My Life Is Not My Own

2006-07-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

2006-03-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

My goodness, has it been a long time since I last posted on here. Wow. Life just seems to get so incredibly busy and you forget about all of this. :) Wedding planning is great....79 more days to go! I can't believe how fast it's all been going. I've been busy booking vendors, addressing invitaions, you name it, I've done it, really. Oh, on a side not - Jamie got a job!!!! He'll be working up here in Point after April 12th, until he gets a job in Nashville, of course. It's such a blessing! I can't believe that we'll be living in the same town once again after having been together long-distance for 3 years. My, how time flies! Anyway, I pray you're all doing well. And call me sometime!!!

My First Day of School...

2005-09-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it could have been worse, that's for sure. But overall it was pretty good. My volleyball teacher goes to my church, so that's a blessing. My geography teacher has a neat British accent, so atleast that'll make things interesting. My Spanish professor is a native speaker. Not only that, but I know a bunch of people in the class. Four of us go to Woodlands together. (Our church for those of you who don't know) What a great sorpresa!! My internship is going pretty good as well. Atleast I'm able to jump right into everything.
I noticed how much first days of school aren't as exciting as they used to be. Growing up, it used to be filled with the anticipation of not knowing what to expect. Now, it's like any old day of school, and I just want to get it over with, to be done with school so that I can get on to bigger and better things. Maybe it's all a part of growing up and getting older. Who knows.
Life is pretty boring. Give me a call if you want to chat. Miss ya!!

New school year...

2005-09-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

So the new school year has arrived. Oh joy!! I'm looking forward to parts of it, like new students, youth group, community theatre. Things like that. Oh, I'm starting my internship with the university. I actually have a TON of work to due on Tuesday right away, promoting a couple of concerts on campus next week. That'll be great. But I'm not looking forward to the monotonous daily routine nor the business of my new schedule. Although I have to admit that the amount of business that will now be occurring in my life is definitley my own fault and I should not be complaining. Oh well. By the way, I have a website for the new job I have, selling Lia Sophia jewelry. It's great stuff and I absolutely love it. (If I can put in a quick plug.) The website address is www.liasophia.com/kmusante. You can actually order directly from the website, or call me up to book a party or to place an order. And it's great stuff!!! K, love you all.

Engagement Party

2005-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

So Jamie went out east with me and my parents this summer. Fun stuff. First we went to Cape Cod, which was great, but there could have been a little more sun. Then we spent some time in the city. There could have been less sun. Yuck. Lots of mugginess. Anyway, Jamie had a chance to meet most of my family. And of course, they all love him. Here are some pictures from our engagement party that we had when we were in New York. When Jamie and I get married, he will be the third "lo fan" (caucasion) in our family. How exciting. :) Diversity is fun. Anyway, enjoy!!! If you want to check out more pictures, you can go to Marissa's photo album online at http://public.fotki.com/rissamari

2005-08-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Me and Jamie!!

2005-08-13T21:45:00.001-07:00

All us kids

2005-08-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

The 3rd generation, well, most of us. Jamie kind of sticks out, huh?

2005-08-13T21:43:00.001-07:00

Our cake!! mmm...

2005-08-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Me and Jamie on the "stage"

2005-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Cassandra and Heather

2005-08-13T21:41:00.002-07:00

Jamie getting advice from Aunt Mary

2005-08-13T21:41:00.001-07:00

Me, Jamie, and Kyra

2005-08-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Me and Marissa

2005-08-13T21:40:00.001-07:00

Mom and Ming

2005-08-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Steph and Kath

2005-08-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Kyra, Lexi, and Steph

At home again...

2005-07-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I made it home safe and sound. Thanks for all the prayers. Things have been pretty slow around here lately, but Jamie comes home tomorrow! I haven't seen him in two months. Yeah!! I hope I remember what he looks like.... :)

2005-07-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

One of the Cathedral towers

2005-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

The view of the city from the top of the cathedral

2005-07-04T17:22:00.002-07:00

Bruno, Brianne, and David

2005-07-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

Our group on top of the cathedral

2005-07-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

The cemetery in the park we went to

2005-07-04T17:21:00.001-07:00

Me, Liz, and Laura Joy

2005-07-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Three of our professors: Ana, Pilar, and Rosana.

