settled?

Right now I'm feeling slightly...annoyed with myself and with parts of Granada. First of all, the weather has been terrible since I arrived, which is really the only reason I'm annoyed with Granada. My boots are currently soaked, and I'm hoping it doesn't ruin them, because right now they look very...spotted with rain.

I'm annoyed with myself because I feel like I can't speak Spanish (though this has improved over the past few days). Sometimes when Ana talks to me I just feel like my mind is blank and I haven't a clue how to form the sentence of what I want to say.

I am not eating very healthy. Switzerland got me into a chocolate eating frenzy, and the giant Toblerone bar that Brigitte sent me off with is only getting smaller. I FEEL extremely bloated and fat...as all I've been eating really is carbs carbs carbs....counteracting everything I did over break. When I come back from Rome I need to do a serious healthy shopping trip-for meat, vegetables, eggs, and fruit. I need to not buy the junk I've been buying and limit those things to only once a week or even once a month! On a positive note though, Allison and I joined a gym today. It is 45 euros a month for students, with limited hours, but they're great hours for me. I can work out Monday-Friday from 7 am-4 pm, which is perfect because the majority of my classes are in the evening and I wouldn't want to exercise after class anyway. I am not sure if I'm actually gaining weight or if I'm just facing the grave realization that if I continue eating this way and not exercising I WILL gain weight. ahhhhh....so frustrating. Anyways though. The gym. Very nice, has a pool, cardio equipment, weights, and lots of fitness classes that I plan on partaking in. Allison and I have a meeting with a trainer next Thursday (we're not exactly sure why...the guy who registered just told us we have to). So we're not sure if we're having a training session or just learning the way the gym works...or what? Ha I don't know. But I'm very excited to go to the gym every weekday, and the weekends will be my rest days, or just days to run by the river or something.

Granada doesn't quite feel the same yet, I haven't gone out since I've arrived. Granted, I've only been here 3 nights but still. This city feels very strange without some of the people from last semester. I am walking the same streets and seeing the same places, but the faces are all unknown, different, and not Shannon, Eric, Courtney, Cory...I could go on. I don't want to seem like I'm dwelling on the fact that they're not here, because I'm not, but I do miss them very much and sometimes I feel antisocial because they're not here. I really love living with Ana and Jessica though, they are both just wonderful people and I'm enjoying getting to know them more. I also feel like part of the reason I've been somewhat anti-social is because Ana and Jess have finals going on and no class, so they're kind of holed up in the apartment all day long. It's just very different not having Courtney & Eric pestering me to go out nearly every night! Haha. I'm sure things will find their normal course when I return from my trip to Rome, but this week has just been kind of strange.

I had my first days of classes today and yesterday. I'll give a brief rundown. My first class yesterday was POE which seems like it's going to be an easy buy pointless class. Second class, Images of Women in Spanish Lit, is going to be tough. My teacher has a pretty strong Andalucían accent, and it just seems like it's going to be hard to follow unless I'm completely focused all the time. My third class, which gets exhausting, having 3 1.5 hr classes in a row, is Linguistics, and I can already tell that this class is going to kick my butt. Not only is the concept difficult, like I feel it would be hard to learn in English, but this professor also speaks rapidly with a strong accent. So...Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't going to be too much fun. But today was a lot better. First of all I have class from 11:30-1, Civilization and Culture of Spain. My professor speaks really clearly, the class seemed pretty interesting, and I get to go home for a few hours afterwards. This is nice because I walk twice to school on Mondays and Wednesdays, which can only help me, that's for sure! Then in the evening I have Hispanic American Lit with another clear speaking professor, and we started watching a movie today which was pretty good, but hard for me to understand because the accents were Argentine and it's really different from Spain's accent. Overall I feel like I need to put in a little extra effort to school compared with last semester. Which is ok with me, but I feel like I can't summon up the amount of energy it takes to focus completely in class! Hopefully this will improve once I start working out in the morning and eating a healthier diet.

Hhhmmm....what else? Well I have to meet at the API bus stop in...6 hours, we're off to Roma! I'm kind of excited, kind of not. I don't want to spend money doing anything touristy in Rome because I have already seen everything, and money is not something I want to waste. However, I am excited for the good food and the shopping! Kind of bummed because the weather is supposed to be rainy (also supposed to be rainy in Granada for at least the 10 day forecast ahead-which I don't get because it rained like 4 times last semester). But I think once I get going Rome will be fun. Allison and I are rooming together and we'll probably be hanging with Sam quite a bit. I also hope to see Liz and get to know some of the new people.

Oh! Today I had two great encounters, I ran into Marí Carmen, Pepe, and David walking to my first class this morning! I was so excited to see  them and they seemed very happy to see me too. David is so cute!! And then on my way home in the rain from my evening class, I ran into Marí (the daughter), David (the husband), and David (the baby)! David was all excited and said "Camión" (truck). I couldn't believe he's learning new words! Both run-ins seriously lifted me up, I feel like so much that I'm experiencing is overwhelming new-ness....and it was just good to have some familiarity for once.

Overall, I would say I'm doing OK. I anticipated that re-assimilating back into life in Granada would be much easier. But what I'm realizing is that EVERYTHING I'm doing is completely different. My living situation. The style of my classes. My food preparation. My friends. It's pretty overwhelming. I hope I can get out of this slump soon...And really it isn't a slump, just a general uneasiness that I can't quite put a finger on what is at the heart of my troubles.

But, the show must go on. I'm going to Rome tomorrow! And I need to be thankful. :) Everything will turn out right, I just need some time to adjust.

Till I return...Miss you all!

Besos,
MacKenzie

Estoy aqui. :)

Home Sweet Home. After just over 24 hours in my new apartment, I am feeling pretty dang settled. Not every single thing is in place, but everything is unpacked, I have groceries in the kitchen, I purchased sheets, which are not yet on my bed but in the wash along with my dirty clothes from Switzerland, and I am home.

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón 73 1C

18002, Granada, España

Ana and Jess welcomed me with open arms last night around 9 pm after my 13 hours or so of consecutive train, plane, and bus traveling from Chur to Granada. Ana had made some delicious pasta that I wolfed down gratefully, and Sam, Sabrina, and Allison came over to hang out for a while. It was great to see people! I was so tired and pretty out of it so I didn’t have the best time, but it was nice all the same.

Once everyone left I was exhausted and my room was full of bags, shoes, clothes, everything I own here in España. I didn’t know where to find anything or even where to begin with unpacking, and overall I was just extremely overwhelmed. However, I will note that I am very thankful that I arrived in Granada with a lovely piso (apartment/flat) waiting for me, where as many of my fellow API year colleagues were not so fortunate, and had the stress of being homeless/finding a place to live for a few days. That being said, I was still overwhelmed. ;) I knew the only logical solution at that point (1:30 am) was sleep, so after that fact being confirmed by good ol’ J Floe (love you bestie) I hit the hay.

Today, I can gladly say, was PRODUCTIVE. Slow kind of, but productive. I figured out my schedule, which is as follows, for those of you who care. ;)

Monday/Wednesday: 11:30 am-1 pm             Spanish Civilization & Culture

                                    6:30-8 pm                        Hispanic American Literature

Tuesday/Thursday:            3:30-5 pm                        Oral & Written Production (POE)

                                    5-6:30 pm                        The Image of the Woman in Spanish Lit.

