To RONDA y FIESTA de SAN JUAN

No es possible... It is just not possible to describe the outrageoulsy-awesome weekend I just encountered. But alas, I´ll give it a go:

Let me start by explaining just how things go down here in old España. We begin weekends on Thursday nights by packing all of our stuff into our backpacks (ie- toothbrush, couple of t-shirts, extra underwear if you're lucky, camera). Then we take all of our gear with us to school friday morning. After school we meet at the fountain to see who is in for what trip. I´ve managed to talk a fare amount of people into the places I´ve wanted to go so there has been a trip every weekend. Once we´re set on the group we make a mad dash to the bus stop and then to the bus station. We attempt to A) buy bus tickets to where we need to go with the limited amount of Spanish we have (one horrible time the tellers made fun of us in front of everyone and gave us the wrong returning tickets), or B) talk one of the more fluent members of the group into buying their tickets first so we can all just say "mismo" after them. Sometimes there aren´t enough tickets for everyone, or we are too late, or the bus schedules don´t work out so half the fun is seeing where we actualy end up friday night. The best places are recommended word of mouth on the student or backpacking circuit. Once we get where we are going we find the first decent...or, in some cases, not so decent hostel and dump our packs and head out for the night. No rest the weary until late Sunday night when we head back to Granada for another week of class and adventure planning.

I´d have to say this last weekend was my favorite. Aside from hitting Malaga four times in one week, three of us headed off to Ronda, a four hour very windy drive up the mountains (think hills). Ronda is to Spain as Rothenburg is to Germany. Its old world charm is unsurpassed in Andalucia and the three of us had a blast. The old architecture is beautiful and I´ll never get tired of spending the day shopping down cobble stone streets and getting lost in whitewashed villages. Ronda is the home of bull fighting and we were so excited to find the bullfighting musem included free time in the Ronda bullfighting stadium (the most beautiful of all). We played around for a few hours, took some great pics and had a blast seeing all of the classic costumes and art. It is a treat to spend time in the bull ring because Ronda hosts only three bullfights every year. I wonder how much those tickets would be. Ronda was made famous by 1920´s ex-patriots, particually Hemingway who wrote about it in Sun Also Rises and called it the ultimate "honeymoon town." It has an amazing stone bridge and sits on cliffs that overlook miles and miles of spanish hills and countryside. The shopping was amazing and, overall, Ronda made my trip to Spain a success.

But Ronda is only the beginning. Saturday we caught a bus from Ronda back to Malaga (yes, we managed another 15 minute pit stop at H & M) and then onto Nerha where we met up with most everyone from SUU. We managed to grab another hostel and headed down to the beach to begin the festivities of San Juan (a celebration/holiday in honor of John the Baptist). Even though the Mediteranean is mucho frio, we swam in the ocean at midnight and did a little firedancing to say goodbye to the hardships and regrets of the past year. After that we went dancing in the square and later spent the rest of the night (and much of the morning) on the beach waiting for the sunrise. It´s been awhile since I skipped an entire night of sleeping but, for a 27 year-old married chic, I did pretty well. Sunday, three of us headed back to Malaga and rented chairs on the beach. We made it home late late Sunday night and I think I might never recooperate from getting only 7 hours of sleep total in three days and two nights... but at least it´s nice to know I still have it in me! I feel that I´ve gotten a bit of a taste of what backpacking Europe feels like and I love the network of travelling students.

It was one of the best weekends/trips of my life and probably the only thing that could have made it better would have been to have Quinn with me. I miss him so much and can´t wait to see him. He is so perfect and cute and wonderful and amazing! It has been hard to be apart but good to realize how much we miss eachother and need eachother.

In other news: School is going well. I have enjoyed the content and teachers at the University of Granada (which have been well suited for my level and learning style) but the other students in my class are aweful. Drinking and drugs aren´t really regulated here so most of them waste their energy wasting themselves. Also of note is the new adition of an AC unit in the comp. lab!!! This is a big deal since I´ve lost about 4.2 lbs in water weight sweating to death everytime I come to check my email. You´ll be pleased to know my estomago de steal is contuing to fare well. Everyone else that went to Morocco had been severely ill and two even went to the hospital (they´ve had the big D going on 9 days now). We discovered it was the water... the sealed BOTTLED water that we were told and read in the ravel book was safe to drink. Luckily I brought my own agua and only drank a little of the bad stuff just at the end of the trip. I still have the bad water bottle and when you open the lid it feels the entire room with the smell of rancid pond scum and rotting roadkill. It´s pretty bad. The sickest girl drank almost two liters of it... the good news is she says she still doesn´t regret Morocco.

