from the mountains to the islands. from underwater to the sky!

How do you keep your feet on the ground...

Our journey to Switzerland and Germany started out rather interesting. We may have woken up a bit late, but fortunately, we pretty much packed the night before. Once we boarded the metro, we found a small group of Spanish boys who were excited to practice their English with American girls! Apparently they're UPV students, or they at least got off at the UPV stop. They invited us for free breakfast (and swore there was no alchol involved.. hmm), but we declined because we needed to get our boarding passes.

Our flight from Valencia to Basel, Switzerland, was nothing special. Ryanair played their amazing song (Fly, fly Ryanair. We're gonna take you there.) once again, and as always, people clapped when we landed (WHY??). Oh, and as always, we were 30 minutes before schedule even though we left late. This is all thanks to Ryanair lying about how long it really takes to get from place to place. Thanks, Ryanair!

When we got to the Basel airport, we had three options concerning exits. We could go left and exit into France, head towards the middle and exit into Germany, or turn right and exit in Switzerland. Of course, we went right into Basel, but does that mean we were in three places at once? I'm not sure, but it's fun to think. :)

As soon as we got into the public part of the airport, we exchanged some euros for franks. I got so excited; franks are roughly equal to the U.S. dollar! Good-bye, exchange rate.. or so I thought. We took a bus into Basel, and we went straight to the train station to book a train to Germany. I had checked on the internet the previous week, and I had found some fairly cheap trains. Therefore, we were pretty surprised when they told us that the train would be over $200 roundtrip. That was not exciting. The guy at the ticket desk explained that he only had access to Swiss trains, and we'd have to go to another station to check on German trains, which is what I had found online. We decided to give that a try, and we left the station feeling a little disheartened. However, we spotted a McDonald's! American food.. that always makes you feel good! We headed towards the Golden Arches in hopes of finding comfort, but surprise! My love of the equal exchange rate soon disappeared as I discovered that, in order to make up for their horrible rate, the Swiss raise the prices of everything. Therefore, my 6 piece chicken McNugget meal cost around 12 Swiss Franks, which is much more expensive than the 6 euros I pay for it in Valencia.. oh, how sad!

There is happiness to the story, though! When we got to the other train station, we found REALLY cheap roundtrip train tickets thanks to the German rail system! For your information, the German public transportation system rocks! Not only is it cheap, but you buy one ticket for up to five people, and you can use it ALL day to go anywhere you want! And you're not limited to just the train! You can use it on the bus, metro, etc. It's great for poor college students. I wish every country did it! There was only one downfall to the system, though: we had to leave a lot earlier than planned. Originally, we were going to spend all day in Switzerland and then take an overnight train. Therefore, we had not booked a hostel. However, this train was going to put us into Germany soon after midnight, which would mean we'd need a hostel. We decided to chance our luck, board the train, and hope we found a hostel.

The train ride was pretty uneventful. I slept a lot, but we managed to make all of our connecting trains just fine, and at one of the stops there was a PIZZA HUT! :) I love American food. We also enjoyed a bit of Swiss chocolate on the train ride.. mm, chocolate! :) The train got into Munich right on time, and for once, we had amazing luck. We got the last two beds at the hostel we were planning on staying at on Saturday! Amazing! We stayed with some snorers, but that's okay. We were just happy for beds and a shower!

