50 things about me at age 21

 Got this idea from my dear friend Jaimie.

1. "i no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. but i was beginning to believe that very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together."

2. I actually love California after spending a lifetime thinking it was world's worst.

3. I eat out all. the. time.

4. Cracked an egg in my Ramen for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it changed my life.

5. CJ and I have been reading the Book of Mormon together and it is always one of the best parts of my day.

6. God has been more gracious to me than I could have ever imagined.

7. I am losing steam in school. I don't like it.

8. I'm not as excited for Christmas as I usually am.

9. Diet Coke, I just can't quit you.

10. I tried Weight Watchers for about 2 months but it just wasn't very fun. SEE YA.

11. I am convinced that Heavenly Father has sent this beautiful weather just for me because He knows my life is hard right now and He knows the sun makes me happy.

12. Politics=suck. I would like to thank the USA for making me world's most optimistic cynic.

13. My best friend is leaving on her mission and I don't know what I will do.

14. I don't care much about what most people think of me.

15. The people whose opinions of me mean the most are my parents, CJ, and McKay.

16. I am sick of people asking me if I am going on a mission. Have you met my boyfriend? Hello.

17. I don't have a smart phone. Well, I did for one day and then I took it back.

18. I LOVE Twitter.

19. I cry a lot. Out of sadness, happiness, gratitude, and sometimes for no reason.

20. My favorite part of music is when a song has clapping in it.

21. I have mostly stopped biting/peeling my nails.

22. I don't love my tiny fat hands but I like them more when my nails are long and painted.

23. I hate taking showers. 

24. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

25. I am obsessed with X Factor. It's stupid.

26. One of my favorite things to do is replace song lyrics while singing along to the radio.

27. My body wakes itself up every morning before my alarm.

28. I have a Costco card thanks to my Mom.

29. I would do anything to live closer to my family.

30. I wish I had unlimited funds for Christmas gifts. Buying things for the people I love is my favorite.

31. Pinterest is boring.

32. I love shrimp and it doesn't make me sick anymore.

33. I think I was Brazilian in a past life.

34. I love writing in my journal.

35. CJ's iPhone is the best.

36. Some of my favorite music ever has come out in the past year.

37. I don't know what to do about my hair. It's a situation.

38. I want a baby but I mostly just want someone to hang out with 24/7 because I hate being alone.

39. King Henry apartment 62 will always hold a special place in my heart. It made a woman out of me.

40. Terrified of all things involving sex and childbirth and bodies.

41. My boyfriend is one of the best people I have ever known and one of my favorites.

42. If I had my way I would have a huge garden and I would cook and dance around my kitchen all day.

43. Pretty sure I haven't been grocery shopping in at least two weeks.

44. I still hate Halloween.

45. I will be really sad when I have to move away from my best friends. Maybe the only thing I will miss about Provo.

46. I love doing yoga.

47. My family is the number one force for good in my life.

48. I am sick of working at Independent Study.

49. Going to Spain was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I made wonderful true friends and found the love of my life.

50. I think that I don't really like concerts.

So because I haven't seen CJ since Spain and a lot of my friends/family have yet to meet him, people are always asking me, "What is your relationship with CJ like? I have never seen you guys together!" Well, this is pretty much it...





SEE YA.

I love Lisboa

I thought I did a pretty good job of writing in my journal while I was in Spain, but now that I'm back I have realized that I didn't write nearly enough! I want to write about my favorite days from Spain..or wherever. I can honestly say that I loved every minute of my Study Abroad. I didn't have a single bad day, but there were some days that were just perfect.

Portugal.
Usually on the weekends we had planned trips with our group, but there was one weekend that we had a group trip on Friday and then nothing else for the rest of the weekend. There was a couple in our group, David and Sarah, and they decided they wanted to fly to Lisbon for the weekend. David and CJ have a mutual friend who was living in Lisbon, and since CJ served his mission in Brazil and speaks Portugese it was perfect. Obviously Sarah and David couldn't go by themselves (yay, BYU!) and David's roommate, who was their usual third wheel, said he couldn't afford it as he was saving up for his wedding. Which is coming up in like two weeks, by the way. Anyway, they invited CJ and I to go with them and it took some convincing, but I decided it was an opportunity that I could not pass up!

