Last Days in Spain

Wow. I can’t believe this semester is already over. I am sitting here at the Madrid airport realizing that I have lived in Spain for almost 4 months and now it’s over. While I am so excited to come home, I can’t help but feel sad about leaving. I know I did everything I wanted to do here and I got so much out of the experience; it’s something I will never regret
The last few days here have been insane. Last weekend we frequented our favorite bars and discotecas, visiting Hannigans (karaoke!) and botellon one last time. In between finals, Meg and I made time to go out for tapas and one more kebab. Finals went really well, although I had a hard time focusing because I was trying to take everything in before I left.
Wednesday night, after a day of packing and studying for my last final, Meg and I went to Granada 10, a popular discoteca. When we arrived, there weren’t too many people there. It was open bar until 12:30, but most people wouldn’t start arriving until after 1 am. The dance floor was almost empty except for a very energetic transvestite who was dancing all by herself. Needless to say, it was great entertainment until security kicked her out an hour later for being too inappropriate. Only in Spain, right? We met some really nice people that night, proving that it can be your last night out and you’ll still make new friends. They were part of the IES program, which was a little weird for me since that was the program I almost joined.
On Thursday, I got up early and (hopefully) aced my art final before going back to bed for a few more hours. That night, Arcadia had a goodbye party for us. We sat in the office and talked about the experience and watched a cute PowerPoint with pictures from the whole semester. At one point we played this game where we had to toss a ball of yarn to someone in the group and say what our first impression of the person was and what we’ll remember most about them. A friend of mine, Amy, threw it to me and said that I was the first person she met at the airport in August. She said that I made her excited because I was so enthusiastic and open to the experience. She also said that throughout the semester, I proved to be someone who took risks and really integrated myself into the culture. It was one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten, and I hope that I always push myself to get the most out of opportunities like this. The party had traditional Spanish Christmas snacks, but we all went out to dinner as a group afterward. I had my first experience with Indian food (loved it!) and then said goodbye to everyone.
Meg and I were so excited Thursday night we couldn’t sleep. I probably got 45 minutes of rest because I kept thinking about coming home. We got up at 4 am and called a taxi to the Granada airport. That’s where the problems started. Because my parents hadn’t booked my flight from Granada to Madrid and my flight from Madrid to Chicago together, they would only let me check one bag to Madrid. So I had to combine bags and pay extra for the weight of my one bag. Also, they wouldn’t forward my bags to my final destination. That means I had to pick them up again in Madrid and recheck them and go through security again before my next flight to Frankfurt. I only had one hour in Madrid to do all of that before my flight took off, and check in closes 45 minutes before departure. Long story short, even though I ran for my life, I still missed my flight. After a brief breakdown in the Madrid airport, Mom and Dad were able to get me on a flight the next day. Even better, they got me a direct flight to Chicago and I got a seat in Business Class! The only problem was that I had to unexpectedly spend the night in Madrid. Luckily, before my parents booked a hotel, I called my friend Courtney who was studying in Madrid this semester and asked if I could crash at her apartment. Not only did she let me stay with her, one of her roommates had moved out already, so I got my own room and was able to shower and figure out my baggage issues (the airport let me store most of my luggage there). We did some shopping and went to an internet café. I had a great time and was so lucky to have her there. This morning we woke up and went to store so I could buy a cheap duffel bag in order to avoid being charged again. Luckily, since I am flying Business Class, I get to check 3 bags. Our goodbye wasn’t sad since we are seeing each other next Tuesday at a friend’s house. I arrived at the airport 4 hours early for my flight and watched as the lines piled up with people who had missed their flights or had them canceled because of snow (New York!). After having a painless check in and security check, I am now at my terminal, peacefully waiting to board my flight. If someone had told me yesterday that this is how everything was going to turn out, I wouldn’t have believed them. I am so grateful to have such a great family who will stay up until 5 am getting me home and such fantastic friends who are always so supportive.
I’ve had such a great time in Spain and want to thank everyone who helped make it such a positive and life-changing experience. I can’t wait to get home and see you all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!
God Bless America

