home again, home again

As long as my heart is beating...

In case you didn't figure it out, I did eventually make it home despite the delay after delay. They finally allowed us to board our plane in Chicago sometime after midnight, but of course, they then decided to reroute our flight, so we ended up taxi-ing on the runway for some time. We did that for so long that we missed our place in line to depart, so we ended up shutting off the engines and just sitting on the runway. Let's just say that people were not happy. We FINALLY took off, though, and I fell asleep before they even started passing out drinks. When I woke up I heard the flight attendant come on the intercom and say, "Welcome to Tuscon." Fortunately, she was wrong, and we were in Tulsa. :) She also proceeded to apologize for the delays, but she was laughing the entire time she was talking, and as you can imagine, that didn't go over well in the cabin. As you can see from the picture, our flight from Chicago was the last one into Tulsa International Airport for the night. Consequently, the airport was pretty dead when I got off the plane, and it was not hard to spot my daddy and mommy. I've never been that happy to see then in my entire life!! I was so thankful to finally be back in Tulsa, and I was equally thankful when Dad stepped up to the luggage carousel and lugged my 75 lb bags off of it for me and proceeded to drag them to the car. :) The picture above of Dad and me was shortly after I stepped off the plane. What I love most about it is the fact that I spent 5 months living on a beach, and I still look albino next to him and his tan. Thanks, Dad! :)

When we finally made it back to Pryor, I got to see my kitty (!!), and I accidentally woke Ashley up, so I got to see her for a few seconds. :) I was also happy to find that nothing I'd brought back with me (mainly Christmas ornaments) had broken in transit. This past semester was the longest I had ever been gone from home, but it felt like I'd never left. I think that just shows that Pryor will always be my home, no matter where I live or what happens.

It has now been almost a month since I got back, and I've been whole-heartedly enjoying my summer and just being. To summarize the past few weeks, I've spent lots of time with my family, and I've seen friends from both MSU and Pryor. We partially moved me into our apartment, but I've still been spending most of my time in Pryor. I ate some Texas Roadhouse. I went to the Saint Louis Zoo yay, puffins!) and realized that I'll take Missouri's stars over Valencia's lights any day. I watched a Royals game at Kauffman with my family, and Dad then took me to Crown Plaza, where they have the tower that is a replica of the one in Seville (Remember, KC is Seville's sister city!), and the whole Plaza looks like Spain. I helped Henry celebrate his 21st birthday in Springfield, and later Emily and I had our first fajita night together back in the U.S. Oh, and I've been doing lots of reading. It's so nice to have access to books in ENGLISH! :) I've also enjoyed driving my car and using the microwave. I'd probably also enjoy using the dryer if I ever did my own laundry, but since I don't, I'll just enjoy watching Mom use it. ;)











(H-dizz and me on his 21!) (Aaron and dad in my apt.)









(Ash & me at the Royals game.) (Seville in Kansas City.)

I've also had an entire month to reflect on one of the most amazing semesters of my life. Here are some of my favorite memories (Emily may be the only person who understands some of them, so if you have questions, just ask!), although they are mainly for my own benefit, so you may skip over them if you please:

• Missing all of our flights on the way over. It made for such a good story. :)
• Seeing the Mediterranean for the first time as we flew into Barcelona. I'll never forget it.
  
• Finally arriving in Valencia (without luggage, I might add!), realizing that Lucia (who was supposed to be picking us up) was nowhere to be found, and just sitting on the bench and staring into space. Most people probably would have freaked out, but we were too tired to even think about it.
  
• Cramming ourselves into Alberto's car for the first time and being too tired to even attempt speaking in Spanish. Oh, and let's not forget the receptionist at the hostel who thought we were completely stupid and told us we shouldn't leave our luggage in the luggage room. :)
• Having Abril walk through the door of our room and meeting her for the first time! It was a start to a beautiful friendship with a beautiful girl. :)
• The creepy people that we stayed in the hostel with.. the 40 year old German, the people who roomed with us and spoke Galic, Frenchie, and the dad/daughter pair. And I loved being the horrible roommate who stayed up all night and slept all day. I also loved it when Henry quacked so early in the morning and made our roomies hate us! And I loved how I couldn't figure out how to close the shades on the window and the bathroom that smelled digusting.
  
