Barcelona
So to make this post easy to read and not so cumbersome, I'm breaking it up into "moments." A group of eight of us rented an apartment about a mile away from the beach and just around the corner to some impressive sites. It just so happened that we were in town to celebrate Barcelona's epic football victory! Our plan was to hit all of the tourist places by day and enjoy the discotheques by night. Here are some highs and lows!Highs
Sagrada Familia: Take a moment and think about a time when you've felt so in awe with your surroundings that you just couldn't help but cry. If you're coming to a blank or are some sort of unemotional robot then you should add this cathedral to your Bucket List now. I've seen many incredible places and have been blessed to experience so many things in the past but no place had ever hit me so hard the way Sagrada Familia did. This cathedral was designed by the famous architect Gaudi in 1892, he was known for his modern and unique designs that were ahead of his time. Think gothic meets modernist architecture, cool huh?
Walking up to it, I was ready to see another nice cathedral like the one's I've seen during the past few weeks, however, as I entered into it (I'm not lying or exaggerating) I couldn't breathe. The last few years I've had my fair share of panic and anxiety attacks. There are times where I can't breathe, get extremely light-headed and feel completely helpless. Going into the Sagrada Familia I felt exactly like that. WAIT WHAT?! You must be thinking, "um, she's an odd one/why is she comparing something so serious to the beautiful Sagrada Familia." Hold your horses, let me explain what I mean. I couldn't breathe because I was caught by surprise by the brilliant stained glass windows that reflected colors every which way I turned. If God placed a piece of Heaven on Earth this place would be it. I felt light-headed because not only was I embraced by a rainbow of colors, but as my eyes finally made their way up the high ceiling they were immediately welcomed with art that looked as if it were the entry way to Heaven (phenomenal). I felt helpless (this one may have you questioning how I can spin it into a positive connotation but here it goes) because I am helpless. I am dependent upon so many things, I am powerless because I am human and I am weak because I allow myself to be. You want to know the silver-lining?
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”I am not boasting for being in such an incredible place, I am boasting in this creation, sharing a piece of beauty that shouldn't be kept to oneself! I realized there that those same feelings I've been struggling with for so long can just as easily be triggered by beauty. It made me think of a conversation I had this year with my friend, Shana, who showed me a list of emotions we all feel at one point or another. The eye-opening part of it all was that each of these core emotions could be handled in a positive way or negative. The basic emotion of fear has always took me down the negative road but that day fear took me somewhere positive. Those first few minutes in the Sagrada Familia was too much for me to handle that I started crying (happy tears, happy tears). If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Spain, make this a top priority.
Dancing in the moonlight
My friend Evelyn had heard about this really cool water show and wanted to go. After eating dinner, we quickly made our way (when I say quickly I mean ran through the metro and streets to make it to the last show) to this place. I really had no expectations but when we arrived we were surprised by the magnitude of it all! Colors, dancing water and music everywhere! It was one of those moments where a camera could not capture anything close to the experience you were having. We all just stood there enjoying every second of the show. The music was your classic European Hollywood type where the two main characters casually slow dance in front of something so grand. My friends and I began to do just that! We danced to the music while the colored water show was gracefully dancing along with us, what a dream!
When you run into Texas A&M folks and one of them is from Laredo: While at this water fountain place (I have NO clue what it's called so let's just go with that name) our group wanted to take a picture. We asked two girls who were near us and when they returned my camera back to us they asked where we were from. We all started saying: North Carolina, New Hampshire, California etc. They were like "oh we're from Texas." Hearing that I immediately jumped up asking them what school they went to. "A&M," they answered with pride. I told them I go to UT and we bonded through our mutual love for Texas. While I was introducing myself to the rest of the group two of the guys mentioned they were in the Corp, I asked them if they knew my cousin and then they asked where I was from. "Laredo, right by the border," I said! One of the guys stopped me and said, "wait I'M from Laredo!" Remember when I said Laredoan's are everywhere? Well, now you know I wasn't lying.Lows
Nobody's perfect, I've gotta work it: Do you like my Hannah Montana reference? Life isn't perfect. Despite the cool photos and experiences I may be writing about it's not all picture perfect. Our last night in Barcelona, in theory, was supposed to be outrageously fun, however, it was anything but that.
After a long day of sightseeing, we felt exhausted and not ready to "turn up" (lol). All I wanted to do was lay down and rest my aching feet. BUT we're in Barcelona, how could we not take advantage of a night where the whole city is celebrating the victory of their football team? After little convincing, I got up, got ready and dragged my feet out the door. The rooftop bar we had planned on going to was closed for the night so we decided to go back home and reevaluate. After some time, we left to a discotheque.
