So, this entry will hopefully be one of the shortest ones I've had in a long time.  Which means moderately long, as opposed to ridiculously long, in case you were wondering.

I'm in such a weird mood right now...The fact that I'm leaving Spain in under a week and Europe in under three is bringing up all sorts of weird thoughts into my head.  Of course, I'm thrilled to see my family and friends.  There are no words to express how much I've missed them.  Coming back Mother's Day makes it even better, as does the fact that my flight comes into Akron/Canton at a little after six p.m. that Sunday, instead of the much later time that I thought it did.  To think that I'm going to get to experience all of the things I've missed so much these four months in such a short time...to hug my mom and dad, to hang out with my ladies, to pet my dog, to drive my car, to eat chicken parmesan, to go to my church (in English!!)...wow.  Wow.

But, of course, in order to go somewhere, you have to leave somewhere else behind.  In one sense, it was easier to leave home than it is to leave here.  When my flight took off in January, I had my return plane ticket in hand.  Granted, I didn't know what would happen between my first take-off and my return flight...but (God willing) I would come home in a set of amount of time and be welcomed once again by those I loved.

But I don't know the next time, if ever, that I'll be in Spain.  I don't know if I'll get to see my host moms or my friend, Noelia, again.  This very well could be it.  If not forever, then for a long time.  And that's hard to wrap my mind around.  Because I've grown to love parts of Spain.  I've grown to appreciate the culture and the people and the food and the language...so many things.  And, when I leave...there's just no guarantees that I'll ever get to experience all of the richness of this beautiful country this deeply again.

I have regrets about the way I've used my time here.  It took me a long time to just get comfortable living in a foreign country, forming basic sentences in Spanish.  I didn't reach out as much as I could have to Spaniards or take advantage of everything that the Alcala and Madrid areas have to offer.  Partially, this was my fault.  Partially, it was out of my control.  We traveled a lot, which made building relationships difficult.  And it takes awhile, in general, to become friends with Spaniards at all.  Plus, studying for my Spanish classes took a lot of time.  On the other hand, I also could have let my grades go a bit, if I had really, really wanted to.  I could have spent less time with Americans...but I felt God was drawing me to them, too.

But I'm also proud of myself.  Because I have grown this semester.  I have stepped out of my comfort zone numerous times and improved my language skills tremendously.  I have traveled more in one semester than I probably have in my entire life.  I have approached strangers in cities I've never been to before and asked for directions in a language I don't know (Italy).  I have learned the art of public transportation.  I now eat fish and squid and drink coffee (with lots of milk).  Who would have thought?  Me.  The girl who has, at times, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches their own food group.

So, I guess my mixed feelings are normal.  I sincerely hope that one day I can come back to Spain.  That I can visit my host moms and do the pilgrimage of Santiago.  Maybe even teach English.  And I'm so glad I came.  This semester definitely was worth the challenges.  Now, however, I realize that this chapter of my life is closing.  It's bittersweet, but it's time.  And I'm ready for the next step.

But, what am I saying?  I still have five days here (Spain) and almost three weeks total in Europe!  Rota here I come.

Sorry...two in one day.  But I want to get my ITALY posts done before I leave SPAIN (only one more week here!).  Might be a good idea.  Just for the record, although I'm sure I'll talk more about this later, here's what the rest of my time in Europe will look like:

Finals until Wednesday, April 26

Visiting a friend in Rota (the south of Spain) from Thursday until Saturday

Coming back to Madrid for Saturday night, then leaving for Prague, Czech Republic on Sunday morning

from Prague to Salzburg, Austria (where Sound of Music was filmed)

from Salzburg to Munich, Germany (I want to see the Dachau concentration camp)

from Munich to the southern half of France, to visit another friend

from France to London

From London to the UNITED STATES! (May 13th - Mother's Day)

That's the idea.

April 4 – Night

So, today officially counts as the MOST expensive day of the trip, breaking the bank at a whopping 48.5 euros.  I don’t even want to think about what that translates to in dollars…especially because that doesn’t include the hotel.  Elyssa and I have been trying to faithfully keep track of every euro that leaves our pockets during this 10-day period, and it is a humbling process.  My budget for this trip was 750-800 euros (roughly $1000), and I unfortunately think I will hit it.

