Where did the semester go!?!?!?!?

Yah.....my deepest apologies that I have not written here in a long time. I have been super busy and distracted by the wonders of Spain. :D hahah

But i am now in my last week of classes, exams, and Spanish life. How sad is that?? I am very excited to come home, but as i keep thinking about leaving, I get quite sad too. i am going to miss my host mother's cooking...all the time. And the coffee here is amazing....i love my host mom's mannerisms. She is so funny. the friends i have made here are soo fun and it is sad that not ALL of them live in Michigan or Georgia. oh well....such is life. :D

This past weekend I did alot of homework, but also went to Madrid! We visited the two main art museums in Madrid, El Prado and the Reina Sofia. We also ate lunch at the McDonalds and had a coffee at Starbucks. SOOOO good. It was an all in all long, cold, but fun and educational day. I got to see some pretty famous paintings like "Las Meninas" by Velazquez and "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso and also some sweet ones by Dali and Miro and a ton of works by Goya. It was a great day. i loved it.

I finally listened to the music from "Spring Awakening" and i must say that some of the songs are pretty good. not all....but some. that music is catchy too. I have a few songs stuck in my head, and that is okay. I cant wait to get back to the US and listen to more Christmas music since I lost alot before i came to Spain

I started packing this weekend too....and i felt terrible when my host mom walked in. She was like, it seems like a lie that you are leaving so soon. I about cried. She has been so awesome to me and I am forever grateful to her for enhancing and allowing me to have such a good time here. I am going to miss my profs and their ridiculousness...for real. I have loved Spain. so much....and I will have so many fond memories of this place. I love LOVE Segovia, and i hope to return here one day again!

Buena Suerte to those who are taking finals this week and those traveling home to spend Christmas with their families!!! Be safe. I will see you all soon!! 5 days!!! WOOOO and God's Blessings to you all as we remember the TRUE reason for this Christmas Season!!!

-Emily

Hooray for 70 degree weather in November!!!!

Hello, Hola, Hallo, and Bonjour!

So, i need to talk about my SUPER exciting trip to Anadlusia this past weekend. It was amazing. I just love the south of Spain. It was cool to finally go somewhere and feel like I was living the stereotypical Spanish life, the one everyone in the USA things about when they hear "Spain."
On Friday we left for Cordoba at 8:30 in the morning. It is a 6 hour bus ride because we have to stop for an hour halfway through (its a law that the busdriver has to stop and rest for an hour...oh, Spain). It was a beautiful drive down south and it was sunny the whole way! When we got to Cordoba, we checked into our REALLY nice hotel (Hotel Serrano....i recommend it to ANYONE visiting Cordoba) and then walked over to the Mezquita. Holy moley...that place is gorgeous. When you walk in, there is a huge plaza full of orange trees, but you cant eat the oranges because they are super sour. Then the inside of the building is breathtaking....the red and white arches in long rows. I felt like I was in that scene from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in the Moria mountains. AWESOME. Then as you are walking through all this beautiful Arabic architecture, you walk into this huge, random Gothic cathedral. There is a cathedral inside this old Islamic mosque. it is crazy and very beautiful. its such a contrast from the dark and orthodox mosque to the tall, luminous cathedral. I really enjoyed the Mezquita alot. After that we went to the Palace where Isabel and Ferdinand( The Catholic King and Queen) met with Columbus and we walked throug the beautiful gardens there. We also visited some old baths during the reign of the Moorish Caliphates in Spain. FUn times. We then had free time and so we went to this cafe that had like, 1.5 ft long bocadillas....and i got one with tortilla espanola and tomato. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! it completed my day.

Saturday we got up early for a nice continental breakfast, provided by the hotel, and then got on the bus for Sevilla. Sevilla is about 1.5 hours away from Cordoba. We first visited the cathedral in Sevilla, the 3rd largest Gothic cathedral in the Europe behind St Peter's Basilica in Rome and St Paul's in London. That place was cool....plus it also had the tomb of 10% of Christopher Columbus' bones. ;) that was an interesting story. haha. After the cathedral we went to another palace where all the business was conducted if someone wanted to come to America. If you were in Spain and want to visit America, you HAD to go to Sevilla. Then we had free time for lunch....i had an amazing one too. I got the menu of the day, which consisted of Gazpacho(cold tomato based veggie soup), chicken and potatoes, a drink, and a dessert for 9 EURO. it was a steal of a deal. :D and the food was fantastic. After lunch we met up again and got on the bus for the Plaza de Espana. The second Star Wars Episode (attack of the clones) had a scene filmed here, at the Plaza. It is beautiful and full of again, Arabic architecture. I took quite a few photos here. All in all, Sevilla was gorgeous...OH and the weather...wowzers. it was like 68-70 degrees all day. It was awesome, for being in the middle of November. ( Now all of Spain is getting wind and snow. its just cold, cold, cold.) We drove back to Cordoba after visiting the Plaza and I watched Lord of teh Rings: Return of the King with my roomies and some friends. A fantastic day, i if i say so myself.

