Madrid-London and everything in between!

Hi everyone!

It has been quite some time since my last entry, but I have been very busy. Last I left off, I was anxiously awaiting the RM soccer game in Madrid. After a 6 hour bus ride to Madrid, we arrived at 7AM. As you can probably imagine, not too much is happening at this hour. We ate breakfast and hung out in the bus station cafeteria waiting to start our day. We toured all famous plazas (Plaza Mayor, Plaza Espana) as well as the Royal Catedral and Palace. We walked around a lot, exploring this enormous city, and ended our sightseeing by going on a cable car ride over the city. The night, however, was complete when we went on our way to Santiago Bernabeu. Crowds were forming, people chanting, and fan memorabilia was everywhere. My friend Drea and I quickly found our seats in the grand stadium and waited giddily for the first whistle signaling the start of the game. The atmosphere was ballistic as there were songs and chants for every aspect of the game. In no time, Ronaldo scored the first goal sending the crowd (and me) into a frenzy. The rest of game kept this momentum as RM swept to a 5-0 win. After the game we headed to Burger King, then to the bus station to wait for our 2 AM bus (not the best part of our trip..) Overall, I liked Madrid. However, of all the cities I've been to so far in my travels, it was my least favorite. Nothing really stood out to me, and I didn't see the beauty in the city. Believe me though, the game made it so worthwhile!

The next week flew quickly. We met up with our advisors at one of their homes and learned how to make the traditional Tortilla Dish. Her kitchen was pretty small, so I did more listening to them instructing than actually making it. I did, though, do my share of eating it! We also explored more of Oviedo as we went to a museum that happened to be about 20 steps from my piso. I'm one to like art if there is a good history and explanation behind it, but this was all in Spanish. One of the paintings in the museum was of Spain's own Picasso, so that was awesome that I got the opportunity to see one of his paintings in real life. I also spent an entire afternoon with Cruz. She gave me a personal tour of the Catedral of Oviedo. I walk by and admire it everyday, yet I never had been inside. It was great hearing her perspective, especially since she is an art/history teacher. Saturday during the day, Cruz and Tino invited me on a biking escapade through the Austurian Mountains. I came out of my room thinking I was dressed appropriately, only to be given specific biking pants, a biking top, and biking gloves. Turns out, they bought me a helmet too. After I was done getting ready for my biking debut, or so it looked, we set off for the trails. They took me to La Senda de Los Osos (The path of the bears). This path wasn't too hilly, and we literally weaved our way through the mountains, caves, and over bridges. It was absolutely stunning, and such a beautiful, perfect day for it. Two hours later, we circled back around and ate a quaint lunch on the riverside. It was such a great day spent with my host family!

When Sunday FINALLY arrived, I scurried to the airport to pick up Marcus. I was pretty nervous that something had gone wrong with his flight or something along those lines, because I went with my friend Kelsey who was picking up her parents from the same flight. She has had a lot of bad luck with this, and I was hoping I wouldn't have the same. When we saw them through the automatic doors, we were so relieved and excited that Kelsey and I tried to go through. Needless to say we were quickly scolded by airport security. It was so great to be reunited after two long months! We spent the duration of Sunday touring Oviedo, and spending time on Gascona Street. For dinner, we ate with Cruz who was enthused to have a guest to cook for. On Monday Marcus, Emily, her boyfriend Ryan, and I all hiked to the top of Naranco together. Even though I've already done it twice, it never gets old. It is truly the best view of the city. Afterwards, we got a group together to meet on Gascona and play some cards/games and to enjoy some Sidra.