                                    6:30-8 pm                        Intro to Linguistics

So tomorrow I’ll have class from 3:30 to 8. All my classes are in Spanish. I’m pretty happy with my schedule except for the fact that I have to take POE (it doesn’t count towards my major at WWU). It will be strange having class in the evening (never experienced this before) but also awesome that I never have to wake up early. Yay! And…sitting through nearly 5 hours of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be rough. But manageable I suppose.

Anyways. So the other things I accomplished today were grocery shopping, purchasing a pillow & sheets and other random things I needed, enjoying a nice slice of pizza and some quality hang out time with Miss Allison who I have dearly missed, and looking into joining a gym. There is one a block over from my street that is very big, very nice, and pretty expensive but I think I am going to join it because of everything they offer and the hours they’re open. Hooray for not getting fat again this semester!

This weekend, Thursday actually, API is going to Rome. This is weird to me for two reasons. One, I feel like I just got here, which I did. And two, I know basically nobody out of the nearly 70 spring API students. But, no pasa nada, I’m going to Rome this weekend, how many people can say that? It will be fun and I’ll get to know the new people. Things in API are strange though, Eli is now gone, she got a new job. So now it’s Carmen, Alicia, Jonathan, and Laura. So strange…And I introduced myself to a few new peeps but there’s so many it’s a tad overwhelming and I can’t even possibly imagine knowing all of them. Anyways, that’s all for the updates of program, travel, and life I guess.

Tonight for dinner I had strawberries, crackers, and a sandwich. And you know what I loved most? The fact that I chose exactly what I wanted to eat. Jess, Ana and I watched Internado, a Spanish telenovela (soap opera) which was silly, intense, and fun. I think I’m going to like this. Actually let me rephrase myself. I know I’m going to like this. Life is good. =)

Hasta pronto, y os echo de menos!

MacKenzie

                                    

Adventures in Switzerland!!

I apologize now for how ridiculously long this is. It covers a significant chunk of time & was written over a few different days! (Note, the random changes in time period)

Well, here I am. Switzerland, day number four. I finally feel totally adjusted to the time change, but apart from that I’ve developed a bit of a cold. Last night I slept over 10 hours, took Dayquil this morning (that drug is a blessing, I swear) and I’m feeling alright today but kind of drained. It’s so weird to me that my family is on the other side of the world, once again.

Leaving this time was so much easier than the first. There was some general anxiety and unnecessary eating the few days before takeoff, but when I left Mom, Dad, Lena, Jordan, and Max, there were no tears as there were the first time I traveled to the further side of the planet. My flight went smoothly from Seattle to New York, and then from New York to Zurich. The only problem was I arrived in Zurich at 7 am Friday, after leaving Seattle at 5 am Thursday. And the goal was to remain awake until a reasonable bedtime! Sooooo difficult….anyways I promptly purchased an $8 grande mocha at Starbucks in the Zurich airport, knowing full well that I won’t be drinking my delicious chocolate-y pick me up for a long time, not to mention I needed it to jump start the rest of my travel process. I ventured over to the train station, not entirely sure how to use my Eurail pass but then discovered it to be pretty easy. The guy working told me where to go and I boarded a train headed for Chur, where Brigitte was going to pick me up. When I finally sat down on the train with my iPod and breathed for five seconds, I discovered how beautiful Switzerland is during the winter. I was here two years ago in summer, and I was even amazed then. But this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before! And that was only the beginning. I panicked a little when I couldn’t get a hold of Brigitte on her cell or at work, and then struggled to call my mom from my phone. I wasn’t sure if my cell wasn’t working or what, but finally Brigitte received my text, and we sorted out a meeting place. I know for a fact that I have spent an un-Godly amount of money already because the fees for using that phone outside of Spain are absurd. Oh well…that’s Europe I guess! I’ll just have to be extra frugal with my phone when I get back to España.

Brigitte met me at the train station in Chur, and we went grocery shopping then headed back to the house for lunch. Aita came home, and was surprised at finding me there! She thought I would be arriving in the evening. The three of us ate lunch (in most villages in Switzerland the kids come home to eat lunch for about two hours before heading back to finish their school day—Brigitte doesn’t like this so much because it basically requires at least one parent, usually the mother, to be home during the day which isn’t financially feasible for every family) and Brigitte headed back to work and Aita to school. I walked partway with Aita to school then turned off and did a scenic loop past their village, Zizers. The sun was shining, nobody was around, all I could hear was the crunching of snow beneath the boots of Brigitte’s that I’m wearing while I’m here. My friends here have no idea of the beauty in which they live. The scenery is like a fairytale, everything almost fake looking. Zizers is a small village nestled right in the Swiss Alps, mountains rising above it on both sides. Absolutely incredible. I was so exhausted from being awake for so long, that the walk took all my energy out of me, but it was so unbelievably gorgeous. I went back to the house and slept for 3 hours or so, and when I got up Aita had returned home from school. We talked for a few hours and pretty soon Gian Martin came back. When he came inside I heard him say hello before I saw him, and I asked Aita if it was Heinz (her dad) or her brother, and indeed it was Gian Martin! Ha I haven’t seen him in a year and a half and he has grown up so much and sounds so much older! Both of them actually. Aita is fifteen and her English is amazing from the last time I saw her (she couldn’t say anything!) and Gian is seventeen and is taller than me and I just can’t even believe how much he’s grown up since visiting Seattle in 2008.

I spent the rest of Friday afternoon chatting with them, trying so hard to stay awake. Aita made sort of a pizza thing for dinner and we watched Get Smart with Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway, which I hadn’t seen before and it was pretty funny, but I haven’t a clue how it ended because I kept drifting off. I went to sleep at 10, before both Aita and Gian Martin, and slept until Saturday at 9! I obviously had to catch up a bit. J Saturday morning was low key and relaxed, and Brigitte explained that they like to sleep in on weekends and have slow, lazy days! I immediately love them for this, reminds me of weekends at home with mom. I explained to them that Dad and Grammy do not function in this manner and it drives me crazy! Haha….So we went into Chur for a few hours, Gian had stuff to figure out for his new job (lifeguarding at a pool in Chur) and Brigitte had to run some errands so Aita and I just shopped around Chur and got to know each other. She is such a sweet girl and really mature for her age, I have enjoyed spending time with her! And she’s much younger than my brother, so obviously I’m not used to hanging out with 15 year olds!

We spent Saturday afternoon relaxing and Brigitte made some soup for dinner, then we piled in the car with Heinz and picked up Gian Martin’s friend Dario and headed to the outdoor ice skating rink! Now this is the first time in my life that I’ve ice skated outside, and it’s quite the romantic activity if you were with the right person!! Gian and his friends (another one, Stefan joined us at the rink) were racing around kicking a hockey puck, while Aita tried to help me not fall! Ice skating is surely not my forte. I am not terribly bad, I only fell once, but I definitely am not very graceful! But when Gian and Aita held my hand I went quite fast! Which was really fun. It was sooo cold though, but they didn’t think so, just me, only being used to Mediterranean & Pacific Northwest weather. I loved ice skating and I hope we can go again this Friday! It’s something I don’t really ever get to do. Everyone here knows how to though, and pretty much all the boys play “ice hockey” which is what we just call hockey haha. Even Heinz was good at ice skating! He played hockey when he was young. And Gian Martin is such a good skater and I missed his hockey game last night but I want to hopefully watch one of his other games before I leave.