Sunday we got up to have yummy breakfast again and then we set off from the hotel to the Jewish neighborhood of Cordoba. We walked around there for a while and visited the old synagogue. Then we got on the bus again for an old ruined Caliphate town called Medinat Az-Zahara. That place was like a labryinth but sooo cool. The sun was also out, providing mid-upper 60s for the day. We walked around there for about 1.5 hours and then got on the bus for the ride home. It was long...and we watched two of the saddest movies in Spanish....one i liked even though i cried a TON. The other i had seen before. The first movie was "Las 13 Rosas" and the other was "El Laberinto del Fauno" aka Pan's Labyrinth. The Rosas movie was sooooo sad but both were about the SPanish Civil War here and when Franco came into power and stuff. When we got back to Segovia, I went and got churros with some friends and then i walked home to some yummy home cooked food from Julia.

Now, it is the 26th of November....Christmas is less than a month away and I will be home in like...24 days! That is just crazy....and i turn 21 in 23 days. I know that i just threw alot of numbers at everyone. my apologies. :D I love it here, but I am getting quite ready to come home. I have found a job here in the meantime to earn some extra money before i return home. Maybe i can get myself some cute boots that EVERYONE seems to wear around here. hehe. Tomorrow though is THANKSGIVING. i love this holiday. we even get to celebrate it here. A restaurant has agreed to help prepare turkeys for us and we students all have to bring a side dish. I am making mashed potatoes and am sooo excited. I cant wait cause I also do NOT have classes tomorrow. Thank you Marian for unerstanding. ;)

Well, my other class is going to start soon and so I must get going. May God Bless everyone who is traveling this holiday weekend and let us all be thankful and grateful for what the Lord has done in all of our lives. I know that i am INCREDIBLY thankful to be here this year. I have loved this experience, that is once in a lifetime. :) God has been gracious to me throughout ALL my life and even more here in Spain. I am also thankful for my loving family....i miss you all, i love ya'll, and cant wait to see you. I am also thankful for my friends at Concordia...I miss you all more than you can ever know. And last but certainly NOT least, I am super thankful for my boyfriend, Caleb Abraham. He is my best friend and I am so glad that we are together. I love you. :D :P

Bye, Adios, Auf Wiedersein, Au revoir!!

PS- pictures are up on photobucket! if you have problems viewing them, please email me ehmuhlee1219@yahoo.com

Sin tetas no hay paraiso

Hello y Hola!!!

I am sorry it has been quite a while since i have updated here. I have been distracted.

Last week was sooo long, but some parts of it were quite enjoyable. I am singing in the choir at the Evangelical Church and it is sooo fun. I have been blessed by our Lord and Savior to have found such a loving church family. The pastor, Carlos, and his wife Raquel are amazing. They are super nice and they also have two daughters named Carla(12 years old) and Paula (7 years old). They even invited me and a friend over to their house (which is something very rare in Spain). The conversation was awesome and it was great practice for me as well. The daughters were shy at first, but after the snack food came out we all started to get along great. I even was able to talk to Carla in English for a bit. She is so cute.
The choir is going well too. We are singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and another song in Spanish. Our concert is the 18th of December, so its a great sending off for me since i leave for the airport on December 19 (my 21st birthday!!)

Last Thursday we went to the Cathedral here in Segovia as a mini excursion during class. The Cathedral is gorgeous on the outside and I was not let down with the interior either. The building as a whole is enormous and the detail is just stunning. My favorite are the complex designs of the ceilings where all the arcs are crossing one another. We werent supposed to take pictures inside, but i did. I even snagged a video of the organ playing, which was a nice surprise! After that i went to the market and bought a bag of dried fruit and one of cashews. oh goodness.......sooo delicious. The dried fruit is a tropical mix too...I just love the Market here in Segovia. I can buy anything, if i wanted. They have shoes, jackets, jeans, boots, PJs, fruit, nuts, veggies, olives, meat....EVERYTHING. haha. I might bring back some dried fruit because it is sooo cheap!

This past weekend I did not do anything exciting. On friday, I met with my friend Stephanie to the book fair that was around til Sunday. We also bought really cheap churros and they were fresh and hot! yummmmm!! We then went to the Oso Blanco because it was cold outside; i got a glass of wine and she got a beer and we just talked for like 2 hours. It was awesome. She and i just girl talked forever. Sunday I went to church again and its always a surprise what the topic is going to be. I had a Lord's Supper discussion with my pastor, Carlos which was very interesting but that discussion kinda led into a Baptism discussion....and well, I suppose it will lead to other doctrinal discussions as well. He is a good sport about it and respects it when i just refer him to the LCMS website because i do not want to mislead him.

I pass my evenings in Segovia watching TV every night with my host mom while doing hw. it is not the best habit to get into, since i can get distracted from doing the aforementioned hw.....but, i am not too worried since I do not watch much tv in the US nor do i enjoy lots of tv programs. Plus I am going to have WAY more work to do next semester.
OOO! i forgot to mention about this weekend! my mom here made this AMAZING lunch on Saturday. it was roast lamb and traditional Segovia soup, Sopa Castellana, and bread and this dessert thing that reminded me of watery pudding.....but it is way good. trust me. :D

I was worried alot last week because i recieved news that Caleb's grandmother had just found out she had ovarian cancer. Her health was declining rapidly but then the doctors have now found the cause and she had surgery yesterday. Please keep her and Caleb's family in your prayers though as she recovers and please let the surgery be successful in removing all the cancerous cells in her body.

This week however, has been going VERY well. Monday and Tuesday i was invited by Raquel to come to the school were she teaches and tell a story and teach a song in English. I came on Monday and Tuesday and it was SOOOOO FUN! The kids were adorable and they can understand alot. They start teaching English here around age 3. haha. SOOOOO, i read them a story on Monday and then came to tell a story on Tuesday. I told them the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Then we did the Hokey Pokey and Baby Shark. :D I had soo much fun.

