greeting cards!

I made a card out of a sweet picture I took in the NL! check it out :)

Mary

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZN2TVszbsWb0Q&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

I kind of miss this thing...

Well, hello, 2012. I am deep into my graduate school studies right now, and remembering that this time last year I was probably having tapas with some friends or getting ready to go on a trip or something.  Obviously, a lot has changed.  I will say that I no longer despise living in the U.S.A.  For a while there, I did. It was difficult for me to keep a straight, not disgusted-looking face seeing people wear sweatpants in public, or hearing people say that Budweiser is the "King of Beers". Listen, maybe that sounds "uppity" to some people, but once you've seen how people are capable of not looking like slobs, it is weird to come back to your own slob-filled country. :)  Oh, and for the record, I think Budweiser will always suck, but I digress...

What was I saying? Oh yes, so for a while, I wasn't sure if I would ever be as content with my life here as I was with my life in Spain.  I mean, who wouldn't love working 3 days a week, traveling at least 2 weekends of the month to various different countries? I sure didn't mind it! It wasn't the "real world", but I was super happy with it! Grad school isn't the real world either, nor is Ann Arbor, but I've started to get a glimpse of this so-called "real world".  It seems okay...It seems promising.  It doesn't seem like it will always be fun or that I'll get to go to 8 different countries in the span of 9 months, but it seems doable.

I've also come to terms with the fact that my life is here in the US.  You don't know how many times I wished that I was born somewhere else...but I've come to realize that the US and the people of the US are actually really interesting. I think traveling gave me an appreciation of the diversity of my own country.  I like it a lot better now. Also, I think if I were to live away from my family long-term, my mom would find me and drag me back here. :)  It's hard to be so far away sometimes!

So, on that note...I have an announcement!  Pending some University of Michigan funding, I will be going back to Spain in August!! I'll post more details about it later, especially if it actually happens (looks like it is going to!!), but I am super SUPER excited!!

Maybe you are confused, saying "But Mary just said how she appreciates the USA and doesn't need to live anywhere else. What is she thinking??"

Relax, dear blog readers! It was simply an assurance that I will be coming home after a few months. Probably.

After all, I do have a globe-trotting reputation to keep up, don't I? ;)


I would also like to give a shout-out to my dear friend, Andrea!! She left today and will be in Africa in a few days (it's a looooong trip) for the PeaceCorps.  She's stationed in Zambia for 2 years and 3 months.  I will miss her so so much, but I am SO proud of her for the good work she will do, and for her beautiful heart that has started her on this journey!! Go, Andrea, go!!

By the way, her blog is http://discoverythroughadventure.blogspot.com/ if you want to follow her great adventures.  I'm definitely subscribed!

Well, I am off to let grad school own me some more.  Some day my life will be mine again. :)

Mary

The last one...for now...maybe.

So, I am officially back in the U.S.A.

I am not in Spain.

It has been very weird to get used to that concept, which I am guessing is normal since I am in the initial stages of my return.  My lovely sister keeps reminding me that I am in America and that I should speak English (jokingly, of course).  Although I'm still confused that I am in a different country (again), I've reunited with family, and some friends (more to come this week!), still haven't unpacked my room completely...but I am back, I am here.

A few days after arriving I went to my family 4th of July party at my Aunt and Uncle's lake.  I saw a lot of my family, met the new babies in the family, had a cheeseburger, a beer, laughed with my cousins...and watched some 4th of July fireworks.  A lot of times my uncles will drive two or three states down in order to buy bigger and better fireworks that they don't sell in Michigan, and they never disappoint!  This year they didn't either.

One little anecdote that I would like to share is when the fireworks were going off.  I was sitting by the lake with a few of my cousins, we were remembering when a firework went off on a poor old man's flannel shirt a few years back.  It wasn't funny then, but admittedly, we were laughing :).  Chrissy and Gail were making jokes about what would happen if a fire work exploded near Gail (she would apparently lose a leg), and we were all cheering on Jose and Gordon walking onto the deck, lighting the fireworks, and moseying back onto the grass.  The air was smokey and colorful and bright, and Chrissy looked over at me and said "See? You're back in the United States, right where you belong.  Where we blow things up and eat like pigs!".

We are a very charming people :).

Chrissy is right, though. I am back, and although I'm not quite sure where I truly belong right now, I do have a lot to look forward to here (and also back in Spain someday ;D).  Maybe I am a woman with more than one country. I hope that I am, because I miss it, maybe more than I've missed anything in my whole life.  But we keep going, or so I've been told.

So, here is what life is looking like for me right now.  There aren't any vineyards or old windmills, no narrow roads, or giant bull billboards placed along the freeway.  It's different, but it's familiar. It's my home.

blowin' stuff up!

My cousin, Sarah, and me at the lake..