Love Always,
Em

Best Day Ever

Monday and Tuesday this week breezed by. Since everyone was still travelling, all the stores were closed for the holidays, and I was still sick with strep, Meg and I stayed in both days and just layed around. Yesterday, Wednesday, was my last day of culture class and grammar class. Meg and I were also supposed to go volunteer for the last time with the little kids from the inner city school. However, the bus that usually takes us was so full, the driver wouldn´t let anyone else on. Since I volunteer between classes, I didn´t have time to wait for the next bus because I wouldn´t get back to my class in time. So, unfortunately, Meg and I had to cancel our last day of volunteering.
Instead, we went to the Arcadia office and talked to Triana and Cristina for a little whle. After that, we wandered around the shopping district of the city and I bought a pomegranate pendant necklace (the pomegranate is called a Granada here, it is the city´s symbol). We stumbled upon an adorable Christmas festival set up in one of the plazas with a ton of little booths selling jewelry and other handmade crafts. After wandering for a while, I headed back to class. In Amsterdam, I had received a message from an American student in Granada who found my student ID on the street, so I got that back from him at the CLM. While it was pretty useless, I really wanted to keep it for memory´s sake.
After lunch (albondigas!!!), Meg had class and then we both waited anxiously for our housing lottery at Denison. Everyone who is currently abroad got a random number and, in that order, gets to pick a room for next semester. Since Meg and I want to live together on East Quad, the pickings were pretty slim and we were both stressing about it. I got number 19, which is terrible considering the handful of rooms that we wanted. Luckily, however, Meg got 5. Our good friend Becca got number 1, so she took a single. Therefore, there were only a few people ahead of us that could take the double we wanted. Most of them chose to live in singles, but one person wanted a double. For some reason, they chose to live in Crawford (the sophomore dorm I lived in last year), which left the double in Shaw open for Meg and I. My proxy and best friend back at school, Amy, was so great about the whole process. We never could have gotten the room without her. Now we are living in our own double, in a junior dorm, on East Quad. The only downside is that it´s on the fourth floor and I´m uncertain about whether there´s an elevator that can help me with move in (eek!).
Overall, it was a wonderful day. Today is the last of our classes and then we have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to take in the last bits of Granada before finals next week. Only 8 days left!
I love you all,
Em

Amsterdam

Where to begin? It's been a crazy weekend. On Thursday, Meg and I woke up and headed to the bus station to catch our bus from Granada to Madrid. Unfortunately, we were not paying attention and ended up leaving a little to late and missed our bus. The next bus to Madrid wasn't until 1:30, so we would have missed our flight to Amsterdam which was at 7:20. We spent two frantic hours in the bus station trying to find another way to get to Madrid before our flight left. Most options to Madrid would cost us more than $300, which was out of the question. Luckily, I found a bus to Malaga, a town on the southern coast, and then a speed train from Malaga to Madrid that would get us to the airport with minutes to spare. It was a lot cheaper and we were so thankful we didn't have to cancel our trip. The train ride was beautiful and a lot of fun. I am thankful we got to experience a speed train here and that it got us to Madrid in time.
We arrived in Amsterdam pretty late, so we only had time to check into our hostel and grab some pizza. We ran into some of our friends from Granada, but we were so tired we went to bed pretty early. Meg and I shared a top bunk in a room with about 26 other people. Our hostel was called The Flying Pig and is pretty famous in Europe. I liked it a lot, but I didn't like sharing such small space with so many people. On Friday we woke up around 9 am and got free breakfast from the hostel before going on a walking tour of Granada. Our tour guide was a young Australian who had lived in Amsterdam for 7 years. He spent 4 hours showing us some of the most interesting spots in Amsterdam and telling us funny stories about the city's past. It was one of the best things we did in Amsterdam.
At the end of the tour, Meg and I went to Anne Frank's house. A lot of people we were with didn't go because they heard it wasn't worth it, but it was one of the most moving exhibits I've been too. Just to walk in the space and hear personal stories from Anne Frank's father and friends made it all seem real to me in a way the book failed to. After that, we hung out with some new friends in the city and eventually made our way back to the hostel.
On Saturday, we slept in a little and then got up and walked to the Van Gogh museum. The walk was pretty cold and rainy, but we passed an adorable ice rink and a bakery where we bought a delicious apple tart. The Van Gogh museum was fantastic, but I wasn't feeling really well, so when we were done we took a cable car back to the hostel and slept for a few hours. That night we walked around the city and explored the Red Light District, which was fascinating but creepy.
Sunday we checked out of the hostel and went in search of the famous Dutch pancakes. We finally found a pancake house and had the best Dutch pancakes. Meg had nutella and banana and I had chocolate and ice cream pancakes. It was basically dessert for breakfast. After that, we caught the train to the airport and flew to Madrid. From there we caught a bus to Granada. We got in around 2 am and were exhausted.
I slept all day today and discovered that I have strep throat (which explains the exhaustion and intense sore throat). I caught it from Meg, who had it a few weeks ago. Luckily, she has enough antibiotics left over for me to take, so I hope to feel better in a few days. It was definitely a good thing that we came back to Granada a few days earlier than everyone else. I can't imagine being there while feeling so badly.
I can't believe I only have 11 more days in Spain. Tomorrow we get our numbers for the housing lottery at Denison and next week we have finals. Everything is just happening so quickly!