Experience of a lifetime and all things pertaining. Pictures to come. Hasta luego.

Resonde para Matt

Hola Matthew,

Lo siento, el pan en España no es bien y mi mama de mi casa en Granada tiene solo pan por desayunado todos los dias. No mas pan por favor! Por que yo como solo pan cuando otras comidas son muy mal. Gracias, muchas gracias por miras a mi papel.. mi presentacion. Si, es solo un pagina. Me gusta mucho el subjectivo de me presentacion. Otros personas en mi clase de cultura tienen mal subjectivos que son muy dificil pero El Corridas de Toros es divertido y eximento. Mi otra clase (no es clase de cultura, es clase de lengua) es horrible porque los otras estudiantes son.... joven (trust fund babies quien bebe cervacces todos sus tiempo en España) y hablan hablan hablan mucho con sus amigos... En ANGLAIS! No me gusta los otras estudientes. Quiero (como dice to smack? To punch?) los otras estudiantes. Todavia no. Tiene un dia bueno! Come mucho comida en Estados Unidos para me!

Nicole

Alguna

Chocolate covered waffles. Need I say more?

Hola Malaga

On the road again. In the spirit of adventure, we have decided to start taking day trips after school. After all- 1) you only live once, 2) You can sleep when you die, and 3) I will probably never spend time in Southern Spain again. Anything within a 2 hour radius is eligable. Our first trip was Malaga. Those of us who went to Morocco had seen a bit of Malaga because we bused to the Cathedral there to meet up with the tour to the Straight of Gilbralter (it was a beautiful drive along the coast of Southern Andulacia). Yesturday I talked a small group into going and we caught a bus down at 2:30 which left just enough time for the Picasso Museum, a small tour of the center of town, and a hike up to the castle. I may as well admit it publicly: I´m starting to like Spain. But if ever I warm up to Spain it will be the result of Malaga. Malaga is so charming and still has ruins from the 1st century. It is a huge artistic mecca (Picasso is from Malaga) and, because it sits on the Mediterreanean, it hosts some awesome history as far as being conquered by every major group to set their eye on Andalucia. It has been beautful weather the entire month and from the top of the mountain where the castle sits we could see the coast on either side and out into the sea for miles. What´s more, just when the day couldn´t have gone smoother, Emily and I spotted an H&M store!!! Yep Quinn, you read it right! There is an H&M store all the way over here on the other side of no where. We only had 7 minutes until the bus for Granada left but we manged to find three camisettas, una vestida, una falda, and some awesome earings!

In other news: This weekend is the festival of San Juan so we are heading to the beach at Nerha after a quick stop in Ronda (the bull fighting cultural center of el mundo and Hemingway hotspot). San Juan is crazy. It starts Saturday night on the playa when you write all of your trials from the last year down on paper and drop it into a fire while jumping through the flames... then everyone goes swimming in the sea at midnight. I´m excited and will let you know how it goes... plus, there are supposed to be real live actual pasta restuarants there. Man oh man I´m ready for comida normalmente. Escuela is getting easier. I´m not picking up too much vocabulary but I am developing an ear for the language. You compro mucho mas que you puedo hablo. Mis mama de mi casa en España es muy simpatica y comica. Ella fue baile en el discoteca todo el noche por el semana pasada! Le gusta perpera comida de veriadad por nos. Tiene un novia, se llama es Pepe. Una vez, Pepe visite nuestro casa a noche y en la manaña, cuando me desperto, Pepe fue en la casa todavía! Maria José (mi mama) le gusta mirar television cuando comimos. Mire programmas de estrellas de estados unidos. Tambien, le gusta hable con me. No hablo Español bien así soy muy nervosa y este palabres son no en mi cabeza. Pero, ella es patiente y me hace hablo cuando no pienso puedo. Mas tiempos yo dizo, "no hablo Español," pero ella dice, "Si, puedos!" Ah yi yi. No es fácil.

