One Semester Down, One to Go!

       As my semester is slowly coming to a close, and in the spirit of the holidays, there are a few things I would like to thank my study abroad experience thus far for:

· For introducing me to lifelong friends. We’ve travelled together, laughed together, and eaten a hell of a lot of food together. Those are the memories I will cherish the most from this trip, because of the people I know I’ll never lose contact with.
· For my wonderful host family, who make me aspire to one day be a host mom myself.
· For giving me a new global perspective. I have met Italians, Chinese, Dutch, English, Koreans, Syrians, Russians, and Spaniards. Learning about all their different cultures in class has opened my eyes to how different each culture is yet how similar they can be at the same time.
· For giving me the ability to travel the world. I have now been to Portugal, France, Poland, Morocco, and Amsterdam as well as cities all over Spain. I hope to next semester visit Italy and Ireland. I still can’t believe that this is my life, and I just feel so incredibly blessed every day.
· For teaching me how to pack a backpack for a weekend trip to another city or country in less than 30 minutes.
· For introducing me to new foods like beet soup, couscous, fuet, baby pig, huevos rotos (fried eggs and ham over French fries), and so much more.
· For teaching me how to use public transportation and my own two legs to get me everywhere I need to go.
· For giving me enough fantastic “throwback Thursday” pictures to last a lifetime.
· For showing me the joy that is Burger King delivery.
· For helping me realize that distance really does make the heart grow fonder, and how much I should cherish my time with my family and friends back home.
· For improving my Spanish language skill to a level I had never dreamed possible.
· For teaching me that I can survive without all of the things I am used to having at home; like a shower curtain or buffalo chicken.
· For helping me learn how to adapt to changes and remain calm in a crisis.
· And above all, I’m thankful that I still have another semester here.

       Not all of this semester has been easy, with the hardest blow being the one to my wallet, but I wake up every day feeling blessed. This experience has made me more confident and less terrified of airports. I have friends from all over the world now as well as a new global perspective that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Pro Tips from the Travel Guide

       I’ve talked about safety and how to be a tourist, but these are just random things I have learned throughout my trip that those of you reading these and considering studying abroad might enjoy.

       Keep a journal. Religiously. I had always tried to keep diaries and journals as a kid but I never succeeded. When I arrived here, I forced myself to begin journaling every day. I try to write about what I do every day down to the food that I’ve eaten. I’ve written this journal for me and no one else, so that later in life I can look back and relive all of the adventures as many times as I want.

       Keep tickets from all of the touristy places you go. I have a drawer full of what looks like meaningless scraps of paper, but each one is a memory. I’m not an arts and crafts type person, but I do hope to make something out of all of the tickets and information pamphlets I’ve collected from places all over the world.

       Have set in your mind one thing that you want to get each place you travel to. Whether it be a snow globe, a ceramic plate, or a shot glass, collect something small and inexpensive instead of blowing all of your money on souvenirs.

       If you eat somewhere delicious, drop a pin. Study abroad is a group effort of friends tag teaming to find where the inexpensive, delicious food is. The notepad on my iPhone is full of foods I have tried that I wrote down because I thought my friends would enjoy them. You are also going to be returning to the United States a walking guidebook, and having names of places and exact addresses will make you an awesome guidebook.

       If you don’t think you are going to make it on time to either a bus station, train station, or the airport; take a taxi. The metro-gods are pretty incredible, but it is much safer to shell out the extra cash than then end up paying to reschedule the ticket.

       In light of everything that happened in France, when things happen, whether in the country you are studying in or a country close by, always get in contact with your family and tell them you are safe. Keep your family informed of your travel plans and always text your parents when you land and take off when travelling. I try to make sure that I communicate with at least one person in my family every day.

       Most importantly, cherish every moment. All of my friends except one are only semester students who will be leaving in the end of December. Thinking about them leaving is heartbreaking, but we are all doing our best to spend as much time together as we can. Seize the day every day and then write everything you did in your journal so you can remember the jokes and memories forever.

Poland

       Our trip to Krakow, Poland began where else but McDonalds. After a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, my friend Emily and I wanted none other than America’s finest in Poland. We quickly learned that most people in Poland speak English, which was a huge relief since we speak 0 Polish. We then went to our Airbnb and crashed because we had to wake up early to catch our van to Auschwitz.

