brother and he gave me kiss on the cheek. I'm counting that as my first kiss =), in  Spain breaking hearts.

A Chilly Weekend in Barcelona

I feel updating the on Sunday is way more interesting then on Wednesday but if I only updated it on Wednesday then the Sunday Night blog would not exists and then Wednesdays would be interesting but then I am more inclined to forget what I did all week. This no class on Fridays is pretty awesome. I feel like I can take a day to relax and know that I have 2 more days to work hard. I would not say I was lazy all weekend, I did get alot of things done but I did see alot of things.

    It was the first weekend we had free without any activities planned for us. So most of the student in my group went away for the weekend which is super cool a group went to Paris and another went to London and 2 students went to Sevilla, Spain. Well there were 8 students from my group including me who were still in Barcelona so on Friday we went to the Chocolate Museum! The ticket to get was a chocolate bar and it was a special day it was the price of 1 entrance for 2 people very cool! We spent a while in the chocolate museum, there was no one their but the 8 of us so we spent alot of time looking at all the chocolate pieces they were very cool looking. They had movie characters in chocolate, cartoon character in chocolate, scenes from Barcelona in chocolate. chocolate!!!! They also talked about the history of chocolate. The smell of chocolate was everywhere! At the end we all bought more chocolate. It was awesome!

  Then we were trying to find a Catalan food tasting festival and it ended up being more like food stands, like people brought jams and jellys and were selling them. We ended up at a little pizza shop off of Las Ramblas and I got this big bowl of catalan crema which is like creme brolle. Then I went to this store and bought my sister her boots, I think she liked them she couldn't really see them from the webcam, I am just worried that her calf might not fit because I could not really get it up mine. Her problem now! Then I went back to the apartment and did homework and talked to my sister on facebook.
    Saturday I woke up with a runny nose. I kinda saw it coming, there is a guy in our group that had been sick and the weather has been cold and none of us were prepared for this type of weather. It is really uncommon for it to be in the 30s here. My roommate looked up a library by our apartment and the closest one is a 15 minute walk by the Sagrada Familia. We did not know we lived that close! I am living in Spain, I live by the Sagrada Familia! Craziness!!!! I spent a few hours there and got a lot of my Patho/Pharm class work done(test Wednesday awww!) but this test is better I feel! Then me and my roommate went to McDonalds. You might wonder why are you eating McDonalds in Spain and I will reply why not! You are eating McDonalds in Spain! It tasted the same but the ice cream tasted different and it was more expensive then in the US. Then we went back to the apartment where I finished my Patho/Pharm and finished my project for my Literature class.
    Sunday I woke up feeling like death. I hate being sick and all the farmacias are all closed on Sunday so I could not buy anything. I bought a huge things of tissues though on Saturday which was a smart move! I needed them box is 1/3 empty. So I watched a movie, finished my art summary and played words with friends on facebook. I am so bad at that game but I managed 54 points with the word watch I felt like a beast! Me and my roommate spent an hour looking up flight information for Springbreak, we are thinking Dublin and Rome! I was not sure that I would be able to do anything like that for Springbreak but how can I not I will probably never be in Europe for the rest of my life and money will work itself out. I dont have to eat while I am their right? lol No I have my scholarship and its helping alot its just scary to make those kind of plans by yourself, I am glad I have a roommate to do have these adventures with!

Should have listened to my mom....

Mothers can vary and are not perfect but I think I have the best mom in the world. I don't think I would be in Spain if it was not because of her. Well I have heard from other people and through my own experiences moms know EVERYTHING! I don't even have to her something and my mom already knows. And I feel like moms can tell the future. So my mom on the day I was leaving was like "I think you should take your winter coat." I was, of course like no ma its going to be in the 50s and I am not going to need it. Well yesterday it was rainy and cold and today walking to the train it was snowing. It wasn't pretty snowflakes it was more like tiny frozen ice balls and it was super cold and I only had my little gray sweater. If I had listened to my mom and brought my winter coat I would have been nice and toasty warm. For a country that seems to have very little rain it seems to be raining alot. It was funny they were salting the sidewalks. There wasn't even ice but some of the sidewalks are marble so they get slick. Oh well I think its going to get warmer.
    So if you were expecting a post yesterday I am super sorry! I was so stressed out there is so many things due, homework, projects, tests. But I don't have classes Fridays so I thought I could take a minute tonight to update everyone and I will work hard core this weekend to get things done because it just repeats itself on Monday. There are people taking independent weekend trips there is some people going to London, Paris, or Sevilla kinda jealous but then I see the vast amount of work I have and think better of it. The Salsa class on Tuesday was super fun, it also didn't really affect my grade on my test to go out and take that little study break. I was starting to feel homesick again because I have been so stressed out but I talked to one of my sisters and was able to get things off my chest because I can talk to the people in my group but they are going through the same things that I am so its nice to talk to someone outside  the group who may not know what you are going through to maybe see it in a different perspective on how you are doing and how things are going. Going on a hunt to find a library this weekend!