Lisbon

The Sunday that we were there was one of the best days. I got to sleep in a little, which was a rare occurrence, and while we were eating breakfast in the hostel we met this girl and she was like "Hey, did I hear you say you are going to Sintra today?" I told her we were and she asked if she could tag along. I really admired her because I don't think I would have had the guts to walk up to a girl I didn't know and ask her if I could spend the day with her and and her boyfriend! She was from Connecticut and living in Madrid teaching English so we had a lot to talk about. It was so much fun having her around, but she was one of the worst photographers ever. CJ always gave me a hard time for not taking the best pictures but this girl was a different story. Every time we asked her to take a picture of us we would be like standing right by something beautiful and she would take it ONLY of us. Honestly. In every picture we are blocking the thing we actually wanted a picture of! And I don't even care that we have all these pictures of us together 'cause a lot of them are just really unflattering. She was so cool though and I'm really glad we got to spend the day with her. Even though she made us miss a train and a bus...

Like I said, the first thing we did was travel to Sintra which was about 45 minutes away from Lisboa where we stayed. Sintra is beeeaaaauuttiful. It kind of reminded me of Portland because it is hilly and jungly but it was like nothing I had seen in Spain. It was the cutest place! We took the bus up to Pena National Palace and it was easily the most beautiful palace on my Study Abroad. It cost a chunk of change to get in but it was well worth it! We saw this really fancy couple taking their engagement pictures there and they both looked SO good...then I realized that the man was wearing the UGLIEST shoes ever! They were Skechers or something and I just absolutely cringed. I hate when people could have wonderful engagement pictures and they do just ONE thing wrong, like wear stupid shoes or a ponytail holder on their wrist (hahaha pet peeve much???) But I digress. 

 

Palace hat! LOL

There was a vending machine of only KitKats and it didn't have a price on it. We were all starving so I got one and it turned out to be 2 euro! CJ was appalled at the price but I thought it was well worth it. We went to the Castle of the Moors which was a preeetttyyyy big hike. Our friend and I were like 50 feet behind CJ the whole time...I had so much stuff in my purse it was really slowing me down! Plus, I am really poky anyways. When we got to the top we had a beautiful view of Pena Palace and all of Sintra. It was gorgeous! Of course, the picture we took at the top is pretty lame, as CJ and I are BLOCKING the palace.

So sick of walking and especially sick of carrying my 100lb purse.

Just one example of the dumb pictures from that day.
WHAT FLAG EVEN IS THAT??
Blocking the main attraction, the palace.

By this time it's like mid-afternoon and we haven't eaten anything except that dumb KitKat so we walked around looking for a cheap place to eat. After like an hour we agreed on a small cafe where I ordered a dessert and quiche. Here are a few things about restaurants in Europe. They bring out the food as it is ready, not all at once. So if someone else's food is ready before yours, they will bring it out and you just all have to sit there and watch them eat it. Also, if they are out of something they don't tell you when you order. They will bring everything out and be like "Enjoy!" or whatever and start to walk away and you're like "Oh, um, excuse me...I ordered a quiche?" and they're like "Oh, we're out of quiche." and start walking away again and I'm just like "Hello! Oh, sorry, excuse me? Can I order something else, then? Because I'm not just going to sit here and like, not eat..." I am actually like, eternally grateful that they were out of quiche because then I ordered tomato salad just like I did every single day in Portugal and it was the best one I had! It was soooooo good. And the fries there were amazing as well.

We took our friend to the train station and said goodbye and then turned down the street and watched our bus to Cascais drive away...it was actually a huge bummer because we had to wait 45 minutes for the next one. Precious beach time! But we just played the infamous "Who Would You Be?" and laughed at the asian tourists and everything was fine. I slept for almost the entire bus ride which turned out to be my worst idea ever because it was like the most beautiful bus ride in the world, accoring to CJ. Thanks, dude. I did wake up to see Cabo da Roca, the most western point of Europe and it was so pretty.