I am sorry this entry is not super exciting. We are heading to Andalucia this weekend, for the whole weekend (Cordoba and Sevilla). Then next week we are having a Thanksgiving feast at a local restuarant who is preparing turkeys for us....we all just bring a side dish. :D I can not believe that this time next month I will be packing to go home, to the US. It will definitely be a bittersweet time. I am sad to leave my host mom, for sure. Especially to leave some of my friends here who live far away like in Oregon and Idaho. :( I am VERY happy though also to come home because i miss my family, friends, and boyfriend. Its nice that I can come home close to my birthday and to Christmas!!!

Thanks for bearing with me ya'll! I promise after our WEEKEND in south Spain I will have more to talk about! God's Blessings on your week! And safe travels to those who are visiting family and friends for Thanksgiving! Adios y que Dios os bendiga!!

-Emilia

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall....

Greetings to all of you! It is just another cloudy and cool day in Segovia and I have spent it in a good way! Like most Saturdays here, I slept in this morning, with no agenda to attend to today. I ate some breakfast and got dressed…then I did my grammar homework to get it out of the way. I felt pretty accomplished, even just doing that! Then I decided to watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

BEST. IDEA. EVER.

It made me miss David Appold a lot. And then , that made me miss Liz, which lead to Bethany and Erin. And well, then I just missed everyone at Concordia. It was so good to watch it again. Mainly cause I love hearing those familiar quotes that David and I integrate into everyday situations. Cause my life has the same exact hardships as Frodo and Sam’s. ;) hahahah. I smiled a lot.

Speaking of movies, I watched V for Vendetta on Wednesday, cause it was November 5. It was a nice moment for me. Except that I am running out of movies to watch, in my own collection here. I might have to start asking the other students to see if they have movies to watch. Cause I love watching movies.

Thursday we took a class excursion to the Alcazar in Segovia, which is the fortress/castle here. That was a fun time because I have wanted to see it since I first arrived here. The castle is beautifully constructed with gilded ceilings of gold and very intricate detailing. Those Arabs knew how to decorate their architecture. We climbed the large tower after touring the castle, and there were many steps to the top. 152, to be exact. I took more pictures from the top. Haha. I just loved having a working camera now!!!

Yesterday was our 4th excursion to Salamanca and Avila, which are 2 cities 2 hours and 45 minutes from Segovia. It was a beautiful city, Salamanca. We were advantageous enough to see a large, working, Roman bridge. This city is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe. The University of Salamanca also was the first university to have a library in it, in Europe. We also were able to go inside the cathedral there to which is also attached the old cathedral. The choir section with the organ was BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of Westminster. I wish I could be there to hear a choir sing or hear that organ play. I am sure it is amazing. Our lunchtime was great too. One of the students’ mothers is visiting and she just has some great stories which made us all laugh.

Avila would have been a lot better, had it not been raining the whole time. We got some far away pictures of the cool wall surrounding the city, but once we got into the city, it began to pour. And it was not fun cause the roads would just accumulate water….and I wore flats, so my feet were wet.  ahah but then we visited an old convent with a relic of Saint Theresa…her finger. It was gross and odd cause it also had a ring on it. I did a lot of sleeping on the bus on the way back to Segovia. We had started the day quite early (8:30) so the naps on the bus helped.
Now I have to work on a presentation for my European Union class about The Netherlands for Monday. I have all the information on slides, but now I need to cut back and make a lot of those slides into notes. I don’t like a lot of words on my slide show presentations. I need to have something to say in Spanish too! Haha. Tomorrow is church and then a full week of class! WOO. Not. I am getting to that point in the semester where I just want to enjoy Spain, and not worry about class.
Let us all remember that God has a plan for our new president whether we all agree with him (and his ideas/platforms) or not. We can only pray for him and his new administration. :D

God’s Blessings to everyone during this next week!

Feliz Noviembre!!

Hello again!!

Its the beginning of a new month and a new week!

I can not believe that I have already been here for a month and a half. It is CRAZY!
Last week was our week for Mid Terms and they were not as frightening as I thought. I got them all back today and did very well(a's and b's). It was a stressful week for some people. I was just so relaxed about the whole week....I almost felt like I should have been stressed but i didnt. Thank goodness. That is the last thing i need is to get sick from worry and stress! haha

This weekend was Halloween, yes, but more importantly REFORMATION weekend. What an exciting time. I seriously contemplated printing out the 95 thesis and taping them to the cathedral door.....but, i thought that i might get in trouble if caught. so I averted incarceration for my warm apartment and I chuckled at my idea. :D I did not do anything for Halloween but just ate some YUMMY macaroons with my host mom. They were raspberry with rose hips in them! sooooo good. I later decided to meet some friends for coffee and even met some girls from the other American group here! They were very nice and it made for some good conversation!

The rest of the weekend was nothing too exciting. Saturday was my host mom's birthday but she left really early to visit her father's grave (it was All Saints Day) and i am assuming she spent the day with her mother. I stayed home all day, did some homework, watched a movie, read my book, napped. it was an overall, productive day.

On Sunday I was able to talk to my Mother and sister on Skype, so that was exciting. Finding internet in my apartment is always an interesting time. haha. I also had received my memory card for my camera on Thursday from Caleb (Thanks Boyfriend!!!) and so i began taking pictures of random things...of which are now up on photobucket.

