Boring Blog

I definitely have the uggliest/most boring blog ever! I am still trying to figure out how to make it all cute. I really struggle with this blog thing. but I am liking it so far. And if anybody can help me out to make it all cute, please let me know! i´m desperate!

Sunday night we went to the ¨closing ceremony¨ of the fiesta in Villaviciosa. They had fireworks that were SO loud and let off SO much smoke and barely got off the ground. Then they carried this statue thing of the virgin Mary into the catholic church where everybody followed. A few words were said by the preacher and then all the women rushed up to the front and they were given flowers from around Mary. So britt and I decided to go up there and by the time we got up there all that was left were leaves...so we got leaves! haha We were laughing so hard and I´m sure people didn´t think we were funny but I dunno...maybe you had to be there.

Monday we toured more of Madrid. We went through the city hall (which was gorgeous inside), Plaza de la Villa, and the Cathedral across from the Royal Palace. It was amazing!!! The stained glass inside was so beautiful! I decided that I could take a picture of every building in Madrid because they´re all so beautiful! The architecture is unreal and it´s so old, everything is very elaborate. I love it.

So just a quick funny story. Maria Molina went with us to Madrid all day. She doesn´t speak very much English but she spoke to us all day and I think we got the gist of all she was trying to tell us. She´s so sweet!! Anyway, so she took us to one of her favorite restaurants for lunch. It was SO yummy. It´s a three course meal that you get to choose from a list of options for each course. So for dessert there was flan, this yogurt dish, or frutas y helados (fruit and ice cream). Britt said that´s what she wanted but when we told our waiter we couldn´t remember the last word ¨helado.¨ So we said frutas. He nodded his head and he asked which kind, strawberry, banana, whatever. So Britt said Banana. A few minutes later our dessert comes out and the waiter sets my flan down, Maria´s yogurt down, and for Brittney a full banana on a plate! haha we started laughing so hard. Well I was trying not to laugh so hard because I didn´t want to offend anybody. A banana for dessert? and on a plate? haha it was SO funny. So Britt had a banana for dessert. It was awesome! We have since learned ice cream in spanish so we can be sure to get what we are hoping for. pictures coming soon....

Toros y Iglesias

I would like to apologize in advance and I have repented already....Sunday morning here in Villa as a part of their fiesta they have a bull run. I know it was Sunday but Rogelio said it was the last one this year and it´s very unique to Spain so we had to see it, so we went. Pretty much what they do is bring bulls into an arena, where we watch from the stadium seating, and anybody who would like goes into the arena and runs from the bulls. And then they run down the street with the bulls chasing them. I´m telling you Spaniards are crazy! haha but I love them. It was pretty funny to watch. We didn´t get to see much because we got rained on and the bulls calmed down but it was definitely something I have never seen before. I´ll post a video soon.
Church was awesome! We walked in the doors and there were two missionaries from Utah there! woohoo!!! Go Utah and go English! It was so fun to talk normally to somebody! I loved it. So of course we stick out like a sore thumb in this cute little ward but they were very nice and introduced Britt and I in sacrament. It was SO loud in there for a little while. ha adults and kids were talking. One man walks up to the pulpit where the counselor was giving announcements and lowers the microphone, then sits down. haha The cute old man playing the piano played the same chord with his left hand the entire song!!! For pretty much all three songs. But I loved singing in Spanish! It was so fun! and the congregation was so loud, much louder than my home ward that is 4 times the size. I couldn´t understand a word the speakers were saying but as soon as one women started bearing her testimony the feeling in the room changed and I instantly felt the spirit. It was awesome. The people here are very passionate about things they love and even more so those in the gospel. I loved it! I´m so excited to be here for three months. and hopefully by the end I will be able to understand more of the message shared.

I don´t have pictures because my computer still isn´t working so you may not see any until the weekend. but i´ll keep you updated! love you all!

So much to say!

So...I blog alot! Sorry there is so much to read. I also pretty much just use this as my journal so it´s more for me than for you. So you don´t have to read it all.
I can´t believe I almost forgot to tell you about my electricity incident...it was quite tramatic for me. So as you all probably know, the electricity is different here. All the outlets are different so I had to buy adapters so I would be able to plug things into the wall. I knew that some things would also need a converter to change the voltage or however it works. So the other morning I went to use my blow dryer for the first time. I plugged it into my adapter and then went to plug the adapter into the wall. As soon as the adapter barely touched the outlet I heard a bang! I looked down at my blowdryer´s plug and it was all black and it pretty much looks completely fried! haha oops! but it gets better. So then my computer turns off which is weird because I had it plugged into the wall. and then i realized that none of the outlets in my room worked! So I go into the kitchen and none of those work either!!! And that meant that the fridge was off!!!! I started to kind of freak out because I didn´t know how to get a hold of my Spanish mom Carmen and I had no idea if I did any permanent damage. Well, to my relief, I come to find out that a breaker has just switched and we just had to flip it back. But for a while there I was so scared and afraid that Carmen wouldn´t ever want to see me again. haha I´m so glad I´m just retarded and everything is okay.

Spaniards know how to party!