As soon as we got to Cascais I was on the look out for Santini, which is allegedly the best gelato in Portugal/the world, as that was like one of the main reasons I was excited to go to Lisbon...haha! CJ was dying to get to the beach and we were just walking along and I saw people with cones. (I am honestly like a blood hound when it comes to finding food, especially ice cream! Even though I have no sense of direction I can always find McDonald's or ice cream...I was notorious for this in my group.) I finally saw where they were coming from and I yanked on CJ's arm, "Sannnntttiiiiinnniiiiiiiiii!" The line was out the door and going up the street and we just hopped right in it. I knew that CJ was not thrilled because we were running out of beach time, and he doesn't really care that much about ice cream...not like I do, anyway! But he didn't even guilt trip me at all and he was sweet about waiting in line for 30+ minutes just for ice cream. LET ME TELL YOU, THOUGH. That was the best damn ice cream I have ever had in my life and WELL WORTH the price and wait in line. I got mango, coconut with chocolate, and strawberry...and it was sooooo amazing. I was just eating my ice cream cone and laughing like a crazy person. It's fine. I would actually probably kill a man for some of that gelato right now.

You can't really tell but the line was forever long! Happiest girl in the world.

After we finally got our ice cream, we walked around the town and it was so cute! It was so fun to just walk around and look at the houses/buildings and the ocean. In Portugal the sidewalks are like mosaic...they are like that in Brazil too and they are so pretty. We finally headed to the beach to lay out for the last hour of sunlight in the day. We people-watched and just talked and laughed a lot. Then we walked along the beach for like two hours and then went back home to Lisbon.

For some reason we didn't take that many pictures in Cascais...sad!

BASICALLY I am in love with Portugal. Everything about it was wonderful: the food, our hostel, the people...I really want to go back! CJ and his dad took a week and went all over the country after our program ended so I can't wait to hear all about that and see pictures from their trip.

Word Vomit and Emotions. Beware.

I haven't been having the best time.

Ever since I got back from Spain it seems like one thing after another has just been getting me down. Every day is an emotional roller coaster, and we're talking..Raging Bull, not California Screamin'. As soon as I got back I started working full time, I quit diet coke (always a nightmare), started eating healthier (love/hate), and signed up for two online classes. I know that I can handle all of that, but in the moment that it was all happening at once I was miserable.

Some days were good but I felt really alone. In Spain, all my friends were around me all the time. There was never nothing to do. I had NO responsibility except a little bit of homework every now and then. I took a nap or went for a walk to the store almost every day, took the train to Madrid, had free access to all of Madrid's best museums, the best chocolate and gelato in the world were at my fingertips, I flew to Portugal with my boyfriend and friends for a weekend and went to the beach, I made best friends with my host mom, and drove all over Spain with 35 hilarious and amazing people on a huge red bus..life was SO easy. I knew my life would never be exactly like that again, but I didn't know coming back would be so hard!

So I had nothing to do, no job, and no car for a week right when I got back. Then I went back to work for a week, and then my family came to visit me for a week. I had so much fun with them but as soon as they left on Saturday night I was immediately lonely again. And really, really sad for the whole next day. But then I felt somewhat better again...I just kept going up and down a lot.

I'm not trying to complain or feel sorry for myself and I actually hate writing about this because I am mostly a happy and hilarious human. But I think this part of my life, even though I don't love it, is really important. I was talking to my friend Britton on the phone last night, and I hadn't talked to him in forever. The conversation I had with him had a much bigger impact on me than any of the conversations I have had in the past couple of weeks when talking to people about my problems. I have known for at least two weeks what I need to do to be happy, but I couldn't bring myself to take the time to humble myself and actually do it.

"When you feel sad and alone, instead of getting on facebook and looking at pictures from Spain, or texting your mom or texting Abby, or going to get a diet coke, or baking cookies or something, get on your knees and say a prayer. You are turning everywhere except to Heavenly Father, and none of those other things are going to bring you happiness and peace."

Well, don't know how he knew all the stuff I do when I am sad, but he was right. I know that these couple of months before school starts are really important and that I am having struggles because I need to draw closer to Heavenly Father so that I can grow and become what He wants me to be.

