Monday: Rain & School

It has been rainy all day and quite cold also. I had my grammar and conversation mini-classes today. I was up pretty late last night working on homework, because I spent most of my evening watching tv shows on a website I found where I can watch American shows for free. It is my Netflix replacement. I had a ton of grammar homework last night which involved a lot of verb tenses which is the hardest thing for me to learn. I know it takes a lot of practice, but right now, it seems like I will never be able to distinguish imperfect from preterit nor be able to correctly conjugate them. But I am hopeful that I will be able to do so by the end of June. I also met one of the girls from Holy Cross today who also has red hair. Can't wait to see all the attention we draw when we are together. We discovered that we will be taking at least one class together, maybe another also. She told us that she "tutors" some Spanish children to teach them English, which mostly involves playing with them and speaking in English, and said that we may be able to tutor some children also which would be awesome! I love kids, teaching, and extra cash.
After class, we went to get "cards" at the school gym. It turns out they don't give out cards but rather you use your thumbprint to enter. It is a lot more high-tech than I was expecting. Anyway, we got that squared away then had to go to another office to fill out a form for enrollment with basic things like address and e-mail. Then we rode el metro back and walked home. I cannot even express how thankful/amazed that every time I walk in the door from school, there is a bowl of warm, homemade soup waiting for me. It is like a gift from God himself especially on chilly days like today. I also had mashed potatoes (lacking pepper, sadly) and some chicken (which actually had pepper on it this time, and I told her it reminded me of Mexican food in the U.S. which she said she has never tried). Carmen told me I am like another granddaughter to feed and take care of, so it isn't that big of a deal for her. Also, she completely cleaned my room today. She did my laundry (which she can't hang up to dry right now since it's raining), changed my sheets and comforter (she usually makes my bed every day even if I do it, she comes in and makes it better), cleaned my bathroom (she does that every day), and straightened up everything on my desk and cleaned it as well. I thanked her for it, and she told me she just wants me to study and have fun and not worry about housework. I am totally okay with that and am loving it. I am definitely seeing the role of the "housewife" (or house grandma, even though I think her husband passed away) here more than ever. I studied a bit about it in one of my Spanish literature classes, but this is definitely proving that in Spain, elderly women really do rule their homes. She calls her kitchen and laundry balcony her "salón" or office.
I think my favorite black boots are dunzo until I get the zipper fixed (if possible). Today when I tried to zip the broken one up, the zipper got stuck and I could barely get it off my foot. This makes me sad, because they are my favorite pair of boots ever and are so perfectly worn in. I hope that they can be fixed!
I know that I have some boxes of goodies coming in the next few weeks from home, and I can't wait to get them! Carmen told me that if the box is too big, I will have to go to the post office to get it, but if it isn't too big, they will bring it up to the door. 
I have a little bit of homework tonight but not nearly as much as I had that was due today. I am going to do my homework and perhaps go on a walk if it stops raining. Otherwise, I probably be watching shows on the website I found and/or playing Cityville and Farmville on Facebook.

Hasta luego!
-Lynne

Sunday: My First Castle (besides Disney World)!

Today I woke up about 10 minutes before I needed to leave the house. No bueno. I was about 20 minutes late meeting my friends, but everything was good. We decided to go to Castle Bellver today since the weather was supposed to be nice. It took us a few tried to find the right bus to get on, but we finally found it after about 45 minutes and got on it. We rode about 20 minutes west of the city to a smaller town. We had to walk up tons of stairs, but the view was quite spectacular so it was okay. The castle was so cool. I had never been to a castle before, except for Cinderella's in Disney World. I hope I get to go to some more castles during my travels this semester. It is one of the only circular castles in the world. All of the rooms were closed due to it being Sunday, but we got to walk around for free. The views are absolutely spectacular. You can see all of Palma from the top. The weather on top of the castle was absolutely wonderful. It was sunny, slightly windy, and in the low 60's.. perfection. I could live up there. We spent an hour or two looking around and taking pictures then headed home for lunch.
It is so nice being able to walk in the door and have lunch prepared. I literally walked in just as Carme had finished cooking. She had 2 friends over today also. She made some hand-breaded chicken, artichokes, and cauliflower with salad and bread, of course. Her friends also brought over a giant dessert tray. Of course they asked me which one I wanted first, and I was a bit overwhelmed with the approximately 10 varieties of cakes and pastries so it took me a minute to decide. I picked a puff pastry filled with a meringue cream.. yum. They also ask me how to say things like strawberry and garlic in English, because those words are hard for them to pronounce.
I am currently uploading all the pictures I took to my Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynne222 so make sure to check those out! I took about 300 today, so it is going to take a while for them to all upload and also for you to look through them all. I couldn't stop taking photos because it was so beautiful. I also have uploaded about 1/4 of my photos on FB if you don't want to look through hundreds of them and just want to see the highlights.
I have a lot of homework to do tonight, and I think we might go out for a bit later before dinner (if anything is even open at that time). Mostly, I will be doing homework and reminding myself that my feet are still on the ground and that my life is real, because at times, it doesn't feel like it.

