Creating Myself In Italy!!

So to start off with Thanksgiving here was a great time.  We had some amazing traditional American dishes and it really made me feel at home!  I have met some truly amazing people throughout my stay here so far.  And my birthday was last week! Wee!!  To start my roommate surprised me with Funfetti cake!! She knows the way to my heart.  It was the one of the best birthdays that I have had.  We all had holidays that week (Tuesday for Constitution Day and Thursday (my birthday) for The Immaculate Conception... since they had Thursday off they also took Friday off) so it was a really easy week.  Since most of us were flying out Thursday on my birthday for the long weekend, we decided to celebrate on Wednesday night.  A group of us went to a Thai restaurant (one of my favorite restaurants here) and had a large dinner... they surprised me with a desert and then we went out for drinks afterwards it was the most uneventful fun night that I have had for a long time.  We literally just sat and laughed and planned upcoming group trips :)  It was an earlier night than usual but still made my day.  Then on Thursday Melissa and I flew to Italy.  I would like to share a quote with everyone that I have recently discovered.  It has been especially helpful with the events that have been going on the past month in my life.  Besides the fact that my roommate has been a blessing in disguise and has taught me how to keep my head up again, this quote proves to me why I really came here.  "Life isn't about finding yourself... it's about creating yourself"  I think that everyone should do a little bit of both but it's is so much more fun and honest if you create  yourself as the person that you truly find yourself to be!!  On that note I have decided to start creating myself on my journey throughout Europe.  So Italy was obviously a great way to start this.  We started in Rome and although we were only there for a short period of time everything I encountered gave me chills.  I think a person only realizes that there is something bigger than their own life once they have seen things that make them silent and think and give them chills.  Which is what happened in Rome.  We started our first night with the Trevi Fountain and of course I gave in to superstitions and threw some coins in the fountain and made a wish! :)  Then we had some amazing pasta (which is a recurring theme in this post).  We called it an early night because we knew that Friday was going to be an early and long day.  We started with The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palantine which you can see in my pictures.   I must say though that none of the pictures on this trip will do anything justice.  Only my eyes could show you the real photos.  We took a quick metro ride to the Spanish steps where we got a great view of Rome!  After this it was on to the Pantheon and amazing pizza for lunch (with wine of course).  Then we went to Piazza Navona where they had a cute Christmas market set up and we also just happened upon Grom (one of my favorite Gelatto chains that we discovered in Paris)... After this we walked across the Tiber and visited the Vatican Museums (which includes the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's Square and Basilica.  The Sistine Chapel was very noisy but obviously the painting "The Creation of Adam" is breathtaking.  The Museum had some of the most amazing Egyptian art exhibits.  I must say that I am not the most religious person and I am not Catholic but St. Peter's Basilica is absolutely amazing.  It is huge and the architecture is stunning.  After this we walked to Castel Sant Angelo (from Angels and Demons- at night it is lit up and is where the secret passage way is near the end of the film)  and then finished the night drinking some wine with some new friends in the hostel before catching our train to Florence. 

Florence is very different from Rome... when I think of current Italy with its country side Florence is what pops into my head.  It was much nicer to just walk around and look at the markets.  We did a lot of shopping here at Piazza San Lorenzo since Florence is famous for their leather.  I got a nice leather clutch that I'm in love with!!  The rest of the day we went to the Cathedral (Duomo) and saw the Bell Tower which is what Florence is famous for!  We also of course had to cross over the Ponte Vecchio and get a view of the river.  There were amazing jewelry stores here... literally thought to myself "Frost Yourself" if only I had that money!!  We had some wonderful restaurant recommendations from my little (thanks Kristi) and enjoyed amazing pasta at Osteria de Benci and amazing pizza at my favorite restaurant ever  (Pizzeria Dante)  For sunset we took the long trek up to Piazza Michelangelo but the weather was horrible as you can see in picture but you still get the most amazing view of the city. 

Our last day we traveled to Venice which has now become my favorite city thus far.  It was amazing to just get lost and walk around.  One thing I've learned about myself is that I like to control situations and know where I am going but I have started to figure out it is much more fun to just let go and get lost and see what happens.  So this is exactly what I did.  I didn't worry about a map.  We went and saw the Piazza San Marco to see the basilica and clock tower but other than that it was great to just walk around and really experience Venice.  Maybe this is why it is my favorite.  Who knows but it definitely made me want to spend the rest of my days not stressed and just wandering around and letting whatever just happen!  While wandering we happened upon Grom twice so we couldn't pass it up a second time and of course had some more of Crema di Grom (my favorite flavor)

The end of our trip was a bummer because we had to wake up early and catch a train (which of course was late) back to Rome for our flight.  Once we finally made it to the airport we were notified that our plane was delayed for 6 hours!!! Are you kidding!! I hate you RyanAir.. but now that I am home safe and getting ready to spend my last weekend in Madrid before coming home I am realizing that life is good :)  See you all in 10 days!! Get ready to go crazy Kalyn Laughridge because I miss you like no other (saw so many gorgeous Italian men that I couldn't choose which one to slip in my pocket and bring back to you... I would have gotten hot flight attendant Ricardo but I wouldn't have been able to give him away)  CAN'T WAIT... USA GET READY because this Fletcher is about to arrive!

