CROATIA!

During my time in Spain I've been lucky enough to have been able to travel to Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, and lastly, Croatia.  When Jacklyn and I decided to go to Croatia, we thought it would be best to save it for last (clearly to soak up some sun and get our tanning on.)  We definitely saved the BEST for last.  Croatia is absolutely out of this world.

We got into Dubrovnik around 10am and once we got through customs and took the 30 min bus to the city it was around 11:30.  Luckily, the next bus to Split was around 12:30pm so we made a quick Pizza lunch pit-stop.  The bus ride to Split is about 4-5 hours with a cross over into Bosnia.  We weren't exactly sure what to expect but what we got was like the Highway 1 of Croatia -Winding beautiful roads that curved in and out of the rugged seaside landscape with water as clear as glass and as blue as sapphire.  The entire 5 hour bus ride was like that.  I was peeled to the window.  

We get to Split and find that our hostel is actually someone's home.  The lady who hosted the hostel was super sweet but knew very little English.  We managed to communicate well though :)  Split was having a music festival that weekend so we got to hear lots of live music which was amazing.  

Jacklyn and I decided to go up an hour north to visit Krka National Park.  It's known for it's waterfalls that are similar to the famous Pltivice Lakes in Croatia with the exception that you can actually get into the water. Jacklyn and I had a moment while swimming in this crystal clear water next to this waterfall where we looked at each other and were like "Can you believe where we are?!?!" surreal.

The next day we took a ferry boat to Hvar Town.  We stayed in an amazing hostel were we ended up meeting some pretty cool Aussies to hang out with.  They invited us on their boat that they rented and we spent the entire next day wakeboarding, swimming, cliff-jumping, and tubing in the Adriatic Sea.  I was tubing when all of a sudden 6 dolphins swam right along side us!! It was AMAZING.

The routine was sort of like wake up, go take a swim, go eat breakfast, go take a swim, and then plan your day.  The next day after the boat day Jacklyn, the aussies, and I rented scooters to get a better look at the island of Hvar.  We went up to the lavender fields, up to the castle that overlooks the harbor, and then down to an awesome seaside beach bar.  I definitely was not the best of drivers on the scooter--and my bruise from a crash proved it !! There were a couple accidents that day, luckily nobody got hurt :)

After three nights with the Aussies and hanging out in Hvar, we made our way back down to Dubrovnik.  We spent our last day in Dubrovnik laying out on the beach and walking around taking what we called an 'icecream tour' because we stopped at so many ice cream stands!  It was SO HOT in Dubrovnik that we were just exhausted by the end of the day.  We spent our last night listening to some live music and went back to our hostel early for our flights back home.

Overall, Croatia is my favorite place that I've visited to date.  I HIGHLY suggests going if you can--especially since the exchange rate is so good.

I come home next week!!

La visita de mis abuelos!

My grandpa and his wife, Kristie, came to visit me for 5 days in Santiago de Compostela!  It was almost surreal picking them up from the airport!  They were the first taste of home I've had since I got here and it meant so much that they came all the way out to visit.  The weather was pretty rainy during their visit, although luckily we had sun when we needed it (walking around Santiago) :)

During our visit we went to the Playas Catedrales in Ribadeo.  This beach is basically massive rock structures where you can see each strata of growth throughout millions of years.  You could also see the tide lines which were at least 15 feet.

The next day we went to La Coruna to visit the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world.  Unfortunately, it is now closed to visitors to climb to the top but it has a wonderful view around the base.

Wednesday we spent the day walking around Santiago and going to the Cathedral, the Galego Museum, and walking around the beautiful Old Town of Santiago.

Lastly, I took them down to the Portugal border.  We crossed the border into Portugal and stopped in a walled city that protected the border back in the day.  Now the city is full of little shops and cafes.  :)

and of course, we played with the girls and my grandparents got to see the life I've been able to lead here in Spain :)  It was so wonderful having them here to experience a little of what I've experienced during my time overseas.

The Countdown Begins!