Africa is My Favorite Part of Spain

You know it´s going to be a good trip when you start things off by crossing the Straight of Gilbralter. Along with my roomate McKenzie, friends Lindsay and Codey, and tag-along Marcos, I hit African soil about 5:00 Moroccan time Friday afternoon. Our tour guide "Micheal Douglas" (his Arabic name is too difficult to pronounce) met us across the boarder and offered a strictly educational tour of the northern cities Tetuan, Tánger, and Chef-Chaouèn. The entire weekend was spent weaving through 1000-year-old Medinas that have maintained their old world culture through the century. It is interesting to enter a Medina because the modern cities are built around them and suddenly, in the center of town, you come to an old stone wall with a samll entrance.When you enter the old city you feel like you just walked into a national geographic magazine. Hundreds of small stone streets form labrynths of houses, markets, mosques, and chaos. The first thing we learned for our survival was the term "baroc" which, if heard, means move to the side of the street because a donkey, sheep, goat or the like is coming through (no vehicles can fit in the streets of the Medinas so traveling around is limited to man -or animal- power). We had police escorts through the medinas and several guides to keep track of us (one in front, one in the middle, and one at the end of the group). After the first 60 seconds in the medina I understood why. If ever a tourist got lost he would be lost the rest of his days. There would be no finding ones way out and the locals are more interested in keeping you lost and stealing your money than they are in helping you home. Besides that the language gap is segnificant. English or Spanish can be left uselessly behind upon entering the border. Though Morocco is just a bus and a boat ride away from Spain, it is a completely cultural antithesis to Europe. The Muslim way of life still persists and, though it is considered a modern arabic country, it maintains the traditional feel of Arabic regime. We even had to change money... again... which made for confusing bargaining battles: I had to figure from Durhams to Euros to Dollars and then start hagalling all over again in harsh tones when a shopkeeper refused my price. Wondering what Morocco and it´s Medinas are like? Just picture Aladin, the land of magic carpets, and genie bottles then you´ll have it.

Another cool place in Morocco is the point at which the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans meet. I couldn´t believe my eyes but you can actually see the two bodies of water coliding! Pretty amazing stuff. We had a wonderful group and made good friends with a cute little Austrian couple who are studying Spanish in Malaga. It is so amazing to me that most Europeans can speak several differnt languages. In the course of two minutes our tour guide spoke English and Spanish to us, answered his phone in French, and chased some hagglers off in Arabic (he also speaks Swahili and a few other lenguas I can´t pronounce). Another girl on our trip easily conversed in seven languages!!! I was the only mono-lingustic person on the tour. Why America why?!? I feel a little short changed by my educational system. By the time these people are in grade school they have three languages down pact. Back to Morocco: Chef-Chaouèn was the most beautiful city I have seen in my life. It may as well be 10 AD when you enter this town. Every structure is painted a mute blue (for love) and white (for peace). Water is brought from the mountains by a series of small canals, and every morning villagers from the mountains come down to sale their crops and handicraft. They wear traditional ropas and do their laudry by foot in a communal bath. It was amazing. And just when I thought I had seen it all some crazy guy tried to kill us by dropping a toilet down four stories from a window into a cafè plaza! Esta muy loco. I managed to eat some unidentifiable cuisine (so far I´m the only one that hasn´t gotten severly sick) and come home with some cool souveniers (yes, I bought a magic carpet). It´s funny, the guidebook said that Northern Morocco was a waste of time compared to the Southern end. If that´s true, I can´t even imagine what Merekesh or Casablanca would be like. Incidentally the book also said to expect Montezumas revenge and, when you DO get it, not to worry, everyone does... I attribute my stomach of steel to years of building up my consuming skills with hearty meals... 13 months eating New York street food couldn´t have hurt either. The trip was wonderful and I can´t imagine ever doing it without a top notch guide like Micheal Douglas (it just wouldn´t be possible without some sort of tour). What´s more, I have now stepped foot on the African Continent!!! That makes 4 down, 3 to go. Isak Dennison would be proud. More pictures to come....

