Back to Everyday Life

Well, obviously I made it back home.  It was a long day of travel, that is for sure.  There was a 2.5 hour bus ride, 5 airports, 4 airplane rides and one about an hour and 15 minutes drive home.  I was really worried about having enough time to catch my plane in Newark but there was plenty of time.  I had Sunday off to recoop but was back to work and school on Monday.  My boss was nice enough to bring in pizza so I could tell everyone about my trip.  My animals missed me I think, my cat I was worried as he holds grudges but he got over it first, my dog just yesterday started warming back up to me.  I didn't suffer jet lag so that was great!  I appreciate towels or hand dryers in bathrooms so much now!  I don't think I will want to go on any trips any time soon that will require that long of a flight, just short ones for a while...I loved my time in Spain, it was a wonderful experience, I will never forget it that is for sure but there really is no place like home...  Adios!
Chantelle

Last Post From Salamanca Spain

Well in 2 hours we need to be at the bus stop.  Then we will be on our way to Madrid to catch a plane to Lisbon.  Jorge told us tonight that there was almost a snag in our departure.  Apparently the air control people were going to go on strike at 6 am on Saturday.  So they had thought about us taking off Friday at 4:30, sure glad it all worked out, that would have been too much stress on me!
Last classes today, got my certificate, got all B's so I am very happy, worried that my GPA was going to be messed up and my honor's would be messed up too.  We had a going away lunch at Erasmus today, it was a type of BBQ, there were A LOT of meats, bacon(not our kind), like a pork steak, chorizo, and a couple of other kinds, salad and french fries.  It was a lot of food!!  I got a short siesta in today as I don't know when I will sleep again, not much of a plane sleeper so we shall see.  Our going away dinner was at a fancy place tonight, with many courses.  Dessert was great but the best part was they brought in I can't remember the name of them here in Spain but like a Mariachi band, they were so good!!  I wish they would have played all night!  After they finished and left, a member of our group Fernando sang a beautiful song for us too, he has quite the voice!  It was a great evening, many laughs were shared, tears were shed and lots of pictures were taken.

I won't be writing here until I get back to the states, I think I will post a few more about acclimating back into everyday life.  And of course I will go thru my pics and see what else will be good for sharing!
See ya in the States!

Chantelle

Ultimo Examen are finished!!!

Took my last final today, in grammar.  Wasn't as painful as I was expecting so I probably did really bad on it... Got all my tests back now except that one.  Not too bad considering... I figured I would be failing and so far don't think I am...Only 2 days left of school.  We come home on Saturday, we have to be up at the bus stop at 4:15 am.  Won't be going to bed Friday, we have our going away dinner, I figure that will go til midnight so will have about 4 hours to finish up packing maybe relax a little and lug my suitcases down all the stairs...  Got another suitcase today so I can start packing my souvenirs, so glad for that, another worry gone!  I have enough euros left to get ice cream both Thursday and Friday and have a few small coins to bring home which is just what I wanted.  There is a bag calling my name and some earrings and I really did want another pair of shoes but will have to wait and see what kind of room I still have in my suitcase.  There is a Yves Rocher store here so I want to go check that out see if they sell my perfume and how much if so that will be neat!  Well gonna start packing to come home, see ya later!
Chantelle

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor all lit up, breathtaking!  It really is a Plaza Mayor!!

I didn't upload these in the order I should have so I apologize they are all mixed up.  The first one is one of the unique houses I saw in Portugal, 2nd is a business in Portugal, they have such pretty one of a kind homes, I didn't get a picture of the one I really wanted as there were people standing outside of it and I didn't want to upset them but they are really pretty!  Next one is along the boardwalk in Aveiro Beach, next pretty amazing building in Madrid, beautiful huh?  Next 2 are Aveiro Beach again, the Atlantic Ocean.  Next one is in Madrid, these were atop of a building across from the street we got unloaded from when we arrived in Madrid, next is the Espana flag waving tall and bright.  The next one was along my bus tour in Madrid, don't know what it is but thought it to be beautiful so I took a pic!  The next one shows the building from the statue few pics ago with the fountain in the view.  The lion statue is outside of the building of Congress from what I understand.  The next one was just an interesting building along our walk, it looks as though the top of the building in rusty, it was really a fascinating building!  The next 2 are sculptures outside of the Reina Sofia in Madrid, the second one is a replica(I think) of something I saw on the floor with the Picasso work.  The next one is a tree in Portugal, they line the streets with them, they don't even look real to me!  Next one is street art in Madrid, real people or statue??  You decide!  The last one is terribly exciting, just a pic of the tour bus I went on for the day, best 20 euros I spent!!

Chantelle

Catch up ...

Been a while since I posted thought it was time to get caught up.  Well we went to visit the Civil War Archives and I think I was most fascinated by a piece of art that was a bunch of teeny(and I do mean teeny) photos put together to make something else.  It was AMAZING!  Friday was a sad day for us, we had to say goodbye to Amna, our new friend from Kuwait, she was only able to stay for 3 weeks so as a send off for her Shanna, Dan and I went to Valor with Amna for Chocolate y churros.  It was really good but sad all the same.  Amna was so nice she gave each of us a piece of paper money from her country.  They have coins too but some of the bills are 1/4 and 1/2's, very interesting!!  Saturday was full of adventure!  We went to Madrid.  It was a HOT day, not one for walking all around the city, I however took a bus tour all over the city and enjoyed myself immensely.  We stopped to eat our lunch and there was a homeless man with a cat(that reminded me of my cat Fami who I am missing) sitting outside of the McDonalds that we used the bathrooms at, I had to give one of my sandwiches to him, I hope he shared it with the kitty.  After lunch we went to the Reina Sofia museum and saw amazing works by many  but I of course was most fascinated by Picasso's work, Guernica was fantastic I had no idea it was so large!  Sunday, wow, after being in Madrid and not getting back til late in the evening Saturday we had to be on the bus Sunday morning at 7 am for Portugal, Aveiro Beach.  The scenery was beautiful but the bus ride was long.  The beach was very large but it was windy all day.  Aveiro Beach is a place that is very breathtaking.  The houses are one of a kind.
Monday, my first final of 4.  Very angry with myself, never had test anxiety before but had it today.  Such an easy question and I didn't get it until I turned in my test , it was a total give me and I gave it up...  Hope I don't do that anymore but thinking I will do it 3 more times...
I need to study for my 2 finals for tomorrow.   My computer is about to die so I will post pictures later.
Adios!
Chantelle

Tuesday Night June 19th

Had a fun day of classes, first class we had to write a day in someones diary, pretty interesting!  Class 2 we talked about where you would go in Spain to talk with friends, chat with coworker, grab a quick meal etc..., 3rd class was not too bad, I actually understood some again today, good thing too as I understand some of this is on the final, I am worried about this class, 70% of my grade is based on the final and it is a TON of information!!  Class 4 we listened to a story, shared what we got out of it and then we read the story, understood so much more then.  Then we picked out similars and opposites in the story from choices written on the sheet, I actually figured out a few without needing the dictionary for all of them, I am pretty impressed with myself!
Got some more souvenir shopping done, feel good about that.  Some advice, don't sit under a tree, you know what will happen, yep again today, this makes it the 3rd time in Spain, once on my leg, once on my shoe and tonight in my hair.  I have now passed Destiny and she doesn't want to catch up because she says I can have this one, thanks so much Destiny!!!  Well it is late and there is another day of school tomorrow so I will say Buenas Noches!

Chantelle