Winter Break may be my new favorite holiday....

Hello All!! Did you miss me?? Well I have recently gotten some harsh words from my lovely sister(not to mention names but it was Erica and she was very feisty)about how I have fallen very far below my promise to blog every other day. Well I am here now to update on everything that has happened lately. Since we last talked I have been to Seville and Barcelona. Both of which were amazing.!!!! When we went to Sevilla we saw a famous bull fighting arena. The castle where Ferdinand and Isabella lived when they sent Columbus to the America's, to the 3rd largest church in the world and saw the sister city to Kansas city which is only remotely cool because my roommate and best friend Christina is from there. She lives on the Plaza in KCMO(Kansas City the Missouri side) where there is an exact replica of the plaza in Sevilla. It was very cool to see it because Christina is like this is so cool!!!!! After about an hour we didn't care anymore but it was cool at first. lol Then we went on a walking tour of the rest of the city. It has so much history it has the tobacco factory that the opera Carmen is written about. It also holds a famous plaza where all of the Star Wars filmed. Who knew such a history town could be so modern at the same time. That trip was so much fun! I would love to go back. Thw whole town was like alittle piece of Florida. There were gardens and orange trees everywhere. You could even eat them if you wanted. We didn't because out guide said they tasted horrible this time of year....but maybe next time.
Then we had a whole week of boring school.......Nothing fun ever happens there...lol Just kidding!! No we had dance class where we learned a whole new dance. I love this class and if you ask my dad he will tell you just how valuable art is because he was billed by SLU a classroom fee and wasn't too happy about it.....No but my classes really are going well. I had my first test last week and got a 99% on it! And it was in Oceanography. It was hard but I studied aton! I absolutely love that class. It is so interesting and my teacher is great.
Last weekend we went to Barcelona. It was one of my favorite trips because I love the city. Other than that part everything else was horrible....Our Hostel didn't turn on the heat and it was 40 Degrees, the airline messed up our flights and over charged me but wouldn't refund me, my roommate was sick, my parents were too busy to talk to me.....it was just a mess. I highly recommend going to Barcelona because it is so beautiful and historic and fun. Everything about the city is Spanish. The whole place has history from Columbus, to the Olympics to the industrial revolution. You can't throw a rock there with out hitting a monument. We ended out trip a little early to get home and away from the troubles and I arrived in Madrid to find my parents had sent me the best package for valentines day ever!!! It has cami's and nail polish and candy and hot chocolate.!!! It really made me feel better and stop making me miss home! It was perfect. Then I started getting excited because they will be coming to visit me soon.....
They are visiting over easter break!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to show them everything I love about Madrid!
Anyway back to me, I have monday and tuesday off of school so me and my roommates decided we deserved a reward. We are going to the canary islands to an all inclusive resort. I am so excited. We leave in a few hours so that is why I am finishing up packing now. I can't wait to lay on the beach the whole 4 days. We are going there with no plans but to lay and turn golden brown. I have midterms when we get back so I will be studying while I am there but mostly I will be relaxing!Don't worry I will be taking plenty of pictures and I can't wait to write all about it. We are there for 4 days and fly home tuesday morning so we can study some more and recover from our vacation. Well now that I have made all of my loved ones nice and jealous I think it is time I get back to packing.!!!!! Keep me posted on your lives too....I want to know how home is! Love you all!!!! Miss you like crazy! Don't forget about me.!!!! lots of love!
Adios
ALY

Time to travel.

Hello there!! I know I know I said I was going to blog about every other day. I haven't exactly been keeping up with that but I will try to put more effort into it. Recently in my life there has been alot going on. Last weekend I had some friends come in from out of town. They are all studying in Rome and wanted to see me and some of my friends studying here. It was good to see most of them....I mean its always hard to spend time in a large group of people especially when there ate alot of strong personalities. lol Well we only saw my friends for one night because after the first night I realized that if I'm going to be living in another country then I need to be surrounding meslef with new people. I can go to American bars back home. I live in Madrid Spain its one of the most alove cities in the world and I choose to spend time with mostly englich speaking student....well not anymore. Last Saturday me and my roommates when to a classmates dorm and realized just how fun it is to meet new people. We met all students at my school who are staying here 4 years. They were so nice and we all compared stories and backgrounds and it was really fun to branch out. Alot of them aren't American so that was nice to expand my friend circle. If living here has taught me anything it is that I need to stop being so comfortable. I was comfortable with my old friends and going to the same bar. Not anymore I am going to try new things because I'm living here once and I need to make memories that are unforgettable and not stay in my American bubble.
Anyways the rest of my week has mostly been school. I love my classes still which is good. I have really great teachers. Also alot of my classmates are really nice. I have met a few people that are studying abroad next semester at SLU's home campus so we can hang out when they come visit me. My dance class is by far my favorite class. Now my best let me add but defiantly the most entertaining. I'm not a bad dancer but I am not as good as erica. We learned a dip yesterday where I put all my weight on one leg and fall almost into the splits......its not my favorite but we have to do it to end our final showcase so I have till April to practice. We preform for the whole school at this show and its filmed so I will buy a copy and invite you all over to see it.
Tonight....well actually in about an hour I will be leaving on my first weekend trip. We are going to Sevilla. Its about a 6 hour bus ride so we are taking a night bus so we can sleep on the bus and get there in the morning.I'm excited to go. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. It is tropical so it will be warm and they have the 3rd largest church in the world!!!!! I'm actually going to look at it for Lc's wedding. Just Kidding!! They also have huge Salsa shows and dances in the street, and great historical museums. I can't wait to leave. Other than the bus ride it should be great!!! Don't worry we will be getting back on sunday just in time to go watch the Superbowl! I will try and figure out a way to upload some photos for everyone to see!!! Well I better go pack! I love and miss you all!!!!!
I hope to return with many great stories and good pictures. THINKING OF YOU GUYS ALWAYS!!! love you!
Aly