I’m back :)

    It’s officially been one month since I have been back in Cali! I have been having a hard time adjusting, but starting my summer job has helped get me into the swing of things. I knew that I would have reverse culture shock coming back to California, but I didn’t really know what it would feel like. I have missed the lifestyle in Spain, my roommates, hearing and speaking Spanish and so much more! Even though I have heard a ton of Spanish since I have been home it is definitely different. It’s so true, we always want what we don’t have. The things that would frustrate me such as always having to take the metro, wanting to express myself in English, or wanting different types of food are the things that I am missing.

     I know that God has me at my mom’s house in Ventura County for a reason this summer. I have already really enjoyed seeing all my family members and have gotten to spend quality time with my brother. Coming back has also been a reality check with what really has been going on here. It has been very overwhelming. I have also gotten to see several of my close friends in San Diego and San Francisco. It has been great seeing all my friends and seeing familiar faces, but again overwhelming.

     More than ever I don’t feel like I fit in, in one particular place. I am more confused than ever about what I want to do with my life and where I want to go. I know I feel this way because I realize there are so many more possibilities/ opportunties out there. I am amazed and thankful that I was able to live in Madrid. I now have an unbelievable desire to travel more and to live abroad again. Even while I get back into my routine here again I know it will be different. I will continue to live life to the fullest and I know God will show me where to go.

Dublin

May 14-17, 2008

     I can’t believe I am on my final trip! Yesterday I woke up feeling like how I felt when I arrived, in a dream. It is surreal that I am visiting another country, coming back for two weeks and then flying back home. I want to enjoy this as much as possible…my weekend in Dublin!

     Yesterday Jacqueline and I left Madrid around 7:00 p.m. because our plane was running late, but we still arrived when it was dusk. Since Dublin is one hour behind Madrid it was nice because we got some more time before it was dark to get to our hostel. Right away we noticed how green Dublin was from our airplane…What a sight!

     Our hostel is right in the middle of Temple Bar. Temple Bar is filled with bars, stores and cafes. It is a cool location, right near all the people. I love the cobble-stoned streets, that is one thing I will greatly miss about Europe…how old everything is. I was ready to go to bed when we got back from dinner because of my ankles. I hurt my ankles running and I noticed a week ago they were really swollen then after a few days they started to hurt more. So instead of going to the doctor (no time or money) I found health info online and talked to my aunt who is a nurse. So I got medicine, a bandage (like a soft brace) and one crutch. I am trying to keep the pressure off my ankles, mainly my right ankle cause it hurts worse, but I also am trying not to hurt my left ankle more. So I know it will be interesting to see how traveling goes with hurting ankles. I feel like a dork, but people have also been very helpful…with opening doors, helping me with my luggage, etc.

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     I am so exhausted from the past two days. My ankles are very sore and so is my right wrist, but all the pain and tiredness was worth it. I had a great last trip and just as Jacqueline and I joked about, it is a trip that is preparing us to return to the U.S.

     On Thursday after our breakfast we headed out to explore the city. Because we are low on money and because of Jacqueline’s suggestion I decided to try to walk instead of take the bus, but I have to admit I was a little skeptical to how walking would affect my ankles. As we started to walk we realized how close everything was to our hostel. It is such a lively area! Within a few hours we had walked all over.

     One of the first places we checked out was Trinity College. Trinity College was built in 1592 and is one of Ireland’s most prestigious universities. It was such a big campus so we only walked through a little bit of it and checked out sites near there.

     After we headed to St. Stephen’s Green, it was beautiful. Thankfully we had really nice weather so we were able to enjoy the park. It was definitely nice to sit down for awhile. After a short break we headed to Grafton St. This street is known for the stores, it definitely was very busy. While we were checking out the stores we stopped for a yummy lunch at Eddie Rockets, a fifties style diner. It was great to have a 100% ground beef burger and fries, something I have been missing. : )

     Once we were refueled we headed to the Guinness Storehouse. On the way we stopped at St. Valentine´s burial spot, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Dublin Castle, and walked past several more historical sites (I don’t remember all their names).  Even if you don’t drink beer or like Guinness, I definitely recommend visiting the storehouse. It is a really cool building. There are seven floors each with a different purpose. Starting on the lower floors you learn the ancient craft of cask making, how Guinness is brewed, the history of Guinness, the history of Guinness advertisement, and for the final floor you can receive your free pint. I had about half of mine, it’s so strong that it would have taken me awhile to finish a pint! The view from the seventh floor was awesome and we had the perfect weather to see all of the city.

