Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers

Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers...
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large andempty mayonnaisejar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full..

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car..

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers (or a couple of soft drinks)with a friend.

God's Country

After 108 days / 2,952 hours / 9331200 seconds in London... i've finally returned home to Kentucky & settled down. I've been so busy since returning from the UK however I would've loved a plane ticket to fly right back over for the Queen's Jubilee and I would love to go for the olympics...however since that obviously won't happen i've got to stick to finding activities here!

So far so good, I finished up my Practicum teaching in a 3rd grade classroom and absolutely adored my kids! I attended KA's old south with one of my good friends Evan and had an awesome week enjoying those activities. We went to a cookout, barn dance, formal & presentation :) It was a great time and opportunity to get back into everything with my friends.

Once that was over I finally turned 21 and officially became legal...not that it ever stopped me before (#sorryi'mnotsorry)! My two best friends turned 21 the following week and we had lots of fun celebrations.

My younger brother also graduated last weekend so we had all of his graduating stuff along with the senior class festivities at my school! So it was a crazy and exciting week!

A few days ago I went up to Riverbend to see Thompson Square, Darius Rucker & Lady A! We saw the first two and then it started pouring. Our group got separated...my friend had my keys...and another friend lost her boyfriend so by the time we all found each other everyone was ready to go even though they had postponed the concert. Apparently...they continued on about 2 hours later which really sucks... but we had a great time! & seeing them live was awesome! Especially after watching them again on CMA awards tonight. I am so happy to be back with friends that love country music and enjoy going to concerts because well in London...not too many were keen on country! Can't really blame em though...I mean what country singers are in London? I can't think of any... haha.

At the beginning of this week our family decided to buy a new house so we are moving! After living here for 14 years it's pretty crazy but an exciting change for us!  As far as day-to-day, I've been working my church's vacation bible school and those kids are wearing me out! I'm having a blast though and it's definitely worth it! I've also been babysitting and I start back my job I had before I left London tomorrow night! So this girl's a workin girl again... idk if that's good or bad....

But anyway, London was an amazing experience that completely changed my life. Coming back home has been wonderful but I am forever a changed person here now.  I am looking forward to traveling to other places in the future and challenging our future generations to go outside their comfort zone and take a chance (that is if I get a teaching job!).  I have thousands of pictures to remember my time and I have printed about 400 to scrapbook whenever I get the time! I also made a really awesome collage of all the post cards collected while I was gone to remember my trip by. Those memories will last me a lifetime.

For now i'm here, finishing school, working and enjoying my life home.  I look forward to getting another opportunity to go abroad and become an even stronger and more determined woman than today... hopefully :)

Y.O.L.O -- Court:)


"the biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams" - Oprah

Wait, I Have to Wake up for my Final??

          Today I had a rough start. After waking up numerous times throughout the night, I woke up again at 8:15am realized I had turned off BOTH my alarms to wake me up for my final exam this morning. So I rushed out of bed, threw on some clothes and went downstairs to meet my friends to study a little more before our exam at 9. I went to get coffee because not only was I completely out of it, I also lost my voice for some reason. Unforunately, they weren’t making the coffee yet, so I had to wait until right before I walked into class for my final…which was fine except that the final was allllllll writing so I couldn't even drink it! Short answers & essays are my preferred type of exam however, this one had 10 fill in the blank, around 7 definitions/explanations, 3 short answers and 2 essay just for the final 1/3^rd material of the class.  On top of that... we had a final with 2 MORE comprehensive essays (one worth 80% the other 20%) to complete afterwards… Not only did we have all of these essays we had a time limit of an hour & a half. Yeah you heard me 90 minutes...now you tell me how realistic & possible that is...it's NOT.  So I barely got to drink seeing as my hand was about to fall off.