• The piso search. I HATED it at the time, but now it's so funny to look back and remember all the ghetto places that we contemplated living in, especially the place by the beach and the drug house.
  
• Our first night out with Lucia and her friends. I'd never been that happy to go to McDonald's in my life!
• The first time we walked around the center of Valencia by ourselves at night. It was magical, and Valencia stole a little piece of my heart from the very start.
  
• Staying up all night in the hostel for free breakfast that sucked.
  
• Making people call my parents and telling them to get online. I think this is how Mom and Henry really became friends. ;)
• Staying with Lucia and getting to be a part of her family. Falling asleep in Lucia and Alberto's bed, the air mattress, taking over Little L's room, our first paella, etc..
• Attempting to pack for our first Ryanair flight. Planning our first Ryanair trip the day before.
  
• Thinking we were going to crash when we landed in Ireland. Sheila's hostel and Ipod boy (my lover). Spending Emily's 21st in Cork. Kissing an Irish boy. Hearing the man on the bus say "Blaaaackkkkkrock!". Becoming a certified Irish whiskey taster. ;) Kissing the Blarney Stone and the cute little old man who held onto me while doing so. The drunks who asked us if we were from Australia and threatening to beat them with my umbrella.
  
• Scholars House reunion in London! Seeing Wicked. The iPope (oh, the iPope). The devastating lunch buffet at Pizza Hut. Missing our flight to Valencia and spending the night in Stansted. Estonia boy and showing him to Aaron on the cam. The comments that appeared on my blog from Estonia after that. Hearing how Estonian movies were better than American movies. Being invited to take a walk and get cappucino.
  
• Being scared we may have lost the piso when we missed our flight.. haha. :)
  
• Our first meal in the piso. Sleeping in the same bed for the first few nights because we were too lazy to unpack and make another bed.
  
• My tooth falling out. It made for a good story. And we got to meet Dr. Gomez, who was sooo nice! :)
• Seeing Billy for the first time walking across campus.
  
• Lighting the stove under the guidance of Nancy and Ken via the internet.
  
• Meeting "Javi" in the study away office. Going to class for the first time and realizing we were two weeks late. Oops. Having the female H approach us and ask us to be in her group.
  
• Becoming addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola, that is :).
  
• The first few weeks of Rosa. SHE WAS SO INTIMIDATING!!
• Meeting Nat and Maria for the first time.. another wonderful relationship! :)
• The old lady on the bus who offered to drive us home when we were too stupid to figure out the bus system and Gary the bus driver was mean to us.
  
• Billy and the wine bottle. Also, Billy showing us how to REALLY use our stove and telling us the stereotype of American women.
  
• Our first trip to the beach near our house.. and meeting Sanchez and his brother. Oh, Sanchez.
  
• The somewhat crazy church.
  
• Watching Emily rip the girl's panty hose.
• Falling in love.. with the Principe.
  
• Spending the night in UPV's dorm that we had mistaked for the Student Union.
  
• Walking through the muddy park on the way to Corte because we didn't realize there was a bridge.
  
• Running from the metro police. Later, being caught by the metro police but playing stupid and acting like we had no idea that we were supposed to stamp our tickets.
• The night the power went out in the piso. Haha :)
• Going to Italy for the first time and realizing that there's nothing to do in Pisa. Going on an accidental date with the 30 year old Italians and being afraid they were going to kill us in one of the abandoned alleys. Getting to call my parents from Pisa. Breaking the wine bottle and meeting Raj and the gang when we got kicked out of Pisa's airport. Sleeping on the bathroom floor of the airport. Eating 5 tons of gelato.. or that's what it felt like anyway. The guy who cut his finger at Novella's. Taking pictures of Michelangelo's David. The most perfect night in Florence.
  
• Emily and I had overlapping classes.. meaning we didn't go to one class half the time. We vowed not to tell anyone in case we failed. We didn't!
  
• Watching people attempt to hook up with other people in hostels. (That's how "E-Hostel" was born!!)
• Speaking Galic with Emily. "Ay ca qual eh?"
• The guy with the beer and the crotch on London's subway. Hahaha.
  
• The broken shower in the piso. Gross!
• Having the neighbor YELL at us and scream "POLICE!" when we had no idea what was going on.. oh, good times.
  