2005-06-29T10:22:00.001-07:00

Laura Joy and I at Momo's, a bar that has outside gardens and stuff. Very beautiful

2005-06-29T10:21:00.002-07:00

The garden at Momo's

2005-06-29T10:21:00.001-07:00

Me, Liz, and Stu

2005-06-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Some of our group at dinner

2005-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous view in Texido

St. John festival

2005-06-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

I know I said I wouldn't just paste and copy my emails, but time's precious over here. So you'll just have to read it all again. :)
Happy St. John's day!! That's today, but the celebrating really happens the night before, i.e., last night. It's kind of like an equivalent to Halloween, because a lot of the superstitions are connected with witches and bad spirits. Anyway, so we all met in the old part of town with our teachers, (they're all really young, so it was all like hanging out) and watched the celebration unfold. I'm not really sure if the holiday is just celebrated in Galicia or all over Spain, but if it is celebrated all over, each area does it differently. Here, the people light bonfires all over the city. Then, as they die down a little bit, you have to jump over them three times (or 5, 7, or 9) and on your last jump, you have to make a wish. something about your wish will come true and you'll have good luck. Anyway, a bunch of us did it - when in Spain....It was actually a lot of fun. Except I forgot to make a wish. Oh well. All night, they serve free bread and sardines, also supposed to be good luck. I heard the sardines were really good, but I decided to stick to the bread. There were over 150 bonfires throughout the city, and people set off fireworks at night too. Lots of fun. Last night, our host mom put rose petals and rosemary in a tub of water over night. This morning, we washed our faces in the water - also supposed to be good luck. And it smelled really good. So that's what we've been up to. We were all trying really hard to stay awake in class today, but so was our teacher, so no harm done. :) Tonight, Laura Joy and I went to church, and tomorrow is our last excursion to a couple of cities in Galicia. I just want to touch on some of those prayer requests. Jamie and the explorers should be driving home soon, I don't really know when, but please be praying for a safe trip for them. Berta wend to A Coruna the other night to visit her sister, and she was afraid that it might be the last time she might get to see her. So please be praying for Berta, her sister, and their families. And a new one - Katherine, one of my friends from Charlotte when I lived there, her brother had cancer when we were little. (he's older) Throughout the years, he's had a couple relapses, and now, Katherine told me that the doctors don't think that there's anything else they can do for him. She said that it might not be much longer, so she asked that we pray that he won't be suffering. His name is Zachary Dobbin. Okay all, I think I'm going to say good night. I'm still trying to recouperate from last night's lack of sleep. Talk to you all soon.

2005-06-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Niko on a rainy day....he didn't have an umbrella, so he used a plastic bag

2005-06-29T10:14:00.001-07:00

Me and Sam, one of the other students who's from North Carolina

2005-06-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Me, Laura Joy, and our professor, Pilar.

2005-06-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

Me after jumping over the bonfire. Not the greatest picture, but it's still pretty neat.

2005-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

A few of the Assembly missionaries that we met at church our last Sunday - they were working on a teen center near Santiago.

2005-06-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Me and Juaquim, a student from Mexico that we met at church.

2005-06-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

The group picture that was in the Correo Gallego. It's all the students that were in the program and our professors.

Portugal Pics

2005-06-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our pictures from Portugal...enjoy!!!!

2005-06-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

One of the old buildings in a plaza in A Coruna - don't have a clue what it is, but it's gorgeous

2005-06-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

An adorable little girl playing around the plaza, we just HAD to take a picture

2005-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Laura Joy and I at dinner in A Coruna on Friday

2005-06-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

The Bank of the Holy Spirit - Guessing from the name, I would highly suggest that this is the best place to invest your money ; )

2005-06-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

A view from the top of the mountain where the castle of St. George is

2005-06-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Another view from the top of the mountain

2005-06-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

Laura Joy and I on the bridge - it looked like there used to be a moat around the fortress

2005-06-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

Laura Joy and I at the top of a tower

2005-06-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Me at a window in one of the towers - Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair...

2005-06-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

The beautiful beach in Portugal

2005-06-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

You could see the light house from the beach - but it was a little foggy

2005-06-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

Everyone doing the YMCA at Hard Rock - there was a bachelorette party going on there too, that's why all those women are wearing sailor hats.

2005-06-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

Me all nice and sweaty at Hard Rock Cafe - it was so hot in there!!