Celebrating Theresa's 17th birthday with a family lunch

Pedicures with cousins and aunts

Finally had a Mexican meal--I missed that stuff!

Paw always helps me unpack

So, needless to say, I have been bombarded with family and friends (and cat).  It is so nice to be reunited with everyone, and in a few days I am going to Grand Rapids to see my college friends--REALLY looking forward to that!  My friend Lydia is coming to visit on Sunday, and Andrea next weekend...ALSO HARRY POTTER is coming out in a matter of days.  Get excited people.

Enough with the rambling.

I haven't decided yet if I am going to keep this blog going now that I am back and my adventure is over.  There are definitely new adventures to come though, so we'll see.

Anyway, thank you all for reading, I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed sharing my European adventure here through words and pictures.  I hope to be back there...as SOON as I can, but I am also looking forward to the handful of weddings I am going to this summer, getting back into Social Work, starting grad school in September, and starting over as a new person in a very accepting town.

On that note, goodnight, and GO BLUE!


Mary

Happy and Sad sit side by side.

Today is my last day in Villarrobledo.  I am not very happy about that, to be honest.  Last week I was feeling so excited and ready to go home, but now I feel as though I am leaving a home behind.

When I first left for Spain, I remember driving to the airport with my mom, not being able to speak and being constantly at the point of tears.  She asked me how I was doing, and I remember that all I could do was shake my head.  Then my mom said something that I will never forget.  She said "I know that it hurts a lot to leave.  It is because we are a part of your heart, and it hurts whenever you leave part of your heart behind you".

Well, that is how I feel today.  I know that I should be happy and optimistic, because good things are waiting for me back at home, and I get to see my family and friends after 9 months.  I should be okay, because I know this isn't the end of my time here in Spain, I know that I will be back.  But part of my heart is here, and it hurts to leave it behind me.  So these next few days,  I guess that is what I am dealing with.  Not sadness that I think I will never see my friends and family here in Spain again, I know that I will (although not as often as I would like, I am sure), or that I won't have my favorite bottle of wine available to be at the grocery store for under 2 euros (that just plain sucks, man!).  No, not that.  This is hitting me hard because in the past 9 months, I have planted myself here, created a life for myself, a life that I actually really love and want to continue with, but right now it has to be put on pause, and uncertainty dictates EVERYTHING from this point onward.

So, yes, my friends.  I know that "everything will be okay" eventually, and that I will feel better the second I see my family, or get to chase my cat around the house trying to get her to give me a hug.  I know that life goes on, but right now I have a heavy heart that knows it is leaving behind a big pedazo.  I will come back to get it someday, or maybe it will find its way back on its own, but all I know now is that part of my heart is here, it hurts to leave, and I am feeling that big time.

Don't get the wrong picture.  I am not sitting here moping and moaning in my last hours in Villa.  As one of my good friends so wisely shared with me last night, the memories that I take from here won't make me sad, they will make me happy that I got to experience them in the first place.  I'll smile whenever I hear our favorite songs that we all belted out in the early morning hours, and I will crack up laughing every time someone says "grenade".  The list could go on and on, but the point is that for me right now, happy and sad are sitting quietly together on a bench holding hands, coexisting, and letting one another live.

I write this to share with you all who have been praying for me and supporting me these past 9 months that this has been, without a doubt, the best experience of my life.  Although it is hard to leave it behind, I am left with so much joy to have been able to meet the people I met here, see the things that I saw, and figure out my life a little bit more, which is another journey in itself ;).  I am leaving now, but this place will always be a part of me, and I think that a part of me will always be here too.

But for now, I am still here, and soon off to the plaza to have a drink with some of my friends, and to enjoy the hot sun that only central Spain can bring me. Chin-chin!

Love,
Mary

Ich Liebe Deustchland!

I've just returned from a spectacular week in Germany!! I loved it, it is a beautiful country, and MAN they know how to eat over there.  Great food, great beer, and great company as well!!

I spent the week visiting with my friend, Corinna, who I met in Spain.  She is from Germany, Bavaria, actually, and she graciously hosted me and showed me around her country!  After I arrived, we had coffee and strawberry cake with Corinna's mom in their beautiful garden, and then we decided to relax because we were both really tired!  We had a great time catching up though (even though it had only been a few weeks since we'd seen each other), and laughing together.

Corinna and I imitating the children at play sign :)

\

The next day, Corinna, her sister and friend and I went on a hike through a neighboring town.  It was filled with lots of beautiful views of the Bavarian landscape and the Danube river (hope I spelled that right!).  We walked through forests, along the river, and even took a boat along the river (I loved that!).

Me and Corinna in front of the Danube river 

Corinna, Angelina, and I on the "Celtic Wall" in the forest!