On Saturday morning, we woke up fairly early and went to the train station again. We had to literally RUN to make our train due to some complications, but the important thing is that we DID make it! For those who don't know, I have quite the Christmas ornament collection going. So far, I have one from every country EXCEPT Spain (Why doesn't Spain believe in Christmas decorations??), and I really wanted neat ones from Germany because the ones Mom uses to decorate our tree at home are German handblown ones that first belonged to Pawpaw and have been expanded on throughout the years.. so I thought it'd be neat to pick some hand blown ones out in Germany for myself! Anyway, I found a place on the internet that was highly recommended, but it required about an hour and a half train ride from Munich. Emily and I decided to go for it, though, despite how crazy it sounds. Traveling 90 minutes just for Christmas ornaments? Yeah, it may have been a little crazy, but it was totally worth it! We ended up training through the Alps. They were amazing and beautiful and huge and... I can't really describe it. They were just amazing. We've seen a ton of awesome things over here: the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum, Blarney Castle, etc. However, they all have something in common: they're manmade! These mountains are God-made, though, and they are intense and outstanding. Nothing can compare to His work. Standing at the foot of them and looking up makes me feel so incredibly small, and ironically, it makes me feel so loved. Here are these huge mountains that tower over me; I am minimal in comparison to them. God made the mountains; He is the great architect of the earth, and despite how small I am compared to His mountains and His oceans, He loves me, cares about me, and has an interest in my life. No, I am not any more loved than anyone else, but I can tell you that we are ALL loved and cared to EXTREME amounts! Isn't that amazing?

We eventually made it to Oberammeragau, despite missing our connecting train on the first round and Emily having to sit next to this girl who picked her nose CONSTANTLY in obvious ways. When we stepped off the train, we were greeted by this TINY town that didn't seem to have a care in the world. The people were incredibly friendly, the shops were ridiculously cute, and everything seemed to be peaceful and relaxing. We found the Christmas shop without a problem. The only real problem was deciding what to buy! There were so many things, and if you love Christmas like I do, it's even harder to choose. We spent a great deal of time in there, which is surprising because I hate shopping. :) It was fun, though, and they shipped it back to the U.S. for me! That's less to worry about getting on the plane back over the ocean. Emily found Birkenstocks in our happy little village; they're so much cheaper in Germany! We went through many of the wood carving shops, which reminded me of my daddy! He would have appreciated the craftsmanship! We also found ice cream... mmm :)

Overall, the 90 minute train ride provided us with a lot more than just Christmas ornaments. We got to see the Alps, explore one of the cutest little places ever, and escape the busy-ness of a city. I can't imagine what it is like to live there. This entire town was SURROUNDED by moutains. Can you imagine just stepping out of your door in the morning and seeing such beauty? Does it ever become old? Do you take it for granted? I hope not, although I'm sure it's easy to do so after a while. Still, Oberammergau now has a special place in my heart. I will not be forgetting it soon.


When we got back to Munich on Saturday night, we set out to explore a bit of the actual city. We went to the Town Hall, and then we went to the Olympic Stadium of 1972. It was neat to walk the grounds of it all. I'm impressed with the buildings of 1972; they were pretty modern looking! I must admit, however, that the highlight of the night did not involve any of the major sites, though. The real highlight was meeting these incredibly nice boys from Serbia on the metro! For once, the boys who approached us were NOT creepy and overbearing. They were very sweet and respectful. It's nice to be reminded that nice boys do exist :). Yay, boys. I like them...

I do NOT like Spanish boys who hit on me at hostels. For some reason, the hostel made Emily change rooms, and thus, we were separated on Saturday night. When I went back to my room, I was greeted with 4 boys who spoke very little English who begged me to go party with them. I said I'd think about it and then ran out of the room as fast as possible :). I avoided going back to the room for the longest time, and when I did go back, I was happy to find that they were gone! Unfortunately, one of them had been in my bed, so I decided to sleep in a new, untouched bed. All was well until around 4AM when they all decided to return. There were four beds in the room. However, four boys returned. I was already sleeping in one bed. Obviously, they were confused, and I was too, but I pretended to sleep and prayed they didn't try to wake me. They didn't, but they were loud and obnoxious, and if you know me, you know I like my sleep... so this wasn't pleasant. Still, they eventually settled down and two of them slept in the same bed. WHY this happened, I do not know. Whatever. :)

On Sunday morning we did something I've been wanting to do since Mrs. Anderson's 8th grade Honors English class when we did a unit on the Holocaust. We went to a concentration camp. More specifically, we went to one of Hitler's first camps, Dachau; it was the only camp that stood all 12 years of the Nazi control. I was surprised that this place of horror was located in a normal, every day town. It wasn't distanced from the population at all. It was a weird feeling. The bus lets you off at a stop, and you cross the street in order to enter the camp, and as soon as you enter the camp, there's an entire different mood in the air. The place is fairly somber, as expected. At first I was hesitant to take pictures, and even more hesitant to post them on this blog, but I think it's something that reminds you of how real it really is and teaches you of the past, so pictures will be included but more for history's sake.

