TravelStream™ news feed for member southamerica4hi on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/southamerica4hi en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:04:10 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208714580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208714580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208714580/tpod.html Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:04:10 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day. Preferably after I am gone. Since it was raining so much again today I decided not to go buy my train ticket, I don't want to get sick right before I go home! I guess I will go next Saturday instead. Once again another really boring day. I cleaned a bit and started typing up all of my devotions that I have been doing on Sundays. I also continued and read 1 John today. John mainly talks about Gnostism and why it is wrong. Gnostism preaches that the spirit is entirely good and matter is entirely evil. Therefore, God is purely good and the body is purely evil. Salvation is the escape from the body but it is achieved though knowledge rather than faith. Since Jesus had an earthly body this is explained by one of two theories. 1 He only seemed to have a body but in reality didn't or 2 Christ's spirit joined Jesus' body at baptism and left it shortly before death. Also, since the body is purely evil it should be treated harshly. Lastly, Gnostism preached that since matter is evil then breaking God's law is not matter and therefore not evil. This is probably the worst of the Gnostic teachings. So John wrote this letter in order to show the lies of Gnostism. He says "that which we have looked at and out hands have touched" talking about Jesus which is directly contrary to the Gnostic teaching that Jesus didn't really have a body but just seemed to. He says that he is writing to testify to what he has seen and heard that you will believe and jouin in fellowship which would give him joy. He says that God is light and in him there is no darkness so if we claim to be holy but do the deeds of darkness then we are liars. The Gnostics claimed that since breaking God's law is not evil it is not sin but John says that we cannot claim to be without sin. If we confess our sins Jesus will forgive us but if we claim not t have sinned we make Him out to be a liar which is against his very nature. In chapter 2 he says that his purpose of writing this letter was so they would not sin as the Gnostc teaching was permitting, but if you do sin all you have to do is ask forgiveness and Jesus will go to the Father in our defense, and for the whole world. He argues that if you know Jesus then you will follow in his commands and if you don't then you are a liar. This is how you can know if someone is a true Christian, by their deeds. You should not hate others (even the Gnostics who have distorted the truth) because if you do you are just as bad as they are. If you love them you will walk in the light. You cannot love the world's desires as the Gnostics preach, because the love of the world and the love of the Father cannot abide together. The world will pass away but God will live forever. John calls teachers of Gnostism and other false teachers antichrists and warns us to be wary of them. They came from our ranks but have turned to other teachings. The fact that their teachings differ so drastically shows that they are false teachers and antichrists. You already know the truth, it does not need to be revealed to you, but John is writing to caution against the lies. Those that deny Jesus is the Christ (as in Gnostic teaching) are liars. They deny the Son and therefore deny the Father as well.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208627940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208627940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208627940/tpod.html Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:01:58 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