This Friday we are going to Salamanca and Avila, two cities close by Segovia. I can NOT wait to go. I am excited for that. More later on! I hope everyone goes out and votes tomorrow and if you are away from home, let's hope those absentee ballots were rolling in! I cant wait to see how this election turns out. The Spanish news is even covering it! I may stay up and watch(since results wont start to come in MY time until about 1 or 2am)!

God's Blessings everyone!

Finding an internet connection is like a not fun scavenger hunt...

So yesterday was our 3rd excursion. What a good time. The day was sunny and brisk when we left Segovia at 11:30am to see a mountain. Now, i could not tell you the name of the mountain because there are soo many around here. However, it is in this little pueblo called Valsain. We all hiked up the mountain (it took about 45 min or so) to find HORSES everywhere, just grazing. it was sooo cool. I was so excited, almost like i had never seen a horse before. We all were a little over the top about them, but it was still cool to see random horses. Our prof, Edu, talked about the different mountains that surrounded the one we were on. We hiked our way to the different battle sites on the mountain.

This mountain was a huge site from the Spanish Civil War between the French Nationalists and the Spanish soldiers for the Republic.....or something like that. Anywho, there were bunkers and pits all over the summit where soldiers slept and fought. They were pretty darn cool. Edu also talked a little about Earnest Hemingway(who i detest) and how he wrote about this site in a book of his, which i did not listen to cause again, do not like him too much. :)

The day was PERFECTO for an excursion. It was chilly so we all got to bundle up in cute stuff but it was sunny so it wasnt TOO cold. On our way down the mountain we encountered a spring...from the mountains! It had been tapped with a spout i am sure by the environmental agency in the area but we all filled out water bottles with the cool, non-chlorinated water. SOOOO YUMMY! haha

Later that evening i went to the church for choir rehearsal again. I switched to soprano yesterday because they did not have enough people...but then the pastor's wife showed up and she can sing loud enough for 3 people. I wanted to switch back down, but oh well. we'll see! After that i met with some of my friends from school to visit the Plaza Mayor because this weekend is the Festival de San Frutos, the patron saint of Segovia. There was a large band giving a concert in the Plaza...we all began dancing and taking ridiculous pictures until we saw this group of couples....so we decide to join them! They were so nice and welcoming to us college kids from America. They were all from Andalucia (southern Spain....specifically from the city of Cordoba!) We just danced with them for like an hour! We taught them the Electric Slide too...dont worry: we danced it to Spanish folk music. (and Dont ask, it just fit in the rhythm.) it was a BLAST. i mean, how often can YOU go to a city square in the US and dance with (adult, 50-60's)strangers for an hour and still be friends, without the awkwardness?? it put me in such a good mood. they were such a cheerful bunch. My friend has pictures which i am sure i will get later.

Anywho, its late on a Saturday afternoon and i have to do some homework. Next week we have mid terms! YIKES. haha God's Blessings to everyone!!

1.5 months down, 2 to go!

Today is October 20, which is CRAZY. it does not feel like i have been here over a month. And now, October is almost over which is also insane. Since fall break is now over, I just have to stick my nose to the grind and just do some work. Which shouldn't be a problem since i rarely have a TON. But i just dont feel motivated here. The motto of everyone here is my favorite: No pasa nada!

Friday was our second excursion to El Escorial and el Valle de los Caidos. El Escorial is the largest building in Spain. It houses a royal palace, a monestary, a cathedral, a library, and probably other things that i can not remember. All the old kings and queens of Spain are buried there and we saw their "chamber". It was cool. We were not allowed to take pictures inside nor were we allowed to carry anything like a backpack. It was a beautiful building and we spent a good 2.5 hours in it! El Valle de los Caidos( el vi-yay deh los ky-ee-dos) is the home to the largest stone cross in the world. it is 152 meters tall! it towers over the mountains and can be seen from the highway! Under the cross is the Basilica that we visited.....it is under the mountain. CRAZY! it was so beautiful....but we also could NOT take pictures. lameos. However, the old dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco, was buried there so it was fun to see that. i dont really understand why he was buried in the church...since he was a DICTATOR and a communist. oh well. the spaniards are strange.....sorry, not strange. DIFFERENT. ;) haha

My weekend was pretty easy going. I stayed in on Friday and Saturday night. I went on a walk with my friend Lana on Saturday around the Alcazar. It rained while we were walking, but it was still nice. Sunday i went to the small protestant/evangelical church around the corner from my house. I forgot how nice the people were there! I am very glad that i found this place because its nice to have some place where i can worship at all with others. I am also going to be singing in their little "choir" for a pre-Christmas concert on December 18. That will be cute. I am even singing alto! It is the Spanish version of Hark the Herald Angels sing....so fun.

well, i need to finish a lit paper for Thursday sooo yah. I better get on that. :D God's Blessings to you all!

Con carino,
Emily

It is a good thing that I went to Italy with other people!

