you say goodbye and i say hello.

what i really really mean is....
goodbye, spain.
but oh, hel-LO france.

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this post is kind of helter-skelter. mostly saying goodbye to spain. so that afterwards, i can mostly concentrate on just saying hello, which is just the way i like it.
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i’m on the train on the way to france. i have my entire life for the next two months in my 26” suitcase, a backpack, and a purse—and it’s finally sinking in that i’m leaving spain. it’s been such a fantastic experience. here are a few of the reasons why.

1) i’ve had the opportunity to talk to so many people and to hear their stories. as i've talked to people off the street, chatted with our family, hung out with alex, i've realized more than ever  that all of them have unique stories that separate them from me as individuals, but still connect us more than ever as people.

2) i’ve learned to appreciate art and architecture so much more. taking a class on spanish history/culture/architecture/art, being able to see so many art museums and countless cathedrals and palaces, and just talking about it all, has helped me so much. i feel like i’m a more cultured, rounded person now—and i like it. i like having an opinion on art and being able to talk about it (at least a little bit). i’m super pumped for my class on gothic architecture at cambridge now.

3) i’ve made some amazing friends. my directors, my roommate, the entire study-abroad group, my family here…they are all SUCH amazing people. i can’t imagine my experience without them, and i can’t wait to see them again in provo once fall semester starts.

4) i’ve learned more about me. all of these things and much much more have made me realize more about who i am and what i want out of life. or at least what i don’t want out of of life. and that’s all i’ll say about that. 

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looking back, we've traveled all over spain. here's a succinct summary of all the cities we've visited. lucky us.

1)  Alcalá de Henares

2) Madrid

3) Toledo

4) Segovia

5) Cuenca

6) Valencia

7) Ávila

8) Salamanca

9) Los Molinos de Don Quijote

10) La Mancha

11) Córdoba

12) Sevilla

13) Granada

14) Barcelona

15) Montserrat

16) Bilbao

17) San Sebastián

18) Biarritz

19) Saint Jean de Luz

20) Burgos


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i’m glad to leave…

-some of the seafood 

-small drinks that aren’t refillable

-copious amounts of olive oil on everything. EVERYTHING.

that's about it. everything else i don't like about europe, i'll have to face for the next two months (breathing second-hand smoke all the time, the euro vs. the dollar, etc.) so there's just no sense in singling out poor spain.

i’ll miss...

-our English class. seriously, teaching this class was so much fun. unfortunately, i never took a picture of the class :( 

-fanta (naranja & limon)

-alex. he's our columbian buddy. mostly, we just eat and talk and eat some more.

alex, me and columbian empanadas.

-español. i've been in france for five hours so far and i'm already missing spanish. ahhhh.

-alcalá feeling like home. it was an amazing feeling. and now i'm gone :(

-la familia. our spanish family was seriously...SO fantastic. i will miss them tons and tons.

me with paco and irene on our patio

-ice cream. chocolate con dulce de leche, por fa.

-paella (my spanish mom's paella...it blows me away. every time we eat it. every single time.

-el grupo

couldn't find a picture of the entire group...
but here are most of the girls. + spencer.
can't even tell you how great these people are.

-flamenco. yes. flamenco. oh, flamenco.

being flamenco dancers.
or posers.
your choice

.-regalices con pica pica. spanish candy is my fave.

-traveling every weekend. despite hours on that miserable bus...it was worth it. 

-and finally....um,

Mom, here's where you should stop reading.

-i just might miss my hair. because i CHOPPED it off. maybe the most spontaneous decision i've ever made. i don't know how i went from wanting a mere trim to get rid of split ends to cutting off all my hair.
Haley, you'd be proud. 

me in our hostel room in marseille.

i knew you'd keep reading, mom. sorry about losing the long hair. i wasn't sure what to think at first either...
but honestly, right now i'm liking it. a lot.
 my time in hostel showers is a quarter of the time i used to need to shower. plus, it's been really hot. and don't worry, my hair grows fast. :)

pros and cons.

this day is a sad day for three reasons:

1) last full day in spain. :(
2) my digital camera is broken.
3) i managed to scratch my cornea and my eye really really really hurts all. the. frikkin. time.

this day is a fantastic day because...

1) tomorrow i'll be on the train on the way to france. that means a whole new chapter of adventure begins.
2) the pool for our apartment complex is open and laura and i are going to divertirnos alla.
3) i tried my first happy hippo today. it's basically heaven in the shape of a hippo.

putting the study into study-abroad.

finals are over.

i put two months worth of studying into a mere day and a half.

bad decision.

don't recommend it because...

1) i got 3 hours of sleep last night (also due to the fact that we got home from les mis at about 2:00 in the morning)

2) switching from vacation mode to study mode that quickly is super painful.

3) you don't even do that good on your finals, even after a massive jam-fest. any more than a few centuries of spanish history, art, and architecture, and you'll need far more than a day and a half to remember it all.

me, courtney, and emma studying&stressing.
we were not happy people.

bleepity bleep to heck with this was the general consensus. but it's over, and

now it's back to vacation mode for two and a half more weeks.

and then i'd better get back into scholar mode 

or cambridge will kick my butt.

Los Miserables.

We went to see Los Miserables last night. En espanol. 

I LOVED it. Fantastic singing and acting. Incredible set.

Powerful story.

Powerful music.

Redemption & shame & self-worth &

honor & mercy & justice & freedom

& death & life just keeps going on and on and on.

So inspiring.

I can't wait to go see it in London in English.

boo-yah.