After ice skating we went to the bowling alley! So much fun, even though I sucked at bowling. We played two games and it was just nice to have some good quality fun with the kids and Heinz. And the night was not yet over, we then headed to this party, Maskenball, which roughly translates to a costume party. It was a celebration in Chur as a preview for Carnaval. It is so strange because the drinking age here is 16 to buy beer and wine, and 18 to buy hard liquor. I was Aita’s “adult” so that she could get into the party, because I’m over 18. So that was weird…being old enough to get children into places!! And I won’t lie, I bought her a Smirnoff! Well, I guess it was Gian’s money, but I purchased it with my adult legal capabilities. Haha! This was all very strange to me at first because the last times I’ve seen Aita & Gian they were nowhere close to a party age but now, in Switzerland at least, they certainly are! J Anyways the party basically consisted of 8 or 9 bands that get dressed up in crazy costumes for Carnaval and play popular music, but it’s all instrumental. My favorite band was the one whose entire setlist was ABBA songs!! Loved it of course! The whole band vibe of the place reminded me a lot of my basketball games in high school, warming up to the pep band beforehand. So naturally I loved it. We danced and chatted and had a few drinks, and overall it was just a really cool new experience and fun to see Aita & Gian with their friends in a sort of social activity that’s normal for them in Switzerland. But towards the end of the night I was so exhausted, still feeling the effects of jet lag, and when we got back home past one, I totally crashed into bed as I had a big day ahead of me.

Sunday: Snowboarding!! ….in the Alps! Never thought I would check that off my list of things to do, but sure enough, I have done it now! It was different than home though, usually if I was going up to Baker for the day I have to wake up at 6, be there at 9, stay the whole day, and in general I usually dread it until I am actually snowboarding and then I remember that I love it. This was nice because apparently they spend shorter days at the mountain, which was good for me because it was a new mountain and I was tired anyways. Heinz took us down to the train and we caught it around 9:45, where Stefan was already waiting for us. I have to admit I was nervous, because one, I’m a nervous person in general, and two, I was about to embark on a snowboarding adventure in a very different environment than what I was used to, with two boys who were presumably FAR better on skis than I was on my snowboard. The train took about an hour and a half, and when we arrived, I was on edge. I had never experienced a gondola before. So we put our skis and boards in these little contraptions outside the gondola, and climbed in, as it took us up to the altitude where the base of the ski resort was. Second trial of the day was the first new chairlifts I got to experience. Keep in mind that I say first. I have only been to Mt. Baker and Stevens Pass in Washington, and our chair lifts don’t have bars that come down in front to keep us from falling. Which, looking back, I think every chair lift should have this! Safety you know………….

OK I’m back, I took a break from yesterday’s writing. So now it’s Wednesday and I’m still in the snowy Alps, but unfortunately the weather has changed and now it’s windy and snowy and not so beautiful as before. Anyways, back to snowboarding. So I sit down on the chair lift and Gian says, “Pay attention…” and I didn’t know why he was saying that until the bar came down in front of us and my leg was smushed because I wasn’t sitting in the right spot. The boys were chuckling and I felt so stupid! I had to explain to them that I had never been on a lift like this before, I’m sure they thought I looked as if I had never even been on a mountain before. The first few runs went well with a few falls as usual, and once I started to get my bearings things went more smoothly. Something seemed strange though. Overall, I felt like something was different, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then as I was sitting with the boys on a chair lift ride, the lightbulb came on in my head. “There aren’t any trees!!” I looked around me, relieved that I had identified the weird aspect of the mountain, and sure enough there wasn’t a tree in sight. Gian explained that with the high altitude there couldn’t be any trees, but it was still just so weird. Looking down on the slopes it was just vast fields of snow, and I loved the width of the runs, and how everything seemed gradual and nothing too steep. It was just all so different from Baker back home. Then, the last extreme challenge of the day was these entirely new looking chair lifts that I have never seen before in my life. Not even anything remotely close to it. Attached to the cables going up the mountain were not chairs, but little contraptions that I can only describe as looking like pick axes? And for skiers they were easy, all you had to do was sit on them slightly and the cable would essentially “slide” you up the mountain, with your skis on the ground. Naturally, things were different for snowboarders. Gian clearly did not understand that I had absolutely NO clue how to get on the thing, but it became clear when I repeatedly fell 3 or 4 times in a row. We kept letting people behind us in line pass (luckily there weren’t that many people, I was embarrassed enough! Haha) and finally the guy working the booth thing came out to help me. He said something to me in German which I obviously couldn’t understand, and I kept trying to sit on this chair pick axe thing. Finally though, they explained that while Gian’s side was to be sat on (the skier), I had to put my side BETWEEN MY LEGS so that my snowboard would be perpendicular to the mountain. The next “pick axe” arrived, Gian swiftly leaned back and I grabbed the bar and put it between my legs, and away we went! I had to hold onto Gian for moral and probably needed physical support, but I was excited and proud that I finally conquered the strange new chair lift! Now the only question was how to get off, which Gian said we would figure out at the top. Great. On the way up, which probably took 10-15 minutes, my left thigh and butt cheek just started burning like crazy, because I was in such an awkward position. I don’t care for these chair lifts, but apparently they are all over Europe! I was wondering if they’re anywhere in the US? I had never heard of or seen them, but I wonder. It was hilarious and interesting all the same! The first time up I totally fell disembarking from the “pulling lift” and the second time I made it off without hitting the ground! Yayy! Overall though the day was a ton of fun. The boys helped me a lot and were so nice and fun. Gian & Stefan were FLYING down the mountain, sometimes Gian would just you know, be cruising down on one ski of just go backwards a bit. I was stunned! I guess going snowboarding 3 times a year doesn’t make for cool skills like they have though. Stefan told me he usually goes 40 times a season. Dang. That’s a lot! But we left the ski resort around 3:40 and played a new card game (to me) called “Asshole” which was really fun and hilarious.

Sunday night we had dinner with the whole family, Brigitte had this grill in the middle of the table and we fried mushrooms, cheese, beef, bacon, and had pineapple and salad. It was so delicious! I remember having it when I was here Summer of 2007. I really am thankful that I have these friends here in Switzerland, and I am so glad I came here this winter before heading back to Granada. I am developing good friendships with Aita and Gian Martin, and I also love talking with Brigitte and Heinz. Heinz is such a good natured, kind man, who is very soft spoken but also very funny at times! And Brigitte is just a feisty woman if I’ve ever met one, she’s just different than other European women it seems. We spent the evening chatting, and then they had a visitor that they said was actually for me! It was their friends whose daughter, Silvana, is 21 and looking to study and maybe work in the US for 6 months. She was asking me about it and I wish I knew more details and specific places and programs she should look into, but for the most part I told her to avoid the middle of America and stay on the coasts! Haha. An unfair statement I suppose, considering I’ve never been to the middle of the US, but still. I added her on Facebook so now I am going to look into programs for her.

