Fuente de la Acena Valladolid

... US is very rarely eaten with family. Even dinner, usually the most "formal" meal, is often split between soccer practices, band rehearsals, working late, running late, etc. Here, all three meals a day are together. I think in the US we're under the impression that it’s simply impossible to spend that much time with family…but in reality, we’re just not putting that much effort into doing it.

The time spent living in the ...

After our snow adventure we still needed 1 and a half day to cycle to Valladolid. Luckily we found another cute abandoned house next to the road where we did manage to built a fireplace, a chimney and mount our tent in the smallest room (1,5 x 2 mt!!). I am a bit afraid of the cold and know that it has a big influence on my mood, but we are doing well and I get more convinced that we can travel further by ...

... or transportation though :D

This is my itinerary, on the off chance that I'm kidnapped by some variety of pirates or ninjas somewhere along the way.

Thursday, December 3:
7:00am: LEAVE Valladolid via Train
9:45am: ARRIVE in Madrid via Train..take the metro to the airport
12:20pm: LEAVE Madrid
3:25pm: ARRIVE in Berlin Germany. Get picked up by Rabea and head to her place

Friday ...

... After getting out of the winter wonderland we drove in rain for a little while longer before stopping for a bite to eat. We got some delicious omelets and egg salad at a little bar. You wonder why I’m talking about food in the middle of my description of the weather don’t you. Well it’s because right when we finished it started hailing. I’m not talking little hard snow ...

... one that I'm guilty of having at one point.

Anyways, the whole debacle was a confidence booster. How sadistic of me. Ah well...it's hard to watch something like that and not feel a little bit of pride that you've progressed so far from the deer in headlights that showed up on the first day. If nothing else, I can easily go back to the U.S. with enough bragging rights to say that I was able to get thrown in a strange linguistic ...

... of a time we had with the Spanish in the first couple weeks...and how much we've improved since then. It was one of those really uplifting moments, where all those struggles trying to learn the language paid off. Jessica's parents were really nice people...very friendly and open. Her mom is a teacher and her dad is a pharmacist, so they were both interested in going to check out what those systems were like over here. They absolutely LOVED ...

... imposibles con las que me encontraría) saliamos rumbo a la estación de trenes de Valladolid.

Tras haber degustado los tres caramelos dulciora que pude engullir mientras miraba por la ventana del AVE pasar a 290 km la hora todo el secano de la meseta castellana (que poético oiga) habia llegado a Madrid.

Tras 10 o 12 escaleras mecanicas, un par de metros, varios pasillos móviles de la T2, un plastificador de maletas a 6 euros la maleta, tener que sacar 2 de los 4 ...

When I go back to La Crosse, I'm pretty sure I still need to fulfill a gen. ed in the category of "Racial and Ethnic studies." A class where a (likely minority) professor tells a large group of white students "what it means to be a minority". Prior to studying abroad, I had always despised the concept of such a class on the grounds that I frankly had better things to be doing with my thousands of dollars. While I still am definitely not looking ...

I've arrived at my host's house. Finally. After over 48 hours of moving around from country to country/city to city. I finally woke up at 8am this morning...after about 12 hours of sleep. Jet lag is a wonderful thing. Ate breakfast at the hotel. It was an interesting combination of Spanish food (unidentifiable meat and a lot of fruit) and American food (enormous pastries).

Headed out to the hotel in the afternoon and sat around with ...

... be calm and that they would really like to give us a ride. So, they still did not know where it was so one of them went into a bar to ask, comes out and told us that the bar was no place for a priest. Then he left the other priest at a nearby McDonald's and drove us to the hotel. We were so fortunate and they were so incredible nice. The priests told us that they had to help us in order to be able to sleep at night. I guess we weren't in a very good part of town and they ...