Nos vemos!
-Lynne

Saturday Morning

This morning has been perfect. I woke up around 9am and felt a little sick. So I ate a bunch of fruit (to get vitamin C), drank green tea with lemon, and headed out to the balcony to bask in the warm sun. I almost fell asleep, because it is so warm and beautiful outside in the sun today. I feel a lot better already. I have been listening to some music on iTunes just relaxing and reading articles (& Hnet forums). I think I am going to get some more sun then get ready for the day. My fellow Vandy students are out walking in the mountains or something right now, and I opted to not go today. I think we might go to the round castle here this afternoon, but I'm not sure. I will be adding more photos soon also! Not as many as last time, but a few of the views from my balcony. Everything here is so beautiful; I can't stop looking at everything.

Hasta luego,
Lynne

Friday: Laziness and Modern Art (& details about last night's family dinner)

I did not have my classes today. Therefore, I slept until 11am. I felt a lot better after that, as you could have guessed. I had a clementine and a banana for "breakfast" which were incredible, of course. I tried to use the shower which didn't get warm at all and had to use the other bathroom's shower. As you read in my last post, the water doesn't get very warm which is quite annoying now, but when it is extremely warm here during the summer, I am sure it is quite nice.
Last night was the family dinner. I am not exactly sure who the people were that came over. It was just one couple in their 60's and a young girl who is going to marry my host mother's grandson in May. I am not sure of the relationship with the couple, but they were very nice and brought the one of the tiniest dogs I have ever seen. It looked like a yorkie mixed with a chihuahua, so it was kind of scary and ugly but also cute because it was so tiny and so old. Anyway, I didn't talk much at the dinner table, because I wasn't sure what they talked about a lot of the time. The girl who is marrying the grandson is very loud and very personable, but I couldn't understand half of what she said. I know she was discussing her upcoming wedding and was telling them about the food and the flowers. The man asked her if the the place she had picked for the reception had smoking (they just passed a law here that bans smoking in some places so it is still a big deal here too), and she said yes. He got very upset and went on a rant about the new smoking law. I didn't understand all of what he was saying either, but I think he is not very happy with it. We discussed this for probably 15 minutes or more, and they also asked me what the law was in the U.S. so in a very choppy, horrible manner, I tried to explain it and I think they understood though I of course used the wrong verb tenses. So that was interesting. We had pieces of chicken (I think it was like a rotisserie chicken but Carme cooked it herself) and some seasoned potatoes which were amazing. After we ate, she brought out a huge plate of salami and sausage and cheese, and they ate almost of that too but I didn't try any of it. Then she brought out the giant fruit bowl and they all ate fruit. They have weird habits here. The lady took her knife and peeled her apple, and to open their bananas, they all used a knife to cut off the top instead of just peeling it. I was just watching and giggling inside thinking of how weird it would look if someone did these things in the U.S. at the table. They eat SO MUCH FOOD at meals. She always gives me tons of food and asks if I want more. So that was my family dinner last night, and they will be back every Thursday. After dinner, Brent and I chatted on Skype for a while which was really nice. I didn't even cry like I thought I would. It just felt like I was at Vandy and he was at MTSU. I'm sure after a few weeks it will really hit me, but for now I am okay, especially because of the existence of Skype.
Today after I showered, I ate lunch with everyone. We had "arroz cubano" (Cuban rice) which was white rice with a thick tomato sauce and also fried eggs (I think they were cooked in olive oil) and 2 hot dogs with cheese (???? no clue where those came from haha). It was strange and delicious! After lunch, I met Hannah downstairs and we headed off to our adventure of the day.
Today was soooo beautiful. It was by far the nicest day here so far. I didn't even really need to wear my coat. It was sunny and about 60. We decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art in Palma. Being that Brent is an amazing, realistic artist, and I respect his work more than Picasso's work, I am not a huge fan of modern art but thought it would be fun. It was one of the worst things ever, but I am glad I went. The art was a joke. I took a few photos with my phone camera that I will post to show how ridiculous the art was. The best parts were seeing an original Salvador Dali painting and a few of Picasso's early sketches which were actually decent. The museum was really weird in that it is always free, and there isn't really anyone there to monitor you in the gallery except for one person at the front desk. Though the art definitely was not my style, I am glad that we went.
After the museum, we walked around to little shops for a while and also got more chocolate caliente.. yum. That stuff is addictive. We walked by some bars/restaurants that were so cute and cozy. I can't wait to go to some. We went to Zara which is an awesome clothing store near my house. I got some long sleeve shirts and a new pair of jeans, because I am running out of clothes! They don't do laundry here very often. Then we headed to H&M again to check out their new stock. I got some jackets and more long sleeve shirts and socks at H&M and tried to pay, and my card didn't work. So I had to call the bank (which I had to figure out how to do since it is international) and sort it out with the fraud department. In about 30 minutes, I had it solved and was able to purchase my goods at H&M! It started raining pretty hard right before we were about to head home, but luckily, by the time we started walking it had calmed down. Oh! I also saw a bar called "Bar Tulsa" on the way.. I thought that was sooo weird so I texted my mom a picture of it. I can't believe my hometown of Tulsa is represented here, though it probably means something else here. I definitely want to go in there one night for vino and tapas.
As soon as I returned home, Carme came home from having tapas with her friend, and she cooked me some chicken breasts and carrots and peas. I also had a kiwi after that, and I dug out the fruit with a spoon. It was one of the best pieces of fruit I have ever had, and she is going to get some more for me.. yay! Oh, we also stopped by a little market to get some fruit, and Amit got some fresh lychees that you had to peel open to eat (I had never had them like this, only in cans and jars), and he shared one with me and it was soooo good! I think I love fresh (organic) fruit more than any other food in the world.
My leg is feeling a lot better today, though it is a little sore from all the walking I did today. I am going to sleep early (right now), because I am so sleepy and my body is exhausted. I might read a little of Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal before bed.