You walk in on the same road that the prisoners were forced to walk on when entering Dachau. If you've read any books about Dachua, it's likely that the phrase "work sets you free" was mentioned. This phrase is on the entrance of the camp. I know this is a phrase I've heard many times when reading Jewish literature, and when I saw it in person, I was finally able to envision what they saw, what they faced, etc.

The bunkers that now stand out Dachau are only replicas of the real ones, but most of the other buildings are the originals. Some of the buildings were even built by the prisoners, who were forced to construct them. One building had "There is a path to freedom. Its milestones are: Obedience, Honesty, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Hard Work, Disciplne, Sacrifice, Truthfullness, Love of thy Fatherland." painted on the top. It's sickening. For one, it's a huge lie. The prisoners freedom did not come from their hard work; it came from the allies liberating them. Two, the people who wrote about these "milestones" did not follow them at all!

There is a museam throughout one of the buildings that was used in this time period. We walked through the rooms where the prisoners were inspected, checked in, etc. We saw horrid pictures of starving bodies that were composed only of skin and bones. It was sickening to look at it, and yet, I couldn't turn away. I felt as if to turn away would mean to ignore the truth. The truth is that this horrible thing happened. It's for real; I stood on the ground where it happened. I had to look, in order to honor the truth, and honor those who had to face such horrible, horrible, horrible conditions. One of the pictures showed Hitler standing at the same Town Hall I had stood at the day before. It was a sickening feeling; I had stood where that hateful man had stood. I felt a little too close and little too well-connected with history then.

One of the exhibits that startled me the most, perhaps because I'm an English major and big on the use of words and writing for communication purposes, related to the propoganda during this time. I've always wondered WHY people let this happen, and I never believed them when they said "they didn't know how bad it really was." While I still have some doubts, I can understand a little bit better now. I must hand it to the Nazis; they did a brilliant job of deceiving the press. The claimed that their concentration camps were actual "reeducation camps", and once people were "reeducated" about the new ideals of Germany and made into functioning members of society, they'd be released. They had their own photographer who would set up scenes that appeared rather pleasant; it didn't look as if there was any pain or torture involved, and they picked only healthy looking prisoners for the photo shoots. They had pictures of modern looking machinery, spacious work areas and living conditions, etc. I'm sure that if you had never been in the place yourself, it would have been easy to believe. It's sick that a group of people can betray the rest of the world so easily and manipulate them psychologically, and it makes you want to question the news that we are fed daily throughout the TV, newspapers, etc. Are we, too, not getting the whole picture? It's something to think about. I encourage you to examine all points of the news you are receiving.

The bunkers at Dachua, as I said before, are only replicas, but they take you to different rooms and show you how the conditions worsened with time. The number of people in each bunker increased yearly, but the number of beds decreased. There was a major overpopulation at Dachau, especially at the end of the war. People were thrown in wherever they could fit them. One of the rooms was supposed to fit around 30 people; at one point, the Nazis forced 400 people to live in it. And the most horrible part was not that the bunkers were so huge and filled with so many people.. it was that there was bunker after bunker after bunker. There were probably 40 or so total. That many bunkers with that many people in each? Yes, that's how many were tortured, ridiculed, etc.