Monday I had a bit of an adventure on my own. I woke up early and went to Chur with Brigitte, then at 9 headed off on Bernina Express, a train that is celebrating it’s 100^th year anniversary of scaling the Alps. If you ride the train completely, which I think you can only do during the summer, you go all the way from Chur to Italy. (I think, not positive.) But I just rode from Chur to a village in southern Switzerland, near the border of Italy, called Poschiavo. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the train had panoramic windows, and we climbed through the Alps, passing church steeples in small villages, hordes of cross country skiers, all the way up to the bare, treeless areas of the mountains, the sun bright and shining the entire way. It was absolutely beautiful. I took so many pictures but I’m not sure how any of them are going to turn out because of the glare on the train windows. But it was amazing nonetheless. I had my headphones in to block out the boisterous German family to my left, and it was really peaceful. I never get time completely to myself, and Monday was the perfect day of that. I was content and alone in my thoughts, and I just let my mind wander as we passed picturesque places. Nearly four hours later, I arrived in Poschiavo, and would have just under three hours there to explore. I quickly realized I could explore this village at a very slow walking pace in maybe 30 minutes tops! I didn’t mind though. A river ran through the village and similar to Zizers, the mountains rose high on each side of the village. The only strange thing was nothing was open! It seemed a lot like Spain, because the entire place was shut down and apart from the people like me who had come from the train, the village appeared to be empty. It was so quiet that at times it was a little creepy. I moseyed along, taking pictures and humming to myself, enjoying the fact that I was just hanging out in a small Swiss village instead of being at work in Marysville or in class at Western. This is the life! J I only saw two open restaurants, one of which was extremely expensive, and I wasn’t terribly hungry but I had walked around for an hour and a half and was starting to get cold, so I went to sit in an Italian restaurant near the train station. First experience dining alone. And I loved it. The restaurant was nearly empty, save for a mother and daughter who chatted with the one waitress, and an old man reading a newspaper towards the back. I ordered Spaghetti Bolognese, and read my book (Three Cups of Tea-amazing…everyone should read it!) in the warm, quiet restaurant. I finished off my lunch with some delicious vanilla gelato and then headed back to the train station.

The adventure of the day decided to be that my train would break down in the mountains about 10 minutes from Poschiavo. With a four hour train ride ahead, I was not thrilled. We were stuck for well over an hour, and all the Germans were quite cheery, but the New Zealander chick next to me wasn’t too happy, and I would’ve been fine if it hadn’t been for the fact that when the train is stopped, the doors to the WC (bathroom) don’t open, so I was in a very uncomfortable position for an hour and a half, needing to pee terribly. There was no announcement or anything telling us what had happened, but I roughly learned from word of mouth that the wheels on the train wouldn’t turn, similar to a car stuck in the snow. So we ditched the last train car, which made our car a lot more crowded, but allowed us to keep moving. I was in and out of sleep until arriving back in Chur around 8 pm. It was a relaxing, beautiful, but VERY long day. Heinz picked me up at the train station and we went to Scheirs, another village about a half hour away, to pick up Gian Martin from his ice hockey game. I had hoped to see the latter half of it, but due to my train issues, I missed it, so that was a bummer.

Yesterday Aita and I did absolutely nothing, she stayed home from school and it seems we’re both a bit under the weather. I have a cold and am not feeling too hot, but my Dayquil and Nyquil are helping me get by. Today will probably be a fairly lazy day as well, and tomorrow Brigitte and I are going to see the Matterhorn! Cool! OK. This blog is so long. I apologize. And it’s only going to get longer because I am not posting it until I get back to Spain, because it’s on my laptop where I don’t get internet. So…I will write more soon!

………….Brigitte’s and my trip to Zermatt was a lot of fun. We had another fairly lengthy train ride across to the southwest of Spain. Our train was delayed for awhile, and we sadly learned it was because another train had hit a woman who jumped in front of it committing suicide…it was really sad. L and because of the delay, we didn’t end up getting to Zermatt until after dark. So Brigitte and I only saw a dark, shadowed outline of the Matterhorn, and sadly I did not get a picture of it. We had a hostel to stay overnight and after chowing down at the restaurant beneath the hostel we went out for a drink. I felt bad that I was not a very exciting party companion as my cold had taken over at that point and by 10:30 pm my energy was far from existent. Early the next day we woke and, still unable to see the Matterhorn, hopped the train to do a bit of a roundabout through Switzerland. This is very possible considering the size of this small country! We stopped in Bern for lunch and a very wet, rainy walk. I’d like to go back when the weather is better! I was so exhausted and when we finally got “home” to Zizers I couldn’t have been happier. But the time with Brigitte was so nice, I just love talking to her! That night we ate DELICIOUS cheese fondue and I got to look at pictures from when Gian Martin & Aita were little—so fun!

Saturday was my final day in Switzerland, and we slept in and spent the day relaxing until two pm when we headed down into their village (Zizers) to watch the parade for Carnaval. I am so ashamed that I did not bring my camera with me. Gian thought it would be boring but it was such a new experience to me that I thought it was awesome! The parade was filled with bands and organizations all dressed in the craziest costumes to celebrate Carnaval. Afterwards we went back to the house for awhile, then ate dinner with the whole family. Following dinner, Heinz, Brigitte, Gian and I went ice skating, and I improved greatly from the previous time the week before! Gian and I played hockey! And by played hockey I mean I kind of stumbled around with a large stick in my hand, trying to ignore the fact that I can’t really ice skate to begin with. ;) It was a ton of fun though. I was sweating and smiling and even when Gian barreled me over (barreled is probably an exaggeration) I was cracking up and just having a blast. Later I went down to the village to party, sort of, with Aita and Gian, which was fun but mostly I was freezing and tired. We got home and I said my goodbyes to Aita and Brigitte so they wouldn’t have to wake up for me the next morning, and when I left at 6:45 am on Sunday I said goodbye to Gian. Heinz took me to the train station and bid me farewell. I can’t wait to go back to Switzerland, whenever that may be. I can’t express enough how thankful I am to have such great friends, to know such an awesome family halfway across the world that I now feel like I can almost claim as my own. I look forward to seeing the Meiler family again!! J And then off I went to Granada….which will be discussed in the next blog…. ;) be prepared! Ha!

Hope you enjoyed my stories from the land of winter!

MacKenzie

and here i go, once again...

Well, two days left in sweet little Arlington. I don't know what it is, but I guess I'm just not one of those people who gets sick of this place. I am growing slightly perturbed with my family and am eager to escape that realm, but when I'm running the airport loop, through the crisp Washington air, looking over my shoulder to see the Cascade Mountains in the distance, I can't help but admit that I am going to miss this place. It's where my heart lies. But then I also remember that I'm on my way back to where the rest of my heart resides, in Granada. It's going to be so refreshing walking down Recogidas, hearing the buzz of Spanish around me. ....Spanish....that language I once spoke...this will be another interesting challenge, diving back into it.

I'm not ready to go back in the sense that I have not packed, and I have a huge to do list for the next 60 hours or so before departure. But I have seen everyone I need to see, done everything I need to do, my break has been complete. Reading the blogs of Nikki (who's down in Haiti working to clean things up after the earthquake) & Emily (who's just embarked on her Semester at Sea), I am eager to get out into the world again, anxious to travel! I am realizing that from this point onward, I'm not going to be in one place for very long. There are so many places I want to go, things to see, and challenges to be met ahead of me, that as much as I love Arlington, Washington, it will always be my home base, but may never be where I permanently reside.