Love, the African Queen



Check out the tour I went on at: http://www.studytravel-spain.com/
It has a pretty cool image gallery

Nueva Entrada

I would like to take this oportunidad to thank all of those who make comments on this blog... you know who you are. It is these people who take advantage of technology that make my interneto momentos bien y mucho divertido! Tambien, gracias to mi madre whose first words when I told her I was thinking of going to Africa were 1) Yeah! and 2) Do you need to borrow money. Also, muchas gracias a mi esposo guapo por su coreos de electronico. Soy muy enemorado con Quinn y quiero mucho tiempo con su cuando volvo a mi estado en dos semanas. Quinn es al major hombre simpatica en el mundo. Soy muy suerte por que Quinn es intelligente y alto. Anyway, things are plugging along in old Espana. Now that I´ve been to Africa I just might be able to survive the last two weeks in Spain. Morocco was absolutely amazing. From crossing the Straight of Gilbralter, to weaving in and out of the Medinas with police escorts, to riding camels.... Africa will always be known as my favorito parte de Espana!!! I will write more about the Amazing Race edition of my Morocco trip tomorrow but in the meantime here are a few pics of Almunecar (above) and my school (below). Almunecar is a bonita white village that lines the cliffs along the mediterranean. The water is crystal clear and the beaches there are small pebble playas. My school is spread out over Granada (which means pomogranat en espanol) and my building is El Centre de Lengua Moderna by the Plaza Nueva. It is tucked away in a stone alley you would never guess houses an educational mecca. I have made some great friends and it is a new experience to be in Europe as a student. The networking when you study abroad is amazing. The best tours or tips or hidden cities are strictly passed along word-of-mouth and people become instant friends. I´m particularly fond of the fact that no one can believe I am 27! Most the time I feel like I´m a kid playing dress up only backwords. In other terms, I am a grown up playing kid! This trip has only solidified my pure intentions to never EVER grow up. At least I am confident in saying I can still hang with the 21 year-olds and have a blast. Today we booked tickets to the Alhambra (on the list of the new modern wonders of the world contest). All I can say about the Alhambra is thank heavens for the Muslim strong hold that lasted until 1492 or I would be starving!!! Spainish cuisine is no picnic... it´s not even solid! I´ve discovered Kepbab cafe´s (a muslim wrap pictured below) which have been my comida salvation. Also of note are the churros con chocolate! More on that later. In the mean time, it´s mas tarea por este chica! Audios.


PS: I´ve started a community picture website for everyone I meet in Spain. Some are starting to post so if you want to see pics of the adventures in the land of TOROS check it out: www.espana.shutterfly.com

El BIEN, EL MAL, Y EL FEO

(THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY)

EL BIEN

I love being in a walking city again. Granada is like Nueva York... or at least the Inwood part. It´s made for walking and public living. I didn´t realize how much I missed that. We walk everywhere we go here. It´s forty minutos to school, but I love it. I love street shops and cafes. I love people watching and streets dwarfed with tall buildings that hide whatever lies around the corner. Walking cities have a deep place in my heart.

I love the whole siesta concept. Whoever thought of that and why didn´t it make it over with immigration into the Estados Unidos? It kind of bites to have the whole city shut down for four hours in the middle of the day, but I like how families eat three meals a day with eachother... and then there´s the mid afternoon nap option. The Spain gente are definite night people. Dinner doesn´t start tell 9:30 or 10:00 pm and after that they head out into the city. Many joke that it´s safer to be roaming the streets at 2 am then it is at 2 in the afternoon during siesta.

Tapas. I´m a big fan of Tapas. Here´s how Tapas go: You sit down at a restaurante, bar, or cafe, order a drink, and the cute little waiter boys bring you tapas (free appetizers). Every place is different, ie: jamon on baguette, cheese and pan... but the very idea of getting plates of free food with one fanta limòn is muy fantastico! By the way, fanta´s are awesome in Europe. They are refrescas (sodas) but they have real juice mixed in. I love fantas (and it doesn´t hurt that they come with ice.... oh how I miss ice).

Africa is a hop skip and a jump away. Yep, we are going to Africa on Friday. Just three cities on the North African continent... but Africa none-the-less. Who can say they´ve been to Morocco and Tanzier for the weekend? I´m excited. Luckily we were able to find a safe tour... well, I´ll let you know about that... and worked a miracle with the bus system to Malaga. I never realized Africa was so close to Europe. If you stand on the coast at the Straight of Gilbrater they say, on a clear day, you can see Africa. It´s going to be the adventure of adventures.

EL MAL

It´s true, can you believe it?, water is more expensive than beer or wine here. I get so mad about that. Some people in our group are starting to stick with the alcohol and skip the agua... plus (jealous about this) They get ice!