The last part of the tour took us to the crematorium. Thousands of bodies were burned here, and yet, thecrematorium couldn't burn them fast enough. Bodies piled up and piled up before the crematorium had time to burn the old ones. There was a gas chamber attached to one of them. People were deceived and told that they were going there for a shower, when in reality, they were going to be gased and then burned. Outside there are gardens and graves dedicated to the unknown numbers who died there. One memorial especially stood out to me. There was a building honoring the Catholic priests who spoke out against the Nazi ideals, and thus, were thrown into the concentration camp. It is people like this who make you proud of the human race. They saw wrong, disagreed, and spoke out to stop it. They lost their lives while fighting for something they believed in. It reminds me to stand up for what I believe in, even if that means persecution and ridicule. Martin Niemoller wrote a poem that says, "When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out." When I view the horrors of the Holocaust and other forms of genocide, I wonder what can I do to stop it? The answer lies within this poem: stand up for what you believe in! Inform yourself, pick your stance, and defend it. The major theme of Dachau's memorial was "never again". In order to ensure this, we must never forget and continue to educate while promising to boldly speak out against injustice. It's a scary thought, but it's necessary.

We left Dachau and took a train back to Switzerland. Again, I slept a lot. When we got to Switzerland, Emily and I realized that neither of us had written down the address or the directions to the hostel. That's not good.. We had a general idea of where it was, though, so we left the train station, and we walked. And we walked some more. We asked the security guards in the train station where it was, but we soon realized that their directions did not lead us to the place. Finally, this girl who spoke English saw us looking lost and bewildered, and she offered help. Well, she directed us to the entrance of a hostel, but it was the wrong one! The guy in the wrong hostel gave us new directions, so we took off. We had to check in by 11pm, and time was ticking. His directions didn't help. Another couple gave us directions. They, too, were wrong. Finally, when we only had around 20 minutes left, we asked a lady if she spoke English. She said, "Barely". Usually, when people over here say that they "barely" know English, it means that they have this huge, extended vocabulary, and they're just looking to show off. Nope, this lady was for real. She barely knew English. However, she felt sorry for us, and when we wrote down the name of our hostel, she CALLED information for us, talked to the hostel, and found out how to get there. As it turns out, we were on the right street, and she directed us to the door step. Seriously, this lady was an angel! It also proves that nice people DO exist in the world! I am very thankful for the lady who barely spoke English, whoever she was.

Our hostel in Basel, the YMCA Youth Hostel, was the best hostel I've ever stayed at! It was CLEAN and safe. I even got to call Mom and Dad that night. It's always good to HEAR them and not just type to them! :)

On Monday morning we woke up early and explored a bit of Switzerland. We went to the Munster Church, Market Square (lots and lots of shops!), and and Rhine River. We also got Christmas ornaments! We went to a shop near Market Square called Johann Wanner that apparently is where the White House and Michael Jackson shop at for Christmas decorations. There were some red, white, and blue ornaments that I saw appropriate for the White House, but I did not see any little boy ornaments appropriate for Michael. As the afternoon rolled around, it was time to board our flight back to Valencia. I tried to videotape the ridiculous people clapping and laughing as the Ryanair song started playing when we landed, but FOR ONCE, there was no clapping! What is up with that? The one time I wish to videotape it, and they DON'T clap? Not fair!

We had class on Tuesday. It was pretty uneventful. However, as soon as class let out, our weekend started! Yeah, that's right. I've had a six day weekend this week. Apparently Spain's "May Day" (May 1) is their Labor Day, and we got out of class on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. That was joyous news! There was only one problem... where should we spend our 6 day weekend?? We tried to plan a trip to Morrocco (just to say we had gone to Africa, of course! :)), but we failed. The ferry that took us there would not get us back in time for classes the following weekend. It was also impossible to book a trip to the Canary Islands. WHY is it so hard for people from Spain to get to the Canary Islands, when they own it, but people from London can fly down there without a problem? Not fair! We went to bed Tuesday night having no idea where we were going, but when we woke up on Wednesday, we planned a trip to Mallorca in about two hours. Incase you don't know, Mallorca is a little island located to the south of Spain and owned by Spain. It's AMAZING, but more on that in a bit.. We called the ferry company, booked hostels, and packed. We had very little time to do this, as we started planning around 5:30pm and had to leave for the ferry by 7:30pm. We made it, though! We threw in TONS and TONS of clothes into a real, live suitcase because there are no baggage restrictions on a ferry! Then, we headed for the metro.