As far as my Phase 2 of South Beach, it's going alright. I would say I'm "roughly" following the rules. Which means I've been cheating, which isn't really ok. But at the same time I'm managing what I'm doing, and I'm working out hard! I am so glad that I've started being active again, and I need to keep that up for the next 4 months overseas. The next week and a half in Switzerland is a bit agonizing as I won't really have control over what I eat, as is the upcoming trip to Rome Feb. 11 or so. Pizza & Pasta here I come? We'll see. Basically I just can't let myself go backwards. If I stay the same, fine, Hawaii Bod 2010 will resume itself in May. But there will be no backwards. I have worked too hard for that!

I probably won't write again until I am in Switzerland. I am totally excited for my time there, but not too excited about the travel aspect of getting there. I feel like I just hopped off a 10 hour flight at Sea-Tac and now I'm getting right back on! But hey, you gotta sacrifice for the fun I suppose. Well, hopefully I can pack wisely and get everything I need to do done! Peace out, America, see you May 25th!

Love, MacKenzie

no recuerdo como hablar espanol...

Well, Happy New Year everybody? At the moment I'm sitting in the Birnam Wood Apartment of my dear friends Heidi & Kelli, and as Kelli snores and Heidi and I make random comments about whatever we're looking at online, it is hitting me that I will soon be flying over the big blue again, back to Europa. Dang, time truly flies.

My break has been...entirely satisfactory. Now I know this blog is predominantly full of my adventures in Spain, but I suppose I'll break it down for you a bit, because hey, immersion into my former culture is important to document. Let's just say I haven't had too difficult of a time. Christmas was amazing this year, maybe because it beat last year's break by far, maybe because I hadn't seen my family in months, but whatever the reason, it was memorable and flawless. I raked in the dough from my fam, which will be helpful upon my upcoming transition back to the Euro. yay...not! =)

I recently spent about $150 (yikes those things are expensive, but I just can't hold back when I get to Michael's!) on scrapbooking materials and have been spending my days busily cutting, stickering, and creating away, which makes me miss my loves from Granada and passes the time quickly. It's going to be very strange returning "home" without them, I am not sure how it's going to turn out exactly.

Another major update in mi vida is that I am currently doing the South Beach Diet. Crazy, I know. But guess what, it works! Let me just give you some background so you understand my motivations. Two weeks ago my good friend Tyler Varnell and I were all set to go up snowboarding at Mt. Baker. The night before, I slip my snowpants on...brand new North Face ones bought only last year...and they won't come even close to closing. That's right, traumatic. Now, I had already faced the horror of the scale and realized that my body had uhh...developed...15 brand new pounds since departing in August, but this was the final straw. After a bit of a fit, a day of active snowboarding (wearing my DAD'S ski bibs, real cute), and some coaching from my stepmom Lena, I began Wednesday, Jan. 6 on Phase 1 of South Beach, armed with an awesome cookbook and more willpower than I thought I could ever have. And now, a mere 12 days later, I have lost 10 pounds, and counting! It will be interesting maintaining this completely healthy lifestyle in Spain, but I am going to try my best and hopefully I can work out some sort of situation that will prevent me from engorging once again.

Second piece of my weight loss plan/activities to keep me from being bored during my 6 week Christmas break is that my Dad and I have been working out fairly religiously together. He's on leave from the Navy so he hasn't been going to work, and we've run/walked the Airport Loop (6 miles) by my house many mornings, and we recently started going to the gym at the Base in Everett together. It's really good bonding time, and I've been getting in way better shape.

Let's see what else. Well, I've spent the past two weekends visiting my good friends up in Bellingham. Last weekend we saw Avatar (amazing, awesome, stupendous) and I am fairly certain aka positive I hit a raccoon on the way back. I visited the kids I have babysat for the past two years and took them to the park, I can't believe how big Blake and Barrett have gotten just in the past 6 months. I try to go to Quinn's home games at the high school, I cannot believe she's a senior, especially since we played together when I was a senior and she was a freshman! And mainly I have been loving being home with my family. I try and cook my new healthy dinners for Mom & Jordan and they seem to be appreciating it! :) Overall I'm absolutely loving my time home.

But...that most certainly doesn't mean I'm not excited to go back. I'm not scared this time, or nervous really. I'm looking forward to Switzerland for 9 days! It's going to be a blast to see Heinx, Brigitte, Gian Martin & Aita again, it's been 2 years. And then back to Granada. Home! My new apartment with new roommates Ana y Jessica!! Can't wait to see them. And of course can't wait to see Allison and the other returnees. But I'll be there soon enough. As for now, it's time to hit the hay!! Hasta luego...

MacKenzie

death of a 20 year old, birth of a 21 year old. we're almost done...

It is 1:44 pm, and I am laying in my bed, recounting the weekend that just passed. And I have come to the conclusion that it was certainly the most epic final weekend one could spend in Granada. Of course, I'm coming back to Spain February 7, and I have four more months here, but many of my friends will be gone. However, I have just learned that I have an apartment for next semester that is literally two minutes from my apartment now, and I'm going to be living with Ana, who is Spanish and amazing! I love her. And also Jessica, who's from Federal Way, which is nice because I have Spain and Washington in my new home. Perfect. I have to meet up with them soon to work out the details and such, but it's pretty much gonna happen and I couldn't be happier, as I don't have to hunt for an apartment and I'll be living with friends, one of whom is a Spaniard! Yayy!

Anyways, what has happened lately? I last summed up my trip to Brussels, and since then it's basically been an effort to go hog-wild and enjoy Granada. We've made some stops at Feng Shui, and recently Court and Allison introduced El Tren to me. It's a coffee shop with these delicious drinks called “El Tren” that consist of coffee, hot chocolate, some sort of alcohol that is completely non-tasteable, regular whip cream and chocolate whip  cream (which I didn't even know existed until now!), and this delicious little wafer type stick to top it all off. Yum. We've been there twice this week and it's a nice place to go to and chat for a few hours. I've gotten a lot closer to Allison lately and we love hearing stories about Jon the Fascist (Allison's dad), who raised this girl literally measuring her skirt length, not allowing temporary tattoos, no piercings until 16, etc. Way to create a rebel, man! But she watched the Shining at age six, how does this fit in? Haha. And Shannon contributes stories of Dudley the Inappropriate (who always says inappropriate things whenever he wants), and of course my father Joe the Child (who lives life in the most fun way  imaginable, which often leads to extreme embarrassment in public places of my brother and I). These girls keep me laughing for sure. 