2005-06-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our hotel in Portugal - Hotel Madrid, go figure

2005-06-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

Our little plane getting ready to leave Portugal

Santiago, June 20

2005-06-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Portugal was amazing! I'll add pictures to this blog as soon as I can get them from Laura Joy. Friday night, we went to A Coruna for the night. We stayed at a really nice hotel, except the beds were a little hard. And we had dinner at this cute little Italian-type place in the old part of town. Saturday morning, we got up super early and went to the airport. We flew to Portugal in the smallest plane I've ever been on - only 19 passengers. It's so small, that they place your snack on your seat before you get on because there's no room, nor is there enought people (only two pilots) to use one of those drink carts. We definitely got a couple of pictures of that. After we got to Portugal, we went to our hotel and left our bags there so we coupld explore the city. We walked all the way (about 25 minutes) to the antique part of town - it's pretty much where everything goes on. So we walked around there for a little while and then decided to go see St. George's Castle. So we took this little trolley all the way up the mountain (small mountain, but big enough that you wouldn't want to walk up it) and went in to see it. It's not like the other castle's we've seen. It was built as early as the first century, and was used for protection - a fortress. They still had some canons up around the walls and you could see all the little windows they used to shoot their bows and arrows. While we were there, we met a couple from Kansas, so we walked around with them so we could take each other's pictures. After that, Laura Joy and I decided to go to the beach so we asked one of the guys who worked at the hotel which one we should go to. It was really beautiful. A little crowded, but nice. And for dinner, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was completely unlike the ones in the US. Those are family-friendly. In Lisbon, the first floor was a bar - pretty much all standing room, and the second floor was the restaurant. The music was so loud that you couldn't hear anything from anyone, including the waitress - she had to yell in our ears. But the food was good. And it was funny to watch everyone sing American songs like "YMCA" and "We Are The Champions", complete with actions. Sunday, we had a lot of time before our flight, but a log of things were closed because it was a Sunday. So we went to a big mall for the afternoon. It even has a roller coaster inside, but it doesn't run on Sundays. But it was nice to be inside while it was hot outside. Then we went to the airport, took another tiny plane to A Coruna, and then caught the last train to Santiago. I'm so tired from all the traveling, but it was totally worth it. I'm so glad I went. Talk to you later!!

Santiago, June 16

2005-06-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hace calor! We were getting a little worried because it's been dreary the past couple days. No sun, rainy and cold. Typical weather for here, but I'm not a big fan. Today the sun is out once again and it feels so nice! Tomorrow, Laura Joy and I head for A Coruna by train. I'm still amazed at how fast the trip came up. While we are there and in Portugal, our hotels should have internet, so hopefully I'll be able to keep this site updated and post some more pictures. Have a great day all!

Santiago, June 15

2005-06-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Two weeks left. This trip has gone by so fast! Lots to do in such a short amount of time.
Change of plans - no church for me tonight. Tengo dolor en me cabeza. (I have a headache.) I think one of the worst things I could do for it would be to sit around listening to Spanish for 2 hours straight. Although I am pretty dissappointed. I was looking forward to going tonight. My new class is great! Laura Joy got me pretty caught up with everything yesterday, so I know what everyone's up to. And my teacher's great. She's extremely nice and very easy to understand. I went to the train station earlier to pick up a copy of their schedule so we know what train to get on when we go to La Coruna on Friday. I can't believe I'll be in Portugal this weekend. Yikes!!! Tons to do before then. Oh, my cell phone works in all of Europe supposedly, so you should be able to reach me at that number. Okay, I'm going to do some homework and then see if I can go to bed early. Talk to you later, all!

Santiago, June 14

2005-06-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Let's see...yesterday we had class. Afterwards, we had to film the plays that we wrote. Then I went home for lunch, but Laura Joy's group had come to our house to film theirs, so I ended up filming it for them while they acted. After lunch, we all went to the museum in town. It's underneath the cathedral - weird, I know. But it really wasn't a museum about the cathedral. They had a 3D space room, and a couple of rooms that talked about the cathedral and the monestary, a really cool "roller coaster" stimulated ride through the cathedral complete with moving chairs, but the majority of the museum was dedicated to the camino pilgrimage that people are always taking to Santiago. Very interesting. Today, (drum roll please), was my last day in the class I've been in. Tomorrow, I will be moving into the next class. Laura Joy and I studied for a few hours this afternoon, so I'm fairly caught up with the information. Please be praying for a smooth transition. After classes, but before lunch, we all gathered to watch the videos. Hilarious!! Ours was about a group of co-workers (I was the intern). Raul, played by Caleb, played this guy who professed his love to both of his female co-workers. His best line : Sin ti, yo soy como churros sin chocolate. (Translation: Without you, I am like churros without chocolate). Please keep in mind that this is a telenovela, a soap opera. Anyway, at the end, both girls find out what Raul has said to them both, so they stand him up. The skit ended with me telling him what happened (because I heard everything - I was ever present the whole time) and Raul is left to be alone. Yes, poor guy. It was great, though, really. Everyone's was extremely funny. And pretty much understandable. Okay, so tomorrow night, some of us are going to go to church to hear the visiting Mexican pastor. I'm looking forward to it, especially since I won't make it to church this weekend because I'll be in Portugal. Yikes!! That came up fast. Oh, and by the way, in case anyone's interested...one year and 2 days to the BIG day!!!!! Yeah!
I can't believe I have this all up to date now!! Have fun reading and enjoy!!! Miss and love you all!

