Back Home again in Indiana...

I have now been home for almost 3 weeks and I am just getting to this adjusting back blog. I got home on April 19th 8 O' clock on the dot. Teddi, Sam, and I could hardly hold in our excitement as we walked toward where we left our families 3.5 months before. When we got close enough, the first thing I saw was my dad's white head. Then Paul and my mom! I wish I could've seen our faces. I was holding onto Sam and Teddi until I got to hug everyone waiting. Mom was holding a fiesta balloon. Then Chris and John walked up with a Welcome Home sign and my favorite gum from John. And Paul brought me my favorite salad from a dining hall at Ball State and a PBJ with all the right ingredients! It was a wonderful welcome home.

That week I got to go up to Ball State with Sam and see some old friends. It was great, but overwhelming at the same time. I knew just kept going back home, but it was weird to come home and actually see all the change and a lot that just stays the same. I remember being anxious about coming home after my mom left Spain and my sister told me not to be missing home too much because they weren't going anywhere. That helped me a lot. It was totally true. Now that I'm home, I've fallen into a lot of the same summer routine.

It is great to be with my family especially to help out and feel needed. (My dad broke his right leg and I am so glad I can be here to help him out.) It's also fun to see old friends. However, it has been weird to be home before my friends are out of school. Most of my friends have been really busy studying for finals and such. When I went to BSU I just wanted to hang out, but I also didn't want to get in the way. I can't wait to for my friends to come home. Most of them are finished with finals by tomorrow!

I do miss a lot about Spain, like I knew I would. A lot of my friends are going to Segovia to study this summer: Amy, Leanne, Chelsea, Morgan, Beka, Caleb, and Nate. I wish I could jump in one of their suitcases. My friend Amy might be living with Julia, so I hope to be able to skype with her at least once this summer. I am so thankful for the opportunity to study abroad and I am still looking learning lessons and thinking of reasons for my trip. I don't start my summer camp job, Springhill, until June 4th so I have some free time to spend doing things I normally can't. I have really enjoyed being with my family in this time. I also know it has helped me have a more open mind about other cultures and I will benefit from this experience for the rest of my life! If you ever get the change to live amongst another culture for some time I would definitely recommend it. It's totally worth it!


What I miss the most about Segovia?:
I miss seeing everyone out walking and walking along with them on the narrow streets. Also, running into people I knew each day and just taking time to sit down and talk with them. I miss the sites while walking: mountains, aqueduct, quaint shops. In that sense, the town reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney movie.

What did I miss most about home?:
Of course my family and friends. But I also missed the comfort of my own home the most. I felt very welcomed and happy living with Julia. However, I never wanted to step on her feet. She would make the food and do my laundry so I was on her schedule. I never felt like I could relax like I can at home.

What would I do differently if I could go back?:
I would explore more. I would've loved to get to know the people more than I did. I felt like the only way for me to do that was to go out and party at night and I wasn't very comfortable with that. However, I wish now that I would've found one cafe to spend some more time in and get to know the workers and the regulars more from the beginning. I started doing that towards the end when it was kinda late.
(This helps me even now realize that I want to reach out more even at home, school, work. It's not too late to do that right where I am!)

When life seems overwhelming..

I have been having trouble sleeping this week because I am anxious about coming home. I have forgotten to slow down and give my worries over to God. I was listening to music as I studied for my finals and came across this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY8BCgX0dwg&feature=PlayList&p=0CC471A706179F5B&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

I was immediately reminded of how small I am in this overwhelming world, but God made all of this and made me. He loves me so much. How could I ever forget? He has protected me this whole time in Spain. He is amazing! I just wanted to share that with you all. I pray you know the peace my Savior provides. Psalms 19:1-4

Our last Hoorah in Segoviah!

Friday morning the class went on our last excursion to the "mountains". First of all, we didn't have to leave till 11 so it felt great to sleep in a bit. The bus ride was about 30 min. of beautiful scenery outside of Segovia. I'd been there once before, but I could never get tired of it. When we got off the bus our professor, Edu, took the lead. It felt like we were walking through a lot of people's backyards, but I think they're used to it. I wore two light weight jackets because I thought we would be going up to the snow capped mountains. However, we just walked around at the base of the mountains. It got so hot. It was beautiful though. It was definitely my favorite excursion with the class: there weren't any lines, hardly any explaining from the professor, and it was a perfect day! We ate our bocadillos outside next to an older part of the aqueduct. Then as we walked back, we were walking through a field with a bunch of horses. A lot of them came right up to us. I really love horses so I thought it was great. However, our professor was annoyed. He was trying his best to scare them away, but they followed us anyway. Sam and I have decided we want to try to go to Browncounty, IN to go horse riding sometime soon. (Hopefully) I'm not sure how many miles we walked, but I loved it the whole time. It was the perfect start to the day.