Okay, two more pictures.

laura y yo.

emma, me, and erin.

Highly recommend Les Mis.

Go see it.

Any language will do.

a day in the park.

jason, a friend from byu, happened to be staying 

in madrid this past weekend.

he knew three of us girls in the group.

clearly, we had to hang out.

giselle couldn't make it, but courtney and i 

headed over to madrid one bright afternoon.

we went to a little spanish tienda and bought 

two baguettes, ham, and cheese.

then we went to retiro.

we rented a boat.

me trying to row the boat...ha.

we ate lunch.

delish ham and cheese sandwiches.
in a boat.
yeeeeah.

we found a beautiful spot and sat down,

discussed the school system in America,

and how our values/mindset are contributing
 to the problems.

we also discussed travel.

told adventure stories.

talked about art and literature.

& it was great conversation.

then we got back up and visited the glass palace.

it was beautiful. so full of light.

made me want to dance.

outside the beautiful glass palace.

unfortunately, we didn't dance. 

but there was a slide inside of the building.

i didn't go on it because i 

was wearing a skirt.

but jason and courtney did.

i was slightly (VERY) jealous.

courtney coming down the slide.

we finished the day off with some good ol' 

churros y chocolate.

cozy place with delicious churros y chocolate.

we finished the churros but we still 

had lots of chocolate.

jason dared us to drink it plain.

we each took a big gulp.

i've never had such an explosion of

chocolate in my mouth

EVER.

then courtney and i remembered something:

finals.

and we hadn't studied at all.

so we had to say goodbye.

but it was such a fun day.

El Cristo Viviente

Last Sunday our group did a musical program for the church here called 
"El Cristo Viviente."

It was so beautiful. So powerful.

 I know that Christ lives.

I've felt His presence in my life.

And I'm so grateful for that.

It was an amazing experience. 

We did it for the people here, but really, 

it helped us too.

I don't think our group has ever felt so close, so united.

There's something about believing something so strongly

that it's ingrained into who you are--

and being with other people who believe the same thing--

and then being able to share it.

Afterwards we cried&hugged, claro.

And then we took lots of pictures outside.

Here's  a few.

jason, a friend from BYU, happened to be in spain and came
to the program! he knew three people in our group--
giselle, me, and courtney.

rina and i. rina has an incredible voice.

i dont even know what's going on.
erynn, chris, y yo.
buddies in mexico & buddies in spain.

courtney and i.
courtney is incredibly intelligent, sweet, and is
just boatloads of fun.
she's going to be serving a mission in
venezuela this fall.

Okay, it's official.

I LOVE my study-abroad group.

an afternoon in france...and burgos.

On our trip to Pais Basco, we also took a quick little jaunt to France. Rewind time until Friday morning. :)

After a wonderful night’s rest in a wonderful hotel bed and a delicious breakfast buffet (most memorable item: delish chocolate muffin), we all piled back on the bus for a new adventure, passports in hand.

The bus slowed.

Goodbye, Spain. Oh, hello, France.

            More specifically, Biarritz.

               

            Biarritiz has been blessed with a beautiful beach, beautiful flowers, and beautiful people (oh, hello, french hottie). It was sprinkling so lightly that there was almost a mist in the air. It started to rain a little harder later, but the strange thing is...I didn’t even care. I was just so happy to be there in such a lovely place with the fantastic people from my study abroad group.

              

            We played in the beach for a while.

doing the can can on the beach.
these girls. so great.

            Then we walked next to the coastline and through the town…I loved it.

barefoot and happy.

coast.

                And we ended up in an adorable little cathedral. It had a completely different feel than the Spanish cathedrals. It was lighter, more of a hopeful feel. Also, in the front of the church, Christ was the focal point instead of the Virgin Mary. It was also smaller, more cozy. I really enjoyed it.

outside of the cathedral.

                After the cathedral, we walked back through the town and got back on the bus to visit another French town—Saint Jean de Luz. One of the language professors at BYU told Killian (our TA/assistant director) that it is his favorite town in the world. It was indeed so pretty.

                You walk down these streets and you hear cheerful, lilting music coming from small white speakers attached to the walls. The streets are full of the most heavenly-smelling bakeries I have ever walked past (Laura bought a croissant and told me it was incredible).

Saint Jean de Luz.

                We went to a little French café, where I had lemon chicken, potato wedges, and a green salad (NOT drenched in olive oil, thank you very much). But even more memorable, I had chocolate crepes, which boy, do the French know how to make.

chocolate crepes.

                We had some free time to just wander around and shop if we wanted. Everything was incredibly expensive so I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. It’s a very classy town and the products in the stores reflect that.

eli and i in saint jean de luz.

it's cute, huh.

                After free time, we all met up again and headed back to San Sebastion, Spain. Southern France was such an incredible time—I can’t wait to go back there again in less than a week now.

                After we got back, a group of us students (Laura, Natalie, Aubrey, Chris, and me) had a “study night.” We never study when we’re all together…but I kind of finished the itinerary for Florence and my notebook for our conversation class. But to be completely honest, there was probably more talking, music-listening, and laughing going on than studying.

                At around midnight, a group of us decided we wanted to go to the beach again. So we did. T’was a good decision.

                The next day we all got back on the bus and headed for Burgos to see the cathedral

la catedral.

El Cid is buried in this cathedral, which I thought was super cool.

will and i at the tomb of el cid and his wife.

After the cathedral...and after lunch...we headed for home. End of spectacular weekend adventure. Sad day.