            Finally that exam was out of the way though and I came back to my room to relax for a bit. Around 12:45 Emily and I went to meet Liz and their family at the Tower of London. I’ve wanted to go the entire time I’ve been here to see the crown jewels, but I have to be honest I wasn’t too impressed. The tower itself was incredible and huge; I just expected more.  Included in the jewels were all of the coronation items, gifts given to the royal families and the crowns that have been worn since the 16^th century. I thought it was interesting that when the monarchy was dissolved Oliver Cromwell decided to melt down all of the gold and jewels, therefore the only surviving coronation piece from the 12^th century was a golden spoon.  Everything else was from the 16^th century- present.  The candlesticks, plates, silverware, crowns, etc., were amazing and beautiful. I just expected to see more jewelry and tiaras worn by the previous princesses and queens.  But anywhoooo… I got back around 5pm (it took us forever to get through it) and grabbed dinner in the refectory.  Now I am procrastinating from studying for my biology exam. Tonight i'm setting 3 or 4 alarms... can't miss this one! 

            Tomorrow morning I will take my last final here at Regents College and be officially done with the semester.  My dusty bag that has been on top of my closet all semester is beginning become full again and my walls are bare.  The thought of leaving my new friends, school and city is very depressing seeing as I don’t know when I’ll get to see these people again (if ever) and whether or not I’ll be back in London (if I have my way, the answer will be yes!). I’ve had a great time here and I hope you’ve enjoyed keeping up with my blog. I’m not sure if I will continue to write after returning to the states, but I’m sure I’ll have a few more things to say after I return.  For now, enjoy the rest of the week and those of you waiting for me in Lexington…save the date! May 3^rd!

Y.O.L.O (in London) – Court : )

“whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought of half as good…luckily, this is not difficult” 

            – charlotte witton

Wouldn't Mind Being a Queen in my Afterlife...

           Ello my dearest followers! What a crazy week i've had here in London. Last week were our last classes of the semester! I can't believe it! I kept pretty busy with classes, so I didn't get out too much unfortunately...but I did manage to get out towards the end of the week. Wednesday I went out with our "hall advisor" Jonathan and the tamers. We went to Ben's Cookies and then to a place called The Match Bar for drinks. He ordered us a Zombie to split and thank god because it had 12 shots in it... We had a great time with him though, he's been really helpful over this semester and become a real good friend.
           When we got back I went to the student bar to meet a friend for the Munich Soccer game (they won of course yay!). After the game we came back and hung out for a bit before heading to bed.
Thursday night a group of us headed to the Covent Garden area... we had never been to the pubs here before and it was an interesting experience. We started out at a place called "The White Hart" but it closed around 1130 so we went to a dance club. The club had some creepy guys but our group of friends had a good time sticking together. Luckily we all managed to get out and make it home safely!

                                  Emily, Me, Liz & Hannah                                                      John & I

          

Ping Pong in Park

           Okay now for the exciting part... Friday! I went to the Olympics Stadium with my friends Jordan, Matt & Brett. We went on a 2-hour walking tour of the area and it was really neat. The Bromley-Le-Bow area is very run down which was exactly why London wanted to hold the olympics there. Most of the area is near water which is also really unique.  Luckily we had a nice sunny day so it was really enjoyable walking the new park that was made for show.  The new park used to be a place for sewage and factories but they transformed it to a really nice piece of land.  In addition, there are outdoor ping-pong tables that will be used for the game and continue to be there for the future. I thought that was really neat they are building things that will continue to be used after the games because it doesn't waste the area or waste money.  But anyways....we headed to the stadium after the park and it is still under construction!

Stadium (L) & Aquatics (R)

We knew this ahead of time but it looks like they won't be done in time! Apparently they are ahead of schedule though so I guess we'll see.  My favorite part wasn't the stadium but the unique Aquatics building.  It's architectural structure is very unique, just wait til you see it on TV! I wish we could've gone inside but like you I guess i'll be enjoying the olympics from my couch at home. Its really funny because most Londoners HATE that the olympics are going to be here. Anyone you talk to plans to be out of town for as much as possible. Other than work they don't want to be anywhere near London. I found that really weird because although I know it will be busy those few weeks, the olympics are amazing and for them to be in your city would be awesome! Guess there aren't many sports people here or something- I don't get it! But that was about it for the tour, we walked past the 11 blocks of flats for the athletes and coaches on the way to the final tour site.  The flats have already been sold to real estate agents and property owners which is absolutely incredible. The area will be really nice and there is also a new school and garden inside the blocks of flats.  They are hoping to have the prices more affordable than your average London flat.  But yeah that was about it for the Olympics!