That night, Sam's mom invited Becca and me "ir de cañas". Becca is her intercambio and since I teach English to her boys with Sam they wanted to take us out. We went to a place to get drinks and tapas. I got some drink without alcohol that tasted like grape juice. (At first I thought it tasted like apple cider, but they said it was grape.) I have never actually gone out for tapas with a Spanish family, so it was really fun! The boys just ran around outside and would come back to grab a tapa every now and then. We just talked with the adults and then another family came up and talked with us for a long time. It was so much fun! We just talked about girlie stuff and the guys talked about...who knows...whatever guys talk about. (Maybe the Real Madrid vs. Barca game) I loved talking with them and the best thing was that I could understand everything!! The other lady was Carmen and she loves to talk and it's pretty fast, but I was so excited that I got it all and could respond. I guess I've learned more than I thought.

We talked a little about the book Twilight, because Sam and Ester just finished reading it. Then we got on the subject of the new movie with the actor from Twilight in it and how all of want to see it. I asked when it was coming out and they said it is out...so I said let's go! ahah So we're all going today. I'm excited to see Carmen again she's so funny. I probably wouldn't be in such a hurry to see it at home, but I thought it sounded fun with them! We are going to go see it today at 6!

It was about 10 by the time we finished tapas. I hadn't seen Julia all day so I was worried that she would wonder where I was. I hurried back expecting to find her eating dinner, but she said she had just gone out with her friends and she wasn't really hungry. She said I could help myself so I grabbed a banana and was on my way again. That night were invited to our friend Stephanie's house to play cards. She lives on a military base because her padre is the Coronal. We played a game I'd never heard of before. We called it "Ahh Heck". I think it's my new favorite game. I'm just getting the hang of it, so I'm not good at all, but it's fun! It's like a game of solitaire with community piles. Have you ever played? If not, I'll have to teach you. I walked back to my house about 2 am. It was a very eventful day! I loved every min. of it :)

Saturday, I went out with Sam and we bought a few gifts for people at home. I still want to get a few things though. It's so fun to buy things for other people. I really didn't do much after that. However, at 6 I met my intercambios, Becca, and Sam and we made our way to the mountains. One of my intercambions, Aranzazu, climbs this mountain all the time. She was prepared with maps, sunscreen, water, Gatorade, and snacks. I didn't realize we would really be scaling a mountain. It was tough. At first, it was a steady incline, but soon we felt like we were rock climbing. As we got closer to the top, our breaths got shorter and our strides longer. I thought I saw the top, so I started singing, "We're half way there", but I was so wrong. At that point we were about 1/4 of the way there. When we finally made it to the top, it was BEAUTIFUL! We could see the mountains all around us and little Segovia was just a spec below us. It was hard work, but vale la pena. It was the perfect ending to the trip! When we got up there we took pictures, rested, and replenished ourselves for the way back down. By the time we got back down, it was almost dark. We watched the sunset as we walked down. That was definitely something I'll never forget.

At the end, I said good-bye to Aranzazu (one of my intercambios) for the last time. When we were walking down I told her I'd been listening to the music she introduced me to all week. It was a guy called "Mika". He's a singer from London. I really like him, but I told her I also wanted to find some actual Spanish music. Everyone listens to English music here. She gave me a suggestion and I said I'd look into to it. However, when I was saying bye she reached in her car for something and she came out with two CD's. She let me have Mika and David Bisbal! It was so sweet of her. I was so excited and have been listening to them ever since. (Like right now!) It was hard to say bye to my intercambios. Over all I had a great time with them. I thought we would still meet on Tuesday like every week, but since I have to study so they said this could be our last meeting. It was the perfect ending. I feel like it would've been harder to say good-bye if we had one more meeting.

After the mountains, I went to a bar to watch the Real Madrid vs. Barcalona game with a lot of people from my class. It's like their Super bowl, so all the bars were full of people. It was so fun! Most of the people in Segovia fans of Real Madrid, but a lot of students in my group like Barca. It wasn't a very good game for Madrid. The final score was 0-2, Barca. I know my professor is not going to be happy when half the class shows up wearing Barca shirts on Monday! haha The game was so fast. It's 90 min., but they always keep the clock running. It's not like watching American football at all.