SO i did lose all my pictures or something from Italy. My camera's memory card freaked out and got some kind of corrupted virus thing...and it deleted all my pictures. I think. Caleb still thinks they might be there still hidden, since i never actually pressed anything to delete ALL my photos. But thanks to my other friends that i travelled with, i was able to find some pictures for my use as well. Although there arent quite as many with ME in front of things, its still proof that i was there too! hehe.
I am safely back in Segovia though after a very INTENSE week in Italy. It was supposed to be vacation but we were sooooo busy traveling everyday, trying to see all the important stuff in each city. I should talk about the rest of our week!
Wednesday(october 8) Was our first full day in Florence, and i must say that I Loved it! We took a 3 hour walking tour of the historical part of the city which was very insightful and i enjoyed our tour guide alot. After that we went to the market again and spent a LOT of time there. I got all my Christmas shopping done there! I feel pretty darn accomplished. haha Later that evening we went to the biggest plaza in Florence to find some live music! It was great and the artist was very good. He played the acoustic guitar. We listened to his set for about an hour.
Thursday(October 9) We all got up early to go get in line for the Accademia....aka to see Michaelangelo's David. it was super expensive, especially for how small the museum is, but it was pretty cool to see the David statue. After that we went to the market....again! haha it is just so entertaining! We also went up and in the Duomo in Florence, aka the big ginormous cathedral there. It is pretty neat! I went to a concert this night, and it was amazing. it made me miss my Uncle David a bit because there was an organ soloist who was amazing...and organ always makes me think of Uncle Dave. The organist played Bach's tocatta and fugue in d minor. AWESOME when it is played live, in a cathedral. There was also a soprano soloist and a flautist. It was only a 45 min concert, but it was free and i was not about to object to classical music! haha.
Friday(October 10) We left Florence in the morning to head to Venice. The train ride was shorter when you nap! haha. Our hostel was out in the middle of no where, so we had to take a bus into the city every day. Our first night there: there was a strike. Apparently, there are strikes all the time, and the groups that strike like, sign up for times each month or year to have this specific strike. it was bizzare. We ate dinner by the Canal Grande(sooooooo expensive) but the food was delicious. WE just then walked around the Rialto bridge after wandering for the San Marco square forever.
Saturday(October 11) We went into the city of Venice again and bought a boat "pass" for 12 hours because the boats are what get ppl around cause the streets are WAY too narrow for cars to pass through. Like in rome, everyone had a Vespa. IN Venice, everyone has a boat! We decided to go to Murano and watch glass blowing, cause there is nothing like Venetian glass, no? haha That was fun and then we went to San Marco square. We went into the main cathedral there and took pictures around the square. Then we just spent alot of time just wandering the streets, we took the boat up the canal grande again during twilight(soooo pretty!) and sat by the rialto bridge before grabbing a bite to eat. Then we returned to teh Square to listen to live music by some big bands. That was awesome. We couldnt sit unless we wanted to eat at the restaurants that sponsored the performances.....but it was cool nonetheless.
Sunday(October 12) We took a later train at 12:40ish back to Rome; and even though it took 5 hours we made it back to our original hostel, The Yellow, and walked to see the Trevi and the Spanish steps again. We found this DELICIOUS gelato place our last night. I got Pear gelato and it was basically heaven it was sooo good. haha.
Monday(October 13) Our flight left Rome at 9:10am and got back to Madrid at about 11:20am. However, even though i only live 1 hour away from Madrid it took us a long time to get home. We had to wait 40 min for our luggage and then had to catch the metro to the bus station to get to Segovia. I did not get back to my apartment til 3:30pm. Then i did laundry and did some homework, finally crashing at like 10pm.

ALl in all, a great trip of a lifetime. I am glad that i blew all my money on this trip cause a year from now, i will look back and be glad that i did this! Pictures will be up on my photobucket account (ehmuhlee1219) tomorrow sometime! Now it is back to the regular routine here in Segovia. I like my classes and i am soooo happy to be back where Julia can cook her sumptuous foods for me! hehehehe. She is so cute and the sweetest host mom i could ask for. This friday we have an excursion to El Escorial, the big palace in a huge valley. I am SUPER excited about that. i will bring my defective camera, but make sure others take pics of me too! haha. God's Blessings to you all!!

-Emily

A Super update...and some (possible) sad news!!

Well, I know that I need to fill ya'll in on the last couple of days!! I have not had that much time on the internet, but now i DO! :D