Tuesday after class the excitement began as Marcus and I headed for London. Our flight ended up going well, and before we knew it we were on the Stansted Express headed into the heart of London. We easily navigated the Tube and found our Hostel. We explored our district a little (East Court), and then headed back to prepare for the next day. After assembling all six maps we had acquired, we planned out our day. We started off going to Harrods, London's largest department store. While doing research, we found that this place reserves the right to turn down people at the door. Luckily, we made it in! We looked around a few floors, then headed to try some of England's famous tea and crumpets. After we finished that, we took the Tube to King's Cross Train Station. For anyone who immediately doesn't recognize this, you should discontinue reading my blog. Just kidding (kind of). King's Cross is where part of the Harry Potter Movies were taped. We made a beeline to platform 9 3/4 and had an almost embarrassingly long photo shoot. It was so amazing to be at the very wall where Daniel Radcliffe transported to the magical world of wizardcraft. When we had our fill of Harry Potter Fantasy, we went to Camden which is one of the largest markets in London. We walked around for hours exploring the little shops, and stopped to enjoy some Chinese food and DR. PEPPER. After not having Dr. Pepper in two month's time, it was safe to say I was just so refreshed! Our next destination was the British Museum. Here we saw the famous Rosetta Stone, and spent a lot of time looking at the Egyptian exhibits. I found it all very fascinating, especially the Museum's building structure. By this time, we were obviously masters of the Tube, and made our way to Eastern side of London to see the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the Thames River. My favorite out of all of these was easily the London Eye. The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel that overlooks the river, and at the top, a view of 25 miles. It was spectacular to say the least. We went later so it was stunning to see the city lit up at night. After all of this we went to Piccadilly Square which was my favorite district. Right after stepping out of the subway, we encountered a break dancing competition. We continued wandering around until we saw the UK's M&M World. I had never even heard of such a thing, but upon entrance we were greeted with 4 massive floors filled with every kind of M&M memorabilia that you could possibly ever want. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, but pretty entertaining. After this packed day, we were starved and set off to find a restaurant to try England's famous "fish and chips" dinner which was very delicious and lived up to its expectations.

 I loved everything about London, and really didn't want to leave. I ended up getting what I wished for, as we missed our flight due to delays in the metro, as well as the train. They told us that we were going to have to wait until Sunday to get the next flight, which we realized we possibly could not do since that was how long Marcus was going to be here. After I had a small panic attack, we purchased new tickets that sent us to Bilbao. If you've been reading my blog, you'll recognize that I've been there already. While it wasn't the most desirable option since we had to take a night bus to Oviedo, it was still better than being stranded for days in  England. Especially when our plane landed, and it was announced that Bilbao Athletic had beaten Manchester United. Man-U is one of the best soccer teams in the world, so needless to say, the city was going nuts as Bilbao was the very unlikely underdog. We found a place to relax until our bus left, and then were finally on our way to Oviedo. Friday we spent the whole afternoon at one of the parks walking around, playing ping pong (there are outdoor tables set up everywhere?), and "working out" on the outdoor workout equipment. Saturday we took the train to Gijon, the ocean town near Oviedo, and explored the city walking along the coast. Both Friday and Saturday night we spent a lot of time with Tino and Cruz, as they went all out trying to show Marcus a good time. We had a traditional Austurian Supper consisting of calamari, mussels, tortilla, sidra, chorizo, and sushi. After dinner, Tino wanted me to demonstrate my newly acquired Salsa dancing skills. While Tino and I danced, Cruz took it upon herself to try and teach Marcus. I think she enjoyed the challenge :). The week went by too quickly since Marcus had to be on his plane early Sunday morning. It was so great seeing him, but so hard when he left! I got terribly homesick later, and I think it's mostly because he's the first person I've been in physical contact with since I've been gone, and it made me miss my family and friends THAT much more. It finally made me realize just how far away from home I really am.

This week started off great though, a perfect cure for homesickness, as we were surprised with Culture Week! This is a week during the month of March that we dedicate to cultural classes. Instead of our usual classes, we spend a week taking two classes each day that add to our culture experience. I signed up for cancion, y periodismo (singing, and newspaper writing). I love it so far! In my singing class, we were assigned a Spanish song and had to change the lyrics and part of the tune. This was fairly simple, and I was so thrilled by it until today. I found out we have to perform our songs in front of the whole school which makes me a little nervous! Yesterday, I also met my conversation partner. The purpose of a conversation partner is to practice my Spanish, and her English. We meet for about two hours and just talked about everything. Her name is Angela, and she's an English major so she loves talking with me already! I think this will definitely be very beneficial to my Spanish. Today, after class, my friend Emillie and I baked some chocolate chip cookies! We both ate so much dough and cookies that I could hardly eat supper, and now I have a terrible stomach ache. Guess that's what happens when you try and make up for two months worth of cookie cravings. However, these two months have flown already! Last week we hit the halfway point of the trip, and it's definitely bittersweet. I'm thrilled to see everyone again, but I do not want this experience to ever end. Once again, I am so blessed and so grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to come here.