Topics for discussion in my four hour a day Spanish class include: Marajuana, where to get marajuana, why Spain is a free country and the U.S. is not because marajuana is illegal in the U.S. Where to get drunk. Why Spain is cool because no one has to be 21 to drink. Past experiences with marijuana and alcohol (most people in my class are ages 16-19). How to say the F-word in spainish. How to conjugate the F-word in spanish. Other Spanish swear words. etc.....

EL FEO

The filth. Spain es muy sucio!!! Yesturday we saw a girl going to the bathroom over a drain in the middle of a busy street! I love walking in the city but I sure do spend a great deal of my time scrubbing my pies(feet) at night.

La comida. The food of spain is wretchedly aweful. It is bland. It is not solid. What couldn´t be classified as a soup usually fits under the goulosh category. Luckily Granada was a huge Muslim stronghold for years so we have our fair share of Kepbab cafes. I´m surving on Kepbabs, Fanta limòns, and Milkas.

Gypsies. I´ve never seen such a breed of dirty, as in dirt from head to toe, people. You walk by them and they grab your hands to read your fortune and you have to FIGHT to get your hand back. Their declared profession is theft as well. I even saw a gypsy baby up by the Alhambra. He was just lying belly down on the ground in the middle of a pile of gypsy beads. The poor thing was covered with grime and bound to choke to death on beads any minuto.

HASTA

Me desayunado

Yep, I actually told the class this morning me desayunado. For those who understand, you can just imagine how not-so-great my español is coming. I´m wretched. Put that one right up there with ¿como mucho? at the shops and a plethera of other incorrect Spanish mishaps. Good thing I have a strong base and self-esteem because it seems I just keep embarrasing myself everytime I open my mouth. No vale! I finally made it into the lab so this is a first, no paying for el interneto. Clase is going well... by that I mean I am surviving. We spent the weekend walking Granada, eating muslum food (kababs) which is about a gazzilion times better than Spanish food (by that I mean it is solid), and going to church. At church I kept thinking if I just concentrated hard enough the spirit would reveal all... no such suerte. Turns out the only few words I understood from the entire stake conference were spanish-english cognates. Three weeks left, three weeks left.
We are trying to go to Africa this weekend. The biggest hold up is that the next two trips leave from Sevilla and Malaga which would mean we´d have to ditch school friday to get down that way. It would be worth it to me but I don´t know how mis amigas will feel.
About Spain: It defineatley lacks any sense of the European quintessential charm you might have been expecting. It is quite dirty, lack luster, and city living. Plus, for some odd reason, everyone speaks Spanish. Duchar en España es muy dificil! Tengo usar poco poco agua: Get in the shower, turn on the freezing water long enough to almost get wet, turn off the water. Stand freezing. Atempt to shampoo semi-damp hair. Turn on the water, rinse hair (not quite completely), turn off the water. Attempt to work up a lather with soap and clean self. Turn on water. Rinse in .5 seconds. Turn off water. Shave legs upon return to the U.S. Exit bathroom. Listen to host mom complain that you used too much water. Of course, you have tener your room mate translate that part later because you don´t speak Spanish.
Oh the joys of studying abroad. Serious character building stuff this Spain business. Some good times and fun mixed in with a great deal of no compro!!!
Hasta