I have a lot to be thankful for and so much to look forward to...but I'm trying really hard not to wish my days away. (I want to FFW soooooooo baaaaaadddddddd)

Missing Paris.

I went to Paris almost two months ago.

I still remember literally everything about the trip! It was one of the best weekends of my life and I feel so lucky that I was able to go.

I started writing like this really long post detailing everything we did but I just decided that it's probably better to focus on highlights.

-The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. I think I gasped 100 times. Such an awesome first night.
-Our hostel was party central. Made friends with Peter from China. Obviously. Turned down billions of free drinks while we were planning our weekend in the lobby. MORMONS.
-Used our shirts as towels.
-Climbing so many stairs at the Eiffel Tower. Ate a Milka bar at the top.
-My favorite place we ate was the little bakery we went to on our first day. I had quiche and coke light and a chocolate tart and each one was the best I have ever had. The waiter said I had a very American face. Thanks!
-The catacombs! So creepy but so great.

-The huge mall where I looked at 200-500 euro baby clothes for hours. (not literally)
-Best McDonald's in the world.
-Macarons from Laduree for the first time. The world stopped.
-Watching the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night. LALALA SO PRETTY!
-St. Michel's, highest stained glass to wall ratio of any cathedral in the world. Gorgeous.
-Notre Dame.
-More delicious food.
-Sitting in the park in Paris writing down my wishes and dreams in my journal. Bliss.

-Notre Dame...beautiful. I was Catholic in another life.

-Love lock bridge. I liked watching these beautiful people smooch. I wanted to cry!

-Moulin Rouge, we did the Can-Can, as you can see.
-Musee d'Orsay. One of my absolute favorite parts of this trip and my whole study abroad. I saw so much beautiful art there IN REAL LIFE including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, and Gauguin. I remember walking through this museum and thinking, "This is the most my feet have ever hurt."
-We went on a riverboat cruise that we thought would be covered but we had to sit on the uncovered top and it was pouring rain.
-Then we were looking for somewhere to eat and we found this tiny pizza place that was really warm and full of hot waiters, so we went there. I paid like 15 euro for a pizza, but let's just forget about that. It was really delicious and a lovely dining experience overall.
-Waited in line at the Louvre for an hour and a half on free museum day.
-The Mona Lisa was not underwhelming. I thought it was beautiful.
-Searched for Hammurabi's Code in the Louvre for over an hour and we never found it.We asked like 100 different workers for directions and every way we went we got to a dead end. So...still haven't seen that.
-Literally RAN up the Champs Elysees to get to Laduree for macarons before we left.

-Ran even faster to our bus back to the airport to catch our flight. We barely made it.
-A pinky promise to come back someday.

De este vida llevaras panza llena y nada mas.

I was skyping my family on Sunday and my dad was a little anxious for me to blog again because he "doesn't do facebook" and that's where all my pictures are. So, dad, this is especially for you and your anti-facebook ways.

SEGOVIA. APRIL 27.

Saw the ancient acueducto built by the Romans. The amazing thing is that there is not anything between the bricks holding them together.

We took a little walking tour of Segovia and it was a really lovely town. There is a lot of religious history in the town concerning Jews and Muslims and their interactions with the Catholics. (Sorry this is so vague but it was almost a month ago and I have been on 100 trips since then.)

We visitied Alcazar which is a beeeaaaaauuuuuuuuttiful castle and I learned yesterday in the Prado that Las Meninas was painted there. The ceilings in here were some of the most beautiful I have seen. I much prefer the Musulmana ceilings to the overindulgent Rococo which is in a lot of palaces.

We also visited La Granja which is a pretty palace not far from Segovia. My favorite part of this palace was seeing a bunch of classy little Spanish schoolgirls on a field trip there. They were so adorable and fancy! The gardens at La Granja were super eerie and cool because of the weather but they looked super unkempt which put me off a little bit. We went in this hedge maze which had a sign that said "PLEASE SHUT THE GATE SO WE DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE *word none of us knew*" So we were trying to figure out what creepy animal we should be on the look out for and making up all these really dramatic possibilities and it just turned out to be deer. Then it poured rain and we all got soaked to the bones and went home.