       The next day we had an hour van ride to the Auschwitz one camp for a tour. The feeling I had walking through the gates that foggy morning is one I will never forget. It is very hard to describe, but my heart felt extremely heavy and I felt in that moment like I would never be able to smile again. Auschwitz one is brick cell-blocks where the prisoners of war lived and Birkenau is where the Jews mass-murdered. Birkenau is made up of wooden cell-blocks, so most of them are no longer safe for people to walk in so the majority of what we saw was at Auschwitz one. We walked through a cell-block that showed us how the prisoner’s lived, beginning from straw and then being upgraded to wooden slats.

Walking through the gate

       Originally, before the use of tattoos, prisoners had their pictures taken, and the next block we walked through was filled with pictures of the prisoners. Many people had placed flowers on top of some of the pictures and candles were lit everywhere throughout.

       When prisoners first arrived at the camp, all their stuff was taken from them and stored in warehouses called Canada 1 and Canada 2. When the camp was liberated, everything found in Canada 1 and 2 were kept and put in exhibits in a few of the cell-blocks. We walked through rooms full of hair, luggage, pots and pans, glasses, and shoes. The worst for me was seeing a small display case full of baby clothes and booties. It was really hard to walk through each room knowing how each of the people died.

       When then went to the prison of the prison where we saw starving cells, standing cells (a 5x5 cell where 4 people had to stand until either their punishment was up or they died), there was one cell where there was so little ventilation that the prisoner’s suffocated, and we also saw the wall where the prisoners were lined up and shot.

       All of the gas chambers and crematoriums that were at Birkenau had been destroyed before the camp was liberated, but Auschwitz one still had one gas chamber and one crematorium which we got to see as well.

       We then took a brief tour of Birkenau and saw a children’s cell block, a train car, and the wreckage of the gas chambers and crematoriums.

Birkenau

       After leaving the camp and heading back to Krakow, Emily and I were emotionally exhausted and decided to spend the rest of the night exploring Krakow. We saw the cathedral, the palace, and took a carriage ride through the city center which was incredible.

St. Mary's Basilica

       Overall, the trip was very powerful, one I will never forget. I do hope to return to Poland one day, in the summer, when it isn’t 30 degrees and foggy.

Krakow city center

Amanda takes on the Spanish Health Care System

         There are some parts of the trip here that I would gleefully trade away for a day or two at home, but none as much as October 27 and 28th. October 27th began as a completely normal day, but that’s how days are supposed to begin before all hell breaks loose. I returned home after a day of taking midterms and took a nap. When I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I knew I was sick, but I had to finish reading a book for one of my classes and write a paper on it. This I knew was not a feat I could accomplish under heavy doses of medication. Therefore, I decided to push through and finish the paper and then fall asleep.

       The next morning was even worse, I woke up, tried to force down some breakfast and in my feverish stupor attempted to go to school. Thankfully my host mom was awake and able to tell me to go back to bed. I slept until four that evening before waking up and realizing I needed antibiotics and badly. I called my study abroad office and they set up an appointment for me that I needed to leave for almost immediately. Stupid, fever infested me figured I could handle walking to the metro and then finding the hospital. After I got off the metro to switch lines, I had to sit down and put my head between my knees to avoid passing out in front of a bunch of random strangers halfway to my destination. I then regained strength and vision and was able to gingerly pick my way to the next line I needed to be on. At this point, all I could do was pray.

       I finally got off at the metro stop by the hospital, and a 5 minute walk to the hospital ended up taking 20 because I got so turned around. I collapsed into a chair in the international office, heard the sweet sound of the English language, and I knew I had made it. Doctor #1 immediately diagnosed me with strep and sent me off to get meds. Little did I know this was only the beginning.

       I woke up the next morning running a fever of 103. I took a second dose of meds and fell back asleep only to wake up again still running a high fever of 101. Realizing the meds I was taking were not strong enough, back to the hospital I went. This time I got to see a general doctor instead of one who spoke English. Doctor #2, affectionately known as my hero, immediately gave me a shot because my tonsils were so swollen I had trouble breathing and he prescribed me the good stuff. Now taking three different types of medication, I finally felt back to my old self, but those two days were a blur of taking whatever medicine I was given, drinking something, and going back to sleep.

Moral of the story, if ever sick abroad, take a taxi to the hospital.