It's coming down to the wire now.  I have a month and a half left in Spain.  Lately, I have been hearing the expression 'bitter-sweet'.  Ya know, like 'oh yea I'm sure it's bitter-sweet for you.'  The problem is that that expression doesn't even begin to express my emotions about leaving.  It's not so much bitter as it is heart-breaking--and it's not so much sweet as it is exhilarating.  It's two extremes.  Two completely different sides of a coin.


I do have to say, though, that I am thrilled to get home and see my family.  I mean it's been 9 months now and so many things have happened--my sister graduated from college, got her first full-time job as a flight-attendant (her dream job), my brother graduated from boot camp, then graduated from the NAVY Dive School, AND got engaged to his wonderful girlfriend.  Also, one of my best friends had his first son, Carter, who I can't wait to finally meet.  I can't wait to just be able to call my sister on the phone and chat about nonsense, finally hug my mom, and play tennis with my dad.  I cannot WAIT to drink sweet tea.  Lots of things happen in a year and you don't really realize it until you are out of the loop a little.  


However, on the flip side, how do I explain to the three little girls who I've spent this year adoring that I'll never be back for the length of time I was this year--or that the United States is actually not the next town over.  Children don't really have a concept of time or distance and Agueda thinks we need a plane to get to Padron--a town 20 minutes away in car.  The hardest conversation was when she asked me where I will be spending my next birthday--I had to tell her that I will be in the United States--and she was so upset because she wanted to get me a present. Now I can tell I am getting more emotional with them, and constantly wanting to hug them or kiss them because I know I am leaving soon and soon I won't be able to do that anymore--but they don't realize that so they are always like 'Sarah! I'm playing! Stop!' :) Cuties.  


The one comfort I have is that I know I have developed a wonderful relationship with the whole family, including my fantastic host parents, and I know I will be able to maintain a relationship with them for years to come--and for that I am so unbelievably thankful.


Other info about the going on's in Spain these past few weeks


Julio's sister got married!! I was lucky enough to go to this very small, family only wedding to witness a lovely couple get married.  Agueda, Valentina, and Celsa were the little flower girls and they looked so beautiful.  


I went to Ireland for the Comenius Project.  We spent a night in Dublin, then went off to the north west side of Ireland in Letterkenny.  We toured a very small rural school that had only 15 children in the whole thing!! I loved learning about the Irish school system and the speaker that spoke was so inspiring!  I still can't believe I represent Spain in these little trips across Europe--amazing.  Then we went surfing!! Definitely not the warmest of waters... lol I wore a ski-coat and surfed in the same day!  However, I represented my brother well when I was the only person who stood up and caught a wave :)  The next day we went to a spectacular castle in the middle of...nowhere.  It was breathtaking.  A castle surrounded by a lake and beautiful mountains--all by it's lonesome.  Overall, Ireland was fantastic!! And if you go to Ireland--definitely order a steak. It's the best steak you'll ever eat.


Unfortunately, I have been having some coughing issues again and since I had pneumonia twice in 7 months last year, I went to the doctor right away!  The first time I went to the doctor in October, my host family came with me as a translator--this time I was solo.  Sorta like taking training wheels off for the first time :) My spanish is not great but the fact I can at least talk symptoms to a doctor and understand his instructions shows the improvement :)  Turns out I do not have pneumonia again, but I have to use an inhaler till I get back to the US due to a moderate to severe allergy to house dust.  Not exactly sure how to avoid house dust for the rest of my life but I'll figure something out! 

Month and a half--the countdown begins!!

The Unexpected Companion.

Living in Spain has definitely bought some unexpected challenges including times of homesickness, pneumonia, missing my sister's graduation, and managing the rainy spring climate that has masked the months of April and May.  However, the one question I have received rather consistently is the age-old "have you met anyone?"  So I thought I'd take some time to write down my thoughts.

The typical conversation goes something like this,
"Have you met anyone?"
"No."
"Nobody??"
"Nope."
"Are you trying??"
"Not really."
"Well, Jeez Sarah, arn't you lonely? Don't you WANT to meet anyone?"