Ay Corumba

Spain sure knows how to throw a party. This weekend is a huge holiday in Granada. It is like a Granada fest and boy do people know how to put up a good festival. I have to walk about 30 minutes to school everyday and on the way home Tuesday I ran into a stage with Fleminco performers. Wednesday there was a parade. At the end of the parade every year there is a float with a lady who wears a special dress. The dress sets the fashion for Granada the rest of the year so the next day we saw all the women wearing the colors that were on the dress. Also, there is a huge feria (carnival). It is so big. There are isles and isles of bands, rides, booths, and so many people. The whole thing is lit with endless lights... it almost feels like you are walking inside the electric parade at disney land. We danced the night away at one club in the feria and I got a whole group of Spanish senior citizens doing the electric reel to a country song (spanish words of course). Yesturday we went to Almunecar and swam in the mediteranean sea. It is crystal clear, so clear that you can see in detail everything on the ocean floor even if it is 40 feet below. The town was beautiful, all white casa´s lining up the mountains that rise from the sea. It has been fun to travel during our time off and I am lucky to have made such good friends with other students. The food is starting to get to me though. Spanish comida is quite bland and something about it makes me loose any urge to eat at all. Maybe with that and all the walking I´ll manage to lose a few pounds before I come home. It wouldn´t be fair though to not mention the chocolate covered churros. I could eat those all day long. My Spanish is escalting to the rate of about three new words per day. Slow progress I suppose, but my heart is just not in it. I don´t have a talent for language. I´m thinking that gift of tongues thing would come in handy right about now. Today we went to a spanish mall and I saw some flemenco shoes that might find their way into my suitcase before I come home! In other news, we have been slipping in Mormon tid bits every chance we get when talking to our host mom. She likes to look at pictures of the Salt Lake Temple. I wish I had a better book to give her. Maybe on Sunday we can find the missionaries and ask for some good pictures. She is sweet and we are lucky to have her. Some of the others haven´t faired so well. One girl put her swim suit in the wash and a few days later her host mom started telling her that swimsuits were very cheap in Granada and that she should buy a new one. She never saw her swim suit again. Two others have had soup for every meal. Our mom loves to cook family recipes.... her favorite was a potatoe tuna egg mayonaise caserole that just about did me in. Wow, so much already and still three weeks to go! I hope I make it...

Ole

Last night was the bull fight! Let me preface the actual ceremony by first mentioning that I got all the way there and realized I had brought my ticket for the cathedral instead of for the bull fight. Yep, it was muy triste. Well, I couldn´t miss the event of a lifetime! I was the one that wanted to go, so I had to buy a new ticket and was very lucky to get one in the same section as the rest of our group. Once you go in the doors to the corrida de toros you can´t jump sections. 56 Euros later (70 bucks) I was right in the thick of it. Holy bull, what a thrill. Going to a bull fight is absolutely the experience of a lifetime. I had done some research and so I knew what would happen but I guess it didn´t really hit me that I was actually going to see a guy kill such a beautiful animal right in front of me until the first harpon thing. There are three bull fighters. They each take turns killing bulls (6 total). The stadium is crazy, people shouting OLE and waving white hankerchiefs and throwing flowers and hats. Especially for El Fandi. He is a local boy and one of the best of the best. He would get on his knees and work the bull so tired with his cape that he could lean back and put his face right in front of the bulls horns. Lots of blood though. I was surprised at how depressed I was that the bulls had to die. It was depressing to watch the bull start with such spirit and, as he was injured, be reduced to the point where he could charge and fight no more. I am for the bulls. I kept hoping one of them would succeed and gore a matador. The entire event has such drama. The matadors move with perfect grace and bravado. They are definately actors and really know how to play up their moves. They get so close to the bull that their outfits are covered in blood by the end. The costumes of everyone are so elaborate. We saw a little of everything in our night. The Banderillas on horses stabbed one bull in the wrong place when he was weakening the bull for the fighter. He ended up piercing an artiery on the bull and the way we knew was when, later, the bull tripped over his horns and did a full front flip from the force of his charge. They had to get a fresh bull to show humility and to preserve the honor of the fighter. It was spectacular and emtional. I am glad I didn´t miss a second even though I had to buy my ticket twice.
Spain is difficult. There is no down time from the spanish. All of my classes are in straight spanish. It is frustrating to learn spanish grammar in spanish... I can´t even understand it in English. Sometime I feel my ear developing leaps and bounds, but I get tired and can´t recognize anything. We hardly sleep, that´s probably part of the problema. Perhaps this weekend. Thursday and Friday there is no school, thank heavens, because there is a HUGE fiesta in Granada. A few of us want to travel north. We will see. It will be nice to get away. We have to keep a schedule with our host mom and I feel like I am tip toeing around her house. I am too used to my freedom. Anyway, she is good to us, very persistent with conversing (en espanol). After dinner (which is at 9:30 or 10 pm) I am thinking "please, just let me go to sleep."
It is an adventure for sure. Maybe along the way I´ll learn some Spanish whether I want too or not! At least there is flamenco everywhere. Did I mention the flemenco club next to El Alhambra? One night we crammed into a tiny cave bar and got an authentic taste of the music and dancing... it´s awesome. Jumping off castles into the ocean, hitting bars until the wee hours of the morning, surving 6 straight hours of Spanish classes that are completely in spanish and actually understanding some of it... I feel like I´m 27 going on 18 again. It´s bound to catch up with me sometime. It´s only been a week and already I´ve been in the tombs of Isbella and Ferdinand (sent off Columbus), spent the night on a bus travelling across Andaluscia to Cadiz (pics of Cadiz below), shared the honeymoon suite of a hostel with someone I just met, and seen a parade. Crazy.

p.s. I can´t take a normal shower. I have to turn it on and off quickly as I wash myself and my hair. It´s cold and I don´t smell well.