Zaragoza

This is probably the realest that I will be with any of you guys. I don't have classes Friday which is super nice if you want to go and visit another country for a 3 day weekend. Well this was not one of those weekends. We had a mandatory 2 day weekend trip to Zaragoza. Those things are nice because it take people such as my self to places where maybe I would not go to visit. Well Zaragoza is a city in Spain and thats about it. No just kidding.
     On Friday my group meet at the school at 8:30am to embark on a 4 hour ride to Zaragoza. We did not end up leaving until 15 minutes after 9 because people in the other group was going were not answering their phone because they were sleeping because they had spent the night partying. Well they never showed and we left, annoying I think so.  I did not sleep the countryside was too pretty. I live in Round Lake, Illinois and its a 4 hour drive to Springfield, Illinois and all you see is cornfields. This drive there were mountains, terrains of plants that looked funny, and random farms much better than cornfields. We arrive to Zaragoza and it is alot colder than Barcelona and it was rainy.
   We walked to our hotel, Paris Hotel how fancy, just kidding no but really it was really nice and the workers were super nice. We check in and we had 10 minutes before we had to check in and me and my roommate had to go to the bathroom so bad. But the lights in the room were not working so we went to the bathroom anyway and we had to ask our next door neighbors how to work the lights and you had to push in the card on the wall, very eco-friendly. We had lunch then got a walking tour of Zaragoza and the take us to see the Roman Ruins, the Cathedral, and another Cathedral, Pillat that was hit in the Civil War of Spain and there are still the bomb holes(they are covered from the roof but you can still see the hole from the inside, then the Arabic Ruins. We had the rest of the evening to our self. So what else did we do, shop. We looked around at shops on the Rambla which is like the main road geared towards tourists. There was a Disney store, and a bunch of little shops.My little sister wants me to buy her boots from Spain for a present and she gave me specific kind but still not specific. So I was walking and found a shoe store that was having a big sale and decided to go in. I found a pair for 22 euros which I thought was pretty good deal since most are like 40 euros. So I bought them.
   Now here is the for real part. So there was talk about going out for the night to a bar. To get into most places in the night life you have to dress the part. Usually for the bar it can be jeans, a nice top, and boots or heals. A discoteca its a dress and heals. and whatever you do you cant wear tennis shoes. I did packed to just go to a bar but I didn't pack nice shoes! I could kinda wear the boots I wore for my sister and she would have never known if  I had worn them. We got ready to go out and get dinner and we were going to go find a bar for the group. We went to a fast food restaurant, not like a McDonalds or Burger King, they sold bocadillos and stuff for 1 euro. Me and 4 other girls went to go look for a bar for the night and we were walking, walking, and walking, and we did not see one we liked. We finally came across one that we liked but we had no idea where we were and didnt think we were going to be able to tell the rest of the group where we were. We told the group where we were and they said they were going to try to find it. We had a good time I only drank coke and the bar tender laughed at me for ordering a coke, but hey I dont drink. So we were chilling and the bar closed at midnight so we decided we better go and find the rest of the group because they ended up just stopping at another bar. This bar was super crowded and the rest of the group already had too much to drink and it was like 1am amd I was ready to go back and it was getting to crazy that some of the more aware people were like yeah we better get back to the hotel. Well that was probably the worst experience of my life, we had to corral the people back to the hotel and it didnt really work and you had to like lie to get the people back to the hotel. It was difficult and it was cold and I was tired. We split into groups because the really messed up people were like oh no we are not done yet, its too early so my roommate stayed with them to get the group back and she gave me the room key and I had to stay up and let her in, it was only like 20 minutes later but 20 minutes of me freaking out. Well my foot was killing me when we were walking and I was like oh I must have left a tag in the boots. Well no there was a staple in the shoe and it was under the sole and it kept sticking me and I had cut up my foot some( I ended up taking the boots back in the afternoon the next day and getting my money back, im still looking lil sis! The people looked at me funny when I returned them but they did give me back the money. )Well me and my roommate stayed up talking then watched some tv and my roommate wanted to go to bed and we didnt know how to turn off the lights so we just pulled out the card. I had to cokes and I was so caffeinated and I could sleep and then my neighbors came in and they were super loud. Then there was a knock at the door and I had a little freak out like who in the world could it be. So I answer it and it was one of the girls who was in my group but not from IWU and she was drunk and didnt know where her room was so I had to direct her to her door(she didn't say anything in the morning and nor did I), then the people next door came in and were super loud. I finally feel asleep at 330.
     I woke up at 730 am freezing! Since we had pulled the card out and turned off the heat and we felt like geniuses. We got a complementary breakfast I had frosted flakes and it was so good, I'm kinda sick of corn flakes. We first had a tour of Aljaferia and it was the winter castle of Ferdinand and Isabel. Now it is the place of Aragons Parliament. It was super cool! There is still some of the original flooring, of Ferdinand and Isabel. Then we had a tour of the Roman Ruins, we saw the amphitheater, the museum, and the baths. Then we got a tapa(one tapa and we were all hungry). We we had more free time for 2 hours were we mostly got lunch it takes that long to find a place then sit down and get the food. Then we chocolate con churros with the whole group and the hot chocolate was like pudding and the churros had no sugar on it. But if you dipped the churro had chocolate on it, it was yummy. Then it was a four hour drive back. Then I got food poisoning I am pretty sure it was from the lunch and yeah that was not very fun. So I ended up not going to church since I stayed up late last night in the bathroom and I still have a sick feeling in my stomach. Oh well keeping hydrated like a nursing major =) Salsa dancing Tuesday!