The one challenge I don't have hovering over my head is the one most people have been worried about.  Ahh irony.  

So where does this come from?  Why is this the buzzing question?  Is it really so odd that a young woman decides to spend a year overseas and can enjoy every day without the need of sharing it with some significant other?  

Now don't get me wrong.  I've had those cringing moments of loneliness with no way to ease it besides holding onto a pillow and falling asleep, however, I was also very accustomed to having some form of male relationship in my life since I was 17.  I had never actually taken Loneliness along for the ride.  I just sort of kept kicking him to the curb, but somehow he showed up as valiant as ever, and I ended up being the one bruised and battered!  So I made a decision.  I was gonna take him along this time. Let's go, Loneliness, get in.  Nos vamos.

So during the first part of our trip together we really did not like each other very much.  I was trying to enjoy my time with my new family here in Spain and Loneliness was a buzz kill.  He kept trying to bring back all these old memories of past relationships and heartaches, broken friendships, and low self-esteem.  I, however, remained steadfast.  I was taking in all the new sights, sounds, and flavors of Spain while maintaining this adrenaline rush that comes with new travels. Everything was new and exciting--yet also a little scary--and it didn't help having a little pest by my side.

By Christmas my steadfastness and my 'travel bug' had worn off a little.  I was becoming much more comfortable with my surroundings and my life here started feeling like home.  But it's just when things start to settle in that some people come along and try to take advantage.  That's what Loneliness did.  I had a good two months of "Can I do this?" moments.  I think some of that had to do with my hatred of winter, as well as missing my sister's graduation from UNCG.  Wherever it came from, Loneliness had the upper hand, and I needed to change that real quick.

By my fifth month I had gotten so used to having Loneliness around that it started to seem like old hat.  I have had more mid-day coffee dates with Loneliness that I care to count, but he became more of a companion than a bother.  What started to happen was that Loneliness turned into Solidarity--a complete acceptance and enjoyment of being alone.  A fulfillment, rather than a burden.  We have actually done some pretty cool things together!

This is an art project we did together

This is us straddling the Belgium/Holland Border

This is us in Italy

So what happens when you take Loneliness for a ride? You become friends, and then ironically you are not lonely anymore--but completely content with who you are, where you are, and what you've become.  Loneliness is not a sad thing, its an empowering thing and should be used as such.  How wonderful is it when your best friend is...YOU.  So thanks, Loneliness, for the trip of a lifetime.


--I owe so much thanks to Ali Berlinski, author of A Beautiful Mess, for being my best friend in Santiago, Jacklyn for being my rock through everything here in Spain (and the best travel buddy), and Levon for showing me the fiesta spots in Santiago. <3.

Birthday parties and Italy

It's been so long since I've written on my blog and I apologize for that!

Spring in Galicia has definitely brought a lot of rain--but there have been a few amazing days.  One of those days I went to one of the spectacular beaches in Galicia with my friend Levon and Fan.  A short 40 min drive took us to one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Here are a few photos.

The weekend before my birthday my WONDERFUL host parents surprised me with a birthday dinner and cake!  They have a friend who is a chef and he came over and made fresh sushi and homemade Tiramisu for dinner.  It was just the sweetest surprise and I feel so lucky to live with such a thoughtful and generous family here in Spain.  It was so touching.

My mom also sent my girls the CUTEST towels!! Here are some of them modeling the towels.

This past weekend was my birthday weekend and my friend Jacklyn and I planned a trip to celebrate :)  Jacklyn had a break from school so we decided to spend a few days in Italy.  We flew into Milan on my birthday and had the most amazing birthday dinner of my life!  Italy is clearly known for their food, but having Italian food IN Italy is a whole different ball game.  The freshness, the flavor, the simplicity...it was just a perfect combination that left you wondering why on earth you'd ever eat anything different.  