2005-06-14T13:05:00.001-07:00

Me and Laura Joy at lunch

Santiago, June 12

2005-06-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

This morning, Laura Joy, Meredith and I went to church. More fun!!! Worship lasted for an hour!!!! Love it! I met more people today - a really nice couple and their brother who are actually from Brazil. I also met another student from England. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone in English after having listened to Spanish for two and a half hours. After church, we me up with a bunch of people from our group. We all took taxis to a city outside of Santiago to Bruno's house - one of the students from Brazil. (Bruno's mom lives here in Spain, but Bruno really lives with his dad in Brazil. But he's studying here.) We had a barbeque at what I guess would be a park. This beautiful little out of the way place by a brook of some sorts. Absolutely beautiful. Bruno's friend cooked for us. He cooked some amazing meat. It's by far the best meal I've had in Spain yet. Although it was really more Brazilian than Spanish. It was so good though!! We spent most of the day there eating and talking and everything. Muy divertido! (Very fun) Take care and have a great Sunday night!!

Santiago, June 11

2005-06-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty good day. We went to Vigo, a city in the Galecia region. We went to a couple different places, no one was really paying much attention because we were all so tired. then we went to the beach. And it was cold!!!!! So we were all huddled on the beach fully clothed for most of the time. It was fun anyway. A few people made a really nice sand castle. I took a picture of it. Last night was kind of rough for Laura Joy. Please be praying for her. She and her boyfriend had a big fight over the phone, so she was crying all night. I stayed up with her most of the night, but please just be praying that God guides her to make the right decisions.
Tomorrow a few of us are planning on going to church and then afterwards, we're all going to go to Bruno's house (one of the students who's from Brazil) and we're having a barbeque. It should be fun. Hopefully it's nice out. I should go to bed now. Have a great Sunday all!!!

2005-06-14T13:02:00.001-07:00

Me, Bruno (from Brazil), Caroline, Julia, and Lucy at the beach

2005-06-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Super Joe at the playa - it's amazing what a pink towel can do...

2005-06-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Some of the guys working on the sand castle

2005-06-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Laura Joy and the finished sand castle

Santiago, June 10

2005-06-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today! Thanks to all of you for the prayers. I do believe that I did fine on my test this morning. I watched her correct it from where I was sitting, and she didn't write much on there. As far as I know, I only got two wrong, one was a silly mistake, and the other one I just didn't know, but it's not a big deal. So hopefully I will be able to move to the next class. I'll let you know, but I won't find out until monday. :( I don't like waiting. This evening, Laura Joy and I finally made it to the church in town. Love, love, love it!!!!!! Me gusta la iglesia mucha!!!! It reminds me of two things - one, Nashville (because of the praise and worship) and two - Mexico, because everyone's speaking Spanish (go figure) and it's the same kind of energy. That, and I didn't realize exactly how much I've missed church since I've been gone. I mean, I've seen tons of cathedrals and old churches, but I haven't been to an actual service in weeks. And it was great!!!! Even though I didn't understand atleast half of it. The music was good, though. :) And we were introduced to a few other students at the church, one girl from Norway, but she's leaving next week, and a guy from Mexico. And this Wednesday we're going to go to church as well (they pretty much have something every night) because a guest pastor is coming from Mexico. That'll be fun. Tomorrow, we're all going on an excursion to Vigo, and some other city in the Galecia region. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to see, but I definitly know that we'll be spending some time on the beach. I pray it's a nice day out tomorrow. Well, have a great night everyone! I have to get up early tomorrow.