     As we headed back to our hostel we went towards the river and walked on the opposite side so we could check out more of the city. To end a long full day we checked out a movie during the night, it was nice to be sitting for awhile. Well, Thursday night in the hostel is something I will always remember, what a great experience to have at a hostel on my last trip (for NOW).

     Probably between 2:30 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. I woke up because I heard some noise (besides all the people having a good time in the streets). When I looked up I saw a guy peeing next to the bed on the bunk across from me. The guy who was lying in that bed also woke up. I told him I think he is drunk and sleep walking and he said I know. I asked if we should wake him or something, but then the sleep-walker started to walk to the other side of the room. Finally the guy who’s bed got peed on tried to say something to the sleep-walker guy. The sleep-walker just mumbled and then tried getting into the other guy’s bed and the guy stopped him. Then he tried to get into my bed…I said, “Hey, hey…” and I pushed him away (the other guy was also trying to help me). Finally we turned on the light and this guy’s girlfriend (or friend) woke up and tried saying something to him. He definitely was drunk. She tried explaining to him what he did and he kept saying what are you talking about I have never done anything like that. Finally the hostel receptionist came up to clean the floor and told us if anyone wanted to change rooms we could. I ended up staying in the same room, but had a hard time falling asleep again.

     After a crazy night Jacqueline and I woke up a couple hours later than planned. For Friday we had decided we wanted to head to the coast. We took the light rail to Howth, which is a city right on the coast. We just walked to the marine to check out the ocean and the light house. After Howth we went to Malahide to check out the Malahide Castle. It was such a beautiful walk to get to the castle because it was in a huge park, but at times I felt like I was in a huge forest. Even though we had a relaxing day and we were sitting a lot my ankles were really bugging me.

     As the evening approached I was tired, but I really wanted to meet up with my friend Dwayne, who I met in Madrid several years ago. I met him at Trinity College and he took me to a big field (I don’t know the name) filled with students. Since there had been such good weather everyone was hanging out in the sun drinking. It was a cool sight to see, it made me want to stay in school forever…hehe…the students were definitely a lot different than the students from SDSU though.

     After catching up while sipping on a beer we headed out for dinner. We went to an awesome Mexican restaurant, it has been awhile since I have had Mexican food. It definitely made me excited to go back to California. Once we finished dinner we headed to a few Irish pubs in Temple Bar. I got to drink some more yummy beers, listen to Irish music and chat some more with Dwayne. It was a great time!!! Nights with familiar faces are always fun.

     Well, today we had to leave in the afternoon so we only walked around O’Connell St. and Grafton St. again. I definitely feel we got to see a ton, but I would love to come back to Ireland to check out other cities. Even though this is my last trip for the remainder of my time in Europe, it has inspired me to go to other places when I return. Once you start traveling you don’t stop…it’s in your blood.

England 2

  March 28-31, 2008  

     After my trip to Valencia during Semana Santa I was really missing my family so going to England to visit my second family was really exciting! My second family in England are the Conrows. After meeting my best friend, Josh, in high school and dating for several years I have become very close to his family, especially his sister, Chaska. Josh and I visited Chaska a few years ago in Madrid because she was working here teaching English. That definitely was a dream come true. I had been wanting to go to Spain since high school and visiting Madrid made me want to study abroad even more.

     Since I arrived in an airport outside of London and far away from Bury St. Edmunds, where they are living, I had to take a train into London at Victoria Station and then a bus to Cambridge. I really enjoyed taking the train because I was able to see more of the neighborhoods outside of London and I also loved the bus ride because it was like a free tour of London. Even though I had been to London before it was good to see the city another time. While I arrived in Cambridge, Chaska was there waiting for me. We decided to spend the day checking out Cambridge.