The next day we caught our train to the Cinque Terre-five little towns that have a hiking path connecting each one to the other.  Also known as paradise.  Arriving to the Cinque Terre was one of those out of body experiences where you are there but ...not there.  You are above yourself looking down and wondering if you are dreaming.  Right after checking into our hostel, we threw our stuff on our bed, rushed into our bikinis and headed for the beach.  I did the first thing anyone would do when arriving to Italy--I bought a gelato :)  The first of many to come.  Jacklyn and I decided to lay out on a large rock for a few hours and reminisce in our decision to visit the most beautiful place on earth.

That night we went on a ferry ride to visit the last of the towns.  During our trip we met two super sweet Canadian girls and hit it off! We got drinks by the beach, had yet another gelato, and then went to dinner.  During dinner two more of their friends showed up and we decided that the next day we would do the hike together! BEST DECISION!  Hiking the trail with our new Canadian friends made the trip!  My legs hurt from the climb and my stomach hurt from laughing so much! 

That night, Jacklyn and I decided we would make a little dinner for our Canadian friends :)  Our hostel had a kitchen, so we went to a small store and bought fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, pesto, olives, and pasta.  Everything necessary for a delicious Italian meal.  So with a little wine and dessert from our Canadian friends--our meal was complete! Delicious!

Next Jacklyn and I decided to head to Verona to visit the town of Romeo and Juliet.  Verona is a beautiful, quaint little town that is the perfect setting for the story book romance of Romeo and Juliet.  We visited the iconic balcony from the movie and went inside Juliet's house.  On top of that we visited the Coliseum in Verona, roamed the streets, and just enjoyed passing the day in such a lovely city.  People say 'right out of a story book' and this town actually is.

 Anyway--It was the most amazing birthday weekend and so glad I got to spend it with Jacklyn and meet some new friends!  I missed my family so much and want to give a big shout out to my AMAZING TWIN, Kelly, who I am  so lucky to share that day with. You make my life complete, Kel! LOVE YOU!

Surprises and Carnival!

Ahh winter.  Everyone who knows me knows my feelings about winter.  As far as I'm concerned, if winter never existed I'd be elated (not to mention, I think Belgium took all my cold weather tolerance !!) However, it does, and we've made the best of it here in Spain.  This is my little model, Agueda :)

The girls were home from school pretty much the entire month of February because each of them had a cold.  Agueda had a fever and a skin rash that spread across her body and Valentina also had a fever, as well as cough and all the other fun symptoms of having a cold.  Even little Celsa had a fever.  Everyone was sick! Except me (although now it's my turn!) We basically played lots of games and made little Valentine's day cards.  I will say having the girls cooped up in the house everyday is very hard! Poor things were so antsy to let out all their energy!  **Celsa's new thing is sleeping on the floor! She walks or crawls over to a pillow and just plops down! So precious

Fortunately, the past few days have been really beautiful here in Santiago.  No rain (I know, I know--it's unbelievable considering everyone in Spain thinks it monsoons 365 days a year.)  and about 60-65 degrees.  The girls have had an opportunity to play in the park and run around a little taking in the clean air and warm sun.


Carnaval was this past week--the girls got all dressed up and we went to see a little parade that was going around in Santiago.  The girls also had a parade for their school where the girls dressed up as Daisy Duck and the boys dressed up as Donald Duck.  VERY CUTE :)

I also had a WONDERFUL belated Valentines day surprise-An absolutely gorgeous bouquet of flowers arrived at my door here in Santiago!  Thank you, Matt for sending such beautiful flowers and something that the girls and I could share together :)  It meant so much to them and me!

Anyway, I am looking forward to Spring!  Although I think we have had a wonderful winter in Santiago...I am ready for winter to be over for the next 8 months or so :)

Ahh invierno.  El todo mundo sabe mis sentimientos sobre invierno.  Si invierno no existe, estaría muy contenta.  Sin embargo, se existe, e hicimos lo mejor de invierno aquí en España. 