A little background on the nightlife in Spain: Men have a dress code. Some clubs won't allow men wearing white socks, shorts or casual-wear in. Girls have no problems, until I came along, that is.
That night I was wearing the Barcelona jersey with high-waisted shorts, upon entering the club a promoter stopped me and said, "you can't go in like that." They refused me, a girl, what?! The whole group looked at each other waiting for someone to find a solution. Finally we decided to turn my jersey inside out (center photo) to get in and then take it off and wear my "sports-bra-crop-top" the rest of the night (Far right photo). Five girls surrounded me creating a makeshift changing room to reverse my jersey.
We get into the club and it was packed from wall to wall. The atmosphere was fun and having great friends to dance with was even better. BUT about two hours in, Madison looked over at her small cross-body purse and realized it was open. Somebody opened her purse! She furiously looked through it and could not find her phone (Iphone)! Someone had pick-pocketed her. She began to cry and the night went from us carelessly dancing to being concerned detectives. With hundreds of people in this club it was impossible to capture the culprit. After searching the dance floor and asking people around us to either empty their pockets or help us remember who was near us, the case grew cold. Remember when I said that day we did all the touristy things? My feet were aching and I was ready to just fall flat on the ground from how terrible they felt. Between helping Madison and preventing our friend from getting into a fight with someone over "looking suspicious," we called it a night. Half of us decided to head back to the apartment and the other half wanted to stay behind in hopes the phone would turn up. I was a part of the apartment crew, which unfortunately could not find a cab. We ended up walking more than a mile back home and when I sat down and looked at myfeet one of them was completely swollen! Ah, what a night!
LOL moment but not really: On our way to the beach we were all spraying on sunscreen. I had on high-waisted shorts and a croptop on top of my swimsuit. So I told myself, "Amanda, spray the exposed areas now and then the covered areas when you get to the beach." We get to the beach and me being me I get distracted by the view and forget about everything else. An hour passed and we decided to get into the ocean. Returning, I reapplied and continued to "tan." Okay, Amanda, get to the punchline. Well, after getting back to our apartment and showering, I was frightened by the appearance of a high-waisted shorts burn. Are you having a hard time picturing that? Think of high-waisted shorts. Okay, now replace that with red and then overlay it with an outline of a swimsuit bottom. Most awkward sunburn award?
Back in Madrid
STUDY abroad: You read about all my traveling experiences, but what about the main purpose why I'm here: to study. This past week we had our midterms. I had to study for my spanish grammar and Art in the Prado classes. Studying for these two classes was definitely a wake up call saying, "Hello hello Amanda, it's not all fun and games, you actually need to work here!" I have a good feeling about both exams! Also, finals are in two weeks, where has the time gone, but really?
Hospital: Before you start feeling concerned and calling my parents (I'm talking to you Tia's and Tio's) I'M OKAY AND WELL NOW. Thursday afternoon before my exam a few of us ate at this hole-in-the wall restaurant. When I returned home I took a much needed siesta and woke up feeling awful. I thought maybe I was hungry so I ate the lentil soup that was left on the table for me and Madison. A few bites later I could not take it. I felt completely nauseous and ran to the restroom where I stayed for two hours vomiting. My host mom was concerned about my temperature so called the doctors. At around one in the morning we were in a cab and on our way to the hospital. The cab reeked of cigarettes which added to my nauseating state. We got to the hospital and I greeted the building with a friendly dose of vomit (ew, TMI?). When I entered they insisted I fill out paperwork before they could see me so that was fun. After, they sat me down next to an older woman who was dry-heaving, yikes that helped me even more! I soon talked to the doctor about how I was feeling and what might have triggered it and she sent me to a bed where they were going to draw out blood and place an IV in me. Sidenote: The past two times I've gotten blood drawn out I fainted, so I was trying to distract myself from that possibility. Amanda, you're in a foreign country, suck it up and think happy thoughts! After a few Our Father prayers my mind drifted to Gwen Stefani songs, don't ask me why because I'm still wondering too. Even at the time I thought it was weird but a good distraction (thank you God and Gwen Stefani). An hour passed and I started to feel better. They told me that I had a stomach virus and now have to follow a strict diet. They also said I needed to nix my weekend trip to Sevilla, which I was not too happy about. Now (Saturday), I'm feeling A LOT better and the fever has broke! It's been a little rough to go through this away from home but it's good to know that wherever I'm at I'm being taken care of! I'm so thankful to those who prayed for me while I was in the hospital and after! Well how's about that for an experience?
Hasta luego,
Amanda
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