We took the metro as far as it would allow us, and then we started walking in the direction of the port. We really had no idea where the port was for our ferry, though. Time started to run out, so we flagged down a cab, and he got us there perfectly. I'm glad we decided to use a taxi; there would have been no way we could have found it by ourselves, especially under our time restraints! When we boarded the ferry, we were so surprised! It was nice! Although we opted for the cheapest ticket, and thus, did not have a cabin, we were lead to this huge room with couches, comfy chair, and tables. It's a big step up from the rock hard, uncomfortable airplane seats! We celebrated our trip by drinking a tad of Bacardi together, and then we pulled chairs together in order to make a bed, and we slept the entire night. However, I woke up around every 30 minutes from being uncomfortable, but oh well! :) I lived, and I rode a sweet ferry!

When we arrived at Mallorca, we were greeted by this beautiful island that is surrounded by the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean. Breath taking! We took a cab to the hotel (Hostal La Mimosa! It's great!), and the cab drive was extremely annoying. He had this really weird laugh about him, and when we finally arrived at our hostel, he said the price was "around 20 euros". I had seen the price earlier, and it was NOT that, but whatever. We just wanted to get rid of him. He did inform us that Mallorca is home to Michael Douglas, though, and upon further research, I also found that Catherine Zeta-Jones also lives there for a large portion of the year! Anyway, we were greeted by free breakfast at the hotel, and it was good! They let us drop off our luggage and change into swimsuits, and we headed towards the beach. The little town we stayed in was so quaint; there were little shops everywhere and people going about. It was soon apparent that, although we were still in Spain, the British dominate this island! Apparently Mallorca is a major getaway for the Brits, sort of like Cancun is for Americans. Therefore, all of the signs were in English, and stores advertised having "British service" or "British food", etc. It was pretty funny! Pretty much everyone we came in contact with spoke English, which is sooo untrue about the country as a whole!

The beach we arrived at was crowded, and it wasn't very big, but it was gorgeous! There were rocks and coves nestled up on the sides. We enjoyed just laying about in the sun for hours and listening to music.. and watching the little boys jump off rocks into water. It looked very dangerous, but it was fun to watch! I'm proud to report that we did not get burnt on day one! :)


We went back to the hotel later that day and officially checked in. Our room ended up having three beds in it, which was nice! We also had a little balcony with a view of the gorgeous Mediterranean. We were definitely well taken care of! The hotel even had a pool, which we lounged near for a while. Yeah, we were that close to the ocean and went to a pool.. but it had been forever since I had been near one! :) Later that night we ventured down the road and looked for places to eat. We eventually came upon a Chinese restaurant. We've been wanting Chinese for months, but we haven't found any places that appear to be sanitary. This place looked safe, though, so we went in and had some chicken and rice. I'm happy to report that it did not give me food poisoning, and it was good! And I truly believe it was chicken, not cat. Mm! :) We also ventured off to the port. I love the boats and docks!

On Friday morning we decided to go to a nearby town, Magaluf. It's one of the most popular destinations for Mallorca visitors. We boarded the bus and rode it for a while until -- BAM! Our bus hit a car. The bus driver immediately freaked out and looked all around. It was clear that he had no idea what to do. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road, and a lady who had been a passenger in the car started walking in our direction. However, the bus driver didn't wait! He just drove off! Crazy! So, yeah, we were involved in a hit and run accident in Mallorca, and we were the ones running!!