My Moroccan Adventure

       I honestly had no idea what to expect when I stepped off the plane and onto Moroccan soil, but Morocco beyond exceeded my expectations. I travelled with my ISA program, and there were about 90 total kids there from Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona, Salamanca, and Valencia.

Inside a shop in the Medina

       We spent our first day in Fez, where we got to explore the Medina which is an enormous marketplace. We were taken into shops where we saw how the ornate metal plates, ceramics, leather, and clothes are made which was incredibly cool. We were then taken to a pharmacy where we learned how argan oil is made as well as many other different types of cosmetics. The girls on the trip had a field day in the Medina before we returned to our hotel.

       That night, we went to see a belly-dancing show, which was the only part of the trip that did not meet my expectations. The belly dancers were older and not at all an image of beauty. However, they did pull many kids from the program up to dance with them which was very entertaining. There were also drummers who came in and a magician, so all in all day one was pretty great.

Oasis

      The second day we drove by bus to the Sahara Desert, which is about a seven hour drive from Fez. It was definitely the most beautiful drive I have ever experienced. We drove past beautiful landscapes and even stopped and ate lunch in an oasis. We finally arrived in the desert and had to ditch the buses for Jeeps that would take us the rest of the way to the camp. It was 6 people to a Jeep, and our Jeep driver was awesome! He quickly learned we were a very enthusiastic group, and he played American music while we cheered him on to race against the other Jeeps. We then watched the sunset which was incredible before driving the rest of the way to camp. The tents were enormous, with all of the girls sleeping in one tent and all of the guys sleeping in another. Our beds were mattresses with sheets on them and then a really thick blanket on top, because the desert was frigid cold at night. That night we were able to stargaze, and I will never forget how incredible the view was. Everywhere you looked you could see stars, I saw about 10 shooting stars, and you could even see the Milky Way.

Our awesome Jeep driver

desert sunrise

       The next morning, we were woken up so we could watch the sunrise over the sand dunes, and while we were watching the sunrise, our camels began to arrive. All 90 of us hopped on camels and then rode to an enormous sand dune, which we then had to climb. The view was amazing from the top, and before I knew what was happening, one of the local children had grabbed me by my ankles and pulled me down the dune! It was basically sledding without the sled and it was awesome! We then returned to the camp for lunch and many of the boys from the trip played soccer against the local boys while the girls got hennas. That night we were able to watch the stars again while some of the locals played the drums and guitar around us.

       Then at last it was time to leave the desert and head to Meknes, another 7 hour drive away. But this drive seemed so much longer because everyone was dying to shower off the thin layer of sand that coated each one of us. I have to admit, that was the best shower I have ever had in my life. Unfortunately, as I'm writing this 5 days later, I have learned you can wash the sand off your body, but you can't get the sand out of your shoes.

       The next morning we left Meknes and flew home to Madrid (it still feels strange to be calling Madrid home now) and we all took the long metro ride back to our host families. It was a phenomenal trip, probably one of the best I have ever been on, and I do hope to maybe go back some day.

Safety First!

       As I have spent more time here, I have watched my friends have a plethora of things stolen from them; backpacks, phones, wallets, cash, the horrible list goes on and on. I have been fortunate enough to have kept all my belongings, and I have learned how to be proactive after I have heard my friends as to how to protect my stuff.

       The place where the most stuff has gotten stolen is the clubs. My first night I went, I had taken a purse, and I spent the whole night clutching it in fear. NEVER dance with your drink. Drinks get spiked often in clubs because the more drunk you are, the easier it is to rob you. Ladies this tip goes out to you: take only a phone, some cash in your phone case, and your keys to a club. Take as little as you possibly can, and for safekeeping use your bra as your purse. Many girls have had phones stolen right out of their hands, so put it somewhere where you will notice if someone tries to take it. Gentlemen, your front pocket is your best friend. Everyone thinks they could feel wallet being slipped out of their back pocket but these people have years of practice. Front pockets you are more aware of, and it's always better safe than sorry.

       On the metro, or other forms of public transportation, keep your backpack firmly between your legs and lightly hold on to your purse if you are wearing one while slinging the strap across your chest if possible. Don't cling to your bag as if your life depends on it, that makes you a noticible target. Just simply observe how other women are holding their purse, because all women subtly hold them.

       In restaurants, DO NOT hang your purse of the back of your chair or casually leave it on the floor, and the same goes for backpacks. Either leave it in your lap or put it on the floor between your feet.

