My current family < 3

There's a hair in my snake.

This past week 80% of the group suffered from flu like symptoms, which is extremely unfortunate. On Saturday I woke up feeling wretched I could barely talk, until little Pepita woke me up for some medicine like soup, which instantly cured me. When I went to the kitchen to get a mandarin,  and when I opened the refrigerator door I saw this:

Naturally, I was appalled. When Paige came home I had to show her immediately. When she opened the fridge she nearly vomited. In Spanish she told Pepita that the snake like figured petrified her. Pepita told Paige that they were baby fish. Clearly that was unbelievable. The “fish” had no gills and no fins, just a slithery slimy body with only a tail connected to a head whose mouth was saying “what’s up” =O! Pepita made it seem like she as going to prepare the “fish’, aka, take the head off and only eat the meat. This was not true. When we sat down for dinner we were surprised to see the “fish” in its entirety and that all Pepita and Miguel did was heat them up. Pepita and Miguel would rip the heads off and suck the meat out with their mouths leaving a mangling spine connected to a head on their plates. This made it really hard for Paige and I to stomach the fish that was prepared for us, especially when considering the fact that not only was I sick but last time I ate Pepita’s fish I got fish bones stuck in my teeth. Shockingly, something made Pepita think that this was a foreign delicacy that I would enjoy. She was horribly mistaken. This was definitely the shortest time frame that dinner has ever lasted, considering Paige and I were in a hurry to get away in order to discuss the series of events. Inevitably we figured out that they were baby eels.

Getting canned at the CanCan

Just got back from salsa class with 7 of the girls in our group. That was hoot and a half. We had to run away at intermission because the men we were forced to dance with were real creepy.

Our first night in Alcala we went to the much raved about “Can Can”. Fortunately for Paige and I the oh so popular hot spot is located right next to our apartment. With no cell phone Paige and I left our apartment on our way to the center to meet up with all of our friends. To our surprise we ran into everyone one minute away from our house. When we got to CanCan all of us were sober, however, that was quick to change. Given the relationship that Loyola has with this town, and the fact that we are a notorious group, we were given complimentary “blue raven” shots from our immediate bartender friend Roberto. What started off as sipping on cocktails and shaking our hips quickly changed to people dancing on stage, one hopping behind the DJ booth, body shots, grinding, and several girls in the group falling in love with a gorgeous Spaniard named Max. After CanCan we all headed to a super poppin club called ManaMana. Why both of our Thursday bars both have a double word name I don’t know. ManaMana was where it was at. There were all kinds of different people there. Not to my surprise Loyola kids were the only ones going nuts on the dance floor. They made me proud. At ManaMana I met a German boy that I spoke to for about two hours. Being that my Spanish is at a level zero it was really nice to talk to someone new and be able to understand them. Plus, I got to use the language that I’ve been learning for seven years, FINALLY. The next day we had to be awake by 9 which wasn’t easy but we put a post-it on the door with the time we wanted to be woken up by Miguel. On our tour everyone was still drunk. Some didn’t even make it, which made Maria Jose real heated. Walking through he cathedra  court yard Paige stumbled over a large nub that was sticking in the ground in order to make it so cars couldn’t drive through. When I went to pick her up I guess my hanging sachel was smeared in some sort of animal feces. By the time I realized I had poop on my bag it had already been smeared all over my thighs and butt. I started freaking out “DOES ANYONE HAVE A NAPKIN”!? Paige, the silly hooligan that she is, ran around telling everyone I got pooped on, therefore, everyone was laughing at me. Moments later Paige realized she had poop all over her legs too! We told Maria Jose and had to take a twenty minute detour in order to use el Bano (the bathroom). Last night (Tuesday) we all went to la Media Pinta, an American bar. Being that Alcala is so small, we ran into a lot of the same people from our first night, which was funny because we were all very clearly hot messes. When la Media Pinta closed at two we hall headed to mine and Paige’s neck of the woods to a disco techa, Gabana bar. Gabana bar was fully equipped with a fog machine and a dance floor that was screaming all of our names. In total I spent 5 euros which is approx 7 American dollars, not that much at all. At 4:30, when our calves were bleeding, we decided to call it quits and mosey on home to our respective casas. The next day, 5 of us made our way to McyD’s (naturally). The McDonalds here in Alcala is beautiful and the food is soo much better for some reason. They also sell onion rings, which weren’t that spectacular, I wouldn’t suggest them. All in all going out here isn’t much different from what going out at Loyola it’s just really nice to go somewhere other than Craigs for a change.

Pepita with Pepeiya_our entire group_My Ladies

The destination.