Another week down, two more to go. Yesterday I had my profesora come in and grade me. I think it went really well. Carmen, the teacher that I work with, knew the profesora from outside of class so she sat in the back and talked to her to distract her a little. At one point in the class I was looking for volunteers so I said that I was looking for children who were sitting in their seats quietly and immediately all of them sat still and quiet wanting to be picked. Carmen told me afterward that the profesora like that a lot. The kids acted really well, especially compared to the last time. They were engaged in the lesson almost the whole time and they participated and were very obedient and acted perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better behaved class. I am very happy that they were so good. Still no word on my actual grade but I think it was pretty good. Today was really boring and cold and rainy. I went to the train station to see if I could buy my ticket to Madrid but I can't buy it until tomorrow because I can only buy it 15 days in advance and today is 16. Anyway, at least I got to get out of the apartment for awhile, even though it was really rainy and cold. My umbrella also broke today because of all the stupid wind. At least the rain is almost over. It is supposed to be rainy until Wednesday and then finally be sunny and warm from then until I leave. Finally! So since I was so bored today I decided to go ahead and look at 2 Peter. So this is what I looked at. Peter encourages the early Christians in chapter 1. He tells them to add goodness, knowledge, self-controlled, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Notice how they are very similar to the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Peter is saying that a strong Christian will not only bear these traits as Fruit but also work on them to increase and strengthen his faith. He also says to possess them in "increasing measure" meaning that you can always find ways to have more love, more kindness, more patience, etc and you should never stop growing because if you stop growing you are dead and "ineffective and unproductive." Peter says that it is good to be reminded of these things, even though you already know them. Reteaching or reviewing to keep them fresh in your mind so that you won't forget them or get too used to them that you don't even think about them anymore. Chapter 2 starts talking about false teachers. He says that there were false prophets in the days of old and there are false teachers now as well. They will never go away so be on your guard. Many will follow their lies but that does not mean that it is right. These people will be punished. God did not spare the world when he sent the flood, only Noah and his family because they were the only righteous ones. Similarly, God did not spare Sodom and Gomorrah when he sent fire from heaven, only Lot and his family, the only righteous ones in the cities. Neither will God spare these false teachers, only the righteous on the earth. These people he is talking about are the early Gnostics of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. They taught that matter was evil and since matter was the only thing that was evil then breaking God's law was not evil. That is why Peter says that they do sinful acts in public. He says there is a special place in Hell for men like this who seduce the unstable to follow in their wickedness. Those who turn from the light after accepting it are worse off than if they before they heard. Chapter 3 starts by advising that there will be people that question the second coming saying that it has been a lot time and nothing has happened yet. Just remember that God created time and therefore is outside of time. God's timing is not our timing and is always perfect. He is waiting for as many as possible to come to him because he doesn't want to have to send anyone to Hell. Jesus will come back suddenly, when you least expect it so be on your guard, just like you install locks and alarm systems to catch thieves because you don't know when they will come. Peter mentions Paul's writings and says that some of what he says is hard to understand so some people twist his words into something that he didn't mean at all. These people try to lead others to destruction. So be on your guard against these people and live as if Jesus were coming back today.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208270880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208270880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208270880/tpod.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:49:27 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

Well, today started out pretty badly. First of all, my alarm didn't go off so I didn't even get up until 9:30 and school starts at 9:00. Luckily the school is less than 5 minutes away so I only missed the first class. Unfortunately that just happened to be my English class. I don't think the profesora came today though. I talked with Carmen after school and told her that the profesora was coming but I didn't know what day so she said she would try to have me do at least something every day. I also talked to Rita and told her the same thing since I have her class on Wednesdays. She is going to let me give the test tomorrow and then we are going to see what I can do for next week. She told me that I should be teaching other classes by now also. She said that there was a Swedish girl who knew less Spanish than I did and was teaching full classes by this time. That was the first I have heard of that! I feel horrible! I bet all the other teachers think that I am lazy because I am not helping out more. It would have been nice if someone had told me that before. Well, I guess I will try now. I was wondering what exactly I was supposed to be doing in the other classes. Well, anyway, that was my day today. Not so much fun.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208183340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208183340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208183340/tpod.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:31:22 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

Today pretty much went normally for the most part until after school. I had a meeting with José Santamara, the professor in the education department. I was about 20 minutes late because I couldn't figure out how to get there. It is a brand new building and there is still construction all around it so it took me awhile to find the path around the construction to the building. He said that someone will come observe me sometime this week and sometime next week since I am leaving the week after and need my transcript when I leave. After that I went home and started looking up stuff in Madrid for my last few days. It just so happens that May 1st is some kind of holiday so all the hotels are full or charging super high rates for several days afterwards. For example, I looked up a hostel in Madrid for the 2nd-5th (Friday night through Monday night) and found that the rates for the 2nd and 3rd were over $700 a night! Then it dropped back down to the normal $25 a night. How crazy is that! I guess I will just go for two days instead of the whole weekend. So I figured up around $150 for two nights and four days (with hardly eating anything!) Later my roommates and I went to get a cat. We went to a girl's house that one of them knew who's cat just had kittens. We got lost trying to get there though and had to ask directions, which just got us even more lost! Finally, they called the girl and she came and got us and brought us to her apartment. The kittens are so cute! They are only about a month old though so we didn't take one yet. I think she wants to wait about another week or two. So that was pretty much my interesting day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208092920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208092920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1208092920/tpod.html Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:24:19 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

