Muchos Besos y Brazos Espana!

Well I am going to get one more blog in before we go home!

On Wednesday we had our farewell dinner. Its always so nice to see everyone get so dressed up. And of course the food was AMAZING!

Courtney and I

Harry Potter Club!

Hanna, Victoria and I

Doane Crew

The rest of the week has been a blur. There is so much I still wanted to do but just haven't had the time to. We went to the beach, did some gift shopping, packed and studied for our final exam (which I am pretty sure I rocked). But it has just flown. In fact, it seems like just yesterday that I was saying goodbye to all the summer 1 kids!

It has definitely been a challenge here, but it has also become my home. What am I going to do when I can;t walk down to the beach whenever I want or where am I going to go when I want 1 dollar shots? No lo se.... But I think the thing I will miss most is our Senora. Elena has been so awesome. She cooks us amazing meals, has our rooms cleaned once a week and does our laundry. Not only that but she jokes with us and gives us advice. She has been like a mom and we have been so lucky to be placed with her. I am getting all sappy just thinking about leaving her because how likely is it that I will ever see her again.... But moral of the story, I am SOOOO excited to go back and see you all, but it is going to be so hard to leave Malaga and everything that comes with it. I hope you all have liked my blog, and if you didn't.... well thanks for reading it anyways.

One last pic of our beautiful senora!

MUCHOS BESOS Y BRAZOS Y HASTA LUEGO,

Ber

I shouldn't have joked about the jamon....

HOLA HOLA HOLA!

Hecho de menos vosotros!!!

Well my time in Spain is nearing an end with only 5 nights left. I have mixed feeling of being very very excited but very sad as well. We have really just spent the last week relaxing and going to the beach. Tuesday however, I went to see Harry Potter in English. Ah how sad that it is over. I feel like my childhood is officially gone forever :( Friday night we went out to enjoy our last weekend in Malaga. I sure can't wait for bars to close at 2AM again. 4AM is much too late! Saturday, I went to Nerja with a few friends. It is so beautiful and I am convinced that when I am super rich, haha, I will have a summer house there :)

We are suppose to be death eaters...

Urbanos: Home of the 1 euro shot. Our favorite bar!

Nerja

Paella in Nerja

Other than that, I have just been studying for my final test on Friday and getting my suitcases packed. I have no idea how I am possibly going to get everything back to the states.... I may have to sacrifice some shoes at this point! But I am very excited to get home and see Dean and the new apartment he has picked out. We may also try to make our way down to Cheyenne although I don't know where we will be staying as my parents never talk to me! I mean, whats the point of Facebook and Skype if you don't use it?

Well I will end by tell you of the 10 things I will miss about Malaga!

10. The food! Some of it I love, some of it I don't. But I think every country needs Tapas.

9. Walking everywhere. Can't say it hasn't been good exercise.
8. La Montana! Ha, it may have caused us a lot of problems but it has always been interesting.

7. Public transportation. Waiting for the N1 bus sucks but at least it is usually after a long night at Urbanos...
6. The weather. Warm everyday with much less humidity than NE.
5. All the people I have met, both locals and other students.
4. The night life. So maybe I miss going to bed before 5AM but it has definitely been a fun experience.

3. Spanish! It has been so frustrating at times but I have learned so much. I will miss all the practice I get.
2. The beach. I am going to miss that 5 minute walk!

1. My Senora. Don't know what we would have done without our mom!

And of course, a few fun facts:

1. People often live with their parents until they are 30, if not older. They don't get married young and the unemployment rate for young people is quite harsh. So it isn't looked down upon to stay in the house into your 30's.
2. A popular food in Spain is Jamon. Which is literally a pig leg that has been soaked in salt for a VERY long time. They then cut it off in slices and it tastes like bacon jerky. No me gusta.
3. The time difference between here and NE is 7 hours. So while it is 12:10 in the AM here, it is only 5:10 PM there. In WY, it is 4:10.

<3 Ber

5 stings and a bruised behind later....

Hola!!!