After our visit we headed back and ate dinner on campus.  Of course we went out too! We headed into Camden again and went to Worlds End and then the Monarch again. The Monarch music wasn't as good as last week, but we still had a great time! I couldn't believe it     was our last weekend! Crazy stuff!
          Sunday morning I woke up and went on a student tour to Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge.  THE TRIP WAS AWESOME! Although it rained most of the time, my friends and I had a great time.  Windsor castle was soooo cool! Probably my favorite castle of the trip just because it was so beautiful inside.  There was gold, detailed wood work and paintings all over the state rooms.  The castle itself had over 700 rooms...who uses that many rooms?!?! The King has a room, dressing room and closet (3 separate rooms for himself to get ready! A boy at that!)  Then there was a room just full of guns and swords. This room was super cool, i'm a weird girl but I love looking at old weapons like that, especially royalty as i've found out. They are so unique and each one is detailed. I mean who really needs jewels on a sword? It's definitely more for show but super cool.  In total, we probably were allowed in 30-40 rooms. They were all incredible, I wish I could take pictures to show you guys but I wasn't allowed. Guess it means you'll have to come to London and explore! If you need a partner i'd be happy to come back :)  But anyway...I saved the best for last because not only did we see all of these incredible rooms, we saw the Queen’s dollhouse… a little girl’s dream! The dollhouse literally had real little china, paintings, wooden tables, clothes…you name it, it was there! It was so cute I would have loved it as a kid. Unfortunately I think it was a gift, I don’t think the queen ever actually played with it…so that's really sad. haha. Anywaysssss...

            Our next stop was Bath which was a very quaint, unique town.  It had lots of cute little stores and bakeries.  We went on a walking tour to see the crescent, circus and jane austen’s house… all in the pouring rain. So that was an adventure.  Inside the baths we did an audio tour that took about 45 minutes.  I touched the water even though you weren’t supposed to and it was like bath water! It was really neat that even though it’s outside, it was warm.  It made me want to go swimming as I imagined the romans enjoying the facilities.  I studied the roman baths last year in my imperial Rome class so it was really cool to visually see the area. 

Sam, Jordan, Me & Hannah!

            The last stop was Stonehenge and it wasn’t raining until we walked to the stones and then it was a torrential downpour… We had an hour to spend here but we stayed outside about 15 minutes before heading back to the bus because it was just miserably cold and wet.  I’m really glad I got to see the stones even though everyone was right…it’s really just a pile of rocks and Google pictures will suffice.  At least that’s another medieval wonder of the world down…only 4 more to go! Wooo…

            The tour ended around 7 at the Hammersmith station so we jumped on the tube. At Edgeware Road (one stop before we got off) you’ll never guess who got on. Neil Jackson aka Sasha Belov from the ABC Family “Make it or Break it!” It was super cool…we didn’t say anything because we didn’t want to be crazy fans, but it was definitely sweet. We jumped out at our stop, grabbed subway because the refectory was closed and then all headed to the library to study for finals this week… YUCK.

Y.O.L.O -- Court :) 

toast to London & my friends made here...

"I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out." -Elizabeth Browning

Crunch Time!

Friday morning I woke up reallyyyyy early and went to the Covent Garden area with my friend Hannah.  We wanted to get in line for 5 pound Matilda tickets because the first 8 people get them for only 5 pounds! But we were #8 and #9 so one of us wouldn't have gotten a ticket.  So we walked away and found a cafe to go to for some coffee! We wanted to go shopping but the stores didn't open until 10.  So we sat in the cafe for about an hour and a half and told loads of stories! It's so much fun meeting someone new and catching up on life stories.  Hannah and I have really become close friends these last few weeks and i'm definitely going to miss her & everyone else here when I leave.