Santiago, June 9

2005-06-14T12:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry I didn't get a chance to write yesterday. I was beyond tired. Also, in case you've been wondering, I've had a little trouble with the blogspot account, so I might have to set up a new one. If I do, I'll let you know the address as soon as I can. Yesterday I went for a run in the park. The park in this city is gorgeous. And my ankle didn't bother me much, so I think I'm pretty much cured. Don't worry, I'm stil taking it easy. Today, we had class, and then in the afternoon, we were able to have a tutorial session. i just went to have my teacher look over my homework, but I'm pretty sure I'm ready for the test tomorrow. In case you wanted to know, the test is somewhere between 9:15 and 12:45. (I'm fairly sure it'll be closer to the beginning)So if you're up from 2:15am to 5:45am, please be praying, although I'll understand if you'd rather do it before you go to bed. :) Okay, talk to you all soon!!! Have a great Friday!!!

2005-06-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

We ran into a group of camino pilgrims in the old part of the city. They were so happy to be in Santiago - the end of their trip - that they were singing and dancing, and even got some of us involved!

Santiago, June 7

2005-06-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Good news! Well, good news provided I work hard. I´m going to be staying in my class for the rest of the week, but if I do well on the test we have on Friday, then I can move up to the next class for the rest of the time we´re here. So please be praying for me to do well on that. This afternoon we all broke off into groups and had conversations with the professors. Our group talked quite a bit about the differences between Spanish and American cultures. Very different. tonight, I think I´m going to try and get to bed early. This new lifestyle is hard on me when I can´t fit in my daily siesta. I´m serious!! Up at 7:30, to bed at 1 or 2. i don´t know how everyone does it around here. And I don´t even go out at night!!! Oh well. Have a wonderful Tuesday afternoon all!!

Santiago, June 6

2005-06-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Things have gone back into the old routine again. School was okay, more review. Please be praying for me about this. I am trying to change classes, but it is proving to be harder than I thought it would be. After lunch, I went with part of our group to the old part of the city (la ciudad antiguo). We went to the cathedral, which those are always amazing. And we saw some of the oldest buildings (atleast for what they're used for) in Spain and in the Galicia region. And I walked along the oldest street in Santiago. Pretty neat stuff. Afterwards, Laura Joy and I went to the travel agency to make the final payment on our trip to Portugal. I can't wait for that weekend to come!! Anyway, things around here are fairly slow tonight. I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep. I wasn't able to sleep much last night, but I have a feeling that it was due to my two hour siesta from yesterday. Oh well. Love and miss you all.

2005-06-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Cathedral in Santiago, taken from the park.

Santiago, June 5

2005-06-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Last night, Laura Joy, Sarah, and I went to bed early. We were so tired after being out in the sun all day. Please be praying for Sarah - she got sunburnt pretty badly yesterday. She wasn't feeling so well today. It's no wonder because it literally looks like someone took red paint and had a field day with the front side of her body, poor thing. This morning, Laura Joy, Meredith and I got up to go to church. But when we got there, we found out that they didn't have anything today, it was more of a fellowship day, probably because it's the first Sunday of the month. But we met a couple of really nice women and they told us when to come back. We're looking forward to it. Then this afternoon, Laura Joy and I walked around the old part of town for a little while. After lunch, I had a nice long nap. It was great. I love naps. Now she and I are at a wireless cafe. I have to say, not having to pay for the internet is really nice. Who knows what we'll do tonight. Probably go to bed early. School tomorrow. Having a routine is weird. I kind of miss the spontaneity of traveling around before we got here. Hasta luego, all!

Santiago, June 4

2005-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Last night a bunch of us went out to a pool hall around here. It was fun. We went out a little early, so there weren't a lot of other people around, but we still had fun. A few other people from the program that aren't a part of the Belmont group came with us too. That was nice to be learning about new people.
What a glorious day!!!!! Most of us went to the beach this afternoon. Tons of sun and sand and relaxation. The water was freezing, but it was fun to jump in for a little bit. Going to a European beach is definitely a different experience. But it was fun. We took the train home, and then I took a wonderful, much needed shower because of all the salt, and I'm now waiting for dinner to be ready. Tomorrow, I think that Laura Joy, Meredith, and I are going to go to a Bible study and church service at the local protestant church. I think it's the only one they've got around here, because everything else is Catholic. Hopefully everything will be easy to understand. All, please be praying for my dad. He's had a rough past couple of days. Hasta Luego