What was I thinking?

Pure exhaustion. Maybe 19 hours of sleep in the last week. We went to cadiz. It was 6 hours away. The beach was beautiful and full of crowds. Got seperated for a whole day with another chica. Hostel was interesting. Some nude beaches. Jumped off a castel into the ocean, ate fish ovaries. Went to a flemenco club, went to mass. I´m too old for adventures like this. Next weekend we are either going to the straight of gilbrater to wave hello to Africa or to Barcelona. We are living it up, that´s for sure. There is not a moment of boredom... plus the spanish.
anyway, more late when I don´t have to use the internet cafe!

YIKES

Let me preface this by saying I literally used the entirety of my Spanish vocabulary in the first five minutes of being in Spain. Also, I haven´t actually slept AT ALL in close to three days. The going is rough. This is the hardest thing I have ever done and I´ve got a month left. AHH! What was I thinking? Seriously wish me luck. Survival is the ultimate goal... scratch that... a huge siesta and THEN surviving. I´m seriously going to die. P.S. Spain is a mix between Harlem, Mexico, Inwood, and Europe. I´m reliving that first month in Manhattan step for step! More to come- buying bullfight tickets tomorrow, that will help.

Adios

Spain here I come... Yikes! Check here for further posts after I make it through an 8 hour time difference, a severe language barrier, and an all day flight in an aisle seat. Wish me luck. Immense luck. Neccesito mucho suerte!!!

P.S. Here are those garden pictures I was talking about. "Isn't she a Beauty?!?"

The Gawden

Well, Nicole is off to Spain... literally. We're leaving for SLC right now. Just thought we'd update you on the most important thing in our life: our garden... of, as they say it in NYC, the "gawden". It's pretty sad, Nicole is going to miss the first red tomatoes, the first cucumber and yellow squash, and pickeled beets. All of which will be ready by next week. Oh the sacrifice. Any way, here are a few pics of the progress of our pride and joy (above). Also, check out this little beauty: Quinn jumped right up to do the dishes for us last night. He even scrubbed the pots and pans. Isn't he awesome!

Gone Fishing, No Time to Grow Up!

Here are a few pics of the latest. Above is Nicole on her very last day of school (hurray!) and, of course, it was a snowy blizzard in Cedar City. Thouh school is out, she has been quite busy. Last weekend started the entorage of recital mayhem. There were 6 diamond talent childrens recitals last weekend and there are five more this coming weekend. Does it ever end? Quinn's latest passion, and we mean passion with a capitol P, is fishing. He goes EVERY chance he gets. He's been to Lake Powell twice in the last week and is planning on going this weekend. In fact, he's on his way there right this minute! He's been going with Todd Albrecht and they swear they've found an optimal spot. They even have the GPS coordinates memorized. He may be a fishing fiend, but he's the same old Quinn- i.e. poles breaking, reels coming off, lines getting tangelled, lots of swearing. Sometimes we wonder why he still fishes. Now that we live on the Gold Course, Quinn has been fishing down on the Sun Brooke pond every evening too. He said tonight he was at his moms house and looked across the street at the neighbors. There was Nick Ence mowing the grass with two kids trailing close behind and a wife in caprees and some sort of pink button up shirt setting out the sprinkler. Quinn said that was definately one moment he was glad not to be Nick Ence. To be free. To not have to get permeission from his wife to go fishing every night. And 'd have to agree. We work hard, we play hard, and we live life to the fullest. We've got it pretty good and come this fall, things will be better than ever: we have our first real salaries to look forward too! OK- at 27, it took us a while... but who else has had the adventures we have?