I love you all,
Em

Thanksgiving in the Alpujarras

I hope everyone at home had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I missed you all. My Thanksgiving in Spain was different, to say the least. It was full of new friends, different kinds of food, and activities I thought I'd never do (hiking, eek!).
On Thursday, I did my presentation about infant obesity in my POE class. Apparently it's a big problem in Spain. On my way home, I stopped in this little bookstore and got both Frankenstein and The Hobbit in Spanish for under 6 euro! Afterwards, I met up with the ISU girls (about 13 in all) to go to a Mexican restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious! Although not the typical turkey dinner I am used to, any change from Spanish food is a good change. We had margaritas and went around the table saying what we were thankful for. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I got to share it with new friends. Meg was still with her Mom, so after dinner we all headed to Hannigan and Sons, an Irish pub that does American karaoke on Thursday nights. We all had a blast and then I went home to catch up with Megan and pack for my trip.
On Friday Meg and I caught the bus with the Arcadia group at 10 am. We had a two hour bus ride, but we had two stops along the way. The first was to see this really old bridge that had been there since the time of the Muslim exodus from Granada. We also stopped at this famous fountain that is supposed to be really good for your health. It was basically just 5 pipes coming out of the ground and tasted like rust (disgusting!). We finally arrived in the Alpujarras, which is a grouping of villages on the southern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had an hour free to eat the lunch our señoras had packed for us and do a little shopping, and then we went to a ham factory. This was probably my least favorite part of the day. The factory smelled TERRIBLE and we had to go into a room where hundreds of hams were hanging from the ceiling. After learning about the process, we got to try the ham and some Alpujarran wine, both of which made me feel sick. Thankfully, Triana, the co-head of our program, ate the rest of mine.
Finally! We arrived at the hotel and split into rooms. Meg, Val, and I shared a room, and after an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, I got the queen sized bed. We then met up with the rest of the group and went for a short hike. It was supposed to be about two hours, but we took a wrong turn somewhere and it ended up being only one. I had no problem hiking and really enjoyed the scenery. On our hike, we saw a black cat, a white horse, and a stray dog. The dog was so cute and you could tell that he was just lonely. He walked ahead of us the entire way home, as if he knew where our hotel was. After a brief nap, we all got together for Thanksgiving dinner. How fantastic! It was almost like being home. We had two whole turkeys for only 14 people (mostly girls) and a ton of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Granted, occasionally a weird Spanish dish would turn up, like pickles, olives and onions on toothpicks, but other than that, it was very American. After thanking Cristina and the chef, we all headed to our rooms and passed out.
Saturday was a bit rougher. We woke up early and had breakfast, and then headed out to the bus. We drove for about 15 minutes and stopped in another, almost identical, village. Here we met our guide, Francisco, and started a 4-hour hike. The first two hours were scary, but fun. I am really afraid of steep declines, and my asthma acts up on the steeper inclines. Overall, though, the views were beautiful and I had no trouble staying with the group. After a short break about half way through, though, it all went downhill. We went on the steepest incline yet, about 25 minutes of straight upward climbing, and about 3/4 of the way up I had an asthma attack and had to use my inhaler. After that, my legs were shaking so badly, I had trouble doing the steep declines that took us to the final village. At the end of the hike, I was so relieved and sore I could have cried. Luckily, it was time for lunch! All of the Arcadia students went to a restaurant nearby and I had albondigas (Spanish meatballs), which are the only food I'll actually miss from here. Throughout our meal we were interrupted by numerous village cats and dogs, all which seemed well cared for but wandered the streets freely. Afterward, we had an hour for shopping in the artisan's district (I didn't get anything) and then we got back on the bus. It was about a two hour ride home and everyone passed out. Stumbling off the bus in Granada, I was so happy to see the city. While I definitely held my own and got through the hikes without falling or hurting myself, it is obvious that I am not cut out for prolonged nature activities.
I slept until dinner and then talked to my family for a little while. I miss them a lot and it was really weird not to spend Thanksgiving with them. I had a very unique experience, one that will stand out from all my other Thanksgivings. Tomorrow, Meg and I are hoping to go to the gypsy market in town and then we are going to a bar with the group to watch the much anticipated Barcelona vs. Real Madrid game. While I don't have any particular loyalty, I think I will be rooting for Madrid. It is amazing that I only have 5 more days of classes before finals. On Thursday Meg and I had to Amsterdam for the weekend and then I'll be home before I know it. Time is really flying here, and I am trying to take it all in before I go back to my normal life. Although normal is looking pretty good about now. I love you all.