Chocolate Croissants

Wow so it has been a little over a  week since I updated this last. I'm sorry.  So much has happened in the past week but nothing to eventful. It has mostly been filled with studying, eating, and sleeping but I promised weekly so you will get weekly unless something really cool happens that I just have to blog about.
       So I want to talk about chocolate croissants. Well they just so happen to be the best things in the world. I was told by other students who went last year that I had to try it. Well my first few days here I had one and it was pretty good. Well learning new places and new restaurants they tend to keep the pastrys in the front and they just look so good so you have to try it and compare them to other places. Me and my roommate went to this place and  the chocolate croissants were so good. The chocolate was dribbling out everywhere and we were covered in chocolate and it was just the best thing in the world. On Saturday I decided to get lost, okay so I kinda knew where I was but I didnt. Well I found a shop and I was hungry and I got a sandwich and their chocolate croissants looked so good that I got one. That was probably the best decision in the world, next deciding to come to Espana. It has been a really bad idea but a good one to go and try other places chocolate croissant but I think I am addicted!
     So Sunday I went to church. Just putting it out there I am LDS(Latter Day Saint). Saturday I was looking for the church and was wandering around the neighborhood. It was funny okay probably only to me but hey it was fun. Saturday I was looking for the church and I had googled the address and kinda knew where I was going. So I get off at the metro(train) and I start walking, positive that I am going in the right direction and I end up at Fort Nou, it is where FC Barcelona plays its game. I had read enough of the map to know that I went in the wrong direction. I check my map and orient myself and that is were I walked past and saw the pastry shop. I found the church and I really was not sure if it was. Usually the church is pretty obvious and it was in like an office building. I go in and the doors were open and I could just walk in, usually you are not able to do that, I was so confused.But then there was 4 Missionaries and they said "hola" and just keep walking and I was super confused but I kept walking. I go in further and they all came back and were like "que estas buscando". I tell them that I speak English because i feel explaining would have been better in English. I was talking to them for a few minutes and they were like, "Oh we will see you tomorrow" I was like what did I just get myself into! So I did get up for church on Sunday and I did go and it was really interesting. Everyone was super nice and I really did not have a hard time understanding the lessons. I feel it is a good way to get to know other people out of the people from my school and learn more Spanish! I am super excited I am also hoping to see if I can get an inter-language buddy from the church to learn even more Spanish.
   Today some of the girls had clinicals today. Clinicals is a fancy term where nursing students go to the hospitals, clinics to gain and practice stuff we are learning. In Barcelona the five nursing students with me will be completing 40 hours of observed clinical which means we will only be watching since we are doing lab work. I am really excited to get into the hospitals hopefully I get to start next week. Being here I have been observing the people. Maybe because I have been sheltered be living in the suburbs but I have never seen so many people who use supportive crutches(the type that you have on your arms, I am really not sure if I am explaining that right but lets just say I have seen alot of people with them.) I wanna know why! and I am too afraid to ask, usually from observing it looks like they have a bum leg but some I really cannot be too sure. today on the metro I saw a man who was using these and one of his legs was twisted in and he looked like his head was to heavy to hold up(for a lack of a better term.) For a country who has free health care I wonder to myself how come he was not helped when he was younger. Also there is a lack of opportunities for the blind people here. There is no braille anywhere. I see people on the Metro and I wonder how in the world to they know which way to go. I have seen them cross the street, I know hearing would be good to know when to cross the street but it is crazy. Also Barcelona is a city too, there are homeless people, I wonder if there are shelters that help people who are homeless here.

