Milan, Italy

So this past weekend I went on my first trip outside of Spain to Milan, Italy. I had the most amazing time in Italy. Everything was beautiful, the architecture, the food, the men ;) We got into Milan around 3 in the afternoon but then had to take an hour bus ride from the airport to the city center. As soon as I stepped off the bus I fell in love with the the city and the language! I found myself listening to random stranger's conversations because I loved the way it sounded!! Needless to say, my next language that i'm going to learn is Italian.

Our first day in Italy was pretty much spent walking through the city slowly making our way to our hostel at the opposite end of the bus station ha. I didn't mind though because I loved being able to walk through the city and take lots of pictures =D Once arriving to our hostel which was actually really nice from my point of view. They had 24 hour security, a computer lab, a kitchen, and a laundry room. The only bad thing I could say about our hostel was the british girl that threw up in the bathroom from 2-9am and when I went in to take a shower in the morning the entire bathroom reeked of vomit so I did not take a shower that morning, just put on some extra deodorant. Before going out that night to find an awesome Italian restaraunt, we met the most awesome guy in the computer lab. He was born in Germany, raised in Brazil and speaks German, Portuguese, Spanish, and English and he has spent the past 5 or so months backpacking through Europe! He has the most amazing stories and I absolutely loved talking to him. He was such an inspiration for me to follow my dreams and become a world traveler.
We ended up eating at a restuarant that the Brazilian guy had eaten at before and said it was delicious. He was very right! I ordered spaghetti and it was the best damn spaghetti I have ever had! Now, before Europe I was not much of a wine drinker, 1. cause i'm not 21 and 2. it just didn't appeal to me but after Italy I am infatuated with wine for dinner. It makes everything taste so much better and gives it an extra flavor. Of course we ordered dessert, tiramisu which is an amazing chocolate mousse (sp) deliciousness that I could not get enough of, and of course what is Italy with out eating gelato! This was my no carb left behind weekend! I figured i'm only going to be in Italy once might as well take advantage of their amazing dishes!

Our next day in Milan consisted of jam packed sight seeing. Our first stop was the Duomo which is the 2nd oldest church in Italy. It was absolutely gorgeous inside and out! I could not stop taking pictures of it and just staring at it's beauty! Going inside it was free and SO beautiful. I was so moved once in the church, it was breath taking. They had candles just like my church at home that you could light and say a prayer for a small donation of .80 cents. I little a candle and said a special prayer for all my family and friends and especially for my parents who have supported me in everything I do including this amazing trip of a life time!

After the Duomo the plan was to see The Last Supper but when we arrived we were shocked to see that tickets were sold out for the next 2 weeks!! I was really disapointed because I really wanted to be able to see that, but I guess that just means I need to come back:) For the rest of the day we were lucky to have 2 native Italians show us around (Valentina and Giorgio). They were amazing and showed us all the awesome quirks in the town and the best places to eat. I really enjoyed their company and knowledge of the city.
My favorite purchase from Milan was my "leather" boots! I am so excited to look more and more like a European instead of an guiri ( Foreigner).
And we FINALLY got our stipend today so I will be going shopping tomorrow with my roommate Paige. We desperately need some new clothes and shoes because it is actually getting really chilly here, 18 degrees (64F). I know that doesn't sound cold at all to you Nebraskaners but my body is officially used to Spanish weather which will be a rude awakening when I come home for Christmas to lots of snow...
It is kind of weird feeling, I am accustomed to my life here in Spain and I miss everyone but for some reason if I didn't have the chance to get home it wouldn't bother me too much. I guess I am having too much for living my life over here, meeting new people, traveling to amazing places, and just soaking up the culture. However the one part of Spain's culture that I will never get accustomed to is their school system. It sucks so bad!!! I absolutely hate their I don't give a rats a** attitude about due dates. But I guess there is nothing I can do about it.

I am really excited for Halloween in about 2 weeks. I decided that I am going to be Cruella Devil! Although Halloween won't be the same here it will still be fun. Also, my next trip is going to be to Madrid on Nov 18th! I have been bitten by the travel bug and I am so antsy to book flights to places! It truly is an amazing feeling to be able to the what the world has to offer and I am truly blessed to have this experience.

Besos,
Hilary

Oktoberfest and such!

I actually had class this week hoorah! Well all except for one class which is still on standby because the professor is pregnant and they need to find a sub so until then I won't have that class. Which actually makes me really sad because it is International Organizations and I was really looking forward to it! Oh well it will start soon enough. Also, I can't get on to the school's homework sight because I am not officially registered with the classes yet and my ISEP coordinator here is being a buttface and won't return my emails!

Besides Spain's disorganized school system, life has been pretty good here. I am still getting homesick now and then and it gets worse when I skype with people but I guess that's never going to go away. It is such a weird feeling to have your heart in two different places. I absolutely love being here and meeting new people. I mean I am living the dream! I get to see things that some people will never get to see before they die. It's an amazing feeling to be so blessed and be able to have this experience. Then again I go through pictures of family and friends back home and find myself missing them more than ever, it's kind of a bittersweet process.