      The bottom line, take only what you need, especially when going out at night. Do not dance with your drink, drink it at the bar and then go have fun. Bras and front pockets are best places to hide your stuff, and when out and about casually hold on to the strap of purses. Make sure some part of you is touching your bag at all times, and you'll be fine! Be smart, be proactive, and leave as many valuables as you can at home.

The Art of Procrastination: Study Abroad Style

       The key to being a successful study abroad student is to be a part-time student, part-time tourist. To successfully procrastinate, you have to put away Netflix (which doesn't even work here) put down your phone and go explore. The best thing to do is on Sunday google sightseeing things that you can do in the city you are studying in, and try and set a goal for each day as to what you want to see.

       For example my procrastination has taken me to the Royal Palace in Madrid, the Royal Cathedral, Retiro Park, the naval museum, an egyptian temple, a sky trolley over the city, and to an art museum. And the more research I do, the more museums I find exist here. My program was also very helpful with letting me know what museums are free on certain days, and you can go virtually anywhere and get a discount if you have a student ID.

       Weekends, procrastination becomes even easier because you can plan day trips to cities in the country you're staying in, you can travel to other countries, or you can stay and enjoy your cities night life. As you all know from reading my previous blogs, so far I have been to France and Portugal, and I have trips planned for Amsterdam, Italy, and Poland before the end of the semester. As far as sightseeing in Spain, I have been to most of the touristy cities on my previous trips here. This trip I returned to Toledo and I took a medieval train to Siguenza so far. The price of my program also includes several weekend trips to cities in Spain, and it also includes a trip next weekend to Morocco for five days! I can't wait to write about my adventures riding camels, camping in the desert, and exploring Moroccan markets in one of my future blogs!

       Yes I know, I´m horrible for telling you to procrastinate, but I mean procrastinate for the afternoon. Homework, in Spain at least, has a large influence on grades. So go out and enjoy the afternoon, but be prepared to get done all the work you have been assigned after the sun goes down. Every city has its own hidden gems, you just have to look up from your phone apps and take part in the culture because, as I´ve heard hundreds of times now, the opportunity to study abroad is a once in a lifetime experience.

Back to the Beginning

       If there was ever a phrase to capture my trip to Toledo; it would be none other than “déjà vu.” My friends were asking how much longer the bus ride was going to be, and with a glance out the window, I knew we were about five minutes from the outskirts of the city. I was going back, back to my love of Spain began, 4 years ago.

       We began our day by being driven to the panoramic view of the city, which for me had been a 3 hour walk one of the days I had been there my Junior year (the day after the Ravens won the Superbowl to be exact). That view was as breathtaking as it was the first time, and I was immediately glad I had decided to go on the trip.

       The panoramic view was then followed by a tour of some of the most famous religious buildings in the city. We visited San Juan de los Reyes church, which was the church that Queen Isabel had constructed to thank God for her and King Ferdinand’s conquest of Ganada. We then went to the Museo Sefardí-Sinagoga del Tránsito, where we learned about how awesome Toledo was back in the day. Toledo was split into three separate sections, the Jewish quarter, the Christian quarter, and the Muslim quarter. This basically meant that Toledo harbored all religions peacefully, which was basically unheard of back in Medieval times. Like I said: awesome.

       We then went to la iglesia de Santo Tomé, where we got to see one of El Greco’s most famous works, “El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz” and we got to learn about what a genius El Greco was. Most artists at that time focused on working for the royalty and nobility, so work was scarce. El Greco was smart enough to see all the new churches popping up during that time, so he did most of his work painting religious scenes and people for the Church (which was almost as powerful as the royalty at that time).

       We then went to my favorite place in Toledo, la Catedral de Santa María. I’ve seen that church three times now, and every time I walk in, my jaw still drops at the sheer architectural beauty (and also because there’s gold everywhere). Our tour guide gave us an excellent tour of the Cathedral, but I was very surprised he did not point out that the Cathedral is believed to have a piece of path that Mary supposedly walked on. The stone is very small and hard to miss, so everyone else in the group walked by it without a second glance. I, knowing what it was, stopped to brush my fingers over the stone for good luck, as thousands of people have done before me.