Saturday(october 4) we all woke up really early to head to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. We wanted to have a decent place in line for the Vatican museum. The Vatican is only open until about 2 on Saturdays sooo we went at 6:45am since the museum opened at 8:45am. We did stand in line for quite some time. The Basilica is BEAUTIFUL! It was pretty empty when we were there, which was enoyable for me. There was even a choir practicing...which reminded me of Concordia Choir and Arborsong.....i miss you guys!! :) The Vatican Museum was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo extensive and overwhelming. I heartily enjoyed the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. The Sistine Chapel was NOT what I was expecting. For some reason I thought it was going to be this GRAND building....and no. it is what it says it is: a chapel. it is a small room. about the length of all the Riverside Rooms....and very tall.(like the chapel on the inside) It took me a long time to find the fresco of God reaching to Adam....and i DID sneak a picture. :) We spent all morning til early afternoon there and then headed back to our hostel before getting ready for dinner. All of my traveling buddies went to a ritzy place to eat...I stayed behind b/c i had a headache and was not hungry. I then later met our new room mate, a French student named Frank(Franco...really). He was studying in Rome for a year, but was having trouble aquiring a flat....so he stays in hostels for now. He was nice and very talkative. Rome is very busy and def a tourist city....it made me miss the peace and quiet of Segovia.
Sunday(october 5) we woke up early again, about 8am, and went to go and visit the Christian catacombs in the outskirts of Rome. We recieved poor directions 5 times but eventually found them. Well, one of them. There are 16 Christian catacombs throughout teh Rome metro area. We just went through one called The catacombs of San Callixstus. We were not allowed to take pictures but i bought a postcard of my fav room in the catacombs. After that we went to the part i was MOST looking forward to: the heart of Ancient Rome! We walked through the Colusseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum. I was not a huge fan of Palatine Hill...but i LOVED the Colusseum and the Forum. Lots of photos there....and soo much history. I wanted to start chanting "Maximus!!" in the Colusseum but i felt it might be a bit too much. :) At the Forum, there was a man named Jason who was giving free tours, so we wandered with him. He was very good and memorable. He said he has been reccommended by Rick Steve's and the NY Times many times....i was happy. :D It was too dark after our Forum tour to go and see teh Circus Maximus so we went to get a crepe.....mine was lemon and sugar. YUMMY!!
Monday(october 6) we ran back to St. Peter's Basilica to visit it again because my firend had not seen it yet....she was with her bf all weekend who is studying in Rome. I sat outside the building and read....for a long time. (a very interesting book...i would like to hear some feedback from those who have read it, if possible!!) Then we went to the Pantheon. Cool building as well. Then we grabbed our luggage and hopped on a train to Siena for the next day. it took us 3 hours to get there but we did and BOY what a beautiful place. Our Bed and Breakfast was outside the city limits so we had to take a cab into the city that night, but it was worth it. We ate a small dinner at El Campo, the big hang out in Siena. Its basically a giant plaza. really pretty.
Tuesday(october 7) we had a nice continental breakfast and took the bus into Siena again. We visited the Duomo, a huge church made of black and white marble. It was gorgeous. Then back to the Plaza for a quick descansa y siesta. then back to the train station at about 4 to head to Firenze(aka Florence). We arrive in Firenze at about 6:30pm and settle into our super nice hostel(that I booked! heheh) then we go out, grab some food, and wander around the city. we stumble upon this acoustic guitar guy and so we all join the small crowd and listen to him for about 1.5 hours. it was such a chill way to spend the evening...in Florence, Italy.
This morning we took a 3 hour walking tour around the city which was nice and very imformative. Then my friends and I walked the HUGE market of San Lorenzo for hours. (until about 1 hour ago! haha) needless to say, i might sum this all up saying: I loved the history of Rome, the BEAUTY of Siena, and the city life of Florence!

Okay: the possible bad news....so i was trying to see if this computer would read my camera's memory card so i could FINALLY upload some pictures. The computer would not take it, so i put it back in my camera. when i turned it on again, the camera said "no image". now, i have taken about 300 pictures since i left last Friday. if they are all gone.....i personally have NO photo memories of anything i have seen....i dunno what happened but i am about to take my memory card somewhere and find out! please pray that my pictures are not gone! :D

i hope you all are well! God's Blessings as we live and love in this beautiful world He has created!

-Emily Joy

Italia: Day uno

So the overnight stay in the Madrid-barajas airport was a fun time. i did not sleep alot and i played alot of cards. the terminal was really nice and we made friends with the security guard but our check in station. The overall night was great seeing as i left Segovia at 9:30pm, got to the train station at 11 and arrived at the airport at midnight....aiii i was tired. i stayed up for about 3 hours then tried to nap for a little bit. we were able to check in with Alitalia at about 4:30am. We made it to our terminal with plenty of time to spare!

We boarded the plane a little after 6am and left at 6:30am. We got into Rome at about 8:45 and i was able to sleep for a while on the plane....but i was still tired, but i didnt care. I WAS IN ITALY!!!! we had to wait a long time in the baggage claim for our luggage(an extra 45 min!) but then all was well and we left to take the train to our hostel. the train station is about 5 blocks from our hostel in Rome. The reason i am able to write this is because we get 30 min free of internet everyday! that made me happy seeing as i have become very attatched to the internet....well, any form of communication with friends and fam back home. hhaa :)

Our hostel is quite nice. its called The yellow. its within walking distance of trevi fountain and the spanish steps. and other things too but i dont know the geography of Italy well. We rested for a while, grabbed some lunch then went exploring this part of Rome. its soooo beautiful the things we saw....finally!! we had dinner at this restuarant that made their own pasta...everyday. i got the pesto pasta....and my friends know how much i LOVE basil pesto. :) then i topped the evening off with a peach gelato. oh man...so grea. well, i must go since my time is almost up but another update will come soon! Pictures will have to wait until later! Gods Blessings!!

Italia or BUST!

Well, HELLOOOOOOOOOO everyone! :D hahah

SO, super exciting news today: I GOT MY ABSENTEE BALLOT! woohoo. so i will be able to vote in this crazy election. I actually just finished filling it out, but i have to go to the post office and purchase postage...because it is too heavy for standard 0.78 euro cent postage.

Last night i had the best dinner ever. it consisted of tortilla espanola, a whole tomato, and some bread(aka its a baguette). It was all i could ever ask for in fantastic food. i love tortilla espanola. My madre and i talked about cooking last night, and i told her that i love to cook. I think she might show me how to make tortilla one day. YES!!!