Free Weekend

Finally, some free time! Yu, my Japanese roommate, went to Morocco and Megan went to France with her Mom this weekend. Besides Maria Carmen, I had the house all to myself. On Thursday, Maria Carmen went to tapas with Meg and her mom. She had to miss dinner, so Julia was supposed to make it for me. Around 8:30, there was a knock on my door and it was Juan Carlos (a rare sighting!). He said that Meg and her mom hadn´t shown up to meet Maria Carmen, so I called her. She was just around the corner, but running a bit late. Juan Carlos thanked me and said he was making me dinner because Julia was at church. I went out to see if I could help since I hate being the only one eating, and he was in the kitchen with a girl (I´m assuming girlfriend)... very awkward. The dinner was pretty terrible as I could tell he didn´t cook much. The soup was ice cold and there was so much oil on the food it was almost inedible. Either way, it was nice of him to come out of his room and make dinner.
After saying goodbye to Meg for the weekend, I went out to tapas with Amy, Monica, Emmett, and Richard. We ended up going to Bar Emilio, this really cool bar that seves porrones (lamp shaped drinks that you share amongst a group). I´ve been meaning to go there for a while, so I was excited. The other people went out to more bars or discotecas after that, but I called it an early night.
On Friday, I slept in and then went to the movies with my friend Robin and we saw New Moon in Spanish. During the movie these girls behind us kept oohing and ahhing over the cute guy, and afterward we realized they were American students we knew from the university. We all went to the Alcaiceria and did a little shopping. Afterward, I returned home for dinner and did some school work. It ended up being a super productive night and I finished two essays that are due in December as well as the Co-Curricular Learning Certificate application for Arcadia. I also finished reading Don Quixote in Spanish, which ended up not being too hard (in the abridged version).
On Saturday, I woke up a little earlier than usual (12 pm) and decided to go out and explore the city before everything closed down for siesta. I had the goal of buying a charm for my travel charm bracelet in mind and set out for some jewelry shops. It´s a tradition that Mom and Dad started of buying Clare and I charms for every vacation we take, so we can have a charm bracelet of all the places we´ve been. I went to more than 6 stores, but they either had no idea what I meant or they pulled out a bunch of random charms such as the Eiffel Tower or a seashell. I found one that had a Granada charm (a pomegranate that is the city symbol), but it was pretty ugly. I was just about to give up and head home for lunch when I stumbled upon a small store on a side street. In the window were a bunch of charms, one of them being a gold bull. I went inside and asked if they had it in silver, and sure enough, they did! I was so excited. Afterward, I ran into an old book store on my way home. I stopped in and asked if they had an old copy of Cervantes´ Don Quixote for my library at home. She pulled out a few REALLY old copies, that were basically falling apart, and told me they were over 90 euro. When I said I wanted something that would survive the trip home, she pulled out a new edition that looked exactly the same (except in better shape) and said it was only 15 euro. What a steal! It´s the complete works of Cervantes in hardcover leather. Overall, it was a perfect morning.
I went home for lunch and then talked to Mom and Dad for a bit on Skype. They are starting to decorate for Christmas, and I can´t wait to come home to see it all. Saturday night I went with Arcadia to a Flamenco concert in the gypsy neighborhood of Sacramonte. It was absolutely amazing; the stage had a huge window that overlooked the Alhambra. I thought I wouldn´t like the music, but I was very moved by the singing, even if I had trouble understanding all the lyrics. One woman danced alone for a few songs and it was extremely impressive. There was a man in front of us who kept talking and yelling out things during the songs, and about midway through the concert, after numerous ¨´Shhhhhhs´´, he was asked to leave. That´s how seriously they take the flamenco culture here. Afterward, Amy and I went to chupiteria with the ISU girls and, with her help, I finally got the shirt I´ve been hoping for. We all went to Granada 10 and danced the night away. Nothing too interesting happened, except a Moroccan guy who claimed we danced three weeks ago and that he´s been looking for me at the same discoteca every week (I never went back). That was weird. A group of us walked home together, including a German exchange student who was so fun! She´s 24 and studying landscape design.
Sunday I slept all day, except for meals. Unfortunately, lunch was that disgusting mix of rice, egg, and tomato sauce that Meg and I were hoping to avoid. I Skyped with Clare for a while and then Yu came back from Morocco. We all had dinner and heard about her trip. She seemed to like it, although it doesn´t sound like they did too much besides see a camel and eat cous cous (although that could just be because of the translation).
This week I have two presentations and then I am headed to the Alpujarras with Arcadia to have our Thanksgiving hiking trip and dinner (wish me luck!). I hope everyone at home has a great Thanksgiving, I wish I could be there with you. I can´t believe I´ll be home within the month; I have less than 3 weeks of class left!