So we shopped around until about 12:30 and guess what ladies and gentlemen! I finally bought a leather jacket! I've been looking around forever but haven't found one I really liked yet. Luckily I found one and it was for a great price so I jumped on it! I absolutely love it too. Pictures to come later :)  On our way back to the tube we stopped at Ben's Cookies...okay BEST COOKIES EVER! I don't know if this place is everywhere but it's definitely the bomb.com.  They are so soft and well yeah it's a cookie, it was good.  But we headed back and picked up Subway on our way back to school.  I went and worked out before dinner and then we spent the entire night in the library. 


Saturday I got up kinda early again because I had to attend a worship service at a Jewish Synagogue for my world religions class.  The experience was really interesting so i'm glad I did it. It's been fun visiting new churches with class over here because you learn about their different rituals and see how other people are passionate about their faith.  This class has been my favorite class this semester which is surprising because I didn't expect to enjoy it as much.  But anyways- after the service I went to Borough market again with Hannah.  This time I had a sirloin steak sandwich and then cheesecake again... it's my downfall. I got apple cheesecake this time and damn was it good! (excuse the language). But I am really going to miss going to that market- it's convinced me to start going to the farmer's market though so I hope to be enjoying that this summer! (mom are you surprised? haha).


After this market we went to another market we hadn't tried out yet.  This market was called Portabella Road market and it was very eclectic jewelry, artwork, clothes, etc.  I bought a uk blue dress and Hannah also got a dress.  We walked around there for a while and then headed back home because it was starting to rain.


Saturday night was probably the best night i've had out yet! We pregamed starting around 8 and then went out to the Rocket at 930. It wasn't too busy though so we walked to Camden. We started at World's End, then went to The Monarch.  This is my new favorite bar. They played great music like Mustang Sally, Johnny Cash, Shout! It was just some great dancing and sing-a-long music. We had a great time there but decided to leave because we were with some friends on a pub crawl and it was time for them to go to another bar. We walked to a place called KoKo but it was 20 pounds to get in so we went to Belushi's instead, and then Wheelbarrow (which was packed!). I know you don't know where or what any of these places are and I could spend hours telling you stories and about the bars, but I think that would bore you. Instead you can just follow my path haha.  We had a great time and met some great people in Wheelbarrow.  The boys we were with left around 3, and then Liz and I got a taxi at 3:30. Yes we're talking AM, like I said best night we've had out so we stayed out a long time! Hoping to go back to Camden again this weekend- that is if I get my work done!


I have 3, 6 page papers i'm working on right now and 2 finals next week. I just realized yesterday I leave next Thursday ahh... and have finals next week on top of these papers and everything else I want to visit here in London. My time is flying by too fast- there's so much I still want to see! Guess i'm going to have to come back someday :) 


Gotta start back on these papers though, I needed a quick break! Talk to you guys soon! 


Y.O.L.O -- Court :) 


"live in such a way that if someone spoke badly about you, no one would believe it." -- unknown

Begin & End Everyday With A Smile :)

Me, Hannah & Andrew in the Student Bar Tuesday! 

The countdown has begun! You can look at it either way: 13 days, 323 hours, 19439 minutes or 1166330 seconds...that's when i'll be flying into the good ole' bluegrass state. But before I do that...these next two weeks are about to be cRaZy! So I hope your ready to keep up with me because I will be updating you lots like I did the first two weeks I was here! 

Brett & I at our Friend's Apartment!

Yesterday followed a good night out at the bars. Tuesday I had class all day and then we went to my friend's apartment to pregame before heading to the Rocket! We all had a great night out and made it back safe and sound however the next morning wasn't our brightest day! That's okay though because we managed to get up for lunch and head out into London! Screw classes the last two weeks, right? Okay well maybe not but one day out won't hurt. So we took the tube and went to the Museum of London! I had already been there with my History of London class, but there was a special exhibit on Charles Dickens that I had to go to for a paper i'm writing. 

Dickens Exhibit at Museum of London

The exhibit was actually really cool and had lots of artifacts that were talked about in his writing. He was all about London and often took late night strolls though different areas. For all of his books he followed exactly in his characters footsteps so he would depict London very accurately as he was writing.  I thought that was really cool and unique as a writer. 