So this week was another pretty normal week. Nothing much exciting happening. I had another dictation in the sixth grade class and this time I only missed one! I was pretty proud of that! I got an email saying that a professor is going to come observe me sometime next week. I don't know when so that could be a little tricky. I have an appointment with the head professor person to talk about what is expected of me and hopefully I will find out exactly what day she is coming. Unfortunately the meeting is on Monday and she is supposed to be coming either Tuesday or Wednesday! I am not sure how that is going to work out. I am starting to look into more traveling opportunities after I return. Dr. Benton sent me a link to the webpage for the Fulbright scholarship. That seems pretty interesting. Basically it is kinda like being a TA in an English class in college in another country. The countries available are Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It is very competitive and only a small percent of the applications are accepted so I am not sure about that one. The scholarship covers transportation and living expenses in the country and is for a period of one academic year (usually between 8 and 10 months). You can only have less that three years experience in your field and you can only get one in a lifetime. The other option that I have been looking at is the Peace Corps. They have programs for being an English teacher to elementary or secondary classes in many different countries. It is for a period of 27 months (that includes training). Funding includes living allowance, medical and dental care, transportation, and $6,000 upon return for transition back home. The peace corps is less competitive and I can do it more than once. It also goes to more rural areas. There is no guarantee that I will be placed in the country of my choice, or even the region of my choice. This sounds like a great opportunity and a wonderful learning experience, the only thing that I am worried about is the 27 months. That is a long time! But I just realized (actually just a few minutes ago) that two years teaching English in a foreign country with the Peace Corps would probably qualify for the two years experience needed for missionary work, and it would probably help me more than working two years here in the States. And now for my Sunday (today). Dad found an AG church here in Leon through something on the internet. I went last week at the time and place where it said on the internet but no one was there. Yesterday I emailed the pastor to ask if maybe they changed the time or something and just didn't change it on the internet but I haven't gotten a response yet. So I continued my new habit of a personal devotions and continued with 2 Peter. I really liked looking into 2 Peter chapter 2 because it started out about advice on how wives should act. He talks about wives being submissive to their husbands. I think a lot of people take this advice in the wrong way and think that he is saying that wives should do whatever their husbands want all the time. I realize that is NOT what he means here but rather that the wife should respect her husband as the head of the household and submit to his decisions. The wife should behave in such as way that an unbelieving husband will be able to see a change in her and come to Christ through that. He also talks about the beauty of a woman. Peter says that a woman's beauty should come from inside and not physical beauty (such as fancy clothes or makeup). Some people take this passage wrong as well and decide that Peter meant that women should never wear fancy clothes or try to make their outer appearance look better. I think that Peter just means that the outer appearance should be secondary to the inner beauty of a woman. Women don't have to look bad all the time, but no matter how they look the beauty of their spirit should be the main focus of their attention. Peter gives the example of Abraham's wife Sarah. Genesis 12:10-20 tells about a time when Abraham when into Egypt with Sarah. Sarah was so beautiful physically that Abraham was afraid that Pharaoh would want her for his wife and kill him to get her so he asked her to say that she was his sister instead of his wife. Through this passage we know that Sarah was a very beautiful woman physically but Peter mentions her as an example of a woman who had a very beautiful spirit because of her obedience to Abraham and her faith in God. After this Peter turns to the husbands and tells them to be considerate and respect their wives. This was not an easy thing to say, especially at that time. Now women enjoy many of the same rights as men, but it wasn't too long ago that women were denied the right to vote and own property. They were considered of little value and usually not treated with respect so when Peter said to treat women with respect it was a kind of slap in the face for men of that time. He ends by saying "so that nothing will hinder your prayers." This infers that if you don't treat your wife with respect God won't hear your prayers. What a punishment! Peter then returns to his ever-present subject of perseverance in suffering. Peter says, "Who is going to harm you for doing good?" If you have pure motives for doing good most people are going to see that and appreciate it. If you do something good expecting something nice done in return then you are no different from the world, but if you do something good just to bless someone else then the world will take notice and wonder why and you have the perfect opportunity to witness. I think this is one of the easiest ways to witness to people. Peter then goes on to say that if you suffer for doing good then it is another opportunity for witnessing. He says that you need not fear what the world fears because you are set apart by God. He counsels that you should always be prepared to give an answer if someone asks what is different about you. Your answer should be given in humility so that no one can say anything bad about you. Chapter 4 continues by saying that you will suffer as Christ has suffered. You should not live by the flesh but by the will of God. The pagans live in sin and find it odd that you do not join them and make you suffer for it but they will be judged at the end of time before God. He goes on to say that each person should use their gifts for God. If you see a need in the church then you should fill it. Everyone has a place that God has prepared for them to use their specific giftings. Find your spot and get to work! By this you will bring glory to God. Peter says not to be surprised by trials but rejoice that you get to participate in the sufferings of Christ. Do not be ashamed of this but give glory to God. It is time for judgment to begin and it begins with Christians. Proverbs 11:31 says that if it is hard for the righteous to be saved then how much harder is it for sinners? Chapter 5 begins by focusing on the church, specifically the elders of the church. Peter says that the elders should lead the church as willing servants and not feel forced. They should not be greedy for money but eager to serve. They should not act bossy and proud but lead through example because when Christ comes back they will receive a crown for their diligence. Peter next turns to the young men and says that they should be submissive to their elders and be humble towards them because "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (Proverbs 3:34). You must be self-controlled and alert because the devil is always trying to capture his prey. He likes to tear down God's family the best. Just as lions attack the young and weak so the devil attack those who are defenseless so we must stand together and help each other out because if we resist the devil he must flee. Peter says that God will not allow his people to suffer too long. He will send relief at the appointed time. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days and at the end he was attended to by angels (Matthew 4:1-11). Also, Job went through one of the worst trials know to man and after he stood firm though it all God blessed him with twice as much as he had before his trial. I really liked looking at these chapters and I feel like I learned a lot through them and I hope that you will be blessed by them too.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1207487880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1207487880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1207487880/tpod.html Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:20:16 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Leon, Spain and Canary Islands