BURGOS y LEON. APRIL 30-MAY 2.

On our way to Burgos we went to a really cool castle. 

Then we went to like a teeny tiny town and went and walked through a church. We were in a bar and we heard Jueves and I think CJ might have cried.

Then we went to another teeny town which was maybe one of my favorite destinations on this trip and we heard singing monks. It was really pretty and we hiked up this hill and looked over the city. The monks really stressed me out because I feel like they live sad unfulfilling lives and I still have so many questions about their lifestyle.

Then we went to Burgos to our hotel and me and my friends headed to the nearest McDonald's and Carrefour while everyone else went to find tapas. We all know who had a better time. 

We went back to the hotel and watched Jersey Shore but only for five minutes because it's not as funny in Spanish. Apparently they way they talk is the funniest part and the voice-overs kill it.

The next day we took a walking tour of Burgos and saw the cathedral which was beautiful. I really am hoping that I don't become completely disenchanted with castles/palaces/cathedrals because I am so lucky to see them all the time! One of my favorite parts about the cathedral in Burgos was an art exhibit inside. 

The quote from the author basically says that she asked, "Lord, put your hands in mine so that my work can bring men closer to you." I love loved loved these paintings and it was so nice to see something different than the same depictions of Christ over and over in the cathedrals. Which are often graphic and over-the-top.

Then we headed to Leon.

We may not look like much, but I love my group! Honestly, some of my favorite people I have ever met in my life. I can't even look at this picture without getting super emotional but I guess that's just me!

Then we went to the cathedral which has the second-highest stained glass to wall ratio of any cathedral in the world (I went to the first-highest in Paris. Both gorgeous.) This was one of the funniest nights of my life. We had free time beginning at like 7PM and we had heard that at midnight the cathedral would turn on the lights inside so that the stained glass windows would like gleam and glow and look super magical.

Me, CJ, and Kjersten went to a bar to try and get some food but apparently it was just a bar. So we sat outside and people watched and paid way too much for Coke Light, but it was a lot of fun.

Then we went to dinner and spent like 2 hours sitting in the restaurant because it was raining and we didn't really know what else to do when left to our own devices. We left the restaurant at like 9:30 and we still had a while before the "big show" at the cathedral so we just walked around...Some people went back to the hotel beforehand but by the time we got dinner and everything Kjersten and CJ and me were like let's just walk around until midnight, no big deal. That way we can explore the city and it's probably not worth it to walk back to the hotel anyway. Basically it was freezing and we had nothing to do so I now know Leon like the back of my hand just from walking ALL OVER and laughing like loons in the middle of like five different plazas...we wanted to make sure that the lights were actually going to happen and we asked like a billion locals and they all said that it would not happen. So we were pretty discouraged but we thought we might as well just stay because we knew people from our group would be coming and we were still hoping it would happen. We played Screw Marry Kill for like an hour and then made up another game called Who Would You Be? and we also made up scenarios about being homeless. I have maybe never laughed harder than I did that night! The lights did come on at midnight, though, and it was beautiful. 

The next morning we woke up, walked around in the cathedral and saw all the beautiful stained glass, then headed home. But we stopped at a castle called Coca. I kinda jumped the gun on going to the top and me and my friends were up there for like 15 minutes and then we were like, where is everyone else? And they were all downstairs having a tour. Awkward. Also, our tour guide was extremely drunk so that was hilarious.

Well...I am glad I am forcing myself to blog about this stuff. This trip is going by so fast and I have been so busy that I need to take more time to write down my memories! I am having the time of my life...I love beautiful Spain so much. I can't believe I only have one more month. I can't think about leaving or I will start to cry!!!!