On Top of Saint Paul's Cathedral

After we went through there we headed to Saint Paul's Cathedral where we managed to climb about 500 stairs to get to the very top! It was definitely a hike but totally worth it.  The main floor of the Cathedral was beautiful. It's hard to decide which I like better Saint Pauls or Westminster...I mean if I could get married in either I would do it in a heartbeat! Westminster had more wood and was more detailed though I decided. But I loved the dome in Saint Pauls. It was supposed to be mosaic but that was going to cost too much so they painted a mural and it was really neat.  

Saint Pauls Cathedral

My favorite part was walking up to the Whisperer Gallery and yes it's true you can hear someone speaking all the way across the room! How do I know? I tried to sneak a picture of the top of the dome and the security guard on the other side whispered NO PHOTOS and I literally had no idea where the guard was standing. Kinda creepy if you ask me but I put my camera right away haha.

Afterwards we headed back and ate dinner in the refectory. I decided to have a lazy night so I caught up on some shows and then hit the hay really early. This morning I woke up and had class from 9-130 and I just ate lunch with a group of girls. I am going to be working on some papers today seeing as we are getting in crunch time...and then I am going out to dinner with the Tamers and their dad who is in town for the week! Unfortunately the weather sucks and it's been raining all day and supposedly it is going to rain until next Friday...but I'm crossing my fingers that won't happen! We shall see though!

Y.O.L.O -- Court :)

2 Quotes Today!

"A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you'd never be able to do" -- unknown

"in life we have a lot of ups and downs, but i think ultimately at the end of the day thats what makes you who you are.." -britney spears

I Know What I Want, I Have A Goal, I Have Opinions, A religion & Love. AMSTERDAM 2012!

I AMSTERDAM

A for "Ann"

            Well I just got back from my last trip studying abroad.  This past weekend we traveled across the ocean to Holland!  First of all it’s really confusing because we went to Amsterdam, in Holland, in the Netherlands… too many names for one place.  But anyways we had a great weekend!  We left Friday morning at 230am… this started off the trip not so hot because none of us slept before we left.  We were in bed…intending on falling asleep but it didn’t happen. So I was up from Thursday morning at 8am til Friday morning at 10am when we checked into our hotel 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam.  It was quite the experience and we were all very exhausted. So before we could get into Amsterdam we all decided it would be best to take a short nap. After we checked in we slept until 12:15 and then tried to figure out how to get into Amsterdam. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport and then from the airport took a train into Amsterdam.  The trip took about 45 minutes total but once we were there it was worth it.  First we went to the I AMSTERDAM sign!  We took lots of pictures on top of the sign, in front of the sign, at a distance from the sign…you name it, we took it! 

            Afterwards we headed towards the Van Gogh museum.  This place was 5 stories and really neat. It’s amazing how many pieces of art he completed and with so much detail.  The museum was really interesting and definitely worth going to.  It also had a few other pieces by other artists. 

            At this point it was around 6 so we headed to Heineken! Our brochure told us the last tour was at 8…but it just so happened it was wrong and the last tour was actually at 530. So we went through the shops and then decided to go get dinner and call it a night.  All the local pubs around us were absolutely packed! So we ended up eating at a smaller Italian restaurant and had pizzas.  They were good but we decided we’d want pancakes allllll day tomorrow! After all that’s what you have to get while your there! Pancakes and Fries with mayo…yeah it’s weird but actually not too bad. You should probably try it next time your in Amsterdam haha.

Anne Frank House

            Okay so we went to bed after dinner that night and got up the next morning bright and early! We heard you had to get to the Anne Frank museum early if you didn’t want to wait in line for hours.  We ended up waiting an hour which wasn’t too bad…especially since the museum was totally worth it!  The house wasn’t like anything I expected. The first floor was the warehouse, the second floor contained the offices and the 3^rd & 4^th floors were the hiding rooms! The third floor had a storeroom in the front and straight back down the hall was a bookcase on henges.  This is what hid the hidden staircase! It was sooo freaking cool! In her parent’s room the wall still had markings from where Margot & Anne were measured growing up as kids.  It was surreal walking through the rooms imagining having to stay quiet all day locked up in a dark room.  It was super cool and was everyone’s favorite stop on the trip.