    Today we had a get to know Barcelona and we went to the Barrio Born. This is the second one we have had and they are really nice but they are at night so it is kinda hard to see things but I have time to go back in the future. We went to Parc Ciutadella, well is is a really big park and the huge fountain that was designed by Gaudi. Gaudi is everywhere in Barcelona and I want to have a Saturday where I just go see all of his works that I can find! one weekend!

    The dogs here are super cute and so well behaved. They are usually off the leash but they stay near their owners and hardly ever bark. So on my way to get lunch there was a lady walking her two dogs and she wasnt paying attention so I started petting one of them because it have the cutest puppy dog eyes I just had to. I gave it a few pats but stopped because I didnt want to seem like a creeper. But then the dog started to bark! I was like oh no. Then the other dog jumped on me because he wanted to be petted so I probably creeped out the lady. Note to self learn how to say to pet in Spanish.
    Homesickness has been under control. My computer has been working better so that I have been able to send emails back and forth with my family. Also I feel comfortable that I know where I am going and if I dont I feel thats it is okay because then I will find something new! I am going to Zarragosa this weekend, I am not sure what is there but I am going to find out.

School and Soccer

I was going to write this blog at the end of today after my first week of classes but I got my computer working and who knows if it will be this good later. So school has been really stressful. Its only week 2 and I am about ready to quit this thing, but I know I cant because I would lose my scholarship which is from Benjamin A. Gilman. I had to get some last minute things in for it so I am putting a plug in. =)
   So school, yeah, I have my two nursing classes which is what I expected to be, a lot of work, but it is really interesting. It is the first time they have tried poly-com so there are still the bugs to work out. First test Monday in pathophysiology/pharmacology eek!. My literature class I think will be really good. We are reading 3 novels that are based on Barcelona about its history and locations, The Time of the Doves, The Shadow of the Wind, and Southern Seas. I also have a surrealism/art class, I don't think there is any place better to study Picasso, Dali, and Miro other than in Barcelona. That class I think will be a challenging class for me because I like art but I really don't like to try to understand it.
      There was a Barcelona and Real Madrid Soccer game on Wednesday night and even though there was a pile of homework waiting for me it was something I had to watch! So some of the girls in my group from school we had dinner and then we went to a bar to watch the game. It was interesting but really fun to be with the crowd cheering for Barcelona. It was crazy though there were people trying to watch through bars windows to watch the game. The game of course was on paper-view so you had to pay to watch it at home or buy a drink at the bar to watch it there. I stayed until half time because the metro stops running at 12 and me and my roommate did not want to get stuck walking home. I won't say who won but Barcelona will be crazy because in a few weeks they are going to replay each other.