Well long time no talk. I apologize for slacking off! I am down to 18 days left in Spain and it is crazy how the time has flown. The crazy thing is, it feels like I have been here FOREVER. I am definitely getting ready to see my family and friends, and enjoy the rest of my summer in the U.S., (even though I will be moving Dean and I in to a new apartment closer to his new school).

Well I guess I better start with London! Hanna and I left for the U.K. shortly after everyone from the Summer 1 program left to go home. I don;t know what we were thinking, but we didn't arrive at the airport even close to early enough and we almost missed our flight. As in we literally got on the plane 15 minutes before it took off.... But we made it to England and were so happy to hear English for a few days, although it was very difficult to understand at times! Our hostel wasn't too bad either. The first night, we visited the Tate Museum which was phenomenal and FREE! It had exhibits over Afghanistan, poetry, art and tons of other stuff.

Sweating after JUST making the plane

Our side of our room

The second day, we had tickets for the London Eye, which is a giant ferris wheel that gives you a view of the whole city. It was awesome but a little nerve-racking, especially for Hanna! Afterwards, we went to Madam Tussauds Was Museum which was one of my favorite things that we visited. It was soooo worth the money! It was 5 floors of celebrities, political figures, a haunted house and a sweet ride the London's history. We tried to find Chipotle after the wax museum but had no luck so we ate at an arabian-ish restaurant that had the best hummus EVER.

View from the London Eye

Edward <3

Princess Di

My Boy J Biebs

Hummus!

Also on the second day we went to Abbey Road where Abbey Road Studios is and also where the cover of the Abbey Road Album was shot. It was soooo amazing. There was a wall right next to the studio where everyone could write things about The Beatles and of course we walked across the road! 

The third day we went to the Modern Science Museum which was also free and awesome! It had everything from space info to advancing technology to human anatomy and beyond. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who visits the area! We also went to Kings Cross Station (Harry Potter Freaks) and Saw the changing of the Royal Guards at the Palace. We ended our last day in London walking across the Tower Bridge (which most people think is London Bridge but it's not!).

Me as a boy! Look kinda like Aaron ya?

So we are now back in Spain! We started new classes and I tested so well out of my last class that I got to skip a level. It kinda sucks though too because this new class is really difficult for me. Other than that, all is well. Missing my family, my friends from June and also Dani, Jake, Dean and all my Gamma sisters <3 I can't wait to see you all in about 18 days!!

Ber

1. Almost all of the public transportation buses in London are red double deckers which= AWESOME.

2..... ya I don;t really have much today.

3. It's my 3 year wedding anniversary!! <3 u Deano!

MalaRAGE? This Should Be Good....

Well yesterday was the last day with the Summer 1 group. It was so sad to see them all go. I never would have thought I would have made friendships like I have here. I cam with the intentions of learning Spanish and making a few friends along the way. But instead I made life long, BEST friends within 5 weeks. It is unbelievable how much I miss you all already! Today I was sitting around thinking, "What should I go do?". Hanna is with her mom who is visiting, I don't have Lauren and Ryann to go to the beach with. I don't have Paul or Tony to go get Sangria with. But as Nile keeps telling me, I will make new friends in Summer 2 and will always have friends from Summer 1. Anyways, after saying goodbye to everyone, a lot of crying, and sending them off on the bus, us back-to-backers went to take a shot in their memory!

Saying goodbye :(

Back-to-backers plus Shane!

We also went on a boat ride with the new group. There are only 20 of them and only 10 of us back-to-backers so we are a much smaller group now. Everyone seems really nice and I am really excited to get to know them better. We also went out with them last night. It was so weird being with a different group but they are a lot of fun and will be a blast to go out with I think!

Today was our first day of new class and I have moved u to the big leagues (John it is so weird without you! And Tsuna of course!). Haha but it is going well. I know I will like it more when we get split up into our actual classes on Monday. As for tonight, I think I am going to stay in and tomorrow I don;t have school so I get to sleep in! Then Hanna and I are printing off our tickets for London and getting everything ready as we leave Friday for England!

Justine was in my class from last month! She is from Holland but her English is so good that I thought she was American!

My old grammar teacher, Jose.