Today, I actually started packing. I realized, there's so much I didn't need to bring. I have no idea how I got it all here in the first place. It's worse now, because I have more than I came with. I also studied, cleaned my room, helped Julia send e-mails to some of her former students, and spent time with Sam's family again. I thought I would just be going to the movie, "Recuerdame", with them, but we can't go out on Sunday without going for tapas. (Ps. it wasn't my favorite movie, It was okay. It was a bit of a tear jerker though. Yikes!)

After the movie, we went with Carmen to her "Finta", which is pretty much a backyard she shares with her whole family. Most of the flats here don't have yards, so the cobblestone streets become the playground for families. However, we learned tonight that people buy pieces of land for their run around areas. This "finta" had a pool, tennis/basketball court, lots of yard to run/ride bikes, and a little house (but they told us it's not to sleep in). They spend a lot of summer days and celebrations there. It was someone's birthday. The whole family was there, so we had no idea who's birthday, but we got to partake in the cake! hah And I must say it was really great. "Que cumples mucho mas!" (Thats part of a song they sing after Happy birthday and it basically means may you have many more!)

When they finally rounded up all the kids, we went out for tapas. I had no idea how long we would be and I was planning to study when I got back, but I figured, Hey you're only here once! They asked me if I'd ever seen the Alcazar (castle) at night and I hadn't, so we went to a place with a great view of the castle! It was a like an old tavern, very Segoviano they told me. It was a wonderful end to our last, eventful weekend in Segovia.

I learned a lot about Segovia even this last weekend. There is really no place like it. If you ever have the chance to visit Spain, please stay a few days in Segovia! The people and small city are wonderful. I will miss it dearly. However, I know there is no place like home! Ta luego :)

Semana Santa con Samantha!

This past week was Semana Santa or Holy Week, which is the week before Easter. A lot of schools/businesses close for the whole week to celebrate the holiday. We didn't have classes on Thursday or Friday so Sam and I decided to enjoy the warm weather at a beach! We were originally thinking about heading north to San Sebastian, which is right by the France border. However, we wanted a relaxing time without plans and with sunshine, so we made our way to Alicante. According to my intercambio it's like the Florida of Spain. Many retired couples move there and it's always full of tourists.

We left early Thursday morning on the bus to Madrid, to the metro, to our bus to Alicante. That was our last long trip transferring transportation like that and I can't say I'll miss it. However, it is nice to have something as fast and as cheap as the metro.

I spent a lot of the trip there and back looking out the window at God's creation. Spain is really beautiful. Even though it is a lot smaller than the US it has probably just as many terrains. I was in Valencia, which was my 5th out of 17 regions of Spain to visit. A lot of the trip was actually flat fields with olive trees, wind mills, and grass. Then as we got closer to Alicante, it became mountainous again; rocky mountains with the occasional cactus, which definitely reminded me of Arizona.

The bus stopped half way to Alicante for us to eat our bocadillos. When I got off the bus it was pretty chilly. I was worried that Alicante wouldn't be much warmer. However, when we finally arrived, I had to take my sweater off. It was warm and sunny, just what we were hoping for. Even though Sam and I were traveling alone at this point, we weren’t anxious like we have been in the past while traveling. We had no time schedule to follow and whenever we had a question we just asked. There were even a few times we weren't sure if we had passed our bus stop or not, but when we asked again we found that it was the next stop. Phew...perfect timing! Sam knew as soon as she saw tall buildings that we were getting close to the beach. However, I don't remember the last time I've been to a popular beach so it was all totally new to me: the tourists, people speaking English everywhere, the boardwalks, the tall buildings, the sounds of the ocean, and everything was so vibrant!

When we got to the hotel I was so excited to find that it was right along the coast.
We were all ready to check in, pay, and get settled. However, there was a little problem. The first thing they asked for were our passports and neither of us had them. Up until that point we felt so prepared. After trying to get a hold of our parents for awhile through e-mail, phone, skype, facebook, and Matt (Sam's boyfriend), we got it figured out. (Even though I'm all the way across the world.. It's nice to know I can get in contact with my family pretty easily!) The rest of the weekend was worry free!