Sorry I haven't written in a while but there really hasn't been much to write about. I have been going to classes and observing mostly. Nothing too exciting. In one of the classes, sixth grade Spanish, the teacher did a dictation with the class so I did it as well and I missed four things. It was the worst in the class, but pretty good for a foreigner! I was pretty excited about that. This Friday I got my first chance to teach an English class. It went pretty good at first, but on a Friday afternoon with first graders that didn't last too long. I was teaching colors and we had a song about different colored flowers so I taught them the song and then let them color flowers the same colors as the song. Then we were going to sing the song again and when their color was said they were supposed to stand up and wave their flower around. Well they got a little too excited when they were standing up and started standing on their chairs and goofing off. I didn't have good enough Spanish to yell at them and tell them to stop so the teacher intervened for me and yelled at them for a minute. We tried to sing the song again and they still were standing on their chairs and goofing off so I decided that it was time to sit down and work in the activity book until the end of class time. I hope when my professor comes to observe me they will be better behaved! Now on to Sunday, still haven't found a church so I am continuing with my personal devotions. This week I read 1 Peter chapters 1 and 2. I noticed that Peter really focuses on suffering for Christ in his letters. This is an important theme because suffering will never cease until Jesus comes again. I also noticed that Peters first two chapters kinda went in a chronological order in regards to spiritual life. He starts out before being saved and talks about how the prophets of old searched for the truth so that it might be revealed to later generations. Then he moves on to being saved and says that now that you know what sin is you must avoid it and strive to be holy like God in heaven is holy. In chapter 2 Peter moves on to being a baby in Christ. He encourages the saints to "crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." After this Peter talks about living life as a Christian in a secular world. He says that Christians need to respect authority so that no one can say anything bad about you. Then he goes on to say that slaves should submit to their masters, even cruel masters. He moves on to the subject of suffering for Christ and says that you don't get a reward for being punished when you deserve it but if you are punished unjustly you will receive a reward in heaven for your pain. Peter has a lot of really good things to say about living a holy life in the world and he makes several good comments and suggestions about suffering for Christ in his letters.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206533160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206533160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206533160/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:09:18 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