2005-06-13T13:12:00.001-07:00

Me and Laura Joy at the beach

2005-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

The beach at Via Garcia

Santiago, June 3

2005-06-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

So this morning was another day of school. It´s weird to be in a routine again. I talked to my professor again today. I´m not sure if I´m going to switch, or if she´s just going to give me extra work during the class. Who knows. Laura Joy moved out of her house today (she´s been having problems, because the grandfather in the house is sick - he really can´t do anything because of an accident - and he moans in his sleep so it kept her up at night. So she moved in with me today. Berta, my host mom, had three extra rooms, so there is definitely room. But now I have to get used to living with more people, but I think it will be fun. Like having a sister. Kind of. So after class, I went home from lunch and took a wonderfully long nap. Well, actually, it was really like an hour long. And then Laura Joy, Niko, Abby (they´re a part of our goup too) and I went to a cafe and had refrescos. Then we went to the papeleria to get notebooks. Muy importante. No plans yet for tonight. We might go out, since it´s the weekend. Tomorrow a bunch of us are going to go to the beach. Well, provided that it´s not raining. It drizzled a little today and the sun wasn´t out much. The typical weather or Spain, or so I´m told. Okay, have a great weekend everyone. Hasta pronto

Santiago, June 2

2005-06-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

K, so yesterday after I emailed you all, I went home for lunch. Then we all met back at school so we could meet our teachers and had a tour of the campus. It´s small. My class, however, is a lot bigger than I´d like. I´m waiting it out another day, but I may change classes or just take on extra work, because there´s a ton of information that I really need to learn while I´m here, grammer-wise. Okay, so we did that, and then Laura Joy and I walked around for a little while before I went home for dinner. I didn´t go out last night, one, because you all well know that I´m not really a going out kind of person, and two, I was really tired. Still am, actually. This morning, we got up early, had breakfast, and then went to our first day of classes. A lot of review. Kind of boring, but like I said, I´ll wait until tomorrow to see what´s up. After classes was lunch, and then after lunch, I took a wonderful siesta. (I love Spain!!) Then, Laura Joy and I headed to a travel agency to find out about trips for our free weekend. And we booked one. I´m super excited. Oh, you probably want to know where we´re going. We´re going to..............Portugal!! That means I get another stamp in my passport!!! Can´t wait! The trip isn´t that expensive, even though we booked our hotel through the travel agent too. So tonight, I really don´t have anything planned. It´s Thursday, so it´s the first big going-out night of the week, or so I´ve heard, so I think a lot of people are going to be going out, but I think I´m going to go to bed. Or maybe watch a movie or something. Whatever I do, it´ll be more smoke-free, alcohol-free and I can go to bed whenever I want without having to have someone walk me home. Yep. Definitely more fun. Okay, i hope you all have a wonderful Thursday night.

2005-06-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our new family!! Me and Laura Joy with Berta (our mom) and Carmen (Sarah's mom).

2005-06-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Me and our travel agent...we're going to Portugal!!!

Santiago de Compostela, June 1

2005-06-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so what have I done since I last wrote??? I apologize for any sort of typos in the message, because this keyboard is really hard to type with. Okay, so for lunch, Sarah and I went home and had a TON of brocolli. No joke. It tasted fine, but it was a lot. My host mom doesn´t cook with any salt because she and Carmen (Sarah´s mom) have high cholesterol. So we had brocolli, salad, fruit, bread, and some kind of meat. I don´t know what it was, but it tasted good. I kind of didn´t want to ask. We´re eating really healthy at home because our moms eat healthy. I´m glad. I think a lot of the other people from our group have families that eat a lot of fried food. Okay, so after lunch, I walked around part of the city for a while and then I met up with Laura Joy. We walked to the old part of the city and had some helado (ice cream) and a little cafe, and then walked through the big park in the city so we could study. But it was really windy, so after a while, i brought her back to my house. I met one of my host mom´s grandsons, because he was visiting. Then for dinner, it was just me and my mom, because Carmen doesn´t eat dinner and Sarah went out to a discoteca with some of our group. That was nice. This morning, I took my placement exam. I think I did pretty well. I answered most of the questions, and I even did okay on the oral part. I´ll find out this afternoon which class I´m in. So now I´m in the internet place and I´ll go home for lunch in about an hour. Laura Joy and I went yesterday to a travel agency because we wanted to go to Italy, but it looks like that trip would be WAY out of our budget. (I´m talking like $700 just for the plane ticket) so now we´re going to be looking for a place a little closer like Portugal or Barcelona. Okay, well I love you all. And I miss you all. See you in like 30 or 35 days, depending on if you´re a Wisconsinite or a Nashvillian. (A couple of people are already counting down the days until we go home. I´m not, but I figured some of you might want to know) Hopefully I´ll get another chance to write tomorrow.

