Okaaaay.

So due to popular demand, the blog is back. However, I promise to try to keep this one fun and I won't be updating as often. A quick catch up: I had an awesome summer at camp, Up North, and in Canada. Now I'm back living in Madison one block west of the football stadium. My 4 roomies are 3 friends from high school and one random (but her boyfriend is the Badger's starting linebacker star so we let her sublet so he can help us move heavy things). I'll use today's entry to give you a little insight into my last adventure: a Canadian roadtrip with my cousin.

We started by hoping in the car and heading to Toronto without a place to stay or a plan. By the time we got to the border (after a day in Detroit and a stop at the Henry Ford Museum) we had it figured out....kind of. I had gotten ahold of my friends who I lived with in Africa and arranged for us to stay with them for 2 days in Toronto. Problem was, the border patrol didn't really like that idea. After an hour and a half of customs, questions, car searches, and immigration they finally agreed to let us go through. Turns out, a passport that is as stamped as mine sets off flags at borders...who'da thunk it? Toronto was amazing, as was our stop down to Niagara Falls, Detroit to have lunch with my cousins Jenny and Jeff, and dinner with my cousin Chad at Notre Dame. We sure got a lot in in only 3 days! Then Thursday was my first Packers game at Lambeau Field and Friday was move in to Madison. Needless to say, I'm a little tired and looking forward to a break...but that won't be happening with the Badger game tomorrow, parking cars on our front lawn, and a party here afterwards.

My house is what I like to call a "college house"...old. But I have a new hardwood floor and that makes me feel a little grown up. Not really, though. Student teaching starts Wednesday morning and time just seems to be flying by. That's the update for now....I'll write more when I've got something good to tell you all. Until then, if you're one of my aunts reading this to try to catch up on the gossip, just give me a call or shoot me an email and I'll give ya the scoop! haha

Here are some pictures from our road trip stops:

Niagara Falls, Canada

Sitting in the same seat as Rosa Parks at the Ford Museum

At Notre Dame with Chad

The Toronto Skyline

In Detroit with Jenny and Jeff

My new room!

The End

and here are some random pictures from the summer for ya!





I know that no one is checking this besides my wonderful Aunt Margie so this one is just for her:


THE END! (is that closure enough?)

Long day....

I've had a long day...flew home from Spain today so I'll make it short.



I had it planned for a few weeks to surprise my family. My amazing uncle Corky and awesome cousin Kailyn picked me up today from Chicago. I popped out of their car to surprise my mom and the twins in our driveway. Then, they treated me to my favorite restaurant in the whole world (literally) and then took me to surprise my dad at his office. Kailyn has some pictures so I'm sure I'll post it later. It was so nice to see my family...ALL of them and eat about 10,000 calories today :) I am super tired and am going to hit the hay. Hope to hear from you all soon now that the cat's out of the bag :) Thanks so much to Corky and Kailyn, too, for making it a wonderful surprise and for the great food!

The despedida.....

My Spanish friend, Santi, and my American friend, Julie.

I get sick of boring pictures!

Half Spanish Half American amigos at my house for my "despedida"

The group out at a club for my goodbye party

Since I am leaving in just a couple of weeks, my friends decided to throw me a goodbye party this weekend to celebrate my leaving Spain before final trips start for everybody. What was supposed to be a few friends going for dinner ended up being a huge bash...didn't know I had so many friends here! It was wonderful having all my Spanish AND America friends in one spot and obviously it was a bit bittersweet. I couldn't help but reflect on my year here when thinking of going home.....

It will be hard to say goodbye to some amazing people who I have met here. Lucky for me, some of the American friends I have made here are from UW so it will be WONDERFUL having them so close to home. If I had to sum up this year, I would call it "purposeful”. It wasn’t quite life changing like last year, but I learned a lot: about the country, the continent, the people, the city, the language, and myself. I have tried to be pretty neutral up to this point about Spain (on the blog anyways, a few of you know my TRUE feelings) but here it goes…. I suppose as I look back on it, I would give Spain a total thumbs up, Madrid a definite thumbs down. Now, those of you who know me know that I am usually a very positive person so I don’t say this lightly. The attitude of the city, NOT the country, is very….I would call it rude. Over time, I have found myself coming a little bitter towards the general attitude of the “madrilenos pijos” (posh Madrid-ians) who think that they are better than the rest of the world. A lack of customer service and general compassion for your fellow man is very obvious in the city. The hustle and bustle is not something I enjoy being trapped in everyday…..but now I know! I miss the smiles on the street corner from strangers, people giving up their seat to the elderly, the safety you feel in small town America (without gypsies!), and generally people in love with life, not themselves. At the same time, Madrid is the hub of the country; it has been easy to travel and welcome visitors, too so I am glad I was here and not elsewhere. I have learned so much and I am so glad to have realized that I am NOT a city girl! Therefore, because I have learned and grown so much, this year was a very POSITIVE year. Overall, I have had an amazing time here and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Ok. Well that’s enough of the sentimental junk, just wanted to give ya’ll my overall impressions. Now I better get some of these post-exam to-do things crossed off my list.