Soon after we got checked into our rooms, we made our way to the crowded streets of Alicante. It was about 8pm and everyone was out enjoying the fresh, sea air. It's normal for families and friends to meet about an hour before dinner and go out for drinks and tapas(appetizers that usually come free with drinks) so there was that crowd. There was also touristy crowd (us), and the crowd out for the processions. To celebrate Easter they have parades with elaborately decorates floats with the cross, and Mary. The people carry the floats (I'm not sure what else to call them) are all dressed uniformly in what seem like choir robes. There are also men dressed in the same robes and also wearing masks the come to a point above their heads. They are a bit scary, like the kkk masks. Yikes! Kids also participate, but they are cute and carry candy in their pockets for anyone who holds out their hand. I was kinda nervous to hold out my hand. I thought they would say, "You're too old!" But I decided to go for it and as soon as I held out my hand I got a little jolly rancher looking piece of candy! :)

The next two days were a routine of nothing! It was great. We spent time reading and listening to music while enjoying the beach. I wasn't even going to try to go without sunscreen on the Mediterranean. I made sure to apply and reapply several times. I've learned my lesson. However, I forgot the backs of my legs. DUMB! The rest of the trip I had lobster legs..but the worst part was that it hurt to walk. I tried to ignore it though because nothing was going to put a damper on my trip to the Mediterranean! The next day, my legs did not see the light of day. However, I think there were enough half naked bodies on the beach to make up for my lack of showing skin. Bleh- That's one thing about Europe that I won't miss. ha

Since we would be spending Easter Sunday traveling back to Segovia, we wanted to make sure to recognize the day and give thanks, so we decided to get up early. We walked down to the shore to watch the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy, but still beautiful. We sang worship songs, read John 19 & 20, and prayed together. It was definitely an Easter I'll never forget. However, there's nothing like being with our families. We miss them and are getting excited about coming home so soon.


I know this trip abroad has been a huge blessing! I have learned a lot about different cultures, languages, and myself. Even before I was certain about coming, I was asking God to give me a BIG reason to come or not to come, but that never happened. I had the desire in my heart and God opened the doors. I thought I would learn huge lesson from the trip, but I think I have been learning several little things that will stay with me for life. Even just depending on God before anyone else. I still have 10 days here and I am trying my best to soak it up!

I have to go.. Our (Julia) "favorite" Thursday night movie is on. See you all so soon!

Megan..."La de la Terraza"!

You may have noticed I'm not blogging as much anymore. I'm happy to say it's due to the wonderful weather we've been having in Segovia. (Except for today-ha) I don't remember the last time I had to wear my winter coat! I have been walking around during the siestas and visiting new places. It's been great!
This past Tuesday, I had a few presentations to work on so I didn't have time to go outside. However, I decided to eat my merienda (snack) on our balcony. I grabbed a kiwi, which makes me think of summer, shut the sliding door and sat down on the balcony to enjoy the sunshine. When I finished and decided to get back to work, I tried to open the sliding door, but it wouldn't budge. I was LOCKED OUT!
At first, all I could do was laugh at my predicament. I was stuck on a small apartment sized balcony with nothing but a kiwi and spoon. I thought, what in the world will Julia think!? haha
I decided to use my time to exercise, count red cars, count bald headed people, and sing songs! (There were actually quite a few bald people within 5 min., 42) However, after awhile I began to worry. It was about 6pm and Julia wouldn't get home till around 7:30. Then I remembered it was Tuesday and she always goes out with her friends till around 9:30. That’s when I really started to freak out. It was getting cold as the sun set and I thought I might just be stuck forever. I was not only stuck, but also missing my intercambio with a few people. I told them just a few min. before I got stuck on the balcony that I would be meeting them at 7. However, that wasn't going to happen and I had no way of letting them know. I thought a few times about calling down to the people on the street, but I knew they couldn't do anything. Even if they did get up to Julia's apartment the front door was locked so they wouldn't be able to help. Like my nephew later suggested, I thought about climbing down. However, I was on the 3rd story, which really means 4th in Spain. (The first floor is 0) I was officially trapped. I felt like I was in an "I love Lucy" episode. Except my mom said it would be "I Love Megan"... Oh my!
I spent the rest of the time hoping and praying that Julia would for some reason still come home at 7:30. As the time was approaching for her to come home I kept a look out for her, but I never saw her. I started knocking on the door just in case she was home. (I couldn't see because of the curtain on the other side) But nobody came to my rescue. I decided to sing again and as soon as I did, the curtains started moving! It was Julia to the rescue!! She gave me the funniest look I've ever seen. Oh man it still makes me laugh. ha She motioned for me to come in, but obviously, I couldn't. She let me in and then I told her the whole thing. She said, "Como habla la gente". (she thought people were just talking really loudly, but really it was me singing on her balcony!! ha) I think at first she was trying not to laugh, but I was laughing when I told her. After she asked if I was okay, she started cracking up. She had to leave to meet her friends, but that wasn't the last I heard from her. After she got back from the bar, she called me in to eat dinner. She has a new name for me though, Megan.."la de la terraza". (The girl from the balcony) hah She told me that she told all her friends. hah Of course she did! She said they felt sorry for me, but I'm sure they were cracking up. haha I would be!
The next day at school, one of my professors asked me why I didn't show up to my intercambio. I guess Jesus (One of the guys I meet with for the intercambio) called my professor to ask if she knew where I was. So I proceeded to tell the story to her. Most of the professors were in the office so pretty soon almost everyone knew. hah My Grammar prof. pulled out some jokes today, but I think that's the last I'll hear of it…at least, for a little while. However, I'm pretty sure Julia will never forget...la de la terraza! :)