            After we toured the house we were all hungry so we went to a local pancake house.  I ordered a ham & cheese pancake that was delicious.  Our waiter said try putting syrup on it, it’s good that way…and I looked at him and the table and said I mean why wouldn’t I put syrup on? I guess because I was the only one at the table that did everyone else doesn’t eat syrup on their pancakes…I decided they were all psycho… I need to find some new friends! Haha just kidding : ) But anyways we had lunch here and then headed off to the red light district.  It wasn’t as creepy as I thought it was going to be, it was actually a neat area if you take the girls out of the picture. The main drag had lots of restaurants, souvenir shops (both regular & sexual) and then the shows of course. The side alleys were where most of the girls were lined up in windows.  But we walked through there and then our group split up into two smaller groups.  Half went back to Heineken and then I went with the Tamers to get some drinks and shop around. 

            Around 7 we met up with some guys and their friends we met last weekend after coming back from Barcelona.  We had dinner with them at the Pancake Bakery where I had a chicken, cheese & pineapple pancake! YUMMM. Afterwards we walked back and hung out with them in their apartment and then walked the red light district again at night.  It was a completely different atmosphere at night but still not as creepy as I thought it would be.  It was a lot more crowded and lots of curtains were closed… but we were all glad we saw it both at night and during the day.  Around 11 we jumped back on the train and headed back to our hotel.  We all took showers and went to bed knowing we would have a nice mornings sleep ahead! 

We chose to sleep in until 11am and leave for Keukenhof around 12. We spend a few hours there walking the grounds looking at the gorgeous tulips and other crazy assortments of flowers.  

It was miserably cold and windy unfortunately so that made it not as fun…but it was still amazing to see all of the flowers and walk the gardens.  It was a really nice area. There were so many different kinds of flowers and they were all so beautiful i can't even pick which one was my favorite. Not only were there tulips but also crazy ones like the raggedy edged one on the left. It was really neat to see; i just wish it had been warmer so we could've enjoyed being outside longer.

So the end of the trip consisted getting back to the hotel and shopping in there for a bit. The airport in Amsterdam had victoria secret…which London doesn’t even have. Then we stopped in some other souvenir stores before getting dinner at the Amsterdam Café.  Our flight got delayed but luckily we still got home at a decent hour! So the trip went really well and we had a great time! It was a great ending to our crazy 12 weekend travels… very bittersweet though knowing we were done but at the same time glad to be done. Traveling takes a lot out of you and is very exhausting.  Although I’ve learned more taking trips that I probably would’ve learned in a classroom in one year… I’m glad to be done and ready to get back to enjoying London before I head back home to the states. Only 18 more days left until I’ll be back in the good ole’ bluegrass state!

Y.O.L.O – court :)

“I’m becoming more and more independent of my parents. Young as I am, I face life with more courage and have a better and truer sense of justice than Mother. I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion & love. If only I can be myself, I’ll be satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inner strength & a great deal of courage! If God lets me live, I’ll achieve more than Mother ever did, I’ll make my voice heard. I’ll go out into the world and work for mankind”

– Anne Frank April 11, 1944

Barcalona, Spain :)

HI! So I am awful because I haven’t updated my blog in forever! I guess that’s because I’ve been running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off wondering why in the world I am going to have to leave this amazing city in 21 days! Yes I only have 21 days here in London left! 3 weeks! I can’t believe it the time has absolutely flown by.  So as much as I know you love hearing me talk about how I’m not ready to leave… I’ll get to the point of how life is going over here.