       We then went to the town square, Zocodover, and were set loose for two hours to shop and eat. Emily and I went to a cute restaurant that served a three course meal for relatively cheap, and then I took Emily to see my second favorite view of Toledo. This one I saw almost every day I was there my junior year, because it was between the school I went to and Zocodover. Emily and I then went and shopped. I bought a fantastic black dress (the one I wore the day I went to the Eiffel Tower) and a gold ring to replace the one I had gotten the last time I was in Toledo. I also introduced Emily (and reintroduced myself) to the majesty that is mazapan. Mazapan is small pieces of sweet bread that taste like heaven. I still haven’t sent the box I got for my mom to her yet, and the box gets more and more tempting every day it sits here.

       And thus ended our day. Going back to Toledo felt like going home in a way. It will always be my favorite city in the world. If I had not gone there my junior year of high school, there is no way I would be sitting in this apartment in Madrid writing this blog post, the same apartment I will be in until the end of May. Toledo was where my love of travel and adventure began. I will always be grateful to the city that changed my whole life, and I will always consider it home.

panoramic view

Rose Window in the Cathedral

More Portugal and France Pictures

Tomb of Napoleon

Louvre

walked 7 miles in those heels for this picture

Versailles

Gardens of Versailles

Paris failed to sweep me off my feet

Portugal and France

       This past weekend was probably the longest weekend of my life. I woke up at 3 on Saturday morning and met up with my friend Emily to take a taxi to the airport. We got through security surprisingly fast. Europeans travelling around Europe obviously isn’t as big a deal as Americans flying from state to state. Our friend Keshanté then met us at the airport, and we were on our way!

       After a 45 minute flight, we touched down in Lisbon, Portugal and the adventure began. We started at the beach in an area called Carcavelos. It was incredibly beautiful, with bright blue water that glittered in the sunlight and sand so soft we kept sinking into it. Emily wiped out on a rock near the harbor, and Keshanté captured the moment on her phone while the two of us died laughing. We then got on the train to check in to our Airbnb. An Airbnb is basically a room that you can rent for however many nights you want that also has a kitchen and bathroom. It is one of the cheapest ways to travel, and there are tons of reviews that helped us find the ones that worked best for us.

       The Airbnb in Portugal was amazing. It was right next to a grocery store and a souvenir shop, and we were able to save money by buying breakfast at the store and cooking ourselves pasta one night while we were there.

       The next day we went to the Museum Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, which had an enormous amount of artifacts from Ancient Egypt and Greece. We then went to Oceanario, which is Lisbon’s aquarium. The whole aquarium is built around the main tank, which holds hundreds of fish and even a few sharks. There were also sea otters, penguins, and other artic birds. Those exhibits only had glass up to your waist, so the birds were flying over-head, which I thought was extremely awesome. The best part was the temporary exhibit, which was called Forests Underwater. It consisted of 78 tree trunks from Scotland and Mayalsia, 10,000 freshwater fish from 40 different species, and 46 species of aquatic plants. The tank was enormous and the tiny glittering fish swimming in the sea grass was quite breathtaking.

       Sadly, our Portugal adventure ended after the aquarium, and the next morning we were on the move to Paris, France! If I had to choose one word to describe Paris, it would be either dirty or expensive. The first day I got to see the Tomb of Napoleon, the Louvre (home of the Mona Lisa), the Eiffel Tower, and the Moulin Rouge. The Eiffel Tower was surprisingly anticlimactic and far more brown than I had imagined. Our Airbnb in Paris was okay, the only problems were that the shower was cold and the beds were hard. However, it was close to the Metro, which helped make travelling easier.

       The Metro however, is a different story. Maze is an understatement. Walking from one line to another took at least 5 minutes, and the Metros themselves were smelly and dirty.

       The best part of the Paris trip was definitely Versailles. I like to believe that I’m a princess, so seeing how actual royalty lived and what they spend their money on is fascinating to me. I had never seen so many marble busts and statues in one place in my life! And don’t even get me started on the gold!

       After Versailles, we went to a café and had crepes and macaroons, which were fantastic! Then, we hoisted our backpacks back onto our shoulders and began the last smelly, gross, expensive metro ride to the airport.

       All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and in my next I'm finally going to talk about my trip to Toledo, since I actually have time to blog about it!

The Fall

Photos Week 2

Catedral de Toledo (never fear Toledo blog coming soon)

Home away from home

Parque Retiro (Madrid)

Rowboats and Pretty Monuments

What is Homework?