This weekend i went to this palace called La Granja. Gorgeous place. Our group is going to tour the palace later this semester, but my friends and i went to walk through the gardens and to see the fountains. I really enjoyed it....again, pictures are on photobucket. :D hehe

So, more exciting news: I will be leaving for ROME this Friday! However, i will not have access to my own personal computer from the 3-13 of October seeing as I will be traveling around Italy for the whole week. I might have access to the internet at the hostels, but after that, not much. Mail can still be sent to my school at this address:

Emily De Boer
Paseo del Salon, s/n
40001 Segovia, Spain

Emails will be appreciated and all(hahaha :D )....but pictures and updates will have to wait til after the 13th.
I can not wait to go see Italy and finally see all its beauty for myself. We are first staying in Rome for 3-4 days, then taking a day trip to Pompeii, then going to Florence for 2-3 days, then a day or two in Siene, and then Venice for another few days and then we return to Rome to fly back home(to Spain....haha)

I miss all of you and hope you are all healthy, happy, and enjoying life! God's Blessings!

ahhh me ENCANTAN los jueves y viernes

Yesterday was probably my favorite day of the week. We did not do anything in classes (excpet Lit) and i was able to go to the market!! The market is only available on Thursdays from 9-2. Which can be quite difficult to get to since i have class from 9:50-10:50 and 12:10-1:10. So in my break, i was able to go and browse....and purchase somethings. I had to buy slippers but i also found a cute sweater and some adorable flats. Pictures of the shoes are on photobucket.

Ayer (yesterday), we also went to the Jewish quarter during my European Union class. Every Thursday we go on a mini-excursion around Segovia. It is nice to get out of the classroom and see more of the city. Today we also had another mini-excursion to a monestary and Segovia's Plaza de Toros. The monestary was SOOO beautiful....and had alot of islamic architechtural influence. I loved it.

Today i bought a scarf from a gypsy.....they have booths set up in the Plaza Mayor....apparently you arent supposed to buy anything from them but my friend and i fought the price down to something that we could afford. haha it was great. I love this scarf though. super cute!

This weekend i am not doing anything, but reading Spanish poetry for Lit class and writing a paper about a Spanish poet. :D it will be a rad weekend. ;) haha.

Que Guay!!!

So, we all just learned how to say "that's cool" in Spanish. It is "que guay" (pronounced kay gw-ay) like high -->guay! I just thought that ya'll would like to know that handy little phrase.

Classes are well under way now and I use my siesta time exactly for that: NAPS! I must say that i love that part of Spanish culture. I am adapting quite well to the life here. I love my host madre because she is an awesome cook....and she is very understanding. My bed is pretty comfortable, my clothes get washed (and hung out to dry...all of them!)and life is just simple and quiet here with Julia. Only when her daughter, Miriam, and her husband and son come to visit, does it get quite loud.

I actually give myself time to walk to school....plus a little more for internet browsing before class starts. It feels great actually walking everywhere. I love looking at all the tiendas(shops) as i pass by. The only drawback is that soooooooooooooo many people here smoke. I bet all my clothes smell like cigarettes now. haha.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to a concert put on by a small Chamber Strings group. The were amazing. They did all the movements from Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, they also played a piece by Bach (with the oboe), a piece by Granadas( a spanish composer), a piece by Tschikowsky, and some Mozart. I LOVED IT. The theatre where it was held was very small and the seating was quite strange because i could not see the stage very well....but it was beautiful and again, quaint. :D This whole city is quaint, really. I love watching live classical music....i forget how much i enjoy it.

Tomorrow is the market in Segovia and I really want to go....i need to purchase some house shoes aka slippers because i left mine in GA. I need them because everyone has house slippers!!! I can not wear socks because it makes my host mother do more laundry...and if i go barefoot she will worry that i will get sick. heheh

So a new update: i will NOT be going to my Spanish sister's(Diana) wedding this Friday because I will not know anyone....and my host mother and other sister(miriam) will be unable to chat with me much. Julia ( my host mom) told me that I will be bored because they will be so busy and i will not have anyone to talk to. I would also have to miss class on Friday (which i wouldnt MIND doing....) but oh well. I will see pictures and Julia plans to show me the wedding video of Miriam's from a few years ago. It will suffice.

That is all for now. More later! If you can not find the link to my photos yet, here is the link! Enjoy!!!
http://s372.photobucket.com/albums/oo166/ehmuhlee1219/Around%20Segovia/

-Emilia

Vino?? claro que si!!

Que tal everyone? (that means, how’s it going?)

Everything is going just swell here in Segovia. I finished my first week of classes and to be honest, the only class I am worried about is my Literature class. I am happy for the chance to read good literature in Spanish but the workload is going to be quite hefty. Apparently, we are going to be writing like 7, 4-page papers this semester….which, in the long run of this 13 week semester I don’t know if it is possible. Especially with all the professors never starting class on time and getting to cover the topics they want. Oh well, I guess we’ll see how it all turns out.

I am making friends slowly but surely. The only thing is that I am on a super tight budget and everyone else always wants to literally drink the night away (or spend it all on clothes here). I hate being lame and saying, “well I am going home for the night”, cause I want to get to know people….oh well. There are a few people who are not into the whole bar scene and would rather sit outside a café, drink café con leche, and just talk. I can do that. :D

So, on the side of good news, I just bought a ticket for fall break….and where am I going you might ask?? ROME! Woooo. I mean, I am flying into and leaving from Rome. I will not spend everyday in Rome, although I am sure that I could. I really want to go to Pompeii, Venice, and Perugia, so I can go and say HEY to Alex Walton, my friend from middle school and high school. Our break is super early, which kinda stinks….its October 3-13. It is nice and long though, which is great. It is great to have a lot of 4 day school weeks also. Most Fridays we either do not have class or we have an excursion which takes us away all day (or weekend).