Buenas noches!
-Lynne

My American Dream

All I want is to take a very warm shower. The water here doesn't get very warm at all, just warm enough to be able to stand it for 15 minutes. Maybe this will change my 30+ minute showering habit, because it has me washing as quick as possible. Today my American dream is to take a very warm, comforting shower! (But when I return it will be June, and I won't even want a warm shower.)

-Lynne

Thursday

Today I had my conversation and grammar classes. I really enjoyed them today, because we did a lot of talking about things I was actually interested in like American perceptions of Spain, the American education system, and whether or not bull ring spectacles should continue. Though I often mess up verb tenses, I feel like I am improving a lot. I am really good at reading, writing, and doing written exercises, but when speaking, I butcher all the verbs.
It is rainy today. This is the first day I have seen rain on the island. The clouds behind and above the mountains looked amazing earlier. It is also very cold and all in all, not a very pretty day.
I do not have any classes until Monday! I am so excited for this time to rest and explore Palma more. I do have a lot of grammar homework, though.  The classes her are so laid back. I am not in my semester long courses yet, but I can tell it is ridiculously laid back and easy going. Both of my professors were more than 15 minutes late today and never said a word about it. Also, we are all trying to figure out what classes to take. The two I picked out overlapped by about an hour. Well, I talked to Juan Miguel about it, because one of the classes I want to take is one of the classes he teaches and recommends for us to take. His class will be Mondays from 11-1pm and Tuesdays from noon-2pm. The other class I want to take, Women in Spanish Literature, is Mondays 1pm-2pm and Tuesdays 1pm-3pm. Obviously on Tuesdays I can't be in both classes from 1-2pm. So, I asked him about it and without hesitation, he said I could leave his class an hour early every Tuesday to go to my other class. I told him that is really weird but sounds good to me! I love the style of school here. A lot of it is independent learning, and the professors have been wonderful so far. I am actually excited to start my real classes in 2 weeks.
My friends from Vandy are going to hike in the mountains this weekend, but the pain behind my knee hurts too much and is keeping me from going with them. I don't know if I would last that long anyway due to my lungs and lack of strong muscles, though. I have nothing to do until Monday, so I think I'll relax, sleep a lot, and perhaps do some shopping. I want to get another pair of jeans (I only brought 4) and some undershirts/tank top to layer under my other clothes. I want to hit up Zara tomorrow for sure and maybe H&M again.
Tonight my host family is having some of their family over for dinner like they do every Thursday, so I am excited to get to meet new people. Hopefully everything will go well! My host mom, Carme, just brought me an adapter so that I can plug 2 things in at once (heater and computer), and I plugged my computer into it and sparks flew everywhere.. so I will continue alternating them when my computer battery dies haha.

Hasta luego!
-Lynne (or Leena, as my grammar teacher says)

Food

I really love the food here. I have only eaten at home, except for chocolate caliente and an ensaimada, but the food is the food everyone should eat. I always have a vegetable soup and/or salad with fresh tomatoes, asparagus, a bit of cheese, with olive oil and vinegar. I think those are perhaps the most important part of the meal, because they are usually the healthiest. Also, because they are at the beginning of the meal, I always finish all of the good stuff that I need to eat. 
When the main plate is presented, at least half of the plate is covered with vegetables, sometimes more. Tonight I had a giant plate full of cooked spinach (Brent, don't say anything about it being cooked haha), so much that she had to put the chicken on another plate. Every meal should be like this, more veggies than anything else.  Also, I only eat one small piece of meat at the meals. It is just enough to be filling and give me good protein, but not the giant portions you find in the States. The soups, salads, and veggies are the main parts of the meals, and I love that. For breakfast, I only eat pieces of fresh, local fruit and maybe some sugar-free yogurt.  My mom is going to laugh when she reads this, but my host mother always asks me if I like (insert random food here) every day. So far, I have liked everything she has cooked, and I have said yes to everything she has inquired about. She thinks I like everything, which in a way, I do. But she hasn't asked me about peppers and onions yet, haha. Though, I do like them cooked, just not raw. I also told her I am not a huge fan of seafood, but I enjoy it sometimes. She cooks a lot of chicken in olive oil (Brent, don't say anything again) which I like too.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts about the food so far. I am really excited to go to a tapas bar soon, because I want to try even more food.

Buenas noches!
-Lynne

Reminders

Reminder: PLEASE check my Flickr photos out when you have the time. I have taken so many photos that describe my trip so far, and I want everyone to see them. I love taking photos and will be taking a lot more. More will be added every day, and I am adding some right now as I type this.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynne222

Also, ask me if you want my address. :)
The mailboxes are tiny, so I don't know where to go to accept a package but I guess I will find out!

Wednesday: El Sol!