       I know, I know: Why talk about school when I’ve been trekking all over Spain? This had to come eventually, so I can talk about nothing but the fun stuff after this. I am attending Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, which is about 50 minutes by metro from where I’m staying (which is about as long as my commute from my house to Towson is). For the past week and a half I have been taking what is called an intensive course. I was placed in the intermediate language level, and I have had 3 classes every week day. The total duration of these classes is 4 hours, so I have had an overwhelming amount of grammar and culture reviews.

       I had two professors, Mari Angeles and Paula. Mari Angeles focused on grammar and verb usage, while Paula taught us about culture. There were about fifteen kids in my class, all college students, with 4 out of the fifteen being a part of my ISA program. Two of the students were Chinese, one was Italian, and the rest were from somewhere in the US. Paula had fun talking to all of us about our different cultures and what a culture shock Spain has been for us.

       I wouldn’t say the class was hard, it was more of a review of everything I have learned in Spanish thus far crammed into 10 days. I also received my class schedule at last! I have grammar, Spanish language, and Spanish cinema and society on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have conversation and composition and a panoramic view of Spanish literature on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Notice how I didn’t say I have class on Friday, no one in my program does! Nebrija understands that we want to travel while we’re here, so they try to give us Friday off so that we can.

       Homework is actually quite laughable here compared to the states. I have had about fifteen minutes of homework every night. I’m sure by now you’re buying your ticket over here to save yourselves from the hours slaving away over your desk at home. However, be warned, you have other homework besides the homework assigned. As international students, our homework is to immerse ourselves in the culture. This basically consists of going to museums, palaces, and other cities in Spain while speaking Spanish all the while.

       Okay, I guess as far as homework goes I’m living in a fantasy land, but I’m learning new things every day about this culture. For example, my shoe size here is a 41 (I’m an 11 in the states) and people eat ribs with a fork and knife. I went to the oldest restaurant in the world this week and was quickly labeled as a slobby barbarian for using my hands to eat suckling pig ribs.

       But yes, the oldest restaurant in the world is in Madrid, its name is Casa Botin and it was opened in 1725. How did I dress for such a nice restaurant? Why in a T-shirt that says “Queen of Naps” and sports shorts of course since I had spent the afternoon exploring Parque Retiro with the ISA. I stuck out like a giant American thumb, but I personally was far more focused on my food than my attire. The meal was fantastic, and now I can boast to all of my friends and family that I was in the restaurant that is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest restaurant in the world!

Photos Week 1

El Palacio Real (Madrid)

Catedral de la Almudena (Madrid)

Fernando 

(aka the Catholic King in charge of the Spanish Inquisition)

views like this make me never want to leave

Surviving Week 1

       It’s hard to believe I’ve been here a week already. As oh so typical of my friends, they were late picking me up from the airport so it was them who waddle-ran crying to hug me. The first day was honestly overwhelming, so I was glad I was with them because they were very understanding of me falling asleep all over their house. To be honest, I think their mom, Macarena, was most excited to see me, and she was very understanding of my sleepy, broken Spanish. The next day she drove me to meet my host family, who after only one week, have become so much more than a host family to me.

       The mom’s name is María, and she is wonderfully sweet. She has an 11 year old daughter named Alba who is extremely cute and very funny. Neither of them speak much English, which I’m honestly thankful for because it forces me to speak Spanish with them all the time. María quickly learned that I will eat everything known to mankind so she spent this first week re-introducing me to all of my favorite dishes as well as some new ones. I had paella, one of the most famous dishes, which is rice with different kinds of seafood and chicken in it. I’ve also had gazpacho, which is a cold tomato soup that tastes wonderful after a hot day, tortilla Española, which is a kind of thick omlette with potato and onion, and fuet which is a long rod of ham that tastes like heaven.

       The eating schedule is a lot different here. Breakfast is extremely light, a muffin and some coffee or juice and maybe some cookies (yes I have had Chips Ahoy for breakfast here). Lunch, or comida, is at 2:30 and that is their big meal of the day. It normally consists of salad, the some type of meat with a vegetable, and then a dessert which here is a piece of fruit or yogurt. Dinner is at 9:30, and is another meat and vegetable combo, only it is a lighter portion than lunch.