• Foster's American Restaurant.. sick!
  
• Sigma Pi (like Pie 'cause we like Pie) Chi (like CHEEEE 'cause we like hair straighteners) sisters 4 lyfe!
  
• Alberto's birthday and the SPARKLERS!! Also, the sangria.. oh, sangria! :)
• Mascletas and churros..
  
• Watching Mom, Dad, and Aaron coming through the gate at the airport. Laughing at Mom and Dad's huge amounts of luggage and Aaron running ahead of them.
  
• Getting lost in London from the very start and following Aaron who supposedly knew where he was going... :)
• Mom's silly quotes. Seeing everything in London. Hearing Dad talk like he was British.
  
• Falling asleep on the plane to Rome and having Aaron wake me up because I was in some strange man's lap.. oops.
  
• Wandering around Rome with my family. Hearing Dad's historical tidbits.
  
• Having my parents there to buy me stuff!! ;)
• Seeing someone get arrested on the plane to Valencia!
• Our first night of Fallas in Valencia. Getting stuck in the chaos. Seeing falleras for the first time. The fireworks. The noise. The atmosphere.
• FALLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FALLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FALLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was probably my favorite thing of the entire semester.
  
• Valencia's bull fights. Eating at Burger King when massive amounts of fireworks exploded outside. The drunk guy who kept grinding mom while we were waiting for the falla to burn. Watching the burning! Meeting other American's.
  
• Phil. Stupid Phil.
  
• Waterford in Ireland. "The erection in the intersection". Live music in the pub.
  
• Meeting up with Ash, Rach, and Em in Barcelona! Ash "spotted" me! :)
• The Ideal Youth Hostel. "We're just here to sell beds!" Sleeping in the bed with Em. Hahaha.
  
• All the inside jokes.
  
• Making Ash eat 4 fajitas. She loved it. Hearing Rachel's nerdy, historical tidbits.
  
• PISSING BOY in Belgium!
  
• seXy leXy. aliens. penguins. guitar. inns.
  
• The Anne Frank House. Tulips. Canals in Amsterdam.
• The divorced Australian lady in our hostel who beat her husband when he snored.
  
• The receipt in the bathroom at UPV. ;)
• DISNEYLAND PARIS!! What a magical day.. :)
• Doner Kebabs.. oh, gross.
• My love affair with the Eiffel Tower. Hanging out with Abril in Paris. Eating ice cream. Notre Dame... PARIS!
• It's possible... yes.
  
• "I did it with an alien last night." (Because ****** did it with *****.)
• Making it our mission in life to find Pizza Huts (or Subway).
  
• Jim. John. Joe. seXy. Jimmy John?
• Georgia Boy. Uggh! Georgia Boy!
• The rooftop. Sunbathing on the roof. Drinking on the roof. Eating cookies on the roof. The rooftop.
  
• Being in the Alps in Germany. Booger girl who read Harry Potter. Christmas ornaments in both Germany and Switzerland!!
• The ferry to Mallorca. Paradise in Mallorca. Parasailing. Scuba diving. Laying under the umbrella. The bus wreck in Mallorca. the ferry ride.
• Mother's Day with Nat and Maria.
  
• JAN!! Impersonating Jan. JAN!!
• Seeing random MSU people in both Paris and Barcelona.. weird!
• "I have a blondie.." and being a clever girl.
  
• The beautiful Seville. The bus trip there (and fearing we wouldn't get on the bus at all!). The most perfect weekend.
  
• The shocking experience with the electrical outlet. The plane ride to Rome with Billy and meeting Billy's brother. Taking on Rome in one day! Pigeon's in Venice!!
  
• Jumping pictures.
  
• the bse with the bpe!
  
• BUMPER STICKERS!
  
• "Ugly words" and "Don't turn in anything that's crap"... and just hearing David cuss.
• Hating Emily but don't tell her. ;)
  
• When Emily and I created our own language. Em, it's the ble, and you enjoy listening to the bjse, and you are going to marry the bjtb/me! You're the bpeeeeEEE!
  
• One day back when we were staying with Lucia in January. I looked at the calendar and realized we had 20 weeks left. I was homesick and never thought I would survive.. my, how I was wrong! It went by so fast. I miss it.