Love and miss all of you very much. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

BESO BESO BESO

Madrid

Thursday was CJ's birthday so we (Me, Katie, Lexi, Alisha, CJ) decided to spend the day in Madrid. We live about 40 minutes away by train. I fell in total love with this city!! I was worried because we didn't really have a plan, basically we were just going to hop off the train and see where the universe takes us and it was perfect! (It was actually a combination of Katie navigating and the universe doing its thing.) We hit a lot of the big spots in Madrid and I think my little heart was like crying of joy the whole time. Like everything I saw I would just gasp and be like OHHHHH MADRE MIA MIRA! I can't even...I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! Also you may or may not notice that I have been wearing the same two outfits this entire time. That's because it's been kinda chilly and I'm just waiting for it to get warm so I can break out my dresses and skirts! Maybe I will go to Zara tomorrow anyways...

CJ in La Plaza Mayor.

Cathedral Almudena...I really really love this Cathedral! Maria is up top there in the middle. I think I might have been Catholic in a past life.

My first churros and chocolate on this trip. Soooo warm and yummy. (Sometimes my face seems really huge but let's just ignore that.)

 El Palacio Real de Madrid. You have no idea how badly I just want to be the Princess of Spain. She don't live here doh.

 La Puerta De Alcala. Alcala is the city that I live in but for some reason la Puerta de Madrid is in Alcala, and la Puerta de Alcala is in Madrid.

This is like...the world's most beautiful park. We are going to go back and run in the park, also rent paddleboats, also eat more ice cream. In the park. There was a man right across the way from us playing his guitar and singing Beatles songs in broken English (When I'm 64 and All My Lovin')..it was a perfect day! I am in love with this city! AND ALL OF SPAIN! HALA MADRID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1st day of school

School was fine. I have the hottest profesora in the world and she is super sassy! Se llama Teresa.

We took a test and I was the first one done <3 (PROUD PARENTS)

Tomorrow we are going to go to Madrid for CJ's birthday.

I went to Zara today...I was in heaven. But then I remembered that Euros are real money. I keep having to remind myself!

Katie and I walked 24,396 steps today!

Tonight we watched the Real Madrid game and they lost and I was really sad because I got super emotionally invested...I am a Real fan for life now.

I am making more and more friends every day. And having more and more fun! But tomorrow it's going to rain...hopefully I can still have a good attitude because we all know that I hate rain.

Today for dinner we had fries with hot dogs and cheese and ketchup on top. VIVA AMERICA

High on life

This morning I woke up and I didn't really know where I was and when Luisa knocked on my door I was all "COME IN!" ...Obviously my subconscious doesn't speak Spanish yet. The problem is, I can't really speak Spanish but I struggle with English as well. Asi es la vida.

I got up and got ready, then ate breakfast which was hot cocoa and something like french toast but without the syrup and more crispy. Luisa is so sweet that while I was getting ready before breakfast she ran to the store just to buy me some fruit! I seriously love her. Then after breakfast we went to do the grocery shopping which was fun. After that we headed to the Plaza to pick up Katie! The bus was coming from the airport with all the students who arrived today, but there were tons of protests near the Plaza so they were an hour and a half late. It didn't matter though because I just walked around with Luisa and we talked. I am so glad she's a talker because I love hearing about her life. Today was her husband's birthday...you can tell she really loves him and misses him. She is so classy, too. Today while we were waiting for the bus one of her earrings broke and we immediately walked to a store so she could buy new earrings. It's not in good taste for a Spanish lady to be in public without earrings! I could go on forever about mi querida amiga Luisa. I feel so lucky to have her as my host mom. Not to mention the sons. (OKAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE SONS, I KNOW.)

After we picked up mi amiga we went back home to eat lunch which was basically an omelette with spinach, mashed potatoes, fruit, and bread. In Spain, lunch is the big meal of the day and we usually eat around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It's great. Then Javier (Luisa's son) and his friend Juan came over for a bit which was really fun. Javi lives with his aunt because he has a dog named Tarzan who is really big and doesn't really belong in this small apartment. I can honestly say that Javi is one of the most beautiful humans I have ever seen. Moving on.

Then we went to meet up with our friends and explore the city!

 Don't remember what this is in front of. The University maybe?

 I love this picture. We were walking by the river which is more like a tiny stream. That doesn't really flow...

 This is a random gated park we found that I'm not sure we were supposed to go into. Oh, well.

 We were trying to get to our school but we got lost. Two seconds later this lady gave us directions. The map proved fairly useless.