     Of course, when I arrived in Cambridge it was raining, but we still had a great time. I am really really happy I got to see this city, because it was so old and definitely a student city. One of the things that was quite the sight to see was King’s College. It is amazing how old the college is and the King’s College Chapel was huge. As we walked around the city we also got to see several of the other colleges of Cambridge. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go to school at such a historical school as Cambridge.

     Chaska also took me to a local pub called The Eagle, Cambridge’s oldest pub. It is said that Watson and Crick announced their discovery of DNA in this bar. It is also said that the British and American WWII pilots burned their initials into the ceiling. This is also where I had my first fish and chips meal. It was delicious!! I loved the feel of the city.There were lots of students, stone-cobbled streets, old buildings and cute little restaurants and stores. After my tour of Cambridge we headed to Bury St. Edmunds by bus. When we arrived it was a full house. Not only was I staying over, but so were four other people. One of them was my friend Dwayne. I met Dwayne when I went to visit Chaska in Madrid because they were roommates. Dwayne is from Ireland so it thankfully didn’t take him a long time to get to England and he also rented a car. I had a great night talking with the Conrows and Dwayne. I was happy to have some interesting and intelligent conversation. I say this because I had felt like I was lacking good conversations and hearing everyone talk about traveling, the economy, politics, etc. was really refreshing for me.

     On Saturday before we packed into Dwayne’s rented car for Stonehenge we checked out Bury St. Edmunds. It is a very small town, but very cute. I got to see a very old abbey, well parts of it because most of it was gone. It was very interesting though, because just from the parts that were still standing you could see what the formation of the abbey was before. We also walked around through the city and I got to see Britain’s smallest pub, The Nutshell Pub..it was crazy how small it was!!!

     After checking out the city we headed to Stonehenge. Stonehenge has been around for around since 2200 B.C. It is a formation of stones that at one point was a complete circle. No one is quite sure who constructed Stonehenge, but some people think it was Neolithic builders. Some of the stones weight up to 45 tons each and no one exactly knows how Stonehenge was constructed. It was a long drive, but again I enjoyed checking out the other parts of England. Before we arrived in Stonehenge it was already raining, but I think we probably went to Stonehenge on the worst day possible. : ) When we arrived it was pouring, windy, and freezing. It was quite the experience, not only seeing something very, very, historical, but also trying to listen to the headset, taking pictures while trying to hold my umbrella while it was raining. Basically I gave up on my umbrella at times and let the rain sting my face and then I gave up on trying to listen to the headset. Overall, this was an experience I will always remember.

     It was amazing to see Stonehenge in person and marvel at what mysterires there still are about things of the past. It was also fun being at Stonehenge in horrible weather (I hear it is very normal to have bad weather at Stonehenge), all I could do was laugh, smile and get soaked. After Stonehenge we were all starving so we drove around looking for something to eat. Once we had eaten a yummy lunch we headed back toward Bury St. Edmunds and stopped in Cambridge for a few hours. We were all pretty exhausted when we got back, it still amazes me how tired you can get from traveling.

     Sunday after I said goodbye to Blanca (Josh’s mom) the rest of us headed to London. When we arrived at the tube we all went our seperate ways Chaska and I went to our hostel, Dwayne went to see his friends and Doug and his friend went to check out London. After Chaska and I had checked into our hostel she took me to some really cool parts of London. First we went to Portobello Market, it is located in the Notting Hill district. It was such a cute neighborhood. I loved the houses and the shops. There were also people selling tons of things in front of their stores, down alley ways and in the streets, it was like a big flea market with way better stuff. After spending some time walking around we then headed to Cadmen Town. It was also an awesome neighborhood. I loved that the people and the stores were very alternative and unique. It was definitely my kind of neighborhood. Besides seeing these awesome neighborhoods another great thing was we had good weather…really good weather for London. I loved it and it made me realize how awesome London can be!!!

     During the night time we headed to the center of London and went to Piccadilly Circus. I was definitely ready to head back to the hostel when night came because I was exhausted from traveling so much. Overall, it was a great trip. I felt refreshed to be around people I knew and I felt I got to see London with a different perspective. I know every place I go gives me a new view on life and helps me to appreciate things more.