            My morning was actually relatively inexpensive.  After Kerry went to see her Tuscan villa, Elyssa and I walked downtown along the river, taking our separate ways a little past the Ponte Vecchio (literally, “old bridge”) with her going to see the science museum where Galileo’s old tools (and, apparently, his middle finger) are housed and me heading toward the Chiessa di Santa Croce where the rest of Galileo’s remains lie entombed, alongside those of Michelangelo, Macchiavelli, and a number of Florentine nobles.  The church was pretty on the outside, even though the random white 19^th century façade really looked funny tacked on to the original old brown church.  Fortunately, by the time I got into the relatively long line, the misty rain had stopped and I could take out Lewis’ The Problem of Pain book to read while I waited.  After a little while, I saw the woman behind me go up and ask a question, something about a group entering.  Trying to figure out what was happening, I asked her if she spoke English.  She didn’t but – wonder of wonders – she, her friend, and their husbands were from Barcelona and spoke fluent Catalan and Castilian Spanish.  They were so great!  We chatted the rest of the time in line, and they let me borrow their illustrated Tuscany guidebook (written in Spanish) to inform myself a little more about the Chiessa.  I was so excited about how much I could understand, both reading and listening.  Inside the church, we were going to go our separate ways because they didn’t have very much time, but they ended up inviting me to tag along with them for awhile (learning about an Italian church in Spanish…I love speaking another language!  I even read a little Italian today…pretty proud of myself).  Yay for new friends!  That’s probably what I’ve enjoyed most about this trip…meeting random people from all over – Spain, Malaysia, the States (California, Wisconsin, Alaska, etc.), Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Australia…possibly more.

            After praying and reading a little Lewis in the chapel of the church (another random note about this church: it was damaged in a serious flood in 1966 and then had to be restored.  Flood = inundación).  I met Elyssa at the Ponte Vecchio for our much-anticipated two-course Italian meal.  Unfortunately, the restaurant was a disappointment.  For my first course (we did the 14 euro menu del día or del giorno, I guess, in Italian), I decided to branch out and try some Pasta é Fagioli soup…which ended up being basically bland noodles and beans.  I should have stuck with the spaghetti, like Elyssa.  Then for my second course, I had roast chicken and French fries.  Yeah!  French fries.  I tried to substitute a salad but it wasn’t allowed.  And the bread was just okay.  Oh, well.

            After a lengthy lunch, Elyssa and I walked toward the center of Florence and the Duomo, where we would meet Kerry at 3:30.  On the way there, I stopped at a little market to pick up a table runner for my mom.  Now, I’d seen it yesterday (well, a few of them).  It was priced at 40 euro but the vendor immediately dropped down to 30 euro, so you’d feel like you got a bargain.  One stall (I wish I remembered which) had even dropped down to 28 euros when I’d looked interested.  But, today, I only wanted to spend 25 euro.  Still high but manageable.  So, Elyssa and I worked out an alaborate (not really) plan.  I gave her all of my bills, save 25 euro.  Then, when push came to shove, I could honestly tell the vendor lady (who wanted 30 euro) that I could only offer 24 euro.  Well, “honestly” is a relative word, I guess.  The vendor lady wasn’t pleased, but she took it.  Mom better like it!

            Kerry had had a fabulous time on her tour.  Now, all that was left for us to do in Florence was trek up to an overlook of the city, gaze down at fabulous views of the Duomo, the churches and the bridges, and visit a monastery at 5:30 to hear Gregorian monks chant (in Latin, I think).  Very cool.  And free.  This evening was spent in our room, chilling and packing for Mestre tomorrow.  Good night!

April 5, 2007.

Wow.  Today alternated between dragging and flying by.  We left our hotel in Florence a little after 9:30, completely wiped of cash (no credit cards accepted again…I’d  read that Italy is a cash-bashed society, only now converting to credit cards, but I didn’t realize what this would mean as far as ATMs go).  After stopping at an ATM, we pulled out of the station at 10:37 and made it to Mestre before 1:30.  With only the address of the hotel and some completely inadequate maps in our possession, we had no choice but to call a taxi.  We figured that, after the first trip by tax (expensive), we would know the location of the hotel in reference to the train stationt, and we could just walk from then on.  But, as the drive kept going…4 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 MINUTES…and the Hotel Ariston (booked as our splurge hotel under the guidance of a travel agency in Madrid, thus the reason we had no idea of its location) still had not made its first appearance, we began to grow more and more agitated.  A little over 10 minutes (I estimate) after we embarked on our journey, we pulled up to a hotel with a distinctively un-impressive façade.  I was about ready to write a strongly worded letter to the travel agency right then and there.  They had recommended that we stay in Mestre – not neighboring Venice – because it was cheaper and yet still close to the canals – but this hotel hardly qualified as in MESTRE, let alone the city of canals.  And, from the outside, it didn’t even look any nicer than the dirt-cheap hotels we’d booked outselves.