I love you all,
Em

Florence, Italy

I have just realized I only have a month left here, and I can't believe it! Everything seems to have gone by so fast. On Wednesday, Meg and I had our first day of volunteering. We got put into two different classrooms, I got the 4 year olds and she got the 5 year olds. Mostly, we just spent an hour putting kids on timeouts. I had a young boy with Downs Syndrome who was so sweet. At one point, I looked over at Meg and she had at least 4 girls wrapped around her legs. She couldn't even move. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted by the end of it. My intercambio, Sandra, had to cancel at the last minute, although we are hoping to get together this weekend while Meg and her mom are in Paris.
On Thursday, we went to class and saw the Capilla Real (again). This is where the Reyes Catolicos (Isabel and Ferdinand) are buried. They are the ones who finally conquered Granada and made it Christian. We returned to the house for lunch, even though there was a little confusion because of a mistake I made in Spanish tenses (oops!). Luckily, she had enough food for us and then we were on our way to Madrid.
Courtney met us at the bus station and took us back to her apartment. We all had flights to catch the next day, so we only stayed up for a little bit. The next morning we got up early and went with Court to the airport where she caught an early flight to Paris with her group. Meg and I caught our later flight to Florence and got there without a problem.
It was a WONDERFUL weekend. We have missed Becca so much and we had the apartment all to ourselves for most of it, since her roommates were traveling to Rome. We walked around the city and saw a lot of the sights, like the Duomo (big cathedral), Ponte Vecchio (the beautiful old bridge), and Michelangelo's David. On day 2, I realized that I had actually been to Florence before! About three years ago, on my senior trip. It is amazing that I forgot, but we had traveled to so many cities in Spain, Italy and France, it was hard to keep it straight. Overall, we spent the most amazing weekend eating the best italian food (ravioli, penne, pizza, gelato, etc) and telling Italian guys to back off. Although, the worst group of guys we met were American Navy men (go figure!). Becca gave us our Christmas presents a little early and they were these beautiful cashmere burberry scarves. I hardly took mine off all weekend. The last night we were there, we had a birthday dinner for Meg, since we weren't all together when she turned 21. We went to this restaurant called Dante's and they gave us a ton of wine for free. It was absolutely delicious and difficult to leave to come back to the mediocre food here in Spain.
Overall, it made us miss Denison a lot and look forward to next semester. Now I am back in my room in Granada and am realizing how short of time I have left here. There is so much to do!