Long Time No Post

HURRAY! We made it!!! We are pleased to inform everyone that Nicole finally graduated... Again. She has been in school almost a decade- 9 years to be exact -and she's not quite sure how to become a normal person now that it's all over... but she is more than willing to try. Nicole now has a third major completed and a second Bachelors. Her first degree is a bachelor of science with a composite major in Advertising and Public Relations. She graduated with high honors and summa cum laude in 2002. This time she has earned a bachelor of arts in english education with an Utah Level 1 certification. She also managed to keep her status on the dean's list every semester and again graduated summa cum laude. In fact, save one grade she has strait A's and is walking with a 4.0 in her major content area!!! O.k.- that's the end of the bragging phase of this blog. It was the most aweful thing in the world to drive to Cedar and back everyday and work two jobs so you can't help Quinn and Nicole wanting to celebrate at least a little bit. As Nicole completes her study abroad this summer and an internship next fall, and Quinn finishes his apprenticeship this September it is starting to feel a lot like comping out of the dark. Finally we are becomming real people who are afforded the opportunity to live life without the guilt of unfinished homework lingering closely by. We can't possibly imagine what our new found freedom will feel like!

So now that the endless homework cycle is over, let us take a minute to update everyone on what we've been doing these past few months.

Last October we went to Disneyland with the Stirland family. We had a blast seeing everyone at our favorite place. This was our second stirland family trip to Disneyland. We didn't rent a greyhound this time, but we certainly created some new traditions. We stayed at the Grand Californian Resort and Hotel right in California Land. Suffice it to say, we are pretty spoiled now and if we ever go back I'm not sure we could down grade. Quinn flew home early for work (someone has to pay the mortgage) and the next day we went to the park wide trick o treat in California land. It rained but it wasn't cold and we really scored with some great treats. It was such a fun trip and a monumental one at that because it was the first time we met Spencer Shelton. We really hit it off with him and are looking forward to having another great in-law in the family.

Later this Spring we attended two major events: Becky's farewell and Kari and Spencer's wedding!

Becky has since left for the MTC and then she'll be in CHILE! It is crazy to think she is old enough to be serving a mission, but also very cool. After her farewell dinner we went to see the famous migrating snow geese during their annual stop in Delta. There we thousands of them!

Kari and Spencer had a chilly day, but one of the few sunny days during the inversion in SLC. Kari looked so beautiful and it was such a wonderful day. We had a super time with the fam and enjoyed seeing just about everyone at the reception.

THEN THERE WAS HAWAII. Unfortunately Nicole had to leave Quinn behind for this one. She managed to slip away on Spring break and She, Megan, Cindy, and Ron headed to paradise. We went to Kuai'i for the first time and now have decided it is the only to see when planning the ultimate Hawaiin vacation. We sunbathed with seals, four wheeled in the Volocirapter field from Jurassic park (yes, we broke down right in the middle), we communed with the Humpback Whales (so so cool), and ate mountains of seafood. It was a blast and before we left we planned our next vacation back.

In other news, about 100 babies were born. All of Quinn's brothers and sisters had a baby this spring, Nicole's two best friends had babies close to her birthday, and two cousins, Mindi and Katy, also have new little ones to look forward too. We have had a fun time meeting Mallorrie, Landon, Porter, Alex, Ava, Anika, Herb, and Jonah (still waiting to meet him). All of this baby business has got us thinking we really enjoy being just aunts and uncles. No babies for us any time soon.

Well, that about raps it up for the last few months. The only left to discuss is our very own enormously wonderful garden! When we got home form NYC we couldn't wait to get our hands in the dirt and we've been working on our garden ever since. The last week we have experiences our first yiedlings: RADISHES! I never thought anything could look so beautiful. When I pulled my first radish it was love at first sight! I'm telling you, these things are gorgeous. Now we are starting to see some squash, Zucchini, Strawberries, and tomatoes peeking out. It's the coolest proudest moment in the world when you step out into your garden each morning and see something new. We have planted and diligently take care of radishes, carrots, tomatoes, yellow sqaush, zucchini, cucmbers, red, gren, and yellow peppers, cantelope, pumpkins, watermellon, beets, 5 different kinds of tomatoes including cherry tomatoes, and strawberries. It is great fun. Our little garden is not so little as things start to grow and our sucker hose watering system has worked beautifully. Hopefully it's not too late to get a few onions in.

That's all for now. Have a great day everyone.