The best part about today is the warm sunshine! Today is the warmest it has been since I have been here, and I am loving it. I am thinking of going to do some homework on the balcony in the sun. Today I had Intro to Catalan class and a Spanish culture class. I really like both of my professors. My Catalan prof is a little difficult to understand, because he has a speech impediment and can't pronounce r's or rr's very well (they sound like g's) but I like him as a prof. Catalan seems pretty difficult, and I don't really like it but it has only been one day. I haven't really done anything today except eat a lot of fruit, go to school, eat lunch (salad and pasta), and look around El Corte Ingles and Zara a little. I am going to stay in and do homework and nap. I don't really feel like going anywhere today, because my legs hurt very bad. I strained myself last weekend lugging all my stuff around and haven't given my body a break since then (because I have been walking for 3+ hours every day). I think I strained a muscle in my left leg, because it gets tight when I walk and I can feel something moving around that doesn't feel right. Hopefully more rest and a little stretching will help it get better.
I am going to do all of my homework and just relax tonight. Tomorrow, part of my host family's family is coming over for dinner, so that should be interesting and hopefully not too (awkward or) difficult to understand them! She told them they can't speak mallorquin/catalan, because I don't know it.

Nos vemos,
Lynne

Tuesday: Second Round

Is there such a thing as blogging too much? I love reflecting upon what I have done during the day and sharing it with all my readers (aka my mom and rando FB friends). Well, we did not go to the same place for chocolate caliente, because it is closed on Tuesdays.  We found another place with chocolate ensaimadas, and I got my first one there. It was so yummy! It is a sweet, puffy pastry filled with chocolate cream with powdered sugar on top. I think they bake them, not fry them.  Then we all wanted to go back to the cathedral, so we walked down there again and walked all around it. We tried to go inside, but it was closed. We were there again at sunset, and the views over the ocean were spectacular.
I am currently uploading hundreds of pictures from the past few days on both Flickr and Facebook. I am putting almost every picture (save for the really bad ones) on Flickr, and only a limited amount on FB. If you want to see tons and tons of photos, click on my Flickr sidebar to the right on my blog site where the little photo previews are.
I have been trying to figure out what classes I want to take, but I still don't know. I think I am going to take 1 or 2 literature classes, 1 history of the Balearic Islands class, and maybe 1 Intro Catalan class.
I had a wonderful soup that (I think) was cous cous and olive oil and also tons of peas and carrots and some things called croquetas which I think are like fried chicken/potato things. I don't really know what is in them, but it is creamy and weird. They tasted good, but I got a little grossed out after about 5 of them.
I desperately need sleep! Adios, mundo!

-Lynne

Tuesday: La Escuela Real

Today I (sadly) woke up around 7:30am, before the sun had risen, and took a shower in warm water (I had to wait about 10 minutes for it to warm up) before school.  The bathroom got nice and steamy and warm, and I didn't want to step out of it into my chilly room.  I met Hannah downstairs, and we walked to el metro together to meet Amit and go to school for our first "real" day of classes. We are in 4 classes right now, but they are like mini-classes because we only go to them for 2 weeks then we begin to take semester-long classes.
Today we had conversation and grammar. Juan Miguel (our director/adviser) teaches conversation, so that is nice because I really like him. Though, when he was teaching about the history of Spain today, I almost dozed off a few times, partially due to my lack of 8 hours of sleep and partially due to the fact that I studied Spanish history last semester.  My grammar class seems a lot harder than my conversation class. I like the professor, but I can tell he means business and doesn't want us to make any mistakes, which is completely impossible right now. I hate the feeling I get when I know I make a mistake but it is too late to fix it.  We did some oral exercises which were not too difficult, but I definitely need to review some things before our next class.
After school, we took el metro back and went to our homes to eat lunch.  Carme made a vegetable and lentil soup which was one of my favorite things I have had, a salad with tomatoes, delicious cheese, and oil and vinegar, and some small pieces of pork chops.  She always asks me if I want more after giving me tons of food that I can't even finish. I keep telling her I don't eat a lot, but she still asks if I want more every time. She is so sweet and is very easy to talk to. She helps me with mistakes I make which is very helpful.
Last night we were looking at books at El Corte Ingles (a large department store with American brands), but they were soooo expensive (think $15+ for one children's novel). I talked to Carme about it, and she said her granddaughter has a lot of books that I could borrow. Just a few minutes ago, her daughter (Quica? I don't know how to spell it) brought me "Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal". I am very excited to read it! I think it will help me a lot.
I am currently eating some Cadbury mini eggs that I smuggled into Spain and about to go get some more chocolate caliente with Amit and Hannah, because that stuff is just so good. I think I might splurge and get an ensaimada also. I am having a great time here, but also missing everyone back at home very much! I wish they could all be here with me to experience everything I am. I love you all!!