 We reverted back to the old ways with going out many nights in a row, and let me tell you, it has been a  total blast. Thursday was fun but fairly low key, as I had a presentation on Friday where I presented good ol' Western Washington to my classmates. Never have I been more proud of where I live until I live in a society/climate/geographical region that differs so greatly from it! After class Friday we had our final API activity, the goodbye lunch. It was at a Mexican restaurant near the CLM and by the time we got our food (which took forever with 50 people) it was so delicious since my stomach was essentially eating itself in hunger. I was exhausted seeing as the previous night had ended around 4:30 am for me, and all I wanted to do was sleep after lunch. But instead I headed over to Eric's and he and I watched this ridiculous show called Jersey Shore, which is some reality show about guidos living on the Jersey Shore. Disgustingly entertaining is the only way I can accurately describe it. Then he introduced me to The Office after chastising me for never having seen it (it is on at the exact  same time as Grey's, why in the heck would I be watching it!?!) We watched the Christmas episode and the episode from Pam & Jim's wedding, and I discovered that I could easily get hooked. Oh no, I don't ever need more television in my life! Grey's and Friends reruns are enough!

 Friday night was amazing. Ana & Jessica (my future roommates! Aahhh I just can't stop getting excited about that) hosted a Christmas party, and from both my memory and just judging by the pictures of this event, it really looked like an American house party. Just think, way too many people in a small apartment, where everyone is yelling because they're trying to be heard over the other people who are yelling, and just a dang good time all around. We got there early (very un-Spanish like, I know) and I helped make the sangria (a recipe which I will be taking to the grave—ha, kidding, actually I'll be sharing it with friends and family upon my return home. I poured wine, chopped apples, and then I volunteered to be the camarera (waitress) and from that point on my hand really never left the ladle, and I served sangria all night long! We had it in a huge bucket, and when it was gone, I made more! Tony, Ben, Sam & Doug had a little beat boxing rap session for Michelle's birthday. Pat apparently had to take his pants off for a time because he got “bearded” which I don't even really know what that means because I didn't see it, I was busy serving sangria. Sam, Allison & I decided which should triple room in Seville next semester which should be....interesting...and Shannon was doing some facial expression all night that resembled a very sad fish. The night was so much fun, almost all of my beloved early-starters were in attendance, and although it feels like the end, I am enjoying so much making these final memories with my group. And that was Friday. 

At 1:43 pm on Saturday my phone woke me up from a deep, pleasant sleep, and it was my mom! She said Max had gotten her up to go to the bathroom at 4:50 am and she just wanted to hear my voice! It was so sweet. I absolutely can't wait to see her in a week from today! Unbelievable! We talked for awhile and I recounted the sangria night to her. Marí Carmen and Pepe were gone for the day, as lunch was left on the table, and I was about to get pissed if they didn't return, as we needed to shower to look cute in our party dresses! Luckily they did come back, and both Court and I got to shower before the epic night, but I was very antsy before then. I hooked Cory on Grey's episodes, and we went on an unsuccessful churro hunt, as everything was way too busy, before I had to rush back and get ready for the night. 

 And now, the crazy night. “The death of a 20 year old, the birth of a 21 year old,” is how Court christened her birthday celebration. Courtney looked damn good in her fringe/sequin dress bought on her recent trip to Milan, Italy, and I was workin' the black dress I bought for $17 at Ross last summer, improvising with my blue scarf from Barcelona as a waist sash. We dashed over to Poe for dinner, eating way too many tapas and  ations of food. Poe is God's gift to the tapa world, I will be taking any and all visitors next semester to experience it's goodness. Immediately when we walked in we noticed a group of three  attractive boys looking at us quite obviously, but they left so we were like whatever. Court and I started  eating and gradually the rest of the group arrived. But then they came back! And so Shannon and I struck up a conversation with them. They were all of different heritage but all grew up on the island of Ibiza, off the Eastern coast of Spain, and each of them spoke like five different languages! I hate the US mentality that English should just take over the world, all of the kids in the US should be raised knowing all these languages too! I bought Court's dinner and drinks as a nice little roomie birthday present, and we all headed to the Chup with the foreign boys in tow. Tonight was the night that Courtney would reach chupito numero cincuenta (shot number 50), thus earning her hard-labored Chupetería 69 t-shirt. It was a noble moment when she downed that fiftieth shot and was handed her prize for her very expensive and drunk-induced camiseta (tee). The night began to get crazy from there as tons of API early starters showed up, and shots were being bought/gifted left and right. I am not sure how many shots I had or what I even paid for because the guys from Ibiza kept giving us all of their chupito cards, which is usually how I keep track! So apparently I now have a t-shirt to pick up as well, but not because I earned it, because Courtney and I combined ended up with 30 chupito cards from last night alone! And I already had 31 of my own! “Hard earned” t-shirt here I come!

 After awhile at the Chup everyone was quite...happy...you could say, so we headed across the street to the African bar Kulengali (spelling is probably way wrong but whatever). I haven't been there since September because as a blonde the Africans usually surround you with propositions to dance, but as I was accompanied by a few boys in my program, I felt alright about it. And it was a blast! It was a nice little pre-dance party before going to Granada Diez. Ohhh, Granada Diez. The entry fee was 10 euro unless you had accepted the facebook invitation, so as about half of us had accepted the invite, we headed over to the facebook line. I didn't think I'd accepted so when I got up to the bouncer, who was holding the list, I just glanced at a name and introduced myself as Rebecca so and so...and I got in for free! Oh Spain. You just have to know how to work it! Look what Courtney has taught me after all these months! :) I swear everyone I know was at Granada Diez, and we danced for hours (I think, when you're there you really have no concept of time), the place was packed, and the music was bumpinnnnn. I danced with everyone, Allison, Shannon, Court, and I even got some boys in with Eric, Ben, and Cory! ;) It's always more fun when you can dance with chicos, especially ones who you know aren't creepers. Our dogs were barkin' after awhile and after waiting forever to get our coats and bags, we headed to shwarma and for the first time in my life I didn't even finish it, and Morad, my rather cute Moroccan friend let me have a coke light and a water for free! :) Around 5:30 Court and I went up to our apartment and as we approached our door for whatever reason we just started cracking up, and of course we were supposed to be quiet so we just kept laughing harder...luckily Marí Carmen and Pepe didn't wake up as we just laughed our ways into our rooms for the night. 

 And here I am. Just recently woke up about an hour ago, I am starving and am wondering when Marí Carmen is going to present lunch, and really hoping it's paella. I have a bit of homework to attend to, but not too much. Girls churro night this evening, and after that 5 days of school then goodbyes and I'm off to Amsterdam for a night then home in a week. A week. Unbelievable. It amazes me how much I've experienced, how much I've changed, how much I've loosened up and the amount of fun I've had in the past four months. Dang. Well I think I hear food so I'm cutting this off just in time. 5.5 more days till departure...

MacKenzie

a vacation.

Here I am, having the first relaxing day in Granada that I've had in a long time. I can't exactly remember the last blog I wrote, so I am going to cover Thanksgiving, Paris, and Brussels all in one! Yikes! Prepare yourself for lots of reading! But that's the way it goes when one is a travel extraordinaire and cannot simply find the time amongst all of their travels to document said adventures. Only kidding. I'm only about half that snobby. ;) Alright here goes. 