Las niñas estuvieron en casa casi todo el mes de Febrero porque estuvieron la gripe.  Águeda tuvo fiebre y una erupción de piel en su todo cuerpo y Valentina también tuvo fiebre, tos, y todos los síntomas de la gripe.  Celsa también tuvo fiebre.  Todo el mundo estuvo enferma! Jugamos muchos juegos e hicimos cartas para el día de San Valentine.   Estuvo difícil a tener las niñas en casa todos los días todo día! Pobrecitas tenían mucha energía y no tuvieron una buena forma para liberarla!

Sin embargo, estos días pasados han hecho muy bonita aquí en Santiago.   No lluvia y 15-18 grados!  Las niñas han tenido una oportunidad a jugar en el parque y correr un poquito.

Carnaval estuvo esta semana pasada—y las niñas disfrazaron y fuimos a ver un desfile aquí en Santiago.  También, las niñas estuvieron en un desfile del colegio y disfrazaron de ‘Daisy Duck’. 

También, yo recibí un ramo de flores bonitísimo para el día de San Valentine.  Muchísimas gracias a Matt por mandando flores tan bonitos y algo que las niñas y yo podríamos compartir juntos.

Belgium -- Hospitality and Chocolate

I have been given the privilege to be apart of  an international project called Comenius.  The project consists of seven schools in seven different countries that all work on the same project within their perspective schools and then we utilize the internet as a way to share our projects internationally.  There are many different projects and every country within the European Union is a part of the Comenius group.  The project within my school is called E-Guiding and it is basically to put together photo stories of the daily lives of Spanish children and typical foods, sports, or culture that makes Spain distinct from the rest of the other countries within the European Union.  The countries with the E-Guiding project include Sweden, England, Cyprus, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, and Spain.  Another part of this project is that representatives of every school travel to each country within the course of two years to learn about the educational system and teaching ideas at every school.  Since each country speaks a different language, another big part of the project is to show the importance of English as a way to connect the various countries within the European Union.  So, the only people who can travel are people who can speak English well enough to communicate effectively.  And that's where I come in :)

The last week of January, my director and I went to Belgium as a part of the Comenius project.  We were met by the other Belgian participants and taken to our very nice hostel in Maldegem.  Maldegem is small town near the two cities of Brugge and Gent--and is the home of some of the most hospitable people I've ever met.  The first night we were taken to an amazing light show in Gent, where artists put out various projects throughout the city.  The next morning we spent some time in one of the schools and learning about the Belgian educational system.  That afternoon we went to the Dutch and Belgian border and had a little photo shoot, as well as a wonderful lunch in a restaurant that straddles the border.  That afternoon we spent some time in a little town in the Netherlands and went on a drive through a beach town that is on the North Sea.  This town was pretty unique because it has a mandate that says all the homes have to be white..which was actually very pretty!  After our drive we had a meeting with the Mayor and his assistant gave us a presentation about Maldegem and their school systems.  That night our hosts gave us a little surprise with a drive in a tractor/wagon-esk where we ate dinner and had some drinks.  We drove to a place where we played a traditional Belgian game that was similar to curling but on ground.  We all had a great time!!

The next day we went to a few more schools.  My favorite part of the trip by far.  One of the schools we went to had only 3 classes and the children were between the ages of 3-6 years old.  They had two class pets, a guinea pig and a rabbit, which the children were eager to show me.  The professor, Luc, had put a project together for us where we had to paint (using a paste made from walnuts) something that represents our country.  I put an Octopus for Galicia and ...a little UNC symbol to represent the good ol' Tarheels :)  I had so much fun playing with kids outside and seeing how different the schools are from the US.

The last night we had a wonderful farewell dinner at a magnificent restaurant.  We had a fish soup, lamb and potatoes, and a delicious chocolate dish for dessert.  One of the things we had to do was prepare a song for the singing contest...and Anita and I were terrified! We ended up singing a version of "Sweet Home Alabama" that had lyrics in two languages - Galician and English!  The other performers were outstanding and I had a blast watching everyone!  We spent the rest of the night dancing away :)

Of course, our wonderful hosts also treated us to some Belgian Chocolate and Belgian Waffles :)  Delicious!

 I also thought I'd throw some pictures in here of the girls :)  Bath Time!! They are getting SO BIG!!