But enough about that. This week I did a couple of exciting events =) Monday was just a normal day, I had school and then came home and cooked dinner as usual. I'm actually getting really talented at making dinner out of random things. Also, I have mastered making several different pastas with different sauces. I also eat a lot of chicken because beef is wayyy to expensive! Let's just say when I get back to the states I want a giant Nebraska steak! Tuesday's are going to be the longest days of my life! I have class from 3-9 at night  with no breaks =(

Thursday night I went to Oktoberfest with my roommates. It was the best thing ever! I have been looking for a good beer to drink because the beer here "Estrella Levante" takes like crap! It is soooo nasty! Well I found my favorite beer of all time it's a German Beer called Paulaner Wheat. It was delicious!

Paulaner Wheat

German Sausages

German Pretzel 

So this was the food I ate at Oktoberfest, oh and there were fries but there was nothing special about them. Oh I did have one other reallllly good thing the other day. I ate McDonald's for the first time here and their Mcflurry's are bomb.com!

Best Mcflurry ever!!

Well I was supposed to go to a BMX show on Saturday but it decided to downpour and the arena that it was located has an open top so we didn't end up going =( Hopefully we get our money back because it was $25 euro!
I also went to the mall for the first time this week. It was HUGE!! I felt like I was in a mini Mall of America! There were so many shoes stores, restaurants, bars, grocery place. It was a one stop shop place! I was a little big overwhelmed and I will probably go back a different time by myself so I can really look at everything. Plus I prefer to shop alone anyway.

This week there is a holiday on Tuesday so we don't have school and I am unsure if I have school tomorrow I guess we will find out lol.
I am suuuuper duppper excited for this weekend because I am going to Milan! ahhh Excited but nervous because nobody i'm going with speaks Italian but one of our friends knows somebody in Milan that is going to show us around =)
I also bought a plane ticket for Madrid in November which I'm quite excited for! My excursions have begun and I am quite anxious!

Besos!
-Hilary:)

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner!

So this week I attempted to go to class yet again but apparently school in Spain technically starts on September 20th but doesn't really start until Octoberish... So hopefully this week I will start to have real class. I feel like I am such a nerd for saying that but I like school, I'm good at school. My classes that I will be taking are Geografia Politica (Political Geography), Estructura Politica y Economica I (Political Structure and Economy), Oranizaciones Internacional (International Organizations), and Politicas Espanol (Spanish Politics). I am really looking forward to my classes and the one thing that I like about their school is that everybody shares notes. A guy in one of my classes took Spanish Politics last year and offered to give me his notes. I was surprised and relived for this ha.

I don't know how it happened but I have somehow become accustomed with Spain and it's culture. In the morning when I wake up I have a cup of yogurt and or fruit and I don't find myself hungry for lunch until 2 or 3 in the afternoon! Then I have class from 4 to about 8ish. Then I am not hungry for dinner until 9 or 10pm at night. I thought I would never get used to eating so late in the day but now it just seems so natural. I have always been told that if I eat so late at night it's bad for me and i'm going to gain weight but surprisingly I have lost 10 lbs since I have been in Spain. I have done this simply by walking everywhere that I need to go and dancing. I dance all the time! Every time we go to the bars I dance and burn off all my calories. People drink a lot when they go out but because they dance so much hardly anybody is ever drunk.

Speaking of dancing, I went salsa dancing for the first time this past weekend with my roommates Marjorie, Katrina, and Paige. The club is called Punta Cana and I had the time of my life!! I was SO nervous to go because I have never danced salsa before and all of these people go every week to dance! But I ended up dancing with a handful of very gorgeous latin men and my oh my it was an amazing experience. Not only is it a blast to dance salsa it's an amazing work out! I could feel it everywhere, my core, my calves, my back, my arms! I am so excited to go again next week! I have decided that in order to get better I am going to practice in my room and watch youtube videos. This will help me get better and also it's great workout and I don't have to pay to work out at the school gym which is also a 20 minutes bus ride away...

Paige,Marjorie, Me, Katrina at Punta Cana

Spain is becoming more and more like home<3 At first I hated that nothing was open on Sunday's, it was really annoying because that is usually when I do my shopping and errands. But now since I don't come home till 7am during the weekends I am glad that I literally have nothing to do in the world. I love that care free feeling of getting to nothing ALL DAY LONG!! I used to feel really lazy but now I absolutely love it!

The downside to becoming accustomed so fast is that when I come in December and July it's going to be a rough transition especially with school. My senior year is going to be pretty rough but oh well that's still a year away! Right now I am going to enjoy being carefree. I don't have work, I don't have a position in my sorority, I don't have much homework, to a certain extent I don't have responsibility and I have come to love it!

Oh for those of you who may want to send me a package or letter (if you love me so =) ) my address is the following:
Calle Inmaculada Junto Juan Don de Borbon
Murcia, Spain 3007

I love getting mail and I get postcards when I can so if you would like one just send me a message with your address and i'll be sure to get you a sweet one!

Amor y Besos,
Hilary