at last!

It took a million years, but I finally found a way to post all of my pictures for the world to see =) go me!

Europe (422 photos), by Rachel Amos

I'd like to share my Walmart Digital Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Final Countdown...

Well it's hard to believe that the last few days of Barcelona are coming quick! I am leaving on Friday night to go and meet Jennifer in Germany =) We are going to stay at here grandparents house which is pretty cool of them! They are taking us to Italy, Austria, and them me and Jen are off to France! I am so excited to see my BFF =)

I've got the notion....

So pretty eventful weekend! Went to Jamboree and danced my butt off! definitely saw a Spanish sunrise =) haha. Lesson learned: Sangria out of a carton is an ingenious idea! and it was 82 cents!? these people now wha they are doing...lol. Today I walked around town and then came home. We are going to a Flamenco show tonight which is pretty cool! I am excited. We are on week 3 already.. time flies =( I think this weekend me and Ignasi and Fauzia are going to make a trip down to Alicante and admire the crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches of Costa Brava =)

Week 2 in Barcelona...

well it has been a pretty busy week and it kinda flew by!! we had some excursions this week that were pretty cool, and I got to see the whole view of Barcelona from a mountain =) i still can't believe that i am here! Got a new roomie too =) she is AWESOME! she's been all over Europe and Asia and she's only 18.. her stories are fantastic! I got to try some traditional Spanish dishes such as paella, tapas, and of course Sangria =) I also went shopping and European-ized myself!! I sat in the park one day with Ignasi and we did all of our post cards, now i just have to mail them. I am starting to improve in my spanish a lot better, which is great and I am hoping to be able to carry on a decent conversation after wards...

I found out that Spain is pretty big into soccer considering one out of 5 people i pass here has a UNISEF Barcelona jersey on, so i decided to jump on the ban wagon and I bought a ESPANA scarf for the World Cup next week. pretty stoked! it's gonna be like the superbowl here! lol

Vale.

I have been very bust the past week and no posts =( Well for starters I moved in to the host family's piso (apt style home) and met them for the first time. They are a reallt sweet! and Pepita can cook amazingly! after we got settled we went to Las Ramblas to go shopping and to go to the Picasso Museum. It was interesting for sure. On Monday we went down to Barceloneta which is a neighborhood at the coast in Barcelona. They were having a fiesta with parades that honored the returning fisherman. Each social club in these neighborhoods participated in the parade and they all had different themes. It was so cool!! I absolutely loved it there. On Tuesday we went to school for the first time and met everyone. At first they put me in the beginner class, but after playing bingo with numbers in spainish, they yanked me out and stuck me where I was supposed to be on Wednesday. I like that they are smaller classes (like 6-10). I am actually understanding a lot more when they talk too. after classs Wednseday, me, Todd, and Ignacio went exploring around the city and we went to Parc de la Ciutadella which was georgeous!! We then proceeded to walk the perimeter of the city and ended up at the end of La Rambla at the Placa Del Portal which is a huge cylinder monument that has Christoper Columbus pointing towards the sea. We went up and got the most spectacular views of the entire city =) We even got photographed by a journalist! Thursday we went with our friend Luis from Belgium to a good-bye dinner because him and his friends are leaving today. The Sangria at this place was awesome! Tonight we are going dancing! All in all, it was a pretty eventful week!

They weren't playing about walking...

I am seriously going to have some nice legs by the time i get home! I have walked so much and have climbed so many stairs it is unreal! We got to see where our school is, and did some market shopping as well. I got two purses that are nice for 10 euros! that's insane! as in 2 for 10.... can't beat that! i managed to order for myself the whole day too =) Got to spend some great bonding time with my classmates and took lots of pictures. tomorrow we get to move into our houses and meet out Spanish familias!! i'm pretty excited to see who I will be rooming with for the next few weeks here, apparently it's some other girl from a different school not with us.. I have a feeling she will be fun =) Oh, and bought my ticket for Germany! pretty excited...

Buenos Dias Barcelona!

Well I have arrived safely and secure to Barcelona earlier this morning =) OMG, it is so beautiful here, I love it! The city has some of the most gorgeous buildings and scenery. I absolutely suck at my spanish though... not good! I am seriously going to have to work on it for sure. We were all over the place today trying to get adjusted to the metro train and the city. lots of cool stuff to do and little shops and restaurants to visit. How about I totally flew FIRST CLASS over here! It was so freaking cool, and I am way spoiled now! I had a glass of champagne before we even took off and they serve you so much food! for free! and drinks..lol you would think I never got out =) The best part was definitely the seats and how they are basically reclining chairs with your own personal tv! I watched Dear John and Avatar on the way over here - fo free. haha. me and Ignacio found the best place to get lunch for dirt cheap and the currency conversion is pretty easy. Tomorrow we get to check out the school and hopefully do some shopping =)

Til then....

Getting Ready!

I decided to go ahead and get a head start on my packing tonight! Call me a nerd, but that is one of the fun things for me is too pack, I am surprised that I waited this long! lol But I am proud of myself that I have seriously limited my clothing and eliminated a lot of things, giving me a lot of room for fun souvenirs =) I think that things are finally starting to pull together.... whew. A good friend of mine is getting me a buddy pass so the cost is SO SO SO much cheaper thank you JESUS. Just waiting on my converter to come in the mail and I will be pretty much packed. The best part of all: My BFF Jennifer is going to fly to Europe on my last day and we are going to spend a week with her grandparents who live in Germany! I am super excited about that!! We are still finalizing the plans but I am already excited. We are going to visit London and Paris too =0 I am just so thankful for all of the blessings that GOD has given me and there is no way on this green earth that I could have done it without him. Its truly been a blessing that I am still going =)

The way I see it, I only live once and when am I ever going to get another opportunity to travel to all of these beautiful countries?? I am so taking a leap...

Crap...

Okay... One week until I am suppose to leave for Barcelona and still no PLANE TICKET!!! I am freaking out right now and I am not sure what I am going to do... I trust that GOD will make this happen and that everything is in his hands. I know that I will make it, but I am just getting nervous because it is a week away. I guess it hasn't really hit me yet. I have gotten the majority of the things that I need, and have a good idea of what I am taking with me. I still haven't started working on the PowerPoints =/ Lord help me...

Preparation...

Well it's too late for me to back out now, if I ever wanted too! So the fun part begins... trying to get everything I need and learn what I actually need. when you think about having to pack for a month, it can be a little overwhelming! Thank goodness for the internet is all I have to say! I am learning a lot of things that I need to via the world wide web. And the best part is that half of the time, you can get what you need on ebay and amazon for dirt cheap. for example, my power source converter thingys... like a dollar something. amazing. My Spain advisor emailed me friday and apparently we don't have enough students signed up to receive the group rate airfare, so now we have to find it on our own. Good news is that the cost went from $3950 to $2950, but the bad news is that the cheapest flights right now are in between 1300 and 1500...ugh. Hopefully I will be able to receive a buddy pass form a dear friend, cross my fingers. This is tougher than I expected..

Today is the day...

And it begins. My journey in life. what a clique statement to make, but sometimes cliques are all you have to describe something. This new blog is the diary of my journey to my ultimate goal - Spain. Things are kind of in the works right now. I have completed all paperwork, sent a deposit, and mailed off my announcements. All that is left to do is sit and wait. Wait for the miracle that everything works out. wait for the adventure to begin. wait for all my worries to subside. Until that day comes, I will be focused on getting there.

A la ocasion la pintan calva...