To begin,

Miguel  & Papita= host parents

Paige= My friend that I came with, and live with

Maria Jose= group director in Spain

After arriving in Madrid and being in Alcala for three days it has been completely clear to me that it is all in the destination. After nearly breaking our backs and fingers getting our luggage onto our bus all 26 of us drove into Alcala where we met all of our host families. Seeing all the parents standing around was beyond exciting. Paige and I stood next to our 280 lbs of luggage making bets on who we thought were going to be ours. I put my money on an old man about the age of 80 wearing brown corduroys with hair protruding our of his ears, Paige bet upon an adorable little short couple that were holding hands talking to their fellow amigos. Luckily, Paige won. We were introduced to our darling Pepita and Miguel Calvo. Fortunately for us Miguel enjoys driving around the small city so we didn’t have to carry our luggage. Given the size and amount of suitcases that we brought no one could fit into the car so Pepita Paige and I walked to our apartment which couldn’t be located in a better area. We are a 15 minute walk to all of our classes and the centrum where we meet with our fellow Alcalians to tour the area and before we go out at night. Once we arrived at our apartment we were comforted by high security door with a beautiful entrance, to the right we saw Miguel had already hauled our entire luggage up the fist 5 steps to where the elevator is. To give yall an idea of what our apartment looks like, we walk into the door on the left is a small kitchen with a washing machine dish washer sink fridge and a four person table. In the kitchen is a small room with produce, a stove and an oven with a window that has a clothing line directly out side of it. Walking through the front door going strait there is a living room with a big tv with a bunch of electronics. Connected to the living room is a cute little sunroom that has a drying rack, sewing machine, steamer, and a large computer where Paige and I can connect our laptops to an Internet cord. Through the living room there is a door that leads to all of the bedrooms. Directly to the left is Paige’s and my room, directly on the right is our bathroom that contains a sink and a toilet. In that hallway there is also 2 spare bedrooms, Miguel and Pepita’s bedroom and their bathroom where we take showers. The shower is a bathtub with a low faucet, connected to the faucet is a hand held showerhead. In order to take a shower we have to turn the water on and off as we go through the steps of showering or else the bathtub will fill up to our knees. Paige and I leave a note on a post-it that we stick to the door with “TIME- and Por Favor”, Miguel wakes up every morning just to get Paige and I out of bed. He prepares us a piece of toast and makes us coffee. The second day, Miguel put hot chocolate on the table, I guess for me and Paige to try. I thought it was to put in our coffee so I was drinking coffee/hot chocolate, until I realized that Pepita and Miguel were confused by this, then I realized that they were two separate beverages. WHOOPS! In Spain lunch is the main meal. Pepita LOVES to cook. She makes a huge lunch. So far Paige and I have had, pasta with cheese, soup with roast beef chick peas and broiled chicken wings (interesting) while we ate the roast beef Miguel “pigged out” on his most favorite meat, PIG HOOFS. As courteous as he is he offered Paige and I a try, naturally we declined. For dinner we have a smaller dish, Chicken cutlets with a side of eggs, tortilla (layered fluffy eggs with potatoes, and spinach and fish. The food is pretty good here, a little bland. Most of the time Pepita makes Paige and I a special meal, While we has fresh broiled fish, Pepita and Miguel ate tuna out of a can. Paige and I like to endure a long hour and a half walk around Alcala after dinner, which usually ends at around 10:30. On these walks it is not uncommon to run into our friends because Alcala is so small, and walking is the thing to do. Today when Paige and I came back from touring the city Pepita and Miguels grand daughter was here. Paige and I love babies and little kids so having a little baby around is just what we need. Before Paige and I go to bed we get in our petite little beds and watch a movie on my computer that is set up on our desk. “Buenos Noche” we say to each other.

Which is more important, the journey or the destination?

Right now we’re all sitting on the plane two hours into our journey to Spain. We all just finished our on flight meals, which tasted like a delectable combination of air and protein. Those of us who are not sleeping only have one thing on our minds, wonder of the unknown. As we sat at terminal C136 we were all nervous about our worries and excited for our futures for the next FIVE MONTHS! “I wonder what our host parents are going to be like”, “What the food will be like”, “how far we are living from school”, “what classes are we taking, are they going to be challenging, are we going to have too much free time/ not enough”, “What days will we have off”, “will we get home sick”, “how are we going to congregate before going out”, “will we go out the first night”, “how are we going to meet up with our host parents”, “HOW FAR WILL WE HAVE TO CARRY OUR LUGGAGE”!? The truth is none of us can answer these questions for our selves and no one could answer them for us. To a far extent we are all capable of making this experience everything we want it to be. I look around at all of the people surrounding me on the airplane, some are new friends, some old, but all are going to be my family for the next five months. The thing that makes me most excited and optimistic about this trip are the beautiful people that I’m going with. While we are all capable of enabling ourselves to have an amazing time we are also capable of affecting other peoples experience as well. During my trip I hope to make this an amazing time for everyone that I am with. I want to be able to look back at the experience and think, it would not have been the same without “so and so”, and I hope that I can be that person for the people that I am going with. I hope to be someone everyone can talk to, I want to make people laugh, I want to help people have fun. While this experience is going to be academically educational, the lessons I hope to take home with me are going to be the lessons that I don’t learn in the classroom. After all, that is what studying abroad is all about. It’s not just about studying from a textbook, its about studying cultures, facial expressions, the evils of the world, natural beauty, bus systems, languages, vibes, and I think most importantly, ourselves. If all of us can look at this experience as a way to find our selves, push ourselves and do things we wouldn't normally have done. I think by the time we all go home we will all feel proud of what we have taken from our trips around the world. There’s no doubt about it, I’m going to miss my family and friends more than anything and I know they’re going to miss me back but that’s what makes everything okay. When I start missing my people all I have to do is think about how badly everyone else wants this for me. When I filled out and handed in my study abroad application on December 1^st of last year I did it for fun. When I received my acceptance letter I figured I would go with the flow until I had to make a down payment then I’de make my ultimate decision. My decision was made in the weirdest way ever. I was sitting in the study abroad office with Lindsay, our group coordinator, initially I went to the meeting for her to talk me out of or into going but she didn’t have to. She immediately started discussing the courses I would be taking abroad and for my first semester senior year, everything felt so natural. So, I went with it. Immediately I started getting PUMPED and now here I am sitting on the plane on my way to Spain wondering. I’m excited for everything, my new family, the people I’m going to meet, new experiences with my Loyola pals, the food, traveling and every other beautiful luxury that comes along with being this lucky.