Si escuchas a la canción de abajo, cuidadosamente, vas a ver que hay un secreto escondido en las palabras….manana te lo dire, vale?

Exam Week

The girls at Maroon 5

With Taryn and MTV Day!


It's that time....exam week... so like any good college student I know everyone's current Facebook status and have been Skypeing all day :) Still can't tell you a darn about Spanish Literature but I still have 12 hours until my exam.

This week has been great. Friday was out goodbye dinner for all the people in my program. We had a blast and it was FREE so you can't beat that. It was a really fancy restaurant and they served us fresh paella with crab. Sounds good and fancy....when the actual dish came and there was a WHOLE crab on my plate, I freaked. Not because it still had the eyes, no, but because I realized I was super trashy and had NO idea even what part of a crab you eat (nevermind how to do it). If anyone asks, I am a vegetarian....at least that was the excuse Friday night.


Saturday, I went to the MTV Day-Madrid here and saw Maroon 5 along with some other Spanish bands. We ended up about 4th row and even got our own shout out since he could tell we were Americans!

With exams this week we have no class so I actually have off today, Memorial Day, but it should be filled with studying. Hard to believev come Thursday my Spanish schooling is over (gracias a Dios!). Hope you're all enjoying a cookout and great weather over the long weekend.

Cha-cha-changes....

all of us at dinner in Dublin

Talking with Gordon and his new son!

The gang in Africa

In Malawi :)

In Malawi :)

A pint with Megan in Guinness

All of us at dinner

Megan and Maeve

The boys and I

Megan, Ryan, and I in front of Andy and Maeve's house

This weekend sure put things in perspective a bit for me. It was our 2 year African Reunion....as many of our Malawi volunteer gang that could make the trip came to Dublin. Here's the breakdown:

Present in Dublin:
Maeve and Andy (married Irish couple who were on their honeymoon in Malawi)
Megan and her finace Ryan (engaged American-Irish couple. Megan was a volunteer.)
Me

Missing:
Maggie (Irish volunteer who I spent Christmas with in Belfast)
Gordon (my old roomie in Malawi: Scotish)
Chelsey (Canadian wonderfulness)
Mike (Canadian who just returned for the second time this month)

The trip started as I was shocked at the airport when Meave greeted me with a plump belly, filled with the new Gacquin twins due in August! Ryan and Megan flew in Friday morning and the three of us hit up the Guinness factory together. As we drank our pints in the skybar atop the factory, we talked about their honeymoon plans: a glorious return to Malawi! Can you imagine it?!? Obviously they are a perfect couple to both be up for honeymooning in Mwaya Beach :)

Saturday we spent at a piping (bag pipes) contest in the north for Ryan and Megan. Afterwards we came back to Andy and Maeve's Dublin home for a wonderful last night together: a Malawi slideshow. We took everyone's pictures, ours and those who were absent, and watched and laughed over pizza and Guinness. We even made a Skype conference call to our friend Gordon, my old roomie, who just had his first son. After Africa, he decided it was time to settle down, moved to New Zealand to be with the love of his life, and is now the proud pop of Jake! It was so strange to have all of us together but with so many changes.....babies, weddings, new countries, etc. My life sure seems boring compared to that(don't worry, Mom, I'll keep it like that for a while!). It was wonderful to see where our lives have taken us and where they continue to go. The great thing is that no matter where we go, we'll always carry little bits of each other with us as we go on our own ways.

Anyways, it just makes me thankful that all of our paths crossed at one time in our lives and that we still cherish the bond we formed together no matter where life takes us.

Portugal and Spanish Nights

Here are some more pictures from my Portugal trip and some random Madrid nights.

Tonight, Katie and Alex and I all went to a Karaoke Bar we found....it was run by an Asian couple and some of the songs were in Chinese. I also saw a woman with a sixth toe on top of her foot and it was sticking out of her flats. I would clasify tonight one of the most random in a long while.