When I departed from the U.S. back in January, my mom gave me a card, and inside it she wrote something about how she knew I would change from this experience. I didn't realize yet how much I would change, but I have, and I hope it's for the best. I think I finally grew up in Europe (just a tad, really). I was forced to become more independent and start relying on myself because, other than Emily, there was no one else there. However, it also became evident that I'll always need my parents. They understand me better than anyone else. I also gained a bit more confidence in myself. I'm not as hesitant to ask questions anymore. I gained a lot of trust, which is good because I'm usually bad about not trusting people. You have to trust, though, when you leave all of your belongings at hostels that don't lock and you have to rely on strangers to tell you how to get around a city. I cherish home and all that accompanies it a great deal more. I am much better about NOT taking the little things for granted. I realized that you really do have to just "let go and let God" because He truly is in control of it all, and His will will be done. Consequently, I changed the way I approach life. Instead of worrying about what may happen or how events will play out, I started to just let them BE. Emily and I also adopted the mottos of "You only live once!" and "You'll never see those people again!" The first motto has helped me to do what I want to do and not be afraid. The second motto has helped me to stop caring about what people think. Really, I HAD to stop caring about what people thought when our shower broke and we were nasty for weeks.. :) Finally, I got a better sense of where I want to go with my life. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do, but I know what I don't want to do. And I'm confident that my choice of major is right for me. However, if something goes wrong, I think I'd make a decent travel agent after planning so many trips in Europe.. :)

Life's good. It truly is.

I also learned a great deal in Spain. I can tell you a bit about the Spanish Regional Economy and maybe even a tad about Multimedia Productions, but that's not what's really important.. I learned to truly trust God in Spain. I had to trust Him to take care of us and provide for us, and He did. I'm so blessed. I learned that hearing "La Cadena" on the intercom of the metro can bring a smile to your face when you've been gone all weekend. I've also discovered that studying abroad is a true test of friendship. If you be someone's sole friend for 5 months and still love each other after it, that says a lot about your friendship! Thanks, Em! :) Also, if you can go 5 months without seeing someone and then returning to find things exactly like you left them, that says a lot, too. I've also realized how much you can control your day. If you're sad and you mope about it, you'll continue to be sad. You have to choose to be happy. It's not always fun, but it's worth it. There are still nice people in the world. You find them in the most random places. I have more faith than ever in mankind and its power to change the world. The world really is a small place.. and I like it being that way. Public transportation is good to a certain extent. Don't take the drinks offered on Ryanair. Sometimes the best trips are the ones in which you don't have any set agendas. If you want a self esteem booster, go to the beach; there's always someone that looks worse than you. Snail mail in the U.S. can make your day; snail mail in Europe can make your week. You can wear the same pair of jean for two weeks straight. America's not always right; we need to focus more on education and not forget to learn about the whole world and not just ourselves. Life goes on without you when you're gone, and maybe that's not as bad as it sounds. There were lonely moments when I would say, "God, I want all of you! I want to be closer to You.", and He eventually helped me to learn that I didn't need more of Him; He just needed all of me. Finally, I learned that distance is not something to be feared; it really can make you closer.

So.. how do I summarize the past semester of my life? To put it simply, life's happened. There have been joyous moments full of light, but there have also been wounded, rattled moments. All of these moments have composed my journey in life, though, and if we have the Light with us, we won't stumble; we don't have to fear. Each new day is full of opportunities, which means that each day is a new journey, and God can surprise us in so many different ways. I want to greet each day with a quest to truly live and not just merely exist. Life's a fantastic journey full of never-ending movement, and I have a great God who travels with me. My journey continues daily, and I am excited to see where God leads me.

Clearly, I am a very blessed girl.

Now that the European adventure is officially over, this will probably be one of my very last posts in this blog. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with it these past few months. You don't realize how much it meant to me to know that there were so many people reading and caring! I am blessed by all of you! If you find yourself having withdrawals from reading my blog (ha. ha.), I do keep another blog that I'd probably give you the link to if you ask nicely. ;) I will warn you that it, however, usually lacks structure and really just rambles about the silly musings of a 20 year old girl. Once again, thanks for sharing in my journey and encouraging me throughout it. I love you all; may God bless you and keep you!

...where You lead me I will follow.