Vamos Real Madrid!

Today Ainhoa left for Valencia, she is working for 3 days before school starts at a festival called Moros y Cristianos as a face painter, she is very talented.  I'm excited that in 2 days I'll be heading to Alicante!  Then we went to the pharmacy and also just for a walk around town.  We stopped twice for drinks & tapas, this is a very funny practice in Spain, but in a small town I suppose that this is the norm, also many people are on vacation (which lasts a month here btw!).  Then after lunch we went to another spot in the mountains.  I could write about them forever, I would love to  live there in a small house with fresh mountain water & no electricity & hike & swim everyday ...que rara soy de verdad! But I digress...there were some nudists in the mountains & that was pretty funny.  Esther took some pictures with her camera but I don't have them yet, I will post them later.  Tonight I'm very excited for the Real Madrid v. Barcelona game that is coming on in 20 min (9:45) GO REAL MADRID!!!
---random other question, is there a way to know who is viewing this blog? I found out how to see which countries people are viewing from, which is so cool!--
Spanish phrase of the day: Ella se cae de la cuña de bebe --> She fell out of the crib as a baby, lol...

La Garganta- The Throat

This place is the best natural water park that exists in La Extremadura.  Being back in the mountains reminded me of the hikes that I took with Austin at VT & the mountains in Northern Italy.  Also, being in a bathing suit all day is always wonderful!  The water of course is extremely cold because it comes from the tops of the mountains.  To the left of me is the waterslide--tobogon--and to the right of Esther's head is another spot where we jumped from.  The trip was a success, nobody got hurt & we all had fun!

Also leave comments! I want to know what you guys are thinking :)

I Did my Research

So today I went to the pool with Ainhoa and her two friends, Lara & Alba (what a pretty name!).  We played Culo--the card game from yesterday I'm getting pretty good at it ;)-- and talked a lot about the differences between the USA & Espana.  I'm really glad that I read up on social differences, especially the fashions.  I asked about some of the things I read, such as: wearing tights under shorts in the winter time, not wearing flip-flops=chanclas like EVER, wearing high heels always, never going out in athletic clothes...and the list goes on!  The reality is...all of this is correct, so thank god I brought some cool tights and I limited my athletic clothes to PJs, I didn't even bring sweatpants!  Of course my lifestyle will never completely blend in because I love playing sports and I don't love shopping...but oh well I'll always be 'la rara' (strange) person because I want to be. :)

Los Espanoles saben salir de fiesta!

The Spanish know how to party!
http://instagram.com/p/Oxgdhihi7p/
This is a picture of Marta and I (a friend of Ainhoa's who likes to invent words in Spanish and English, she is very funny and wants to come to Miami, so of course I invited her) in a bar called Canterville in Navalmoral de la Mata, toda la gente estaba alli! We stayed out until 5 am, we didn't leave until 3 am.  We pregamed--> la bottellón, until 3 am.  Apparently we came home early, but I was jetlagged and Ainhoa was tired because she left for the airport at 7 am (super early for Spaniards).
Today after waking up at 12 pm, que perezosas!, we ate more tortilla for lunch (every meal I've had so far has included tortilla & some part of a pig today it was the face :O ) and then after el almuerzo we played a strange form of triangular dominoes and Culo, which is a game played with Spanish cards.  Here is a picture of both because they are cool looking!

The Fun has Arrived!

I have arrived in Spain!  After a long flight into Madrid and then a 2 hour ride to Navalmoral de la Mata, I am settled in and getting excited for what the next 4 months has in store for me.  For the first few hours of the flight I listened to a new playlist entitled, 'Driving in the Sky' that has some of the new music Austin put on my Ipod (I made it a dance/electronic mix in honor of my two lovely brothers, so artists include David Guetta, Deadmau5, M83, & Bombay Bicycle Club).  Then they screened the Hunger Games, which I stayed up to watch (probably why I'm so jetlagged).  Customs only took about 15 minutes, USA take notes! I was an hour late coming out though and Ainhoa & her dad were getting anxious for my arrival.  Finally, I am excited to start this blog especially for the benefit of my grandparents who have supported me all my life and are always interested in what my next adventure is.  Thank you to all my family and friends who have been there for me, influencing and supporting my decision to study abroad in Spain.  In about a week I will drive cross country with Ainhoa to Alicante, where I will attend orientation and then start my intensive period of classes!

~~The video above (filmed by Ray) is a special shout out to my awesome dogs who I am training to be a sled team.  Of course I will miss them too.