Well, the peanut butter jar is empty.

Well folks, I'm scraping the bottom of the peanut butter jar. This only means one thing... it's time to go home! It is very bitter sweet, but I am more than ready to see the people I love at home! Good luck to Nolan on Friday! I can't wait to cheer you on bud! I'm so proud of you!

Goodbye Alex.... tear.

(My Family in Spain, Forever)

This post will be an ode to my beloved roommate Alexandra Hall Fairchild. I will miss you SO much this summer, girl! Ever since the moment when I you layed out your 30 pair of pajamas while we were unpacking, it has been pure love. I will miss bouncing up and down our beds while listening to Justin Bieber, talking in chinese voices with you, sharing laughs in the morning when we share what each other did while they were sleeping, and just have simple FUN together. Texas better appreciate having you back, or I WILL show Texas who's boss. Love you girl!

Last Weekend.

Well folks, this is it. The time has come where it is time to go home! Though it is very VERY bittersweet, I am very excited to see YOU ALL! Family and friends from home. Home really is where the heart is... but Spain will always have a piece as well. We had a great weekend. On thursday night we had our goodbye dinner. We went to a REALLY nice restuarant. Our meal included appetizers, a main course, and even DESSERT. Yes, dessert. THAT was something different in Spain! At my house, dessert consists of apples and oranges.... (that's not dessert in my book) haha. My ravioli filled me up, and then all 40 of us went to our favorite circle bar! Its such a fun environment there. It's turned out to be one of our favorite places.. and is conveniently located 1.2 minutes away from my apartment. Woo! Friday and Saturday both involved sleeping in until lunch time... laying around... and going out with friends once again. Lots of memories were made this weekend, which was suitable for being the last weekend. Nolan made it to state track, and I am SO pumped for him! That also means that I will arrive in Omaha thursday night at midnight, and then drive a couple hours to Des Moines, and be able to watch him on Friday! Perfect. Then his graduation party is on Sunday with the relatives and friends! What a perfect weekend to come home to!

My Spanish Sweetheart

Well everyone... you know what they say about abroad lovers... I found him! His name is Curro, he is the grandson of my host parents... and he is the most precious thing ever. He yells "GUAPA" at me, gives me kisses on the cheek, and also even kills me with his play sword. Oh, it is love. Today, he was serenading me with his Spanish guitar skills, and I couldn't help but snap a photo. Enjoy! Hahaha.

Kerri in Granada!

Much to my pleasant surprise, my second cousin Kerri made it to Granada with her friend Jeff. It was SO nice to get to have coffee with them before my morning classes. I was able to tell them stories, and also hear about their own Spanish experience. They have had a great time in Spain, and have gotten to see so much! Lucky them. How could you not love Spain, though?! Here's a picture for ya'll! I know a certain two of you will love to see this. Haha.

A day at the beach :)

Spain- you rock. I LOVE the location of Granada for many reasons, and the reason that is most evident at this point in time... would be that I am ONE hour from the beach. WOOT! My friends Chris, Caitlin and I hit up Malaga for the day. Since I had been there already with my family, I played tour guide for the day. We hit up the beach... and it was SO relaxing. It wasn't too hot, nor too cold. So it was perfect nap weather. You better believe that we took advantage of the ideal nap conditions, too. I ended up sleeping on my right side for a while, which turned out to be a HORRIBLE idea. Later that night, I realized that the back side of my left leg, and the left side of my face were burnt a decent amount. Whoops. Haha. So funny. Chris's back was FRIED to a krisp, and the back of Cait's legs looked like they came straight off of a lobster. So funny. After we had our fill of naps, we decided to get some good ol' pizza and ice cream. OF COURSE. We found the pizza stand that I had gone to with my family, and had our fill. After about a 7 hour day in Malaga, it was time for us to find our way back to the bus station. What a great day in the Spanish sun it was! :) Later that night, I went out for tapas with my new friend "Mays". She is from Jordan, and is studying translation here in Granada. I met her at the gym, and its actually a really neat story how we've gotten to know each other. All in all, I have learned so much from Mays... she is Muslim and has really challenged me to begin to understand the Islamic world. I love her so much as a friend, and am having a blast getting to know her. I'll post more in detail another time.

ROME- where it all began.

News flash: ROME = amazing. But seriously. Holy guacamole I can't even say enough about it! There were so many goofy memorable things that happened, so I'll do my best to explain them via blog. Here we go!

We got into Rome around noon, checked into our hostel, and headed straight to the colesseum! We didn't go in on the first day, but we took pictures outside of it. After walking around a bit, we decided that we were STARVING. We treated ourselves to some good ol' italian pasta. Let me tell you, it was as good as its made out to be! I ordered a ravioli type pasta with mushrooms, spinich, and a white cream sauce. MMM. Funny- as I was trying to order my pasta, I didn't know how to say the name (it was some crazy Italian name).... so i decided to stick with the number of the food on the menu. The waiter looks at me and goes "Dees es not a chinese retaurauuuunt" (In his Italian accent- I did what i could to have it written as it sounds) I kinda looked at him a bit flustered... haha.. and then he made me pronounce it with him. It was all in good fun. We were all so exhausted by the time night rolled around, and we hit the beds early! We woke up early Saturday morning because we were hoping to get in line to get ITALIAN OPEN tickets. Yes, you read that correctly. We ended up getting there in PLENTY of time (Don't count on the Europeans to be anywhere early). We then spent the entire day exploring the tennis stadium and all of the activities that went along all day. We got to watch Rafael Nadal win... and it was a great match, also a day filled with LOTS of sun! Such a fun day. Oh ya- for lunch we found a little restaurant along the river, with a deal where you could get a pizza slice, a coke, and some little special rice filled breaded thing for 5 Euro. It HIT the spot. Sunday then came, and we slept in a bit- the days before had wiped us out. We went to the Colosseum, got a tour of the inside, and i was blown away. I am not really a huge history person- for those of you who know me well- but THIS was SWEET. After that we got a tour of the Forum as well. We then hit up the Fountain of Trevi, and I threw three coins in over my left shoulder for myself, and three for kylie! So happily ever after...prince charming? Here we come! Haha. Monday we woke up super early and got in line for the Vatican. We were told it was going to be a crazy day there, because it had been closed the two days before... but when we got in line, and it was time to enter, we were in within five minutes. Once again, go Americans! Haha. The Vatican was really neat as well. Caitlin and I were not aware of the rule that you couldn't wear shorts... because its a sacred place. So when a security guard started yelling at me in Italian, I was a bit confused. He then proceeded to point at my legs, and I eventually understood what he was inferring. He was either going to escort us out, or we had to buy something to "cover ourselves up." Haha- so we both were luckily wearing scarves, and wrapped them around our legs. SO funny. And a great memory! But next time, im wearing a burka. Haha. Our trip back went very smoothly, my stomach was satisfied with its fill of pizza and pasta, and I'm ready for the last two weeks here in Spain!