Un beso,
-Lynne

Monday: Cathedral, Sea, and a lot of Walking

Today was great. I think I overcame my jetlag by sleeping for 11 hours. I tried to use the shower earlier, but the water never warmed up and felt like it was about 35 degrees, so that was a no go.  They told me it works if you leave it on for a really long time. I shall test that out tomorrow morning.  I went to el metro (train) to catch a train to go to orientation class today.  I went with Hannah (another Vandy student) and her host mom, because she helped us get discount cards at the station. The subway was awesome, very fast, and very clean.  The school was built in the 70's so it is a little dated but still nice, especially the mountains that are behind it.  Our class was just us 4 Vandy students with the director, Juan Miguel. He is very good with us and speaks slowly which makes my life so much easier!  I finally got some Euros out of an ATM which also makes my life much easier. They don't really accept cards or American cash anywhere except for the touristy places.  The 4 of us walked around UIB for a while, basking in the sun, until it was time for lunch.  We all headed home to eat lunch (during which I was served cream of zucchini soup -- sooo yummy, grilled chicken, and mashed potatoes -- which threw me completely off especially when she asked if I liked mashed potatoes -- si!!!).
We reunited around 4 and took off on a grand walking excursion.  I am so surprised that I was able to keep up with everyone quite easily, because we walked for almost 2 hours straight.  We walked through many narrow streets observing everyone and eventually got to the big cathedral and the sea around sunset. It was so lovely! I want to go back again, because of course, I forgot my Nikon DSLR and we also want to tour the cathedral.  It was so nice seeing such a lovely sea, because I had not seen an ocean in years.
We found an H&M. I am so excited to know there is one here, because I can get almost anything there that I need for relatively cheap.  I bought a short navy blue belted jacket and a navy striped top also for a reasonable price.  Oh, I almost forgot! I purchased some Kinder Surprise (or "sorpresa" here) eggs at a little store/bar (almost every little store is a bar also).  I immediately freaked out upon seeing them about bought 4 but have only consumed one due to much self control. Another thing I love is that you can buy Freixenet cava in almost any store, including bakeries (though I have not consumed any alcohol.. yet).
 We also went to a 100+ year old cafe that serves ensaimadas (a local specialty pastry), hot chocolate, and coffee.  I had a hot chocolate even though I also wanted an ensaimada, but I figured that would be too much sugar at once.  That hot chocolate was one of the best things I have ever had.  I had to eat it with a spoon, because it was so thick and rich.  It was like a melted chocolate bar with spices. Amazing. I will definitely indulge in a few more of those.
After that, we went to visit the host mom of one of the girls, because she loves visitors. We stayed there for a long time, touring her house and just talking to her which was very nice. I felt bad because I told my host family I would like dinner around 9, but I didn't get back until around 10 because the other host mom loves to talk.  They said they were worried, and I apologized but everything was okay and I ate yet another delicious meal while I had a nice conversation with my host mom.
I have noticed my Spanish is so much better even in the past day. I am constantly thinking in Spanish and trying to figure out the meanings of words that I don't know.  I talk to my Vandy student friends mostly in English but mixing in Spanish when we want to. I desperately need some English after all this Spanish.
Also, I have never known what it is like for every single person to stare at you all the time, but now I do.  I am so blatantly foreign, but I love it except that I think everyone stereotypes me.  It is kind of hard to miss me in a sea of tan, brown-haired people. Also, my skin feels SO GOOD. It is not dry or flaky at all and also not too oily.  My hair is also not drying out.  Amazing!
I wasn't going to write this tonight, but I started and couldn't stop myself. I must go to bed, because I need to wake up in about 7 hours.. yikes! Buenas noches.

-Lynne  (P.S. no one can pronounce my name here.)

Sunday: A Very Long Post about how much I hate the Madrid Airport and how lovely my first views of Portugal and Palma were

Today (Sunday) has felt like 2 days, since in a way it has been 2 days. My flight to Madrid was wonderful. I was in first class, which was incredible. International first class is very different from domestic first class. The seats laid completely down which was quite comfortable, though I only slept for about 2.5 hours or so.  A cute old Spanish man (approximately 80 years old) sat next to me, but we did not talk at all. I enjoyed the 5 course meal (I know, right?) which included warm roasted nuts, bread, a salad, appetizers (some type of seafood soup, beef empanada, and a vegetable hor d’oeuvre), and I opted for squash and bell pepper pasta for my entrée. By the time I received my main dish, it was nearing 11pm on my body clock, so I did not feel like eating much of it. I loved the hot towels we were given. They felt so good on my always cold hands.  I watched the movie “Easy A” on the giant screen in front of my seat which had a variety of movies, music, tv shows, and games (giant Bejeweled screen… so awesome). The movie was not very good, but I knew it wouldn’t be. I opted for it, because I wanted a mindless yet somewhat girly movie to distract me from being tired and sad about leaving home. I tossed and turned in my bed/seat and finally fell asleep for about an hour only to be awakened by the stewardesses chatting very loudly. I drifted off for a few more minutes but by that time it was getting close to breakfast time, and I was ready for it. I also wanted to catch the edge of Portugal, my first glimpse of Europe, so I eagerly watched out the window. We had a decent breakfast but airline food just reminds me of hospital food. I ate a huge bowl of fruit and was satisfied. Right after I finished, I peeked out the window and saw the rainbow effect on the horizon as we approached the sun. I had never seen this in real life before, so I just stared out the window at the sky for the rest of the flight. I did catch the coast of Portugal just like I wanted to. It was so beautiful with the sun just barely rising over it, casting long shadows on everything. I stared at the landscape and watched it change into the forms I learned about in my Spanish Civilization class last fall and could pretty much tell where we were due to the land structures.  My favorite thing I saw out the window was the tops of mountains with one tiny road going straight across the top of them leading to small clusters of villages strategically placed on top of an on the sides of the mountains.  I decided that I want to go to at least one of those villages at some point in my life. I have never seen so many vineyards and orchards in my life. It seemed like half of the land we flew over was covered in vineyards and orchards.  As the small towns grew into bigger towns and became closer together, I realized we were getting close to Madrid.  It was quite obvious when I saw Madrid from the plane as it seemed like I was seeing an endless sprawling of terra cotta and white plaster buildings with a mountain backdrop.  Also, I was worried about getting in the “Spanish-speaking mindset” before arriving in Madrid, but since so many people on my flight were Spanish and the stewardesses spoke Spanish to them, I was already beginning to think in Spanish.