       To answer your question, yes siesta exists here, and it is magical. Comida is basically like Thanksgiving every day; you eat until you're stuffed then you either lay around and watch TV like a slug or you take a short nap. Everything is much slower paced here. No one rushes around to get places like in the United States, and showing up late to everything is pretty much expected.

       To conclude: Spain is amazing, my host family is wonderful, and I never want to come home. In my next blog I’ll try and talk about school, and the intensive course I’m taking, but let’s be honest, food and siesta is far more important! ¡Hasta luego!

How to Properly Prep for Adventure

       Tomorrow’s the day! My entire life has been packed away, I have my student visa, I’ve said most of my goodbyes, and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

       Packing pro tips! Make a list before you pack anything. Be super detailed, down to which type of shoes you need to pack and breaking down the clothes into seasons. Of course, I packed lots of pictures of my friends and family, two journals to write in, all of my Ravens and Orioles shirts, a Maryland flag, and Old Bay (bet you can guess what state I’m from).

       Space bags are crucial for packing clothes, so much so that I still have room leftover in one of my suitcases. I recommend getting a small passport holder with a strap that goes around your neck so that you can tuck your passport and the majority of your money under your shirt for safekeeping, but also have the passport available for easy access when walking through customs. Carry a small amount of cash in a wallet that you keep in your pocket or your purse so you can buy a snack while waiting in the airport.

       Speaking of money, definitely research banks to find the one that is best for you. I have found that Bank of America has sister banks in multiple countries in Europe, which means that although there is still an exchange fee, you do not have to pay the $5-$10 transaction fee every time you take money out of an ATM, just make sure you take money out of the sister bank’s ATM and not any ATM you come across. Anyway enough of the boring, but important stuff, let’s talk landing details!

       My flight leaves at 6:30 on August 27th, and then I get to sit through a glorious 8 hour flight and land in Spain at 8:30 in the morning August 28th. Spain is 6 hours ahead, so technically speaking, it will feel like I arrive at 2:30 in the morning, and then my day begins. The family of the two brothers I have hosted are picking me up from the airport. I have daydreams of the slow-motion movie run into the arms of two of my best friends, which will probably end up being me awkward waddle-running with my 4 bags while ugly crying with joy at seeing them after all this time apart. I have no idea what else is going to happen that day, but I am going to try and stay awake all day so that I can adjust to the time difference. Unfortunately, that means that my friends are going to have to deal with the troll that I become after being awake for 30 hours straight because I can’t sleep on airplanes. My next post will be full of details of my reunion with them as well as details about me meeting the rest of the ISA group and my first week in Spain! Adios America, time for Expedition España to officially begin!

Where on Earth am I Going?

       Well, I guess I should give you some background on myself. My name is Amanda, I’m a sophomore, and I will be spending the next academic year studying abroad with the ISA at Universidad Antonio de Nebrija in Madrid, Spain. I am a triple major in Spanish, International Relations, and Criminal Justice and will be completing credits for Spanish and International Relations while abroad. I have been to Spain twice before in my life: once my junior year of high school for a three-week exchange and once the summer after my senior year of high school to visit all my international students. I have had 5 international students from Spain, three from Toledo and two brothers from Madrid. The first time I went to Spain, I fell in love with the language and culture and since then I have been waiting tables to attempt to scrape up enough money to study abroad for as long as I could there.

       I will be living with a host family in a cute little apartment in the center of Madrid. My host family is a mom and her 10-year old daughter. I’ll be taking 4 classes per semester in Spanish. By now you’re probably wondering if I’m crazy and I’m pretty sure I am because my Spanish is decent but I have no clue if it’s decent enough to handle living with a Spanish family and taking classes entirely in Spanish for two semesters. But whatever I have 22 days to figure it out before I’m there so yay! And even better, I haven’t even thought about how I’m going to pack 9 months of stuff into two suitcases a duffel and a backpack. Spacebags are going to become my best friend over the next few weeks and I cannot wait to utilize my family members as weights to help me close my suitcases.

       Ah yes speaking of my family, how did I convince them to let me go? I convinced them to go the summer after my senior year of high school so they could see for themselves why I fell in love with Spain. They were able to meet the family of the two brothers who we hosted from Madrid, and they know if I ever get into any trouble while I’m there (which I would never dream of doing of course) that I will have a family there to help me. Well that’s enough background for this post so get excited because next time I’m going to teach you how to pack for nine months of travel!