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.

Hooray!

I woke up from my nap today to find that the internet connection I discovered last night (which also pooped out on me 15 minutes later...and could quite possibly poop out on me at any time) is back!

So I am using it here while I still can before I have to head back to school. The connection wavers every once in awhile, but is still relatively speedy, so we shall see.

I am in a very productive mood. Not productive in the way that I want to get lots of things done, but more so that I want to create things. Write things, to be more specific. I think it's thanks to reading Mairead's Blog and the essay and short stories she's recently published (I am a big fan!), but also from my literature class. It really makes me want to be one of those wonderful of yore (or at least be able to write as fantastically!) and when I sit down to do it...

Nothing.

It's highly frustrating.

But in other words...I have 22 days left here, and I have absolutely NO idea how I am going to get all of this stuff home. I know all of my toiletries (or well, most of them) will be gone and I have that weight to fill, and the extra I had coming here, but still. I think I will have one heavy carry on. Yikes.

Here's to hoping I can get everything back in one piece. Especially the breakables!

Speaking of going home...I think I found at least 2 people who are going back on the same flight to Madrid as I am! And I can share a cab with them so it isn't so expensive! Hooray!

I think that is all for now. I may have to start studying for finals soon...so if I go AWOL...that's why. But I do not think it will be a problem.

Mucho amor.

Oh!--Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow everyone!

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.

Welp, tomorrow is it, guys.

I leave tomorrow.

I have purchased everything I could ever need that I cannot get there (i.e. hair drier and hair straightener). I exchanged some currency so I can pay Sarah back for my half of the hotel room, and can pay for the cab. I added my mom to my bank account for easy money access in the event that I need her to do so. I am almost completely packed.

I am so excited!!!

I still need to write my internship paper and send it in. I still need to send my check to Kappa Delta. I still need to watch the movies I have from the library and then return them by tomorrow. I still need to run to JC Penny's to pay my grandmother's bill. I still need to install my webcam. I still have a few things to pack. I still have a few people to see and say goodbye to.

I really want to bring my pillows with, but alas! I do not think it will really be an option. Ah well.

Get ready guys, tomorrow is it!

1 Suitcase Down, 1.5 to Go

I've done it.

I've completely finished packing my first suitcase, and I am proud to say, it weighs only 42 pounds! Hooray! My little carry on suitcase (the .5 of a suitcase, in case anyone was wondering at the post title) is almost packed too, but will not probably be complete until the morning before I leave. The other suitcase is waiting for last minute laundry, and a few odds and ends here and there (like all my electrical cords for my camera, MP3 player, and webcam, the plug adapter and the now-phantom voltage converter).

All of this packing is making me more excited to leave, and giving me a back ache. How rude. But seriously. I spend a good portion of the day bent over with my face buried in a suitcase, packing, and, lately, another good portion doing laundry, which includes schlepping laundry in and out of the washer and drier, folding and lugging up the stairs. I guess a back ache is a very plausible end to those means. Go figure.

I was very productive today, and everyone should be proud of me. I went to Target and got almost everything that I needed but didn't already have, returned my checked-out movie (King of California for anyone interested. It was very good!!) to Blockbuster, did about six loads of laundry, got my oil changed, went through the car wash, wrote a letter to Glenn, my friend studying in Cape Town, South Africa, wrote belated Thank-You notes for my birthday presents, figured out how to obtain my e-ticket for my flight, and watched The Family Stone. Phew! What a day.

And I did all that even though I woke up at 10:30 this morning, after turning my alarm off when it went off at 9:30. I really need to stop doing that.

So for tomorrow: Voltage Converter hunting, possible shopping with mother (?), copying my passport, visa, drivers license, and credit and debit cards, and something I know I am forgetting that my mother told me I was supposed to do with my father. I guess it wasn't that important?

I still cannot believe I leave on Friday, Friday, FRIDAY. That's two days from now. Yikes.