Santiago de Compostela Day 1, May 31

2005-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

We´re finally in Santiago. I´m sitting at a little cyber/computer place. I´m going to try and do this as quick as I can because all the cigarette smoke is getting to me. Yuck!! We got here Sunday night and our families picked us up from the train station. My host mother (or grandmother, I´m not sure what to call her yet, so I just call her my little old lady) is really sweet. She has, I kid you not, pink hair. I still haven´t asked her about it yet. She´s very nice and very patient with me. A great thing is that she is really good friends with my friend Sarah´s host mother - they live on the floor below us. Sarah´s host mother doesn´t like to cook, so we all eat our meals together. Between Sarah and I, we can pretty much figure out everything they´re saying. Last night our dinner lasted until midnight because we were talking so much. Yesterday, we all met at the Plaza Roxa (Plaza Roja - they speak a different language here, it´s a mixture between Spanish and Portuguese) and we had a tour around the city. Then we went home for lunch, and then we went to campus to learn about the academic program. This morning, Sarah and I slept in and then we walked around and did some shopping. Well, It´s about time for me to go home for lunch. I love and miss you all

Cordoba, May 27

2005-06-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

We´re back in Madrid for tonight. Let´s see...yesterday we took the train to Cordoba and saw the mosque/cathedral (it used to be one, now it´s the other) and had lunch. Then, we had some free time, so Laura Joy, Liz, and I walked to El Corte Ingles, (the department store) so they could buy hairdryers and batteries and so I could get film (yep, I´m out already. oops. )For dinner, we stopped at a little pizzeria and had.....pizza. It was really good. Except they didn´t charge us for our drinks because they thought we were cute. Well, atleast they thought Laura Joy was cute. Or all of us. I don´t know. But we got free drinks. That was weird. Then we walked back to our hotel and watched the Count of Monte Cristo with some other girls in our group. Around 11, a bunch of us went out. Since everyone´s still celebrating Corpus Cristi, the people of Cordoba had a fair going on that night. As Dr. Julseth put it, a once in a lifetime opportunity for us, because how often are we in Spain during this holiday? :) It was great!! They had lights everywhere. You go across the Roman bridge, and it´s covered with little shops selling jewelry, trinkets, souvenirs, and food stuffs. And it´s all under a light canopy. (Like thousands of Christmas lights) And this old building at the end of the bringe was outlined in everyway with lights too. And there were temporary discotecas set up, rides, games, food, all sorts of stuff. My only complaint is that we had to pay to use the bathroom. Isn´t that crazy?? And all the women were dressed up in these beautiful flamenco gowns. Even the little girls had them on. So we had some food and rode a couple of rides. Some of us went back around 2, when everyone else decided to go to some of the discotecas.
This morning, we were able to sleep in. It was absolutely wonderful!!!! Then we packed up and went to the train station to come back to Madrid. Laura Joy and I went out to lunch, and then she went back to the hotel and I went around the city myself. I walked all the way to the local H&M, quite a long walk, but it was nice to do it on my own. I got asked to go to a cafe by this guy on my way back, but of course, I turned him down. (did you think I would say yes?) Back at the hotel, I took a wonderfully long shower and packed up everything, because tomorrow, we´re taking the train (the slow train) to Santiago de Compostela. It will takes us 8 or 9 hours to get there. Yuck. When we get there, we´ll go right to our host family´s homes. I don´t know when the next time is that I´ll get to email. Tomorrow is an orientation at the university and a tour of the city. Tuesday is our free day, so maybe I´ll go to an internet cafe or something, but I think we´re all planning on going to the beach too. Wednesday we take our placement tests, so please be praying for me because I need to test into a level where I will learn everything I need to place into 3rd year Spanish when I get back. Thursday we start classes. I have no idea if my host mother will have the internet in her home, so I´ll have to wait and see. When I get there, I´ll ask her how to address a letter to her home so that you all can write to me if you want. Which I hope you do, because I´d love to get some mail. And if you´d like a post card from me, please send me your home addresses. I don´t have all of them. Some I do, but some I don´t. Okay. I hope I´m not boring you all with everything. :) I´m going to head up to bed. Night all.