            Last weekend I went to another part of Spain, Barcelona!  Although I had a good time I’m glad I’m not studying abroad there because it just wasn’t my scene.  Barcelona was very touristy, dirty and the people weren’t as nice either (at least those that we encountered).  We left Regent’s Thursday night and got on the plane- landed around 930 and got to our hostel around 10:15.  The guy at the desk was a complete and total idiot and no I’m not being mean or exaggerating…he really was an idiot.  Upon arriving the first thing he said was your going to have to wait 5 minutes…and then another five minutes after that because those guys there have to check in before you.  So we said okay and went and sat down in the lounge.  25 minutes later he still hadn’t gotten us so Emily went up to the counter & asked if he was ready.  He had forgotten about us and said oh sorry please wait 5 more minutes and I’ll be ready.  So were like this has got to be a joke…but finally he was ready. We go up to get our rooms and pay and of course the guy can’t do math.  We wanted to pay separately on credit cards and it was like we asked him to fly to the states to get some tea or something.  I mean I’m not kidding it took at least 15 minutes and liz and I ended up calculating it for us and explaining to him how to split the check.  So when we finally got it done he showed us to our room and which beds were ours.  He looked at liz’s bed and said “oh it looks like someone might have slept on your bed today would you like me to change the sheets?”  WELL DUHHH. Okay people there was long black hairs all over her sheet.  How freaking disgusting is that and your asking us if we want the sheet changed?  So he said he would in….you guessed it! 5 minutes.  We came back downstairs about 20-30 minutes later and reminded him because of course he still hadn’t been up.  We sat in the lounge because there was a creepy guy in our room staring at us and we needed to charge electronics.  So he finally comes back down and tells liz he changed the sheets but funny story! (you had to have known this was coming) the clean sheets were actually dirtier than the dirty sheets so he had to change them twice.  Okay first of all we didn’t need to know that and second of all that’s still disgusting… so that was the start of our first night in the hostel.  We didn’t go to bed until 2am once everyone else was asleep and then we were up at 930 the next morning for breakfast.

            Breakfast consisted of toast or cornflake cereal but it was free so that worked for us.  We headed to the metro to meet Bri (our friend studying in Sevilla) and she got there around 11.  We took her back to the hostel and told her about our previous night and told her we were ready to get out in the town!  So we dropped her things off and headed toward “La Rambla” street.  This is a popular street in Spain that is lined with market vendors, souvenir shops and restaurants.  So we shopped around for a while and then went down a side street to get lunch at a small café.  It wasn’t authentic Spanish food though and our meals were just alright.  Afterwards we kept walking and passed the Casa Lleo Morera which was a house designed by Gaudi.  We decided not to go in though because we wanted to go in his other casa.  So we continued to walk and went through Catalunya Square and some other areas until we came upon La Casa Pedrera.  The line to get in was about a 30 minute wait though so we went next door to this dessert place and got a treat to eat while waiting in line.  I had an apple crumble and it was delicious!

            When we finally got into the house there wasn’t much to see inside except a museum on one floor.  But the neat thing was the roof of the building that was full of really neat statues and architectural design.  So we hung up on top for a while before walking through the museum and back outside.  At this point it started to rain a bit so we were heading back towards the hostel in case it poured but luckily it was just cloudy for a little bit and cleared back up.  We went to the Cathedral, which had a very gothic look.  The area was packed with a lot of people walking around and sitting on the steps of the Cathedral so that was a fun atmosphere.  At this point, 2 guys that Bri had met on the plane (also studying abroad) had texted her and asked if we wanted to meet up for a little bit.  So we met them at a Metro stop and then hung out with them for about 2 hours.  They took us to the beach and we walked along there and then stopped at a bar for a drink.  Afterwards we split up with them and started walking around again deciding where we wanted to eat (looking for a tapas place).  We finally found “Lonja de Tapas” and the food was delicious!  We had croquettes, paiya, grilled veggies, a chicken teriyaki skewer, sangria & break!  It was really nice and there were heating lamps outside so we were able to sit out and people watch. 

            After dinner we were exhausted and ready to head back to the hostel.  We got back around 1030 and showered.  Liz and I pushed our twin beds together so Bri could sleep with us because she was put in a separate room and the hostel was not the place where you’d want to be alone.  So we had a little sleepover and were in bed by 1230 or so!