After missing our spot and having to pay again, we eventually made it to Magaluf beach. We started the day off right with lunch at McDonald's. Then, we ventured out in hopes of finding a place that does parasailing. When we first went to the beach in Valencia, we saw a guy parasailing, and it's been stuck in our minds ever since. We decided Mallorca would be a perfect place to do it! We asked a shop owner if he knew any places, and while he didn't really know, he did tell us about how much he loved Americans and gave us free suckers. Can't beat that! ;) We headed in the direction of the beach in hopes of seeing someone doing it. We found a little stand that said "ask about parasailing", but when we asked, they told us they weren't going to start doing it until NEXT week! We were a little sad that we were a week early, but we decided to make the most of the day, and we found chairs and a little hut on the beach and sunbathed for hours.

Friday was a very important day: it was the first day that I fully submerged myself into the Mediterranean! Yeah, I know.. I've been here for months and just now did it? Yeah, that's right. The water has been COLD! I finally went for it on Friday, though. I ran in without a second thought, and guess what I found out? It felt GOOD once I was actually in it! The water was the clearest I've ever seen. Without a doubt, it beats any of the beaches I've been to in California and Florida. I walked out and had water up to my chin, looked down, and could still see my feet. Mom, who doesn't like the ocean much because she can't see what's crawling at her feet, would have loved this! It was so gorgeous. I'm in love with the Meditteranean. :)

On Saturday we decided to try our luck in a different town, Palmanova. We hopped on the bus and made it there WITHOUT hitting any more cars! When they dropped us off, we found a tourist information booth and asked about parasailing. To our delight, the lady said there was a place doing it! We practically ran down the beach to the place, but when we got there, they told us that they wouldn't be starting until tomorrow. We were a bit disappointed, but there was a scuba diving place nearby, so we decided to check it out. We ended up signing up for a small intro to scuba diving class that would be followed by a dive. It didn't start until 3pm, though, and it was only noon, so we wandered down the beach and once again found chairs and a hut. Somehow we ended up falling asleep, and when I woke up, it was 3:15!! Oops! We hurried it on up to the scuba diving place, and fortunately, it wasn't a problem! We watched a small video and met our instructor from Holland, Chris. He gave us our wetsuits and gear, and we prepared. Then, we followed him out to see. Incase you didn't know, it's REALLY hard to walk forward with flippers on! I also find it difficult to get water out of my mask while underwater, which is one of the tasks that he tried to teach us. I didn't quite master the skills, but we swam out to sea anyway. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy the first half of the experience much. For one, I suck at getting water out of my mask, and two, I really, really, really like breathing out of my nose, and scuba diving does not allow for that! It was really hard for me to get used to only breathing with my mouth. I'd also get caught up on THINKING about what I was doing, and I wouldn't breathe naturally, which caused me to minorly freak out at times. The good thing is that Chris was really patient with me. :) We saw some plants and fish, and eventually I calmed down a bit. The key to scuba diving is not thinking about it, which is what I started to do on the second portion of the dive. When I didn't think about it, I did just fine. I'd say I even enjoyed it! :) So, if I ever go scuba diving again, I just have to remember to NOT THINK ABOUT IT! Thinking about it leads to hyperventilating and thoughts of drowning.. not good! :) Still, I'm happy we got to experience scuba diving in the Meditteranean!

We rounded off the evening by going to Subway (American food!!) and returning to our beach chairs. Between Subway and the chairs, we found a jolly little gang of Irish men sitting in a sports bar yelling at the TV. Just like America... :) They were fun! We watched the sun set BEHIND our chairs (as in not facing the ocean :-(). We also talked in third person a lot and came up with nicknames. P.F. will forever love F.W. :) We later went to the "Prince William" pub (Remember, it's the British Cancun!) for cocktails. Sadly, they were not slush like; they were only iced. :(