My excitement about the Madrid airport was quickly overshadowed by the lack of elevators and escalators.  As soon as we got off the plane, there were 2 flights of stairs to climb (with my 2 carry-on bags). After wanting to cry when they said there was not an elevator, I began to lug my stuff up the stairs. After about 3 stairs, a Spanish woman and a man each took one of my bags and carried them for me up the stairs and also offered to help me out if they saw I needed any more help along the way.  I was very grateful for their help and for everyone else who helped me willingly.  I talked to a lady and asked her where I needed to go to catch my connection to Palma. She told me to follow everyone else “to the right.”  Little did I know that “to the right” meant down a glass tunnel/hall that was about a mile long. I was roasting due to the morning sun shining through the glass and had to stop every few minutes to catch my breath.  It was flat, but it was hot and so very long.  After that hall, there were more stairs.  Everyone else on my plane was gone, because I couldn’t keep up with them.  My method for stairs was to take one bag at a time down the stairs.  I was surprised at the number of men with nothing in their hands that stared at me and didn’t offer to help.  But I got through it anyway.  I finally got to the new(er) section of the airport where they had elevators and moving sidewalks that saved my life (well maybe just my arms).  I also had to pass the guardia civil at customs which just took a minute, and I got a new passport stamp! Woohoo! I got lost but finally found my way to where I needed to go.  I was told to pass through the green sign “nothing to declare” so I did, only to be stopped by a Spanish security man and told that I had to go through security (just like U.S. security). At this point, I didn’t know where my phone was nor what time it was and my connection was close to my time of arrival (about an hour between my arrival and connection and I spent a lot of time trying to lug around my stuff).  I was terrified that I was going to miss my connection.  The security man only spoke Spanish which was fine for the most part, but I could tell he got frustrated with me.  I had to take off my boots, sweater, etc., take my liquids out of my bag and my computer and the whole airport security thing.  It was so weird, but there was no one going through security except for me.  The Spanish man kept saying something that I couldn’t understand and he was taking forever and I just wanted to catch my connection, and so I started crying.  He looked terrified of me and went to get a lady that was nearby to speak to me in English.  She helped me find my connection and told me exactly where to go.  I got on a bus, again I was the only person on the shuttle bus between terminals which freaked me out too, which drove the same lap about 5 times before taking me to terminal 2.  I was so thankful for the very old elevators in terminal 2, and I took one upstairs to the gates.  Luckily, my gate was right next to the entrance so I got in line (there were actually a lot of people up there, which made me more comfortable). 

My flight to Palma was the worst flight of my life, except for the amazing views.  First, they said I needed to leave one of my carryons at the gate to be checked, which was great because I didn’t want to take it on the plane anyway.  I went down the hallway to where I thought an airplane was, but no, it was more stairs leading down to yet another bus. I was worried I had gone to the wrong place, but then I realized I am in a foreign country and nothing is the same.  So I rode a bus across the airport parking lot right next to the planes (I was a little terrified of a plane hitting the bus), and we finally got to the plane which had, you guessed it, stairs leading up to it! I had no idea where to put my luggage I was supposed to check at the gate because we were out on the runway so I asked a guy in a yellow vest in my best attempt at Spanish at that point which was so awful that he spoke English back to me.  He told me the flight was not full so I could take it on board.  I waited for everyone to go because I didn’t want to hold anyone up with me lugging my stuff step by step.  I was terrified I was going to drop my stuff and it would fall down 15 feet of stairs, but thankfully my arms had sudden strength.  Everyone was staring at me when I got on the plane. I was the only American on there, and strangely, most of the people were South American.  The flight attendants hated me. The plane was almost empty, and my seat was in an exit row which means no under seat storage. Perfect.  I didn’t realize it at until a man spoke English to me and told me, so I asked the flight attendants for help.  I thought the woman was going to punch me because she looked so angry.  She told me to put my wheeled case on the floor behind my seat.  I had never seen such little legroom for an airplane seat in my life, and I told her I didn’t think it would fit.  She told me to turn it the other way so I did and somehow, it fit.  Then she told me to put my tote bag in the overhead bin, which of course wouldn’t fit either.  I asked her what to do and she told me to take things out of my tote and put them in the bin separately.  So basically I unpacked my tote into an overhead bin until I could shove it in there while we were on the runway about to take off and the attendant was glaring at me.  Every single person near me was staring at me, and I’m pretty sure they were making remarks about Americans and how we have a lot of stuff.  The flight attendant didn’t even offer me a drink on the plane.  I stared out the window as Valencia passed below, and I saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.  It is so beautiful.  The coast of Valencia looks like a dream vacation spot.  It was a short flight, but I dozed off for a bit and woke up just as we arrived upon Mallorca.  I have never seen more beautiful seas and landscapes than Mallorca.  It looks like Hawaii mixed with Ireland with beautiful cliffs, lots of greenery, and mountains.  At this point, I didn’t even care about how everyone on the plane hated me.  All I wanted to do was go swimming.

