So this is goodbye...

So my finals are officially over! I am very excited. I think I did well for the most part (my Islam final will always be a little iffy. But hooray! Now I have the rest of today and tomorrow to relax, pack, say goodbye to people, and get ready to return home.

Now that’s something.

I still cannot believe that it is over. Becky is done today, and is leaving to go to Portugal with her parents. Peter leaves tomorrow. Then there I go.

It’s been a wonderful ride, guys, and I just wanted to thank those of you who stuck it out and read this, even if not regularly, and left me little notes or sent me e-mails. I truly appreciated it, and cannot thank you enough.

Ick. Packing does not sound at all appealing. I do not know how I am going to get this all home. BUT I know that if my bags are too heavy, it will cost me less to pay for the extra weight there than if I sent stuff home. That being said, I don’t really care. It’s all coming home whether they like it or not!

I have been kind of feverish the last day and a half. It hasn’t been so fun. My throat’s been killing me too, and all of that on top of finals has just been excellent, let me tell you. BUT IT IS OVER NOW!! :) I just have this super fun dry block of wonderment stuck in my chest that I cannot cough up because it is so so painful! My throat hurts, but not as bad as yesterday, and I am happy my fever is gone.

Buuuuuut yeah. If you ever get the chance to come to Spain, do it. Go to Granada and see a little piece of what I called home for a semester. You will love it, if you’re lucky enough to make it here. If not, indulge yourself in the pictures I took. There’s enough of them there to keep you busy for quite awhile.

I have already started a list of the things that I want to eat upon my return (don’t laugh! Ok…go ahead, fine!):

Olive Garden’s fettuccini alfredo
Steak and Shake chicken tenders and cheese fries
Taco Bell tacos and cheesey fiesta potatoes
Portillos hot dog and cheese fries
Noodles and Co. mac and cheese and buttered noodles
Panera broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl
Aurelio’s pizza
Chef’s kitchen pizza from Jewel
Mac and Cheese
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brownies
Rice Krispy Treats
Nachos and queso
Chips and Salsa
Goldfish Crackers
Corned Beef Hash
Cinnamon Roll French toast from Egg’lectic
Eggo Waffles with syrup
Eggo Waffles with peanut butter

Hope you enjoyed that one. :)

What I wouldn’t give for a nice massage and a manicure/pedicure right now. Mom? You up for it? Hm? Hm? We shall talk.

I cannot wait to sleep in my own comfy bed at home with a warm room and blankets to squish around in. And seeing my parents and puppies. And my friends from home and school. I cannot waaaait!! I just hope everyone is as excited as I am, but I am not going to get my hopes up too, too high, because Veronica says we shouldn’t. The whole culture shock re-entry thing.

That’s something to look forward to, I am sure.

But yes, it is possible that this is the last post I have on here, so again, thank you all so much for reading and flipping through the pictures and all that. I love you all for it, trust me.

Here goes nothing I guess.

…I just hope Iberia doesn’t decide to cancel my flight. I will not be a happy camper. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Much love from Spain for the last time,

M.

A few things...

1. I have a fever. Yes, three days before I need to leave, my stupid body decides to come down with a fever. Wonderful.

2. I got not enough sleep last night because of my fever, and thus am exhausted and I have 2 finals today. Super!

3. I started packing yesterday. Yikes. And we gave Alejandro his present: A book of magic tricks!

4. I am so not ready for my Islam final tomorrow. Not even close. There is way too much information to jam into my non-functioning, feverish brain. Give me another aspirin, pronto!

5. I only have 3 days left, and I don't know how that happened, but I am not ready to go home! I mean, I am, but I am not. I know that makes zero sense, but it makes sense to me!

6. I CANNOT WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!!

The end.

Death is Inevitable...

This trip in Germany has been completely insane. So many crazy things have happened, and the hits just keep on coming. I do not know if I will make it out alive. I may or may not be coming down with pneumonia because it is freezing cold and rainy here all the time, and there is no way to ever get the sleep that I need. It is awful.

Not to mention that the z and y keys are in the opposite spots on the keyboard and it is really bugging me because I never realized how much I actually use each letter. Its a really strange sensation.

I am now in Salzburg, Austria and let me tell you...I CANNOT WAIT to get on the train to Berlin tonight and sleep for the 10 hour train ride all night. I am exhausted. Today I think we are going to brave the ice caves, and maybe check out the Eagle's Nest (something to do with Hitler) and hopefully the whole day will be taken care of then. If I can even last that long.

I got one hour of sleep last night. One hour.

See, we have been winging this trip, as you all very well know. And every moment so far has been an adventure, and I will for sure remember this trip for the rest of my life. BUT! Apparently Austrians celebrate German holidays as well? Who knew! So we take the train from Munich to Salzburg, Austria on this said holiday. And there are no rooms ANYWHERE! None. Unless we want to pay 145€ for a double room.

As Patrick would say...Hell. To. The. No.

:)

So we went out, had a few beers, and slept in the train station. No wait, let me re-phrase that. We "slept" in the train station. I probaby got an hours worth of sleep.

So today should be an interesting day.

However, we did run into this nice guy from England who lives and runs a hostel in Budapest who hung out with us last night and slept in the station with us because he too had nowhere to go. In fact, he is still here with us at the internet cafe.

Which, might I mention, is outrageously priced and 3€ for an hour.

Whatever, I need this time for myself.

And I guess the Bradley class schedules are up for the Spring, so I neeed to get cracking on that. Sick.

I almost want to book a flight home early. But who knows if I will.

I think this is all for now. Sorry its so depressing. No worries, its just been a rough night and will be a rough day. I hav honestly enjoyed everything up until now. And Oktoberfest was insane.

Besitos,

M.

A Little Ranty

So...they told us this was bound to happen eventually. And its happening, though not to the extent that I was expecting.

I am experiencing culture shock. (oh god!) :)

Basically they told us that when it hits, you usually get sick, are overly tired and want to sleep all the time, and little cultural differences really start to bother you.

Well, I am sick. No worries, it isn't anything awful. Just a little bit of a stuffy/runny nose and a sore throat from the post-nasal drip (that was a little graphic, sorry!), and I am tired all the time. Probably because I am ill, and nothing more.

And then little things have been bothering me, but not to the extent that I don't want to be here anymore or anything. Like how there are people EVERYWHERE smoking and I am sick of always smelling like smoke and inhaling the smoke, and being perpetually scared of getting cancer from secondhand smoke. I never realized how much I appreciate Illinois' smoking ban. I want to breathe clean air again!!

And then I really miss being able to use the internet whenever I feel the need to. Which, I realize, sounds stupid, but its difficult when I want to plan trips and stuff, or talk to people I can't normally.

And the shower is set up differently, and its a really uncomfortable situation. I feel like I am going to spray water everywhere since the shower head isn't at one of the ends like usual, but in the middle of the shower.

...I think I just need a nap. I added a few more pictures to my album that wouldn't load before from when we went to the beach. More pictures will be put up as they come. I hope to at least give them some subtitles, or break them into more manageable albums, but we shall see.

Much love from Spain,

M.