I fell asleep pretty early on Saturday night, but when I awoke on Sunday, it was time for another free breakfast at the hotel! Then, it was back to the bus stop for another trip to Palmanova. We arrived around 11:30, and the parasailing guys told us they were doing it that day, but it wouldn't start until noon. We returned to beach for a few good hours of sunbathing before parasailing. Sadly, my butt got a little crispy (Yes, I was wearing bottoms.), and now it's uncomfortable to sit. That didn't stop me from parasailing, though!! We headed to the place around 2:30, and we gave them our money, and they gave us life jackets and a harness. Here's a fun fact: Emily and I were the first people to parasail on Palmanova beach in 2008!! When you think about it, it's a LITTLE scary because that means we were the first to try out the equipment for the year, but hey, we lived! We had watched a video of parasailing on the internet, and the people went into the water before going into the sky. We were scared that would be dreadfully cold. However, we never touched the water! We sat on the back of the boat, and they released the parachute, and up, up, up we went! We flew over the Meditteranean with our feet dangling below us. It was sooooo much fun (minus the times I thought about how much it would hurt if I became unattached to the parachute and hit the cold water from that high up...). The Norwegian girl who went after us took these pictures for me. The only bad part was that the guys who harnessed us to the parachute spoke very little English. This means that they gave us no instructions as to how to start out OR land. Once we were dangling high up in the air, we started to wonder how we would ever land, and we kicked ourselves for not asking! After a while, they started to reel us in, though, and we got closer and closer to the boat and hovered over it until we could stand on the back end. Once again, we never touched the water, and we sat down as soon as we could, and they released the harness! It was sweet. I must admit, though. I was really glad that Emily was next to me. I don't think I would have liked it much if I had been up there by myself. Kudos to the girl who went after us; she did it all by herself, and she didn't scream one bit! :)


There was another trip to Subway after parasailing, and eventually we wound up on the beach once again. I fell asleep again -- surprise! It started to get cold when the sun started to set, so I wrapped up in a towel and slept for a bit longer before deciding that one last dip into the Mediterranean sounded like a splendid idea. The beach was pretty deserted at this time. No one was swimming, and there were just occasional people walking by. We took advantage of this and took lots of pictures. I also completed one of my goals for coming to Spain... I skinny dipped in the Mediterranean! :) We swam out a bit, and I took off the swimsuit. I'm pretty sure this old guy on the beach may have seen my top go off, but it's not like it was a big deal to him; every other female on the beach that day had had hers off (I hadn't!). It was a little cold, but it was very liberating -- haha! I rather enjoyed it, and putting it back on before exiting the water wasn't half as hard as I thought it would be.


The sun had gone down by the time we boarded the bus back to our hotel. Surprisingly, we were rather productive when we returned to the hotel. I did my part of a group project and talked to my mom! We had to wake up early today in order to get a taxi to go to the ferry. Surprisingly, our ferry was VERY empty. There was hardly anyone aboard it! I think I was the most productive I have been all semester aboard the ferry today. I completed a presentation for next week which took a few hours to do, did Spanish homework, AND studied for a final that isn't until like 4 weeks from now! I like feeling accomplished. I don't feel that way much over here, but it's nice to be reminded that I can still be a good student if I want to.

The ferry company was supposed to call a cab for us, but it never showed up. When we asked about it, they just said it was coming, and so we waited.. and waited.. and it never showed up! We got lucky, though. Someone else had taken a cab TO the port, which meant there was an empty one for us to use! Our cab driver was really nice and brought us safely to dear old Tramoyeres.

Tomorrow we return to class. We have less than a month left of school, which seems surreal to me. Where did this semester go? How has the time passed so quickly? Still, this last month will prove to be the most difficult: homework, presentations, papers, and tests. There will be very little slacking this last month, which is rather unfortunate!

If you've made it to the end of this blog, congratulations! Or I guess, really, I should say thanks! That was a lot to read, but that's the full update! I miss you ALL, but I will see you very soon! In the meantime, please continue to pray for my uncle and my family. Pray for peace and strength. I would appreciate that greatly! :) Thanks, everyone! I love you all. Hasta luego!

...when you know that you were born to fly?