2005-06-13T13:00:00.001-07:00

Our group waiting to get into the mosque.

2005-06-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

The famous muslim red and white arches.

2005-06-13T12:59:00.001-07:00

It was weird to see a cross hanging in a mosque.

2005-06-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

They had a light canopy over the bridge - totally breathtaking.

2005-06-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

They covered the buildings in lights

2005-06-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

All the women and girls were wearing flamenco dresses - it made us all want ot buy them.

Sevilla Day 3, May 26

2005-06-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

So I missed the parade today. Actually, I think we all did. Maybe Dr. Julseth went, but everyone else was sleeping. I woke up at 11:30, so I went outside in my pj's to try and get some pictures, but by the time I got to the cathedral, they were already taking stuff down. Oh well. I had a great night's sleep. I think I was one of the first ones up. Most of the people slept in until 3 or 4, because they were out until 4 or 5 in the discotecas and bars. Laura Joy and I decided to turn in fairly early yesterday after our great dinner. So after missing the parade, Laura Joy and I decided to get some ice cream for dessert - why not, because we were already over there. Then we came back and woke up our roommates. We watched Sweet Home Alabama on Laura Joy's laptop. Then later, the four of us went out to lunch and then went in search of some clothes. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, most of the stores were closed, so I ended up buying a "Sevilla" t-shirt from a souvenir shop in order to have something to wear tomorrow. I NEED to do laundry!!!! This afternoon, Abby was washing her clothes in the bathtub - no joke - with her feet, so I put some of my clothes in with hers. Who said body wash couldn't be used to wash clothes? :) At 7, we walked over the bullfighting arena and watched our first bullfight. It was kind of gross, and really sad, but it was interesting too. I got some good pictures. One of the torredors was my age - 20, another was 21, and the third was 24. Actually (from our tour of the museum yesterday) the most famous torredor started professionally when he was 14!!!! After the bullfight, we came back to the hotel, changed, and walked over to a restaurant to see a flamenco show. It was amazing!!! It makes me want to learn how to do it. Although I'd probably be terrible at it or fall of the stage or something. So now we're back at the hotel and we're packing up to take the train to Cordoba tomorrow morning. Our hotel won't have the internet, so I most likely will not be able to send out an email tomorrow. Saturday, we'll be back in Madrid, so I'll send out another email then. Miss you all, and have a great Friday!!

2005-06-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

The bullfight was definitely a new experience!

2005-06-13T12:43:00.001-07:00

One of the torredors got kicked by the bull. OUCH!!

2005-06-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Some of the group at the flamenco show

2005-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

These are some of the women in the flamenco show.

2005-06-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Another flamenco dancer - I can't believe how great it was!

Sevilla Day 2, May 25

2005-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today was great! We got up early this morning and went to the cathedral and the royal palace in the city. The royal palace is actually the oldest palace in Europe that is still being used today. So pretty cool stuff. I got some great pictures of the gardens. We went to the top of the bell tower in the cathedral, and the best thing about it - no stairs!!!! The man who had it built (or built it??) wanted to put in a ramp all the way up so that he could just ride his horse to the top of the tower. Neat! Then, in the afternoon, some of us went shopping for some clothes (I'm currently out of clean clothes) and then we headed back to the hotel for a siesta. :) Later, some of us walked over to the bullfighting museum and arena - where we're going to the bullfight tomorrow, and had a tour. Kind of interesting stuff. Then we got ready for dinner and walked to this great restaurant. Really fancy and on the water. The food was really good too. Mom and dad - be surprised - I tried octopus (kind of icky texture but tasted okay) and had fish. The other option was pork, and I think I'm pretty much done with pork for the rest of the trip. It's a lot different here. After dinner, we all walked back to the hotel. Everyone else went back out to go to the discotecas because tomorrow is Corpus Christi and no one has to work tomorrow, but Laura Joy and I decided to hang out at the hotel and get a good nights sleep so that we can get up and watch some of the parades tomorrow. Have a good night, all!

2005-06-13T12:37:00.002-07:00

The view of the city from the top of the Cathedral.

2005-06-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

The alcazar - supposedly the inside was used to film the latest Star Wars movie.

2005-06-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

The royal gardens

2005-06-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

The beautiful view of the river in Sevilla.

2005-06-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Me an Laura Joy at our fancy dinner.