Shenanigans in Barcelona!

I know it has been a while since I posted because not too much has happened since the last post.  My school went on strike again (typical) and Melissa and I literally bummed around the piso for a while.  Nothing too eventful.  Well this past weekend we went to Barcelona... all I can say is shenanigans.  Last week was not a good week for me and I was really upset and kind of wanted to come home so this might be the main reason why the shenanigans occurred.  Melissa and I went to visit some friends that we met at Oktoberfest.  Friday was not too crazy.  We just walked around the city (which is beautiful) and then hung out at a bar.  Saturday we woke up early and went and saw the Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia.  We also walked around Las Ramblas and went to the market (which was amazing-  you can see it in my pictures).  We also walked up to the Hospital de Sant Pau.  Barcelona is very well known for its architecture and the artist Gaudi so most of the sights we saw dealt with these two.  We went and had typical tapas and beers at a local bar and watched some futbol to finish up the day.  Saturday night is when it started to get a little crazy.  We met up with our friends and started drinking at their place and then went to the bar.  I honestly don't think I had that much too drink... but I just drank it in a short amount of time.  Apparently on the walk home I gave a street vendor (man from Pakistan... aka Paki) 20 euros and told him to give me as many beers as that would get me... so I got 30 beers (side note... they hide them in the sewage grates) While carrying them in plastic bags up the street back to our friends place apparently I "broke" the bag and dropped all of the beers (side note... Barcelona is very hilly)  so they were rolling down the street.  (This happened on the street and in the stairwell up to their door)... oops (I hope no one wanted to drink them)  We stayed here for a little bit and then 3 of us decided we wanted McDonalds (hahaha too bad they don't have Cook Out)  so we went and I ordered a Big Mac, Large Fry and Water.  I ate the pickles and 2 bites out of the burger and said I can't do this.  (not because I was going to be sick but because I was tired)  "I can't eat this anymore I'm too tired and I'm going to fall asleep"  So I did.  I feel asleep in Melissa's lap in McDonalds.  So Melissa ate my burger and our friend at my fries.  At this point I told our friend to walk Melissa home and I was going to stay at McDonalds.  Melissa asked where I was going to stay and apparently I planned on sleeping at McDonalds.  When they got up to throw their trash away I went to the bathroom hoping that they would just let me stay at McDonalds.  Thankfully I have an amazing roommate who saved the day and made sure I made it back home that night :)  oops... I'm still a light weight (sorry mom dad and whoever else in my family is reading this and is worried about me).  We still had all day Sunday to see some of Barcelona so we went to the soccer stadium,  the Harley Davidson store (yep dad I have pictures... actually pretty cool), Parc Guell (amazing views of the city and some of Gaudi's most famous architectural work) and I went inside La Sagrada Familia (amazing and beautiful... hard to believe it is still being built and has been under construcion since 1882!!)  After that we bought some souvenirs for people and then called it a day with a bottle of wine, large pizza and gummy bears!  Of course I also went down to the beach and put my toes in the sand.  It was definitely a great weekend that I needed.  This week we are celebrating Thanksgiving with a lot of our American friends here but it won't be the same (turkey is too expensive so we are substituting with chicken).  Wish I was home for this holiday since it is one of my favorites but guess what I'll be home in 32 days!!! See you all soon!!