Corinna, me, Ramona, and Angelina enjoying a boat ride on the Danube!

We had lunch at a beer garden, I tried my first German beer, and had a delicious lunch (a traditional one too!)

The next day, we spent the whole day in Regensberg, which is an old city in Germany and close to Corinna's house.  We visited her University, and toured the town.  Even though it rained all day, it was really beautiful! I liked it so much.  They even had a Marilyn Monroe exhibit going on, so cool!

Corinna showing off her university!

Regensberg

Corinna and I sticking out the rain!!

I also got the chance to try on some traditional Dirndls, it was so fun!! They were fun to try on, although I think the shop assistant caught on that I wasn't really going to buy anything, hehe :).  

The next morning, we headed to Heidelberg--I had really been looking forward to going there, and it didn't disappoint!  It's a beautiful city, old buildings, lots of history, and an old castle that was partially destroyed 3 serparate times until it got to be what it is today.  We spend 2 days there, and also got the chance to visit a beautiful garden in Schwetzinger, where Corinna's cousin lives. 

The castle from below.

Corinna with her new boyfriend in a christmas ornament store! :)

In the garden in Schwezinger, so beautiful! 

How the castle used to look, pre-destruction

A view from the top.

What a beautiful place!

We drove back to Corinna's house, ate, slept, woke up, ate, and then headed to the train to go to Munich!

There was a little boy on the train that had a camera, and he was sitting across from Corinna and I pretending to take pictures, and actually taking pictures of us, haha!  We were laughing so hard, he was so funny! So we grabbed our camera and pretended to take pictures of him too.  At one point, I was showing Corinna a map, and it was covering our faces, so he stuck the camera under the map and took a picture!! que risa!!  Then, when he left, he said goodbye to Corinna in German, and then looked at me and said "bye bye!" hahahaha :).

Anyway, I really liked Munich too!  It is a mix of old and new.  After we got there, we climbed a tower (St. Peter's bell tower I think!), walked around, and had lunch at a biergarten (my new favorite places!).  We visited the University in Munich, and walked around the English park.  The next day went to another BEAUTIFUL castle and garden, and did some shopping and went out later that night to experience some Munich night-life.  I didn't get very much sleep, but I had a great time, and it was well worth it!

We climbed this!

Don't know what this is, but everyone kept touching it when then walked by, so it must be of some importance!

My lovely friend, Corinna, and I enjoying the gardens outside of the castle in Munich.

My new friend!

Well, I had an EXCELLENT time in Germany, I am so glad I went!! I am so exhausted right now, and pretty ready to get home and see my family again, but I also feel very blessed to be here and to have the opportunities that I do!  I am a lucky girl, this year especially.  

I will be in Villarrobledo for the next few days, and I hope to spend a lot of time with my friends here (si estais leyendo esto, basta de leer y llamame ahora y vamos por una bebida!! jaja), and then on Wednesday, I'm off to the states!! It's been a long time since I've been back...so I have to buy another suitcase, haha :).  Wish me luck!!

Love,

Mary

Packing, cleaning, and procrastinating!

Well, I am back in Villa for the next few days, and as the title of this entry says, I am packing and cleaning, but mostly procrastinating.  I've never been good at packing, and usually leave the house a disaster when I leave, just ask my mom (sorry, mom).  This time though, I cannot do that, because when I leave this apartment, I'm leaving for good.

It feels so strange to be leaving here.  9 months ago I had no idea what Villarrobledo had in store for me, but today, my life here is full with friends, and people who have turned into my family.  I have been so lucky here, and will miss it so much, but I have also learned in my life that holding onto something for too long never does me, or anyone, any good, so I have to say goodbye, because it's just time to do that.

I think the thing I am most happy about, is that now that I have been here, I know that I can come back.  That makes leaving easier.  I have a home here, many actually, whenever I want to come back, and I know that I will be back.

I am very excited to be back home again though!  I haven't seen most of my family or friends in 9 months, and am really looking forward to getting to see and hug everyone again! I'm sure I will burst into tears at least 15 times :), especially when seeing my family.  I think my mom is torn between wanting to hug me for being home and slap me for being gone so long.

I guess there wasn't too much point to this blog, other than to put off cleaning for longer, haha.  Some things never change :).  Well, enough putting off work for today...here we go!

Current Location: The Eternal City!

Well, it has been a while since I have updated anything!  After finishing up my job at the colegio, she and I headed to Cuenca to celebrate the birthdays of two of my dear, dear friends, Helen and Corinna!  We had a blast, and also enjoyed the beauty of Cuenca.  Those girls were so lucky to live there!

Lucy and I in front of the river Huecar in beautiful Cuenca!

Krista and Corinna are SO EXCITED about the Cuenca present.  Wonder what it is...

Out at el Quintopecado.  Wouldn't be a visit to Cuenca without going there!