            Saturday morning was also another packed day! We got up around 930 again and had breakfast before grabbing the metro to go to Plaza d’Espanya.  Here we walked around, looked at the fountains and looked at the arena that used to be an old bull-fighting arena (now it’s a shopping center with restaurants).  Afterwards we headed around and climbed up the hill to see where the Olympics were held.  We toured the stadium and grounds for an hour or so and then had Icees outside at a small café. 

            Next we headed to Park Guell which was another design by Gaudi.  Before we climbed the steep hill to the entrance of the park we grabbed sandwiches at a café to take with us.  When we got to the park it’s like nothing you’d imagine a park looking like. I was thinking I would sit in a patch of grass with architecture statues around or something…no its this spiral concrete hill you climb to the top that has different paths leading off into different directions.  We walked the square inside the park and saw the old marketplace.  We also went into Guell’s home.  The park was originally supposed to be a square but they turned it into a park because things went wrong with the design or something.  So it was really neat to see and we spent quite a long time walking around there.  On the way back to the metro we stopped at a dessert place and I had my first waffle with chocolate ice cream. It’s a big thing there but I had yet to try one…woods will definitely be benefitting from my experience with that when I get home! Haha.  But anyways, we grabbed the metro for one last stop to see the Sagrada Familia (another large church).  The wait was 3 hours though so we just walked around the circumference of the building.  We also walked through another nearby market before heading back to the hostel.  We dropped souvenirs off and rested for about 30 minutes.  Then we went to a water fountain show in Plaza d’Espayna.  It was really cool and the plaza was packed with people so we had a good time.  Afterwards we crossed the road and went back in the arena for dinner.  We were going to meet the guys for drinks afterwards but that fell through so we went to a convenient store, grabbed some drinks and went back to the hostel for the night to hang out.  So we had a great day very exhausting though.

            Sunday was our last day there and since we had done the majority of tourist stuff we decided to go to the beach!  We had to be checked out at 10 am but we could leave our things at the hostel until our flight.  So we did that and stayed on the beach until about 3 in the afternoon.  We also had lunch somewhere along there.  It wasn’t super hot out but it was warm enough for us to sit outside with a tank top and shorts so we enjoyed ourselves. 

            At 3 we headed back because Bri’s flight was at 6. The tamers were exhausted but I decided to go out on my own and walk around some more.  I went up and down La Rambla again and was hoping one of the markets off that street would be open because it had been closed all weekend.. but it wasn’t.  I still enjoyed being alone and walking around.  It was a really nice day.  I came back around 5 though and we had dinner near our hostel at a tapas restaurant and then headed towards the airport.  On the way there I get a text from Bri saying her flight was at 6am not pm and she missed it! Haha…so she ended up having to stay another night there and catch a flight home the next day so that really sucked for her… But luckily we were able to get home.  We waited for over an hour to get through customs so we missed our national express bus back that takes you into London but luckily we were able to get on a later one.  We also met two guys in line that had been in Barcelona for the weekend and were going to Amsterdam this weekend, which is our next trip too! So we might meet up with them sometime too.  It’s funny you shouldn’t trust people you meet and just go out with them but here most everyone is college students and everyone is always looking to meet up and have a good time! I have met so many people from all over the world through our hostels, tours and malfunctions in airports so it’s been really interesting meeting people and learning about what they are doing here because most college students are studying abroad or working here. 

            But anyways… so this week I have been frantically catching up on papers. We have at least one in every class that is due by finals week! Tuesday night I went out to a bar called Rocket and had a great time!  We hung out there until it closed and then went to a friend’s apartment for a few hours after that.  Other than that though I have just been trying to enjoy every minute! We are going out tonight for a friend’s birthday for dinner but not staying out.  We have to leave here at 330am to get a bus to get to the airport for a flight in the morning.  Amsterdam should be quite the experience so I hope to update you about that much sooner than later like this blog.  Hope that catches you guys up with everything! I hope everyone had a great Easter.  Seeing as I was on the beach all day it didn’t feel like Easter, but I enjoyed getting lots of Easter cards so thank you to everyone who sent me something! Miss & love ya’ll J I’m outta here.

Y.O.L.O -- court :)

“Cause I am not a word, I am not a line; I am not a girl that can ever be defined” --Nicki Minaj