We flew into Palma, and I had the most perfect view of the bay.  The Palma airport was so much nicer than Madrid, and I was expecting the opposite.  They have ramps instead of stairs, and everything is close together and much newer than Madrid.  I had a medium length walk to baggage which was mostly moving sidewalks (oh my goodness, I love those things so much now), and then I found a luggage cart (YAY!!!!) which saved my life.  I hurried down to baggage claim since most of the people on my flight already had their luggage and mine never came out.  I called my mom hoping she would answer (it was 5am at home), and she did! I had to go ask someone about my luggage since I didn’t see it and she told me to go through some gates and ask someone else. I asked him and he pointed to another carousel and asked if that was mine, and it was.  It made no sense, but I didn’t care.  I then was finally ready to leave and meet my new family! … except I couldn’t find a door out.  I thought a glass wall was a door so I walked up to it and an old lady tried to open it then told me it wasn’t a door. Thanks for that, lady.  Then she said tons of random stuff to me about a flight from Madrid so I said adios and kept going.  I looked ridiculous. I had a cart so stacked with luggage that I had to hold on to them to make sure they didn’t fall off which led to me scooting it along, oh and my mom was on the phone the whole time also.  I went out the real door and there were about 10 people just staring and no one said anything.  I said, “Vanderbilt?” and one lady said, “ahh! Lynne!” so I knew I was in the right place.  I talked with Carme and her daughter on our way out and they insisted I put on my sweater because it was “cold” outside.  I wanted to jump for joy when I got outside. It was warm and sunny, in the high 50’s.  They were shivering.  I told them when I left home there was snow on the ground and it was below freezing, so I was very happy with the warm sun.  I followed them to their little Ford Fiesta where we somehow fit all of my luggage into it.  The drive to my new home was breathtaking.  I saw so many amazing mountains, many of them snowcapped (they said usually there is not snow, but it snowed a few days ago).  Then we drove into the city along the road right next to the sea.  It is the prettiest sea I have ever seen with its perfectly blue waters.  I also saw a quick glimpse of the cathedral before we turned down the road we needed to go down.  

 They showed me into a cute little building with marble steps and flooring and then we went into an elevator to go up to the 7th floor. The elevator does not look like an elevator, because it has a literal door that you open to get on it. Carme, myself, and my luggage barely fit into it, because it is so tiny. They showed me around the apartment (which is really like a 1,000 sq. ft. house on one floor), and it is so cute, clean, and nicely decorated. My room is a lot bigger and nicer than I thought it would be. I have so much storage. I should have brought another bag (haha).  My window overlooks the eastern direction towards the sea, but I cannot see the sea due to buildings.  The sun shines in my room all day, and I love it. I also have my own bathroom which is also very nice. I unpacked everything and put everything away, then we had lunch, my first meal in Spain.  We had some kind of pasta soup (they said they make it for Christmas), an amazingly fresh salad with oil and vinegar (only I had one. apparently the others do not like it.), and some hand-breaded chicken, which was so fresh and so good.  We talked some at the table, but they had to repeat things often.  I am actually surprised at how well I am doing in speaking the language.  They do not have heat in the house, so it is a bit chilly but I am used to it.  They keep telling me to put on shoes and a jacket in the house, but I'm not really that cold.

I took a nap after lunch, then we went on a walk around the city.  Everything was closed since it was Sunday, but it was great because there were almost no people around.  It is very picturesque European with narrow, winding streets. After the walk, I passed out immediately.