Thanksgiving 2009 was by far the most unique I've experienced thus far, being, one, that I am on the other side of the world and not in Spokane, Washington, amongst a plethora of other reasons. I woke up Thursday morning and headed straight to school (second infraction on the normalcy of the holiday) to take my November exam (first injustice, I would say!). Upon completing my test I had a relaxing day of packing for Paris. I called my Dad, who was preparing to run the Spokane Turkey Trot with the rest of the fam, and chatted with them for a bit. I made my cousin Maya promise to say a toast at Thanksgiving dinner, announcing to everyone how much I miss and love them, followed by a hug from me, through Maya. (I later found out this toast never occurred. Oh well, I suppose that's what happens when you put all faith into a seven year old.) That evening I Skyped with my mom, Grandpa, and Grandma in Spokane. I was bummed to be missing Grandma's famous chip dip and the ever present shenanigans of any Meyer family gathering, and when I said goodbye, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps. Eric came to my rescue though, and as we walked with Court through rainy Granada towards our surprise Thanksgiving feast, my smiles returned as I simply enjoyed being with my closest friends. 

The entire API clan lumbered through the streets of Granada, ending at a Mexican restaurant (infraction  numero tres). We all sat down, Allison, Shannon, Courtney, Dana, Michelle, and Liz at my table, pondering over the strangeness of celebrating our American gorging holiday at a Mexican restaurant in Spain. We were all looking forward to an American dinner, so when Mexican soup was served (spicy & delicious but still not American) we started to become a little uneasy. But, lo and behold, we were served turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, and carrots. We were given the option of a second plate, which of course I wanted, but when nobody else wanted it, I decided to be a follower and create a new record for least amount of food I've ever consumed on the Thanksgiving holiday. I did eat my pie though, one slice pumpkin, and one slice apple, despite the fact that I'm not really a pie eater. It was delicious, and so very American! We laughed and laughed, our “leader” Tyler gave thanks in Spanish, instructing us to do the same. I was thankful for meeting so many amazing new people. Dana was thankful for the fact that no regular start people were sitting with us....except Allison was. Awkward! Ha, but it's just Dana, so it was funny. 

 After dinner Halee, Shannon, Cory, Doug, Kaitlin & I went to Cafe Fútbol to ring in Doug's 20th birthday and to further our Thanksgiving feasting with churros! It was totally fun and very memorable, and essentially I stayed up way too late for our 5:30 am departure to Paris Friday morning. 

 PARIS. A damn good time. When I went to Paris before, I wasn't the biggest fan, but after spending time there with my friends and doing some quality exploring of the city sans museums (they're really, really not my fave thing in the world), I am completely enamored by this city, frustrated at it for being impossible to conquer because it's so huge, and I can't wait until my next opportunity to return! Every day, we got “creped”--Kaitlin's new word for the consumption of delicious French crepes, filled with anything you want in them. I personally enjoyed nutella & banana, and there's even crepes with meat and cheese and vegetables in them! Seriously, go to Paris & eat a crepe, your life will not be complete until this has occurred. API provided with a ton of free time in Paris, which bothered us at first but turned out to be a blessing. While traveling with the entire fifty or so students was a blast and gave a lot of choices of who you wanted to hang out with all weekend, doing things as an entire massive group was sooo tedious. Friday when we got there we relaxed, ate some good Italian food, and Court, Shan, Allison & I enjoyed some cheap mimosas in our hotel room. We headed off to Starbucks (because as I've previously stated, when one lives in Granada and travels to the real world, Starbucks is a necessary purchase even if it converts to nearly eight American dollars for a grande mocha), and then went to the Eiffel Tower. I was pretty excited about this because Grammy & I missed this crucial sightseeing event on our trip. I had been up to the Eiffel Tower by day, but never by night, and I hadn't been to the top at all! A big group of us went up and it was soooo cold so we danced in line to keep warm. We discovered French boys are quite beautiful as we passed the Eiffel Tower ticket holder, and we freezed our butts off at the top but were so excited to just be there! Looking out at lights as far as the eye could see was enough to show us just how big Paris was, and it was unbelievable that we were at such a famous landmark in such a famous city. Doug & Kaitlin cracked us up with their kissing pictures, and we all couldn't help but tease them. But hey, who's to blame them? Kissing on the Eiffel Tower? It's like the epitome of romance. Can't say I wasn't hoping that ticket holder would mozee on up and give me a smooch! :) Prior to our Eiffel Tower ascent, I had needed to go to the bathroom but couldn't find one (this always seems to be an issue in large cities, and I always wonder, where does everyone else go to use the facilities?), and so after our nearly 2 ½ hour Tower excursion, I really had to go. And no offense to the lovely group I was with, but they must not have quite understood the urgency of the moment as they were just waltzing along, slow as can be! Finally we found a metro that led us back to the Bastille, and everyone was starving and hunting for a crepe stand to eat dinner at. I, at this point, was freaking out because I was sure I was going to wet myself. Megan and I both had to go, and when we tried a bar that denied our request for the bathroom unless we sat down for a drink, I was near tears. Luckily, we happened across a Subway and I sprinted in and relieved myself then we snuck out without paying for anything. Thank. The. Lord. 

Saturday was bus tour day, where we essentially saw all of Paris from within a very stuffy Greyhound with minimal leg room. Ha! I love how dismal I can sound sometimes. Actually it was fun, I can't say I learned much from the tour guide's limited English, but it was nice to spend time with the entire API crew and see the majority of Paris' important sights. Plus it was raining and Paris is enormous, so seeing everything wouldn't really have been possible/enjoyable any other way. The bus tour finished at Notre Dame, and we walked through the cathedral then a group of us went to the Latin Quarter for lunch. This was kind of when I started to realize that I love Paris, because there are so many quaint restaurants, shops, nooks and crannies that can so easily be missed. We stopped in at a restaurant and I was going cheap so I had an omelet, but apparently France is famous for omelets! Our plan was the Catacombs, but we discovered they were closed for renovations (which really bummed me out because that's another thing I didn't get to see last time) so Cory, Halee, Eric, Doug, Kaitlin, Megan and I went to the Opera House that Cory had been dying to go to so badly. It's pretty famous I guess, the setting for the musical the Phantom of the Opera. Saturday evening we got a big group and strolled through the Christmas Market (first of many that week, it turns out) on the ever-famous Champs-Elysees, and nothing else could have put me more in the Christmas spirit at the time! We mostly bought food and drinks because the gifts and jewelry and scarves at the Christmas market were just ridiculously expensive compared with our bargain land of Granada, but it was a great time anyway and oh-so-Christmasy. 

Sunday, Day 3, Paris: DISNEYLAND! We paid $67 for a one day two park pass, and we tore it up in the Magic Kingdom all day long. Allison, Shannon, Halee, Cory, Lexi & her boyfriend Aaron who traveled from Germany to visit her (they're so cute!), and I Disney-ed it up in the wet and cold. Luckily it only rained a bit in the beginning, the rest of the day was rather frigid but clear. I won't waste too many lines but I will give our final Disney comparisons: Indiana Jones & Haunted Mansion are WAY better in Cali, Tower of Terror is exactly the same, Space Mountain Paris kicks Cali's ass all the way to Pluto (we went 4 times! I was nearly Space Mountain'ed out!), the fake snow was cool as were the Christmas decorations, and I enjoyed the character parade! I did a bit of Christmas shopping at the end of the day, and when we returned to Paris my feet hurt & I was completely tuckered out, but we enjoyed our day of reverting back to our childhood! Now to complete my Disney Life Experience I must get to Orlando, Tokyo, and a Disney Cruise somewhere in there!