The Magical Romance of Paris... with my Roommate

So my roommate Melissa and I went to Paris for the weekend!!! It was absolutely amazing but first I must say that you have to go here with your significant other.  It felt like Melissa and I should have been dating and we kept getting asked to take pictures for other couples (this was the worst thing about Paris)  I had heard terrible things about how dirty it was and how rude the people were but I must refute all these statements and say that Paris was no dirtier than Madrid in my eyes and considering that I think people in Madrid are some of the most rude people in Europe I would definitely say that people in Paris were welcoming and helpful.  We stayed in the Montmartre district and I wouldn't have wanted to stay anywhere else!  We saw the Eiffel Tower and rode to the top (it was freezing so I recommend doing it during the day or in the spring/summer), the Louvre (yes Mona Lisa is tiny but it doesn't help that they put the largest painting I've ever seen opposite from it),  Notre Dame (we went to the top and went in the bell towers and I must say the coolest thing I did in Paris with the most spectacular views), Sacre Coeur (stunning work on the inside of the basilica), and the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens (was beautiful even though most of the leaves had fallen so I can only imagine what it looks like in the spring or right before the leaves fall).  Other than that we shopped and ate our way through Paris.  I will hopefully be making a return trip after New Years to visit Versailles, the Catacombes, and Père Lachaise Cemetery (where Jim Morrison is buried).  Some of the best food I have had thus far was in Paris.  Traditional french onion soup (AMAZING), crepes filled with everything from banana and nutella to sugar and jam, and pastries and croissants.  Melissa and I had a great time travelling just the two of us and laughed at each other tripping over everything (mostly me- twice in a row up the steps to Sacre Coeur), being delirious (from lack of sleep and walking an average of about 6-10 miles a day) and developing blisters on the bottoms of our feet (from flat shoes, not heels).  Pictures are posted on facebook or at the bottom of my blog on the Flickr page.  On to this week in Madrid... I had a three hour day yesterday (that didn't start until 10:20) and today teachers were on strike so I went in for one hour :)  please keep striking because this helps my sleep schedule.  Laying low this weekend in Madrid with a trip to Barcelona coming up in the middle of November then Thanksgiving and then travelling for my birthday (since it's a holiday-- thank you Catholics)  I hope everything is well back home... Happy Birthday to my brother, dad, and Nana (hope it's great) and thinking about mom today (hope your visit with the doctor goes well)... I will post in a week or two unless something eventful happens!!

The Life of a Madrileña...

Soo the past two weekends I have spent in Madrid trying to relax and prepare for the full weekends ahead.  The first weekend I just relaxed and went out with a few friends.  Last week the teachers were on strike again so my schedule was very bare and I didn't have hardly anything to do.  This past weekend we had a Halloween party at one of my American friend's piso... it was a lot of fun and really made me wish I would be home for Halloween.  All in all the past 2 weeks have been pretty uneventful.  I'm starting to feel better and my sickness is finally going away! Yippie!  Good news from home was that my cousin's baby girl was born... I can't wait to see her at Christmas :)  I'm also doing private English lessons for two young boys (3 & 5) and they make me rethink my original idea of having children.  It would be an understatement for me to say that children in Spain misbehave all the time.  They receive absolutely NO discipline.  For instance they cry when they run out of ketchup or they break a LEGO toy (which you can rebuild LEGOs).  So it can be frustrating and sometimes I want to throw them out the window (which there are a lot of because this family has tons of money) but it is definitely worth the extra money.  So things are slowly moving along.  This weekend we have what is called a "puente" in Spain.  Puente meaning bridge represents a time when there is a national holiday on a Tuesday but no one wants to go back to work/school on Monday so they just take both days off (which I think is very logical).  Hence the bridge and why it is called a puente.  So Melissa (roommate) and I are heading to Paris!!! I can't wait... Friday morning couldn't get here soon enough!!  Before I end.. upcoming news is that there are 2 more weeks that have strikes (one is the 3 of Nov.- the Thursday after the puente.. meaning I have Monday and Tuesday off and strikes on Thursday... YESSS and the other strikes are Nov. 15, 16, and 17 aka I could really get used to this whole striking thing)  Miss everyone back home... bought my flight last week so I will see you all December 23rd!!!

Sun, Cliff Jumping, and Sangria Sailboat Cruises

Hello everyone!  So this week was the easiest week of work in my life.  Monday was a full day of four hours... Tuesday the teachers were on strike so I went in for two hours... Wednesday the teachers were on strike again so I went in for an hour... and Thursday the students were on strike so my classes were empty.  All of my fellow teachers in the states be super jealous (especially since there are more strikes planned for this month)  The room mate and I decided to go on a trip to Lagos Portugal this past weekend which was much needed.  So we boarded an overnight bus on Thursday night after my private lessons and arrived in Sevilla on Friday morning (6:00am)  Boarded another bus for 3 hours and finally arrivedi n Lagos Portugal at 12:00 (Portugal time- 1 hour behind Spain)  Immediately after we got to our hotel we went on an unlimited sangria sailboat cruise (this seems to be a common occurence in my weekends)  Then took a long nap and enjoyed the largest hamburgers I've ever seen.  Saturday we went to see some cliffs and relaxed on the beach all day.  At sunset we went to the "end of the world" to watch the sunset (amazing!!! everyone should go with a special someone :))  Saturday night I enjoyed some piri piri chicken and a bottle of vino verde (yummm)  and went cliff jumping on Sunday.  Overall a pretty successful weekend.. no crazy stories and nothing went terribly wrong.  The worst part was we had to take an overnight bus on Sunday night and didn't get back to Madrid until 5:00am and I had to be at work at 9:20 (aka I didn't have any sleep and I really hated children today)  On top of all this I am sick.  Where is my mom when I need her?? I love you mom :)  I hope everyone is doing well and I'm laying low in Madrid this weekend (aka passing out in my bed or the park)  Also I'm going to post some pictures of my tiny yet amazing piso for people who have been asking.