I love you all,
Em

Mom's Visist

What a great weekend! I could barely sit through the makeup classes I had on Friday knowing that Mom and Mrs. Kelley were wandering around the city somewhere. I rushed to the hotel and found that they hadn't checked in yet. I was just turning to leave and come back a little later when I saw them through the door. I held the door for them and Mom looked up and said "Gracias" and then looked back down without even realizing. A second later, her head snapped back up and she burst into tears. I was so excited to see her! I wonder how often the receptionists there see study abroad students meeting their parents.
All three of us got up to the rooms and sat for about an hour just talking. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant nearby and had a big lunch of fish and steak. Later that night we walked around a bit and had some tapas. We also worked with the hotel to fix our air conditioning (it kept going out) and to rent a car for Saturday.
Unfortunately, on Saturday, we found out they only had stick shifts available. Since Mom and I have never learned, it fell to Mrs. Kelley, who hasn't driven stick shift in quite a few years. Needless to say it was a bumpy ride. However, it was really worth it. We left Granada, where the weather was about 40 degrees and really cloudy, and drove 3 hours along La Costa del Sol (The Coast of the Sun), which is the southern most coast of Spain. When we arrived at the coast, it was 85 degrees and a clear blue sky. Mrs. Kelley and I took off our shoes and collected seashells by the sea, and then we all sat at an outdoor cafe and watched the beach for a while. We continued along the coast until we could see the Rock of Gibraltar (very cool!) although the driving was difficult. We eventually turned around and came back to Granada around 4 pm to enjoy some lunch and shopping.
Every day we went to the Alcaicara, a web of abbeys that makes you feel like you stepped into a Moroccan market. We bought many scarves and enjoyed the city. On Saturday night we went out again for tapas and had calamari and wine. On Sunday we got up early and went to the Alhambra. It was absolutely insane! We were allowed to enter at 9 am, and we got there about 20 minutes early. There were people running and stampeding to get into line as if it was the most important thing to be the first one in. We bought the audiotour went at our own leisurely pace. It was a great review for my art midterm, and the first time I've learned about the Alhambra in English (although it was oddly narrated by someone posing as Washington Irving). Afterwards, Mrs. Kelley went back to the hotel while Mom and I went to Burger King (I've been craving it since I've been here). They were supposed to open at 12, but like everything in Spain, they did it at their own pace. Around 12:30, we ate and had a great time. Afterwards, we had siesta, and then we went to coffee at my homestay. My senora was so energetic and gave us great coffee and cookies while Mrs. Kelley and my mom peppered her with questions. I learned more about her in that hour and a half than I have my whole time here so far. Afterwards, my throat was a little sore from translating for everyone (although I suspect Mom understood more than she let on!). We went to two great tapas places; my favorite, Cuadros, serves fantastic tortellini.
Monday, I had to return to school and take my midterms. They were pretty easy and I returned to the hotel afterwards and took Mom and Mrs. Kelley to Kebab King so they could try what I have been raving about for months. They both loved the kebab, and we were lucky enough to avoid the guy who usually works there. Afterwards, Mrs. Kelley went back to the hotel and Mom and I went to a teteria (tea/hookah store) and split a pot of my favorite Moroccan tea. It was so much fun to show her around and bring her to my favorite places. It was like I was seeing everything for the first time again! When we returned to the hotel, we sat out on the roof with Mrs. Kelley and enjoyed the view until it was too cold. Mom and I went out shopping for half an hour and she bought me this great belt and the CUTEST black leather boots. We then met Meg for dinner at a nearby restaurant (after a long search for America food) and had a great dinner of hamburgers and steaks (guess who had the steak!). Mom and I tried to stay up as late as we could talking, but eventually we fell asleep and then it was Tuesday : (
We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. I had reserved a cab to pick them up at 9 and bring them to the airport, so I walked with them to the car and we said our goodbyes. I wanted to jump in and go home with them, I was so sad. After they left, I had to face my last two finals, art and literature (the hardest ones!). I think I did really well and I am so glad they're over. Mom landed safely in Barcelona and I couldn't have had a nicer weekend with her.
Tomorrow I am doing my first hour of volunteering with the daycare center and then I have my first intercambio meeting with Sandra, a Spanish dentist who is hoping to practice her Spanish. I've given up on having intercambios with guys here, as they are WAY too creepy and European. On Thursday, Meg and I leave to start our journey to Florence, Italy. We are staying Thursday night in Madrid in my highschool friend Courtney's apartment and then we fly to Florence to stay with Becca (a friend from DU) until Monday. I am so excited!

I miss you all,
Em