A PLETHORA OF PiCTURES

I figured out how to post a link to my photos! If you want to see our spring break photos scroll down and there should be a link on the right hand side of my blog. (look for the picture of the cross!) Well...I guess you have to have a snapfish account to see them. What a shame! However, it's free! (this is no plug)

Bob's Your Uncle!

LONDON!!
Okay, I'm finally getting to this blog. Hmm..where to begin!? Our flight was delayed a bit to London so I was worried that it wouldn't even happen. I was going to be really sad to miss out on seeing London and Jenna. However, an hour later we were on our way!
We flew over the English Channel. It was such a clear day we could see boats doting the shore. When we landed in Gatwick we took a train to Victory Station, which according to my mom, has a lot of history.
Mom took charge on this trip with the transportation and housing arrangements. We weren't sure exactly how to get to our hotel, but it was no problem… we simply asked! (I was loving ENGLISH!) An older lady on the bus said to my mom, "Oh don't worry dear, it's just one stop after mine." Most the people we came across in London we're very helpful.
Our hotel was my favorite I've stayed in so far in Europe. It was old and Victorian looking. Our room was very flowery. It definitely reminded me of an old tea room. (I wouldn't want to live there. However, it was a fun atmosphere for our stay. We had two french doors from floor to ceiling that opened up to our balcony. From our balcony we could look out and see Hyde Park, which is bigger than Central Park in NYC. It was a beautiful view and we had three sunny days in London to enjoy it.
After we got our internet working, we got a hold of Jenna and she came over right away. (Earlier that day, she went to see if we had checked in yet, but I told her the wrong hotel. I felt awful, but she found us in the end!) Jenna and I explored the streets of London, including the famous Oxford street with all the shops. Then we took the tube (Yes, I did get to hear "mind the gap" with the great British accent!) to get some food and see her flat. We decided to stop in a pub near her flat. We ordered, but the lady at the counter could barely understand us. We weren't sure if she was speaking English herself, but we got it figured out. There were a few men on the other side of the pub speaking in a thick Scottish accent. It was fun to listen to them. When we finished, we went to Jenna's flat and I met her flat mates. They seemed pretty nice, but I guess I walked in on WWIII, so as soon as Jenna packed her bags we left for my side of town.
When we got back mom was a little worried about us being alone in London, so we didn't even have to ask before she said, "Jenna's staying!" Jenna was out stowaway so the next day we smuggled her some breakfast and were out the door. We got on a double decker tour bus to view the city. We saw Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the Thames River, the Crown Jewels, the London Bridge (which isn't falling down), and much more. Jenna and I sat on the top even though it was a chilly day. After all, it's not every day you get to ride a double decker bus!
That night, we ate at our hotel. Our Waitress, Jessica, was so nice and very talkative. She asked where we were from and told us to pack her in our suitcases. She said she'd love to go to America some day. We asked her where and she named as many states as she could think of, except IN. Then she asked where we were from and when we told her she said, "Yeah, there too!" hah She was fun.
After dinner, we played rummy (Which was only Jenna's second hand and she won!) and said bye to Jenna. The next morning mom and I took a walk in Hyde Park where the squirrels and pigeons will attack if you're not careful. It was a beautiful sunny day! People we're using the park for all sorts of things: Painting, walking dogs, running, biking, soccer practice, tours, or just a morning walk. I couldn't believe how big the park was. It even has monuments from the kings and queens of Great Britain. If I were to live in a big city I would have to have a place like Hyde Park to get away. (It kinda reminded me of 101 Dalmatians when the owners of the dogs met in the park. I always thought that was so unrealistic, but after seeing Hyde Park with all the people walking dogs, I believe it! haha)
I would love to go back to London some day and stay longer. It was a great trip and well worth the hassle. I know this trip meant a lot to my mom especially with grandpa's history working as a chef in WWII in London. (I understand he made a mean fish and chips! ) And it was always grandma's dream to come. I know mom had them in mind the whole time! We ended the trip with a cup of tea and many great memories:) -I also picked up a few slang words from my London stay…
Brilliant = cool
Cheers= Hello, Good-bye, (anything else you can think of..)
Bob's your uncle=So there ya have it, there ya go!
Chips= French Fries
Loo = bathroom