-Lynne

Traveling

Well, today is the big day. I departed my sweet little hometown of Franklin, Tennessee to become a world traveler. I had a wonderful dinner last night with Brent and my family at Sperry's. The food was so good (as always), and it was a lot of fun spending time with my loved ones before I had to leave. After a quick trip to Sweet Cece's around 10pm, Brent helped me pack my suitcase and carry-on piece. We were up until about 1am until we finally passed out. We got almost everything I wanted to take with me in a 27" suitcase and a 21" carry-on. I woke up and showered and packed my tote bag with whatever would fit into it (literally it weighs at least 35 lb.)
After a few tearful goodbyes, I left Nashville around noon after my uncle Bob made friends with all the TSA workers, trying to get a gate pass so we could eat lunch in the terminal and was unsuccessful in doing so. Of course my departure gate was the furthest it could possibly be, so I had to take a lot of breaks along the way due to arm spasms caused by my ridiculously heavy tote bag. I flew to Newark on a tiny plane and loved seeing all of the snow up here out the window when we were flying in. It was so beautiful. I listened to a little Hanson and Landon Pigg during the flight on my new Sennheiser headphones, and the lady across the aisle from me didn't like that too much. She kept staring at me then finally asked me to turn them down. I find this funny, because it wasn't even that loud. After I turned it down, I could barely hear my music at all. Maybe the headphones don't block my music from playing loudly to those around me. I drifted in and out of a light sleep until we reached the Newark area and wondered why the baby near me was so quiet the whole time. I have never seen a baby that quiet on a plane.
I am currently sitting in a wine bar at the airport watching the sun set, playing my favorite Facebook games, and typing this blog because of my super cool Verizon mobile hotspot. I have the strong urge to take the bus to NYC, but I know that would be far too stressful and next to impossible right now. My flight to Madrid doesn't leave for about 4 hours, so I have a lot of time to kill. I ordered a glass of Spanish cava (my favorite wine), a cheese plate, and a small brie and prosciutto sandwich since I hadn't eaten anything today but the cheap pretzels on the plane. Sorry Dr. Axe, I am going way off the diet today.
My 2 carry-on bags and I have had quite a trip today already. First of all, I can barely carry them. I set my tote on top of my wheeled luggage and roll it, but it is so heavy that it makes my arm spasm and makes my sore wrist hurt even more. At one point, I dropped them while I was wheeling them. I am not even sure how that happened, but it did. All I could do was laugh. I have had numerous random people offer to help me since I quite apparently am very weak. My tote wouldn't fit under the seat so the flight attendant had to stow it in the closet (I didn't know they had closets on planes). Then I had to ride a little shuttle over to the terminal I am currently in. There were stairs leading up to the terminal, because of course, the elevator wasn't working.  I was the first off the shuttle so I was leading the pack up the stairs, dragging my ridiculously heavy suitcase and tote up metal stairs covered in salt. Some women behind me offered to help as I lugged them up a full flight, but then a random airline worker came out of nowhere and helped me for the second flight. I was so thankful for him and also for the ladies who tried to help me! I feel kind of lame for packing so much in my tote, but I didn't really have a choice. So after that guy helped me, my tote fell off my suitcase and things proceeded to fall out of it. My arm muscles are still pulsing from carrying them up those stairs about an hour ago, but all I can think about is Spain.. and food.
I cannot wait to leave for Madrid. I will arrive there around 9:30am Madrid time, 2:30am Central time (it is about a 7.5 hour flight). I am extra excited because I will be in first class in seat 1A. I read online that I will get a 5 course meal on the flight (!!!) plus free drinks plus a comfy chair. I cannot wait to sleep on the plane, but I hope I wake up to see us coming in to Portugal! I want to see the very first possible glimpse of Europe that I can. I think I am probably going to pass out almost immediately and not even use the countless number of electronic devices that I have in my gigantic tote.
Since this post has been incredibly long, and I know I am going to post so much in the next 24 hours, I am going to end it now. I will be posting soon about my grand arrival in Spain!

-Lynne

11 Days

Only 11 days left until my departure! I am getting excited and anxious and also desperately trying to figure out what to pack. I still have a long list of things I need to do and purchase in these next 11 days. I really don't think I'm going to get everything done, but that is okay.
I'm also trying to eat at my favorite restaurants while following Dr. Josh Axe's nutritional recommendations to "eat real food." I think the food in Palma will help me with this goal since the word "organic" is a joke to them, because everything is organic. I've researched what they eat, and everything is full of fresh veggies which is what I'm striving to eat more of.
Last night I went to Sperry's with my mom and my friend Tim and had a delicious steak. I hope I get some good steak while I'm in Palma, but I fear I will not have anything close to a good 'ole American steak at Sperry's.
It snowed about 2-3" here yesterday.. a lot for our standards. I love snow so very much, but I don't think I will miss it when I'm living in 65 degree weather on an island in a couple of weeks.
 I'm going to leave you with a photo of the cathedral in Palma. This will only be a 10-15 minute walk from my home.

I'm living the dream!!

-Lynne

15 Days

These last 2 weeks are going to be so jam-packed with shopping, people, food, doctor appointments, and tears. I found out where I will be living next semester. It's about 10 blocks or a 15 minutes walk from the ocean. Is this real life? Here are some pics I found using my leet Google Maps stalking skills.

This may not be exactly the building because Google Maps isn't always the most accurate, but it is definitely the street I will be living on, complete with a toy store!
Now, back to cleaning my room and figuring out what I need to take with me!

-Lynne

All About Palma de Mallorca

The countdown is on. I have approximately 19 days before I depart for Spain for the semester. I will be living in a town called Palma on the island of Mallorca (or, Majorca for all you speakers of English) which is just off the eastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea.  It is one of the premiere vacation destinations in Europe while also providing a laid-back island lifestyle. It is also a port city, which is quite obvious when you see the photo below.

 I never thought I would be living on an island and so close to so many beautiful beaches.  As of now, I have not been to a beach in a few years. It's going to be incredible to be just a few minutes from the beach, a place for relaxation, studying, and playing. I am also incredibly excited to be living near mountains. I have always wanted to live near mountains.

I am still in shock that I am going to get to spend January through June in this beautiful paradise.  I've heard the classes are very laid-back, with minimal homework and tests, which permits for more individual studying based on one's interests. I am quite excited about the classes, though I don't really know what classes I will be taking yet. I don't know much about the university, but here is a little photo of it.

Another thing I'm excited about is cheap, fast traveling across Europe. I will be so close to all of the places I have dreamed of going to and will be able to go to many of them on my 3 day weekends. I am also looking forward to living with a Spanish family with children. I hope I get the chance to learn how to cook some authentic Spanish dishes.
The more I read and learn about Palma, the more excited I am to go. I am getting very sad about leaving friends and family behind in the U.S., but I know many of them are trying to plan a visit during my stay. I hope my dog and cat don't think I've abandoned them forever!
These last few weeks in the States for a while will be full of eating my favorite foods, spending time with my favorite people, and figuring out what I need to take with me.

Happy New Year!!

~Lynne