Wow! I don´t know how Spaniards get anything done! haha They love to party and they never hesitate to. So my first weekend here Britt and I went out with a bunch of Roge´s friends and on a date! haha what?!?! This week in Villaviciosa (where the Molina´s live) is their Fiesta. Each city or town has their own Fiesta just as a part of their culture. And pretty much that means drinking for all hours of the night unti the next morning and then sleeping all day. haha seriously! Friday night we went to their little carnival and a boy won Britt and I stuffed animals throwing three darts/balls in a row. sweet huh? ha and then we just went and ¨hung out.¨ There were cars everywhere and they open their trunks and blast spanish music or our American rap on their sweet stereo systems. It´s so funny. So Britt and I had fun talking very slowly and listening very intently so we could communicate with everybody that talked to us. We went home super late and crashed. The next day around 1 I went to go buy a flat iron and people were still there partying!!!
Saturday night Britt and I went on a little date without even knowing it. Rogelio just told us to be ready at 6 because we were going out again. So around 6 we come down and Roge and his friend Diego were there ready to go. So we get in the car and we go to this Centre Commercial ( i think that´s what it´s called.) It was SO sweet! it´s this huge center that has all sorts of activites to do and places to eat and then a huge mall attached to it. Oh and the coolest part is that they have an indoor ski hill! There´s a full on hill with snow, boxes, rails, a lift and everything and it´s all indoors!! i was amazed! Anyway, we just followed the boys around and they led us to the minigolfing place. This is when we found out that we were on a ¨date¨ because they paid for pretty much everything the rest of the night. After minigolf like around 10 we went to eat at an italian restaurant that was very yummy. Diego has a huge crush and Brittney and she´s just having fun with it. So it´s been a blast and i´m learning that staying up late here is what you do. I guess that´s why they have siesta...it´s a necessity! haha love and miss you all!

This is sweet!

I love this place! So my second day in Spain I didn´t do much beacuse I couldn´t leave the apartment until I had keys so I didn´t get locked out. Everything here has gates with keys or codes! But I did go for a walk and I found a sweet golf course and thought of my dad, and I found a billion bus stations. That night I was on the phone and Carmen, my spanish mom, said that she was making dinner. So they start bringing everything to the table and so I got off the phone. Everybody had a plate of food so I figured I should go to the kitchen to get my food. I go in there and there isn´t anything left...weird! ha So I go back in the room and sit on the couch. Carmen asked me if I was going to eat dinner (at 11pm mind you) and I told her there wasn´t anything left. She said, ¨oh! you make your own food but you eat with us!.¨ what!?! haha it was so funny. So I make all my own food here wich means quesadillas, fruit, and soup pretty much. haha

My third day in Spain is where my adventure really begins. Britt and I decide to meet in Madrid so we could go travel around. We were wanting to meet in Opera (old Madrid). So supposedly there is a bus that goes from my place to Sol which is very near Opera. So I told Carmen that I knew where the bus stop was because I found it on my walk the other day. So I get on bus 133 all pumped to go out and start discovering. Well, first of all, I only had a 5 Euro and the bus driver didn´t have any change to give me( bus ride = 1 Euro) so he just let me ride for free. Sweet! Then I find out that I have no way of knowing which stop I am to get off on. There aren´t any signs or anything!! ha So we drive a ways and I don´t want to go too far so I decide to get off on some stop that I was hoping was Sol. NOPE! haha I have no clue where I am and I´m too scared to ask for directions because we won´t be able to understand eachother. So I just start walking. I found a couple hospitals, walked over a freeway, and up a huge hill, while talking to Brittney (who is also lost) and laughing my head off. Then somehow, I don´t even know how-a huge blessing, I see a Metro sign!!! halelujah! So I buy a pass and get on, only to find that I´m on the wrong metro but I quickly figured it out and just had to ride like 3 different metros to get there. But I made it and was SO happy to see Britt walk out of the metro about 5 minutes after me. So here are some pictures. We went to Palacio Real (the Royal Palace), Cathedral Almudena, and Plaza Mayor. It´s beautiful here and now I really feel like I´m in Spain.

¿Say what?

I can´t believe i´m actually here!! This is crazy! And I can´t believe I´m awake right now. The past two days were probably two of the longest in my life. Starting my journey off on two hours of sleep probably wasn´t the best thing. My first flight took off at 7 am to Houston. I had a 3 hour layover and then flew to Newark, NJ. At 8.30 NJ time we flew off to Madrid, Spain. The minute I walked on the plane I started to feel a hint of Spain. Everybody around me, including the flight attendants, were speaking spanish. Luckily a girl sat by me that spoke English as well. It was about an 8 hour flight. Of course my movie screen in front of me was broken so I watched a movie on my ipod and tried to sleep. I was fed dinner, and then breakfast...weird! ha It was 10 am when we landed in Spain. Luckily everything finished out as well as it started with me getting all of luggage and finding my friend Roger who was picking me up. The day that followed was long with a lot of figuring odds and ends out. For those who don´t know, Brittney Maxwell a best friend from high school, is here with me too! We both got cell phones so we could contact each other easily wherever we are. I was at the Molina´s house all day. They are the sweetest people! They fed us a huge lunch and a smaller dinner (that´s how they do it here) and were sad to say bye to me so soon when I left late last night to come meet my Spanish family. They are also wonderful people. It´s a mom, Carmen, and two daughters Christina - 13, Casilda -9.

They...well guess me to...we live in an apartment just North of Madrid. It´s VERY modern and cute. I have a tiny little room that has a shower and a sink in it. And my bed is a couch that has a pull out bed. haha awesome huh? It doesn´t quite lay flat so I sleep slanted but I love it. haha I slept like a baby last night. probably because I had 4 hours of sleep in about 36 hours or something like that. So I woke up this morning at 9.30 and unpacked my bags into my tiny little closet. Carmen couldn´t believe how much I brought...oops! haha But I know that I am going to love it here. I can´t wait to get into everything and explore. Sorry so long, lots to say! I love you and miss you all!

Oh and I can´t post pictures yet because I am still trying to get the internet on my computer. but they´re coming soon!