Love you and miss you all <3

Ber

1. I bought a vodka tonic last night that cost 7 euro. That is the average price of drinks at clubs. But we did find a few bars that have 1 euro shots :)
2. It is 10 PM right now and still VERY light out. It doesn't really get dark until about 10:30PM. It is great!
3. Antonio Banderas is a God here.... Everyone loves him because he is from Malaga and stays very close to his ties here.

Here's to the Nights We Felt Alive.

Welllll a lot has happened since Sevilla! Now where to start?

Wednesday night we had a going away dinner for all the students who only did the June program, which was 40 out of the 50 of us. Everyone got really dressed up and ISA took us out for a super nice dinner. The food was AMAZING!! But it was all just really sad because a lot of the people here have basically become each others best friends and second families. 

 Besides my roommate who is form Nebraska, my friends are going home to places like Texas, Ohio and Michigan! So to commemorate them all, I'll tell ya a little about them (Yes Lauren I am copying you!)!

Lauren and Ryann: These girls are from Michigan and they are probably some of the nicest people I know. Lauren, in the white, got engaged just days before she left for Spain! She gets to go home Tuesday but unfortunately, her fiance just left to study in Ireland so she won't see him until July 30th, the same day I come home! Ryann is the younger sister in the purple and she is just a hoot! We are always laughing together and our favorite hobby is to send each other obnoxious youtube videos (which will continue even after you leave). I have gotten so close with these two in such a short period of time and I know we will stay in touch. Right?

John is from Texas and is crazy fun. I think him and Dean would get along great.... but maybe they would get in a little bit too much trouble together. He is in my class at school and always makes the 5 hours bearable with his crazy comments. He also plays baseball and has a gorgeous girlfriend at home! He loves reading, long walks on the beach... no JK. But really he plays the piano amazingly and is always very entertaining to go out with. 

Tony and Paul: Tony is from Ohio and was a marine! He is HILARIOUS. And probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. We can joke with him about anything and he is also a great accessory to have when climbing a mountain :) He can also tell you a thing or two about how "breaking the seal" really works. Haha but no really, Tony is great. Paul is from Indiana and has been the care taker of the group I would say. He always is watching out for the people he cares about and I love that he is so intelligent. Like he seriously knows facts for just about anything. I will miss these two!

There are a few others I could write about but then my blog would be 10 hours long so I will just put some pics in at the bottom! On to Thursday night. 

Thursday night was the San Juan Festival. It. Is. Crazy. It is more out of control than our fourth of July I think. Everyone heads down to the beach and camps out around 9 PM and starts drinking. And when I say everyone, I mean the beach is lined with people for miles. Then at around 10, a free concert was put on but a very famous Spanish singer. In the past, they have had both Enrique Iglesias and Shakira. Finally, at midnight, EVERYONE heads into the water to "cleanse" themselves. The party continues into the early hours of the morning. Basically our whole ISA group was together and it was so fun to be with everyone. Unfortunately, we decided to sleep on the beach (more like passed out, stupid I know) and my camera and phone got stolen. I literally put them in my purse and the used my purse as a pillow so no one could get into it but that didn't work. So I bought a new camera haha. 

Pretty sure no one went to school Friday. I know my class didn't because our teacher sent us this pic on facebook:

It basically had a caption that said, "My grammer class; where are my students?"

Then on Saturday,I went to Nerja with Ryann, Lauren and another friend, Natalie. The beach is gorgeous and even though the weather wasn't perfect, it was still a nice day out! Saturday night, I went out with Justin, John and a few other people from our group. We just went bar-hopping and everyone enjoyed their last weekend together in Spain. Or at least I did!

Now tomorrow is already our last day together. I have had so many great memories with these people. I hope you all have a great rest of your summer and please stay in touch! 

And some fun facts to end with to lighten the mood:

1. People wear their wedding bands on the right hand here. If you wear it on the left, it means you are widowed.

2. The time here is in military time. So at 11:30 PM, the clocks all say 23:30. Very confusing still.

3. It is not unusual to eat things such as bull tail, goat and just plain mystery meat.

Ok tata for now. Hopefully I will be in a better mood next time :/

Ber