 Everything is this beautiful. The weather is really great but sometimes the clouds cover the sun. So it's like "Oh, wow I'm so hot!" And two seconds later the clouds come and the wind blows and it feels great.

 I love the narrow cobblestone streets! Some of the roads are the same from the time of the Romans. I think. Maybe I misunderstood that factoid from Luisa. Will report back later.

 Jordan, me and Noelle. These girls are so fun and we all love ice cream! I told the man at the ice cream store that we would become friends because I am going to come there every day. He told me that I can't because I would get really fat. Thanks, homie. He also wouldn't let me sample the wine ice cream because he knew we are Mormons and he used to be Mormon. My teacher specifically told us that we CAN and SHOULD sample the wine ice cream! But I wasn't about to tell Victor that. My friend Logan said he should come back to church and he was like "I know! That's what my mom always says, too!" I want him to come to church with us if it's the last thing I do!

 Las bonitas! Today was so much fun. I am so glad that we are all starting to become friends! Lexi and Alisha live in the same apt building as Katie and I which is really fun.

Went to Spanish version of Walmart and right as we were about to leave I remembered that I am addicted to diet coke and bought a bunch. This picture really captures the love.

I am so happy and I already don't want to think about going home. I need to start taking more pictures of the food Luisa makes because it is really good. Tomorrow is orientation for school...no me importa. CJ finally gets here tomorrow and I am really excited! He is one of my best friends in the group.

Despite the fact that I am having the time of my life, I love you all and I miss you! Thanks for being so supportive and excited for me.

BESOS BESOS BESOS!

DISCLAIMER: I DIDN'T TAKE PICTURES TODAY

I arrived in Spain today! A few things.

1. I really never know what day or time it is here or back in America. No me importa.

2. One Day with Jim Sturgess and Ann Hathaway is one of the worst movies ever. I watched it on the plane after I watched Glee in concert. I need to marry a man who doesn't think twice when I'm given the choice of like 20 quality movies and I choose Glee in 3D...

3. My mamá se llama Luisa and she is the world's sweetest. She loved the chocolates I gave her and she has two sons who are...eh hem...guapísimos. Her husband died like a month ago and she told me she is still getting used to him not being here. She mentions him every once in a while and it makes me really sad.

4. I love greeting everyone with besos!

5. It is so hard to speak in Spanish all the time. We all know I am a huge talker but I haven't talked that much since I got here! It feels like I have nothing to say. I can understand pretty much everything Luisa says, but when we were walking today and I could hear people talking it's not like i could eavesdrop because I don't understand well enough when I'm  not completely concentrating.

6. I found a frozen yogurt place...boom.

7. I already want Mexican food. Ay.

8. I stick out like a sore blonde American thumb. When I was in Russia nobody was the wiser, here they all gawk at me and I feel like a tonta!

9. I can't wait for my friends to get here!

10. Monday is Cervantes day in Spain, which is very exciting because I live just a few blocks away from the house he was born in. So it's a pretty big deal around here. Also, I am sad I missed the clasico last night but apparently Real Madrid won so hooray!

11. Also, craving barbecue right now.

I am going to go to bed to try and get back on a normal schedule if at all possible. I am so so so so happy to be here and even though it's scary I am ready to have the time of my life! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and also one of the dumbest...but I'm sure that will pass. I hope my posts will be better in the future but honestly my brain is made out of mush and mini reese's cups right now. Besos!

Me odio

I was going to write this really long-winded blog post about leaving for Spain tomorrow but I just CAN'T.

Brain is mush.
Still don't have text books for my Spanish classes.
Still have laundry to do.
Today I have eaten: Diet coke and an ice cream sandwich. (not even mad)
Definitely failed my cleaning check.
No idea where I'm sleeping tonight.
Stress dreams forthcoming.

ON THE PLUS SIDE:
Today is my last day of work! (bittersweet)
I am leaving Provo tomorrow. To go to SPAIN. For two months. With my friends!
After much ado, my hair looks great and it has been trimmed so I don't look like a hippie witch.

QUE MILAGRO (read: horrid/best week)