            Walking inside, I was a little cheered by the tastefully decorated foyer and the written description I saw of the breakfast buffet.  Unfortunately, the man at the front desk told us we were not actually staying in this hotel.  We couldn’t believe it.  He explained to us that the Hotel Ariston actually has two sister hotels.  Even though our reservation slip from the travel agency gave the name and address of the Ariston (and no mention of anything else), we were actually booked in the Hotel Piave, which was located in the center of the city.  Right next to the train station.  In fact, we’d actually passed it within the first 30 seconds of our taxi ride.  We were a little miffed that we just spent 10 euro for nothing, but we became considerably more amiable when 1.) he offered (graciously) to pay for our ride back to the city in a taxi 2.) the taxi turned out to be a black Mercedes Benz, 3.) we realized that we now had a much more convenient location and 4.) we still had a fabulous breakfast to look forward to at the Piave.

            So, after this unexpected start, our day progressed extremely uneventfully.  Our room is tiny but cute (with a beautifully painted airmoire), though the shower is nothing more than a curtain with a hose in the wall.  We caught up on our e-mail at an Internet café (there are so many people from Asia in Mestre, it’s unreal), I read a little C.S. Lewis, we half-heartedly watched some Italian TV, then played cards and bonded over girl talk.  Now, we’re getting some sleep before our big day in Venice tomorrow.

Funny quote: Kerry, upon arriving in Mestre, “Where are we anyway?  Moscow or something?”

April 6, 2007

So, today was our big day of Venetian fun!  Ha…Let me just say, breakfast at the Hotel did not disappoint.  Yummy orange juice washed down the probably 5 or 6 fresh-baked pastries I ate (there were really small), some of which were drizzled in chocolate or filled with cream.  A bowl of so-so but healthy-tasking cereal with milk and a makeshift ham and cheese sandwich on a roll helped to get a good dose of protein and calcium in my diet, two things which have been sadly lacking these past few days (although I have definitely overdosed on apples, pears, and bananas…and the other day I broke down and bought an entire bag of carrots, which I’ve been peeling with Dad’s Swiss army knife and eating raw…what I wouldn’t give for a microwave and/or a refrigerator right about now).

            A one euro train ticket brought us into Venice, whose pretty canals – though a bit dirty – and old buildings were just as charming as the pictures suggest.  The day was warm and bright and would have been perfect had not my eyes still been bothering me from the “pink eye” that’s been twice diagnosed and treated but apparently has not gone away.  I wore my glasses for a full week and used eyedrops like the eye specialist told me, and yesterday I put my contacts in for the first time.  There were fine all morning, but – by late afternoong – they were really bothering me.  This morning I woke up with gook in my eye (I know you wanted to know that), so I wore my glasses just to be safe…Thus, I couldn’t wear my sunglasses in Venice, and the bright sun about killed me…my eyes are so sensitive right now.  At one point, I was in the shade and I could still barely see.  I’m a little bit concerned, actually.

            But, in spite of my unfortunate eye condition, I enjoyed Venice.  We had no specific agenda for our day, besides visiting the main Piazza di San Marco and wandering into its basilica; we didn’t have a map and we’d pretty much exhausted both our financial resources and our desire for seeing new museums and such in Florence and Rome.  Thus, Venice was just a laid-back day of random exploration for us, a nice break after so much planned activity.  Though we lusted after a gondola ride, we couldn’t justify splitting the 80 euro fare between the three of us and couldn’t anyone else randomly to ride with us.  Instead, we walked all over and then got gelato for lunch (only my second time tasting this delicious dessert…I want more).  Tonight is another night in (our feet hurt), resting and packing for Milan tomorrow.  Almost back to Spain!

So sorry about the length of this post....