Oh what a day! This is going to be a long entry. First of all, I think this is the worst trip I have ever been on! Last night before going to bed I asked the lady at the counter how to get to the airport and how long it would take so I would make sure to have plenty of time and not get lost or something. She told me I would have to take the metro to the center (about 20 minutes) and then take the blue aero bus to the airport (another 20 minutes) so basically 40 minutes plus waiting time. I figured I would give it an hour and try to get there an hour early to give myself plenty of time to check in which shouldn't take that much time since I didn't have any check luggage or anything, but just in case. So I got up and left two hours before my plane was scheduled to take off. I took the metro, no problem there, then I got off and it took awhile to find the bus, but not too long, maybe 20-30 minutes. The line was really long so I couldn't get on the first bus and had to wait another 10 minutes for the next bus, still with plenty of time before take-off time. Then the bus took almost an hour to get to the airport! I got there just as my plane was scheduled to take off! It took me about 20 minutes to track down who I was supposed to talk to to get this all figured out and when I finally did he said there was nothing he could do. I asked if he could refund any of the money and he said no, the only thing I could do was buy whole new ticket to Germany. Well, I wasn't about to spend another 200 or more euros for another ticket so I just decided to see if I could get my train ticket changed to today instead of Friday. Thank the Lord that I was able to get it changed! By then it was about 1:00 and my train didn't leave until 10:00 so I decided to go see Park Guell since that was all I had left to do. That was really cool, unfortunately I think it would have been a lot better if I had been in a better mood. It really didn't help that I had no one with me. It is the worst feeling in the world to be completely alone when something goes wrong. So I spent a lot of time in the park which was ok because it helped me to calm down a bit. The park was really cool. There is a section that has a lot of sculptures by Gaudi which is where most of the people were, and then there is another part of the park that is mostly just trails through trees and stuff. That part of the park was more deserted so I went there and just got alone with God. I prayed and read my Bible and stuff which really helped me calm down and when I finally left I felt much better, still sad and lonely but at least I know that Goe is with me wherever I go and whatever I do so I am not completely alone which helps a lot! So I got on the train to go home and it wasn't nearly as nice as the one to Barcelona because I didn't get a bed (the bed costs more). At least I am going home now though. Oh, yeah, the trip wasn't completely bad. Barcelona is a really awesome city and I would really like to go back and visit it again sometime (with someone). I am really glad I got to see all of the different architecture by Gaudi, he is one of my favorite artists.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206446400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206446400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206446400/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:02:03 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

Finally, freedom from the boredom! Last night I slept in a sleeper car on the train to Barcelona. That was fun. I got to Barcelona, found my hostel, checked in, got a map and took off looking for sights. I got to see quite a lot for only having half a day. I saw the Sagrada Familia, the Pedrera (apartments by Gaudi) and the beach as well as quite a few other interesting sites along the way. The only thing left to see when I get back is Park Guell. That is one thing I really want to see and I think I can easily see the whole thing in the half day that I will have when I come back.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206359640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206359640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206359640/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:55:52 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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León, Spain

Well the interview never came about. I called the lady several times (8 to be exact) and she never answered so I left two messages telling her to leave me an email since I will be out that way I don't have to lug around this heavy computer. I got an email from the hostel saying that they don't have an opening on Friday so I will just have to do as much as possible in the two half days that I have and go home on Friday like originally planned. I finally was able to get on the train to go to Barcelona. It is a really cool sleeper car with triple bunk beds on either side of the "cabin" thing. Anyway, at least I am finally on my way!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206273000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206273000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/southamerica4hi/2/1206273000/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:51:14 -0400 Teaching English in Spain

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León, Spain

Well, this morning was boring as usual, but this afternoon was somewhat interesting. Got all packed and ready to go to Barcelona and walked all the way to the train station and then found out that the train to Barcelona was full and I can't go until tomorrow! Oh well, I guess I will just email the hostel and let them know I have to cancel my reservation for Monday night since I will be on the train Monday night instead of in Barcelona. Maybe I can stay overnight on Friday instead. At least this way I will be sure to have an internet connection for my interview tomorrow night.
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