Speaking of excursions, our first one was yesterday! We went to a winery, then to the castle of Coca (not like the cola..hehe), and then to the castle in Cuellar called Castillo de los Duques de Alberquerqes. At the winery, the lady showed us how they make the white wine (vino blanco). I felt like I was on a Spanish version of “How It’s Made”. It made me happy because I LOVE that show. Then we got to try 2 of the 3 wines they make there. They had lots of yummy snacks including pork rinds (yummmm hahah NOT). The castle of Coca was awesome. Lots of winding stairs up to the top but it is a beautiful building. {note: Segovia is in the area of Spain called “Castilla y Leon” because this area of the country is FULL of castles (castillos).} There is a room in the Coca castle where you could whisper into a corner, and if someone stood directly across from you in the opposite corner, you could hear them perfectly. It was SWEET! After this castle, we drove to Cuellar to see the other castle. We ate lunch first which was nice because it was about 3 o clock (which even here is later than I usually eat lunch!). Then we went to the church next to the castle for a “show” about mudejar- Christian and muslim art combined-and it was sooo cool. I was not allowed to take pictures but there were lights, music, and side displays of how the Jews, Christians, and Muslims in this town tried to live together after fighting against one another for so long.

Anywho, it was all in all a fun day and I was tired when I got home at like 7. I went to the internet café for a little bit and then went home to eat….and welcome my host sister, her husband, and little Diego for the weekend. I went to bed at like 10:30….i was exhausted. I am trying to get on a regular sleep schedule here...trying, is the key word. I need to shower and go try and find the Protestant church so I can attend a service tomorrow. Until then, my friends! Hasta luego! (pictures from Friday are up on photobucket now too!!)

PS: to all those who have written me emails, I TOTALLY appreciate it. Those of ya’ll that know me understand that I love to get mail of ANY kind, so it really brightens my day when I get an email from someone back home. THANKS again!

Dia Seis!!!

Hola y que tal mis amigos??

Today is Wednesday and i really can not believe it! The days have been flying by and it is halfway through the week already. Tonight we are all going out for dinner with the whole group. I am excited.
So....unfortunately we have only 2.5 weeks to plan our trips for Fall break. Our fall break is October 3-12. So Sarah, I am sorry i COULD come back for your wedding, but i do not have the funds nor do i want to spend the monays.....lo siento senorita!
My best wishes to Liz and Chris this weekend as they TIE THE KNOT!!!! Congratulations y Felicidades as you two commit your lives to each other in Christ. God's Blessings!!
Soo if any of ya'll are free during the hours of 1-4 (YOUR TIME) i will be on skype, which is a free download online...all you need is a mic or webcam or both. and i can talk to you.......if i am not talking to Caleb already. :D hehehe
Well, i am off to Class....i will have more stuff to talk about after this Friday. It is our first excursion a la Ruta de los Castillos!

Bienvenidos a Espana!!

Hola y Bienvenidos to my Spain updates!!

Friday(9/12/08) was my first day in Spain and needless to say I am sooo happy that I came here. I do not have internet at my host mother’s apartment so I am typing these the night before so all I have to do is copy and paste! The glory of today’s technology: it’s fabulous!
I left on Thursday September 11, 2008 from Atlanta at 5:30pm. I flew to Toronto to catch a connection flight to Madrid. I got into Toronto at 7:30 and left at 9:45 for Madrid. Our flight got in at about 10:45am (Spain time….about 4:45am ya’lls time) We waited a long time for the bus to come….and then we had to wait some more for another student arriving late. By the time we got going to Segovia, it was way after 1pm. I slept for about half of the hour drive to Segovia because I did not sleep well on the plane. When the bus arrived in Segovia, I was immediately shooed along to meet my host mother, Julia. And I have been speaking in Spanish since. Haha.
Julia lives by herself, being divorced, but she has 2 daughters and one son. Her oldest daughter, Miriam, is married with a 1 ½ year old (named Diego) and another one on the way! Her other daughter, Diana, is getting married in about 2 weeks….so there is a lot happening around the house. First Julia and I ate and then I slept for about 2 hours. Later on I went with Diana y Miriam plus Julia’s mother and sister to try on the dress again and find some earrings to wear. Miriam showed me where the school is from the apartment. It is quite easy to find.
Segovia is beautiful. It’s plain and simple. I can tell that it is going to be a fun time here. It is crazy to be so suddenly immersed in a culture and language. I can honestly say that I was not too overwhelmed even though everyone speaks to me in Spanish. My conversacion is quite rusty but it will get there in time. I at least can communicate with my familia. The way the city is built is soo cute. I love the aquaduct running through the city….its sooo darn cool.
During this past weekend I went walking around Segovia, trying to get a feel of the city. It is soo gorgeous. I have pictures up on photobucket.com now too. My madre here is sooo good at cooking. I have had tortilla de patata, chorizo, gazpacho, and every delicious fruit imaginable! haha I love the fact that everyone walks around the city. I feel like even though the food i eat can be a bit heavy, i lose it all anyway, just walking to and from school(its a 15-20 min walk!)
Classes started yesterday and so far they are easy, but i think that is because they are trying to get us used to hearing Spanish all the time, plus it a a different subject, other than Spanish. ANyways, i have class now and then lunch, and then SIESTA!!!!!!!!