blog attempt TAKE 2

OK people. SO here's the thing. I almost changed the title of this blog to RIP, settled for being a nonblogger, and left a link to Jane's blog address. BUUTTTT, I did some blog stalking last night when I couldn't fall asleep and I decided to not be lazy, because it is cool to know what's going on in someone's life when it's hard to keep in touch with them. So maybe things will be different, maybe they won't, I'll give it another shot even though I kind of hate trying to sum up the mess of thoughts in my brain and fully explain this experience because I don't think I'm doing it justice in words! I'm going to give you a heads up though, I feel like these are about to get kinda deep and lengthy if I'm really going to say all thats going on! So don't say you haven't been warned. all of these WILL be too long and personal (title of my brother Will's old blog that I stumbled upon yesterday- haha thanks bro).

Maybe I'll start by trying to sum up things I have learned so far! I think I have a lot more to learn but here are a few things ..
1) don't complain - so I just recently realized how much I say "I'm so cold" or "I hate the cold" or even just ramble on about something annoying Pilar does. Today is day one with my attempt to stop complaining. Everyone is just as cold as the next person, and a good attitude can change everything (although I seriously enjoy long drawn out conversations with my friends here about weird things that host families are particular about or do differently - living with a random spanish family as part of a business deal in a sense is just enough to blog about in itself! what an experience)!
2) being indecisive is a choice, and one that most people think is annoying. I am super indecisive if you know me. But I just realized the other day that all it is is laziness. Maybe it takes some people longer to decide things and maybe an "indecisive" person just likes to map out all of the possibilities in their head before deciding something, but really seeing the decisiveness of some people makes me want to be that way. Just pick something and stick to it! Make a plan and keep it. Day one with not saying "I don't care" or "I don't know".
3) true comfort really does come only from the Lord. Things are SO different being here than back at home, where daily I am completely surrounded by people that I look up to and that know me so well and encourage me in so many ways. (It makes me SO thankful for my family, friends, and especially my roomieee Jane, who I am SO blessed to have here!!) I think being in such a drastic environment change can really show you where you find your comfort. Also, I feel like the fact that the Lord has a perfect plan for everyone has become so evident here! I can't tell you how many times me and Jane are like "where even are we!?" But I'm so sure that this is where I am supposed to be- and I really am loving it! Also, I felt really a lot of guilt a few weeks ago when I realized how much of my free time wasn't being spent with the Lord. Why not?? It's so frustrating because it's something I enjoy and something I truly want to do and I always would end up putting it off. I felt really crappy about it and then remembered that I have faith in HIS finished work, not how many times a week I open the bible (of course I realize quiet times are so important and great and DUH im not like stopping doing them). It's just really comforting to remember the extent of His love for us, especially when we are disappointed in or have been relying too much on ourselves. I was encouraged by my mom about depending on the Lord. I want to learn more about what that looks like! sorry for getting deep and boring I warned you!!
4) this one I'm still working on.. how to keep up with things? I still haven't figured this out. I'm just glad I haven't lost my passport, and PRAY that it doesn't ever happen. I have lost a couple important things, but I'm learning I think.
5) I can take a short shower!! My showers at home are like 15-20 minutes AT LEAST. Here, I time myself every time I take a shower (it reminds me of you papa - sara sanfilippo - because I think we used to time each other with random stuff and I can just see her saying "Time me!!!") My average shower is like 8 minutes but I am totally capable of doing it in like 5.30 if I'm reaally in a hurry.

Now let's talk about SPAIN! I really love SPain. I think at first I was seriously like freaked out my such a different culture, and all the ham. But I think I have really learned to appreciate this place and the people and the culture and all that! Here's some things I like about Spain.
1) I like that you can get around without a car. Thank heavens for the train that goes to Madrid. Thank goodness for the local bus that we take to class when its frrreeeezing or raining. and you can basically go anywhere in Europe for really cheap on a plane! BUT I can NOT wait to drive again! With the windows down fo sho. and some good music on (by the way my one of my speakers is busted in my car, parents, if you ever get bored and wanna take a drive over to the shop to get it fixed.???)
2) I LOVE that when you eat in a restaurant here, an hour, or two even goes by without them giving you the bill. They don't try to get you in and out in 30 minutes like in the states. They really know how to enjoy their mealtime and make it chill. They're never in a rush, which I love.
3) Arroz con leche. precious pilar made it for us the other day because she knows its our fave, ha. I wrote down the recipes and instructions!
4) New friends! I have met some really awesome people from other programs here! I'll talk more about them soon and post pictures too.
4) gummy candy. made in china, sold by chinos, affordable, amazing.
5) My school. I really love my teachers!! I want to take solo pics of them when they aren't looking so I can show yall. They actually seem like they enjoy teaching us and I really love learning Spanish its so fun!

Things I appreciate about America.
1) Business hours. Over here, nothing opens until like 10. And there's like no where to study, because the library hours aren't even good. I miss RBD!!! best library ever. I can't wait to study there next fall, with a HUGE coffee from caribou, I might even pull an all nighter just to take advantage of it being open 24 hrs.
2) It's really new. We had midterms this week and for my civ class (basically history) I had to cram like 2000 years of Spanish history into my brain. I think the year that we left off on was even earlier than the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. You wouldn't believe how many people fought over this land to settle here, its insane. Needless to say, American history is a lot easier to grasp.
3) Fountain drinks. I don't know why, but the poor Spanish people just don't know how to enjoy a good soft drink like we do in America - 32 oz (at least) filled to the brim with ice to break your teeth on. I miss that! It reminds me of going out to smiths with my young life team (I feel like we always found a way to fit a fountain drink from the gas station in on our drives out there)
There's more, duh but this is long and I think the bathroom is vacant so I better go-- last night I totally walked in on Peter!! super AWK but at least he wasn't peeing or anything he was just looking at himself in the mirror. (PS if you don't know who peter is, it's our host sister's husband- they are living here until they move to sweden in a month.. )

OH WAIT here's what happened in the past week!
- Wednesday we went to the Prado Museum with our school. It was awesome! We saw the paintings of Grecco (my fave), Velázquez, and Goya. Afterwards, me Jane and Kristina explored Madrid. We walked around and ended up in Chueca, a hip district (actually known as the gay area), where they have a lot of cool shops. We went to the Plaza Mayor and got sushi at the Mercado de San Miguel! It's da bomb.
- Friday we went to Toledo! I loved this city. Its a real pretty city known for having influence from 3 cultures living there together at the same time: christians, muslims, and jews. It's famous for marzipan too!
- So we were supposed to go on a field trip to Soria yesterday with our conversation class. Soria was described by our host brother as a miserable, FREEZING place, and he compared it to North Dakota. We were not excited, and after only getting 3 hours of sleep we woke up to head to school and Pilar told us it had snowed! No Soria trip for us, thank gosh for the snow.
- My parents are coming tomorrow!!! I am SO excited!!