Monday was our final day in Paris, and the whole API group went to the Louvre. I was still exhausted from Disney the previous day, and I had been there before, so I was somewhat of a zombie on our tour and didn't really see much. We spent the rest of the day before our flight with an all girls group strolling and shopping through the Latin Quarter, eating some delicious French Onion Soup, and visiting my only serious destination goal for the trip—a bookstore across the Seine from Notre Dame called Shakespeare & Company, it was in my guidebook as one of the most famous English bookstores in the world. I loved it and can't wait to go back to Paris one day and go again! Leaving Paris was sad because in a way it was the last sha-bang of the semester, the beginning of the end, everyone realizing just how little time we have left. I fell in love with the city, and I plan to go back many times, because there's no way it is possible to see it all, but I want to see as much of it as I can. 

We had about a 36 hour hiatus between our trips to Paris & Belgium. Somewhere in there was a day of class, frantic repacking of completely dirty clothes, two or three meals with my host family and then Allison, Shannon & I were off once again. After coming way too close to missing our flight from Malaga, we arrived at Charleroi airport in Belgium and were greeted by Laura Johnson, the mom of a friend of Shannon's from high school. Now I'm going to be honest, when I learned we were staying with friends of Shannon's, I was a little nervous. Not as any reflection upon Shannon whatsoever, but because it is just a little nerve-wracking anytime you're going to spend time living in somebody else's home. But in reality, I had absolutely nothing to fear. Pat & Laura Johnson may as well be my new parents, not to mention two of the coolest and nicest people I've ever met! Pat is a US diplomat through the Armed Forces with Russia (or something like that, I'm not very politically knowledgeable), and they have been living in Brussels for over three years. So we got to stay in their beautiful home, eat wonderful American food, and be driven around be our own personal tour guides for 4 days! It was amazing. 

Thursday we drove to a quaint city called Bruges which is about an hour away from Brussels. Now, I will be tempted to say quaint in every single sentence because really, that is the only word that can accurately describe such a city. Despite the fact that it rained on and off all day long, it was as if we were walking through a fairy book land. We visited the Belltower and churches, a Christmas market, had the intention of going ice skating but the rain hindered us, bought the world's most comfortable pair of slippers, went to an Ice Age sculpture park with a giant ice slide, tried our first Belgian waffle (HEAVEN), and were treated by Laura and Pat to a delicious, probably very expensive dinner at the end of the day. I had a classic steak and frites (french fries), and was happy as a clam with my simplicity. Shannon ate reindeer! I tried it but wasn't a fan, but Allison's vegetarian wok was quite tasty. 

Friday was more low key, we slept in a little and Laura drove us down to spend the afternoon in Brussels. Pat couldn't join us because he had a meeting with Hillary Clinton (just chillin' with Hil, no biggie! Allison, the political science major was absolutely dying over all of this political action Pat was getting). In Brussels we explored more Christmas markets (this is mainly what we did all weekend), rode a ferris wheels to give us a sunset view of the city, ate yet another Belgian waffle, visited a strange statue that is a highlight of Brussels called Mannekan Pis (see facebook pictures), basically just browsed around the city all day. Laura showed us where all the popular bars were, but we were much more enticed by Guitar Hero and American movies. Sad, I know, it probably sounds like we weren't living it up on our trip, but the reality is, we can pay to party in Granada anytime we want for significantly less money. So instead we basked in the relaxation of “American life”, Allison made Kraft macaroni and cheese for dinner, and we watched the tail end of Air Force One. (Never realized how dumb that movie is until now). 

 Saturday was an early morning with a nearly three hour drive to Amsterdam. Up at 6:15, out of the door by 7, we arrived to our 4th country of the week sleepy and cold. I've been to Amsterdam before, so Allison and I skipped out on Anne Frank and walked around while Shan visited the historical attic, and for the rest of the day we all walked along the canals and ate Frites and visited markets. Very chill. Shannon and I both wanted to visit the Red Light District because we'd never been there before, and it was an interesting and kind of...saddening experience in a way. Shannon was pretty bothered by the prostitution, and I didn't mind so much unless I really started to overthink the whole concept of legal prostitution and what exactly that...signifies? Anyways, I know this probably is extremely boring to read but we honestly didn't really do all that much all weekend besides relax and visit Christmas markets, but it was still an awesome time simply because it was more low key than we're accustomed to. I have an overnight layover in Amsterdam the 19th before I fly back to Seattle, and Courtney is also going to be there, so maybe I will explore the city more with her. I'm always up for seeing more of a city!! You can never see it all....

 Sunday was our final full day of our second mini vacation, and we started a little late (Laura was busy and we got to watch the second half of Pearl Harbor anyways-such a good flick, although it made me tear up 3 different times only in the second half! We discovered that the Armed Forces network is definitely into war and/or hyper-american movies. You'd think the military peeps would want a rest from all that and just watch Forrest Gump or something, but no! Lol.) Anyways, we hit country number five when we arrived at the highly anticipated AUTHENTIC German Christmas market in Aachen, Germany. Just over the border between Belgium and Germany rests this town where Charlemagne's bones are laid to rest in a church that we visited. And while we had previously been to Christmas markets in Paris, Bruges, Brussels, and Amsterdam, Aachen was like the mother of all Christmas markets! It just kept going and going and was filled with food and decorations and music and lights and all sorts of heart-warming wonderful Christmas time cheer. I encountered a giant schnauzer and was pretty much freaking out because he looked EXACTLY like Max just about 50 pounds heavier. I think I freaked the dog's owner out as I was stalking it, camera in one hand and giant German sausage in the other. Americans....haha. We essentially ate our way through the day, not really needing meals but snacking and snacking and snacking...yum. Shannon and I also found some tasty German boys who were selling wild boar (not so tasty) and we all concluded for the thousandth time that I am a huge baby and am incapable of approaching an attractive member of the opposite sex. We left the Christmas market in the spirit of the holidays and me wondering exactly why I grew up to be such a socially inept person. Haha. Our final night with Pat and Laura was spent laughing and telling stories, talking about the changes, hardships, and blessings of living abroad, over....guess what meal—CHICKEN FAJITAS!!!!! It was like God came down and granted me my biggest Christmas wish. It was absolutely delicious and such a good end to an unforgettable stay with these new friends of ours. I won't be able to ever thank them enough for their genuine kindness and hospitality. 

 And now....I'm back, sitting in my room in Granada. And the strange thing is, I have 10 nights left sleeping in this bed. It is so unbelievably weird to me! I can hardly believe that I walked out of my house on August 25th. It's December 9th and I haven't seen my mother, my dog, my room! But it's been ok! Actually it's been more than ok, it's been amazing and unforgettable and perfect! I went out on a school night last night with Courtney, Allison, and Eric, and maybe we're reverting back to our old September ways, but to be honest I don't care. I have very limited time with these people and I'm making the most of it! Tonight we have our final API movie, and we have our goodbye lunch on Friday. Court's 21st celebration will be Saturday night, which will be crazy in itself but a ton of fun as I'm sure that's the last discoteca I'll be attending this semester. I am so thankful that I get to come back to Spain for another semester to experience it in a completely new way. But for now I need to stop writing, go get my homework done, so I can be with the people I love! :) Till next time, which hopefully will be before I come home, but if not, I'll see you face to face Washingtonians!

Love, MacKenzie