Germany... The Land of Fairytales... and Beer!!

Sorry it has been so long but finally I have moved into my apartment and made it back from Germany... woooo!! What an amazing trip.  Munich for Oktoberfest was a once in a lifetime experience.  Everyone must go once in their life!! So parents, friends, grandparents (whoever is reading this) please bear with and don't think I'm crazy.  When travelling you always have to be prepared to roll with the punches.  We realized once we landed in Frankfurt- Hahn that it is an hour and 45 minutes from the Frankfurt Main train station... womp womp.  (Niko if you're reading this... just laugh and don't say anything when I'm home at Christmas)  The even worse news was that our overnight train to Munich left in 1 hour and 35 minutes from when we landed...  well we met some Americans stationed in Frankfurt and one was nice enough to drive us to the train station (seems sketchy I know)  but it was one guy to four girls and he got us to our train on time.  I trusted someone that worked for the American military as opposed to a random German (if anyone has seen Human Centipede then you understand).  Finally we made it to Munich.  I decided to go all out for Oktoberfest and stay at a campsite with tents (and unlimited beer and sangria)  which was great.  As soon as we checked in at 7:30am  we were handed cups of Sangria and a hearty breakfast of potatoes mixed with eggs (which helped with drinking in mass amounts).  The first day I ate my way through Oktoberfest and then on Friday I drank my way through it.  My breakfast consisted of Beer and something that was similar to a donut (pictured below).  After meeting some Americans with Patron (stupid Americans)  we decided we needed to leave (it was only 1:00).  We went and laid down in this grassy area near a HUGE statue and took a nap until the next shuttle came at 6:00pm.  We went back to unlimited sangria and beer.  Needless to say I didn't go to sleep, woke up the girls I went with and we left for our train to Fussen.  Fussen was beautiful.  The mountains were gorgeous and reminded me a little of home and Boone!  We stayed a short amount of time and saw the castle in Neuschwanstein and then barely hopped on another train to Heidelberg.  Heidelberg was gorgeous and we quickly saw the important tourists places and hopped on a train to Frankfurt to leave Germany.  What an eventful weekend but it was amazing.  If I could live anywhere in the world... it would be Germany.  It's beautiful and I have never met people who are so generous and willing to help even if they don't understand a word you are saying.

I'm Here

Hello everyone!!

Just wanted to let you know that I made it here Thursday!!! Things since then have been kinda hectic.  Finally got the majority of my phone situation worked out and I've been searching for pisos (apartments) since I arrived.  10 days until Oktoberfest so I will start posting pictures and more info once we get settled down in our apartment.  Everyone immediately commented on my southern accent of course... luckily they think it is cute!!!  Some people have even started saying "y'all".  I will post again soon!!!

The Beginning...

If you are looking at my blog then you probably already know why I'm going to Spain and what I will be doing but I'm going to explain for those of you who may not know. 
In December, I applied to a grant program in Spain that brings individuals from the United States, France, Ireland, England, and a few other places to teach their language and culture.  Which sounds like an easy process but is the most difficult thing I've applied for in my life.  After proving that I wasn't mentally crazy and that I don't have SARS or that I haven't committed a major crime, they finally accepted me.  Once accepted apparently I hit the incorrect button online and they gave my position away so I had to go through even more trouble, but finally at the end of May I was told I was being sent to Madrid!! FINALLY!!! After dealing with notaries, the N.C. Secretary of State and realizing I could use my original background check I was ready to go to D.C. and apply for my student visa.  The downfall was I was going to have to go back as soon as I received my second background check. 

After going to the Authentications office with my second background check (which is a part of the Federal State Department and is located in a shopping mall beside a liquor store with an interesting crowd of people) I'm finally ready to go to Spain with my Visa and all proper documents.  You would think that I was applying for a federal job of high importance with everything that I went through.  Essentially I will be working 16 hours a week/ 4 days a week.  Which means I will have long weekends to travel the world!!  I know it sounds awful!  As the time slowly approaches to leave I am excited yet finding myself very nervous.  The hardest part now is packing for such a long time-- I think that I could have one suitcase for shoes!!

I will try to post regularly so make sure to follow!! Wish me luck!