All of us minus Natira!

After Cuenca, we took a bus to Madrid and spent the night there at my friend's house.  We had some delicious tapas, and in the morning we departed for the airport to go to PARIS!  Oh my gosh, I loved Paris.  It. is. beautiful!  I will definitely put up picture when I get back to my apartment in Spain.  We saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, enjoyed walking around the Montmarte area, the latin quarter, and overall just fell in LOVE with Paris :).  Definitely on my list of places to go back to some time in my life.

Me and the Eiffel Tower!

Lucy and I at Notre Dame.

Artists in Montmarte

Self-explanatory!

On Friday morning, we headed out bright and early to the airport to fly to Pisa.  We spent a couple of hours there in Pisa, and really enjoyed it as well.  It is a small town with beautiful old architecture, history, and of couse, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (La torre inclinada!).  We saw that, obviously, and then walked around Pisa.  Also, I ate a pizza for lunch, and it was delicious.  Yes, A PIZZA.  It wasn't a small, personal pizza or anything either (maybe it was...medium sized). It was delicious. Also I ate gelato. Cannot get enough of that stuff!

Me and my Gelato. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

A few hours later, we headed back to the train station, collected our bags, and boarded our train to Florence.  Once in Florence, we had to board another train to Sieci, the small, tuscan village where my cousin's Seminary is.  I had been there before back in December, so I remembered how to get there this time.  Eddie met us at the train station, we were all so happy to see each other!  Our families grew up together, so we have always been very close.  Lucy, Eddie, and I immediately started joking and laughing; Eddie begged of us to behave during mealtimes at the seminary.  Yes, he knew that I did fine last time, but Lucy was not with me last time.  He was concerned :).

We arrived at the Seminary, got settled into our room, and then headed down for dinner.  Now, dinner here is not like dinner at other places.  Meals are had in silence, and there are a lot of unspoken rules you must follow, like eat relatively fast because the seminarians can shovel food into their mouths so fast that you will have just taken your 3rd bite and they are finished.  As they wait for the guests to finish eating before serving the next course, Lucy and I were a little nervous.  Luckily, there was this French guy visiting as well and we just followed whatever he did.  We laughed about dinner later, because Lucy took a few minutes eating her pear, and Eddie sat behind her, in his head going "LUCY FINISH THE DANG PEAR! JUST FINISH IT! EAT THE PEAR!!!" hahahahahaha.  I thought that was HILARIOUS!

So the meals pretty much went like that while we were there.  We were very civilized, don't worry.

Eddie's birthday was the day after we arrived, and he got permission to go into Florence with us to celebrate!  We went to a few museums and churches, and had a DELICIOUS Italian lunch. OH MY GOSH, it was delicious.  There was pasta, bruschetta, vegetables, fish, chicken, and white table wine flying everywhere.  For dessert, strawberries soaked in lemon juice and sprinkled with sugar.  Afterwards we felt like we could roll down a hill, but it was worth it.

Eddie being our Florence tour guide.

Lucy and I in Florence

Eddie and Lucy in Florence!

We returned to the seminary, and the next few days were able to see what life is like for Eddie.  The mealtimes, the masses, his daily chores and his jobs.  He has a busy time there, but he seems to enjoy it, and it is a really lovely house nestled quite nicely in the hills of Tuscany, so you can't really complain about that.

I love this one--Eddie with the Tuscan countryside behind him!

On Monday, we left Edwah in Sieci, and departed for ROME! Oh, Rome. Rome, Rome Rome.  I have not been able to stop thinking about Rome since I left in December.  In the summer, it is HOT, and still ridiculously beautiful.  Everywhere you turn there is an ancient building, pillars, ruins, the VATICAN.  Our hostel is literally a 5 minute walk from Vatican City.  We have been there every day.  Yesterday we saw the Pope!  Also, he was in his Pope-mobile.  The Pope on wheels, if you will.  He gave a speech, said some stuff in a few different languages, it was great.  I love being in Vatican City.  We climbed to the top of the cupula as well! That, I have decided, is my favorite place in the world.

Hello, Pope!

Of course, we walked around Roma, went to the Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, Colloseum, Vatican Museum, Trastevere neighborhood (LOVED this).  Also lots of gelato, lots of pasta, and pizza.  Basically I won't be able to fit through my apartment door when I get back.

The Spanish Steps!

Lucy and me at the Trevi Fountain

throwing in more coins!

and Lucy throwing in coins!

Sadly, we are leaving Rome today to go back to Madrid, but I am excited to see all of my amigos in Villarrobledo again for one of my last weeks there.  Before leaving Rome though, we made sure to get some gelato and pay one last visit to Il Vaticano :).

I had such a great visit with Lucy!

More later, besos!!

Mary