A little reminder of home...

The best part of this week was walking into a grocery store and accidently running into the tiny little mexican food section. I literally jumped in the air!!  They have these funny little kits where you can make fajitas or burritos,  where all you have to do is buy a little bit of ground beef! Its great. 

I am finally really starting to feel like I am a part of my family. Yesterday, we watched this concert called Eurovision, which you all should look up, where 24 European countries send a new singer and they have this huge concert, and after all 48 countries vote for the best. Belen told me that its really political, and that if a country doesn't like another country, they wont vote for them. The concert was amazing and wonderful, sometimes they sang in their own languages, but most of the time it was in English. Which, I thought was a little sad, but what can you do. 

My internship is going well too! The people are starting to get to know me, and they remember my name and ask how my classes and other things are going. I have made some really good friends here too, through my internship, and they have been great. I hope someday I will be able to show them the level of hospitality that they have shown me. They have literally brought me into their lives and made me one of their own. They make me dinner, take me out, are patient with me and my spanish, and always make sure that I am ok. The coordinator of the program, Julian, has been especially helpful. He always texts me to make sure that I make the metro on time, or other things like that. I feel like there are people here that I can depend on, and its really nice because they are so great and dont make me feel like a bother. 

Lets see, its less than a month till Im 21!! Woo Hoo! and a happy early birthday to my dad! 

Thats all for now, sorry if its not that exciting! Be thinking of me, I really do miss my friends and family. 

Besos~

Theres a bedea in my bano...

lol there seriously is. I walked in the first day and was like, why are there two toilets??! And then I realized what it was. It was pretty funny. Im trying to get used to my homestay, but its been a little weird. The mom is just really strange! She has 11 different kinds of laundry detergent. No kidding, and she keeps her nail polish in the fridge. And shes always trying to feed me! She says, Estas muy delgado! Demasiado! Which means that i am too skinny. She also says that if I dont eat more my parents are going to kill her. I just laugh and laugh.

I am finally at a place where I am not the loudest person! Everyone here is sooo loud! They scream! And they interrupt you a lot, and dont seem to notice or care! But they are kind and they love that Im an American, and always tell me about how they spent some time in some city. They think that because Im american Ive been to every state! And they are really confused when I tell them i havent been to Miami or New York. They wonder what Ive been doing with my life!

I have met a lot of great people, and have started to make some great friends! I had a great conversation with Belen this morning about guys and how I know if they are interested in me, and what I should do to tell them polietly that I am not interested! But she is convinced that I will fall in love here and will come back after I finish school. She says Porque No? (why not?) And I try to explain to her that this is an educational trip and Im not looking for a novio (boyfriend). But she says that she doesnt understand why a girl like me doesnt want a novio. Im not exactly sure what that meant. All that to say, it has been a little weird here cause the guys are very forward, and while guys in the states will whistle, these guys scream Que Guapa!!! (literally, how beautiful) at me as i walk down the street. Its really strange.

But I am getting settled in here nicely, and i cant believe its only been a week and a half, I feel like Ive been here forever. My spanish is great, a lot better than I expected. I do need to work on my past tense though.

Oh and one more funny story, people here park their cars in the middle of street and run into stores. its hilarious. When belen came to pick me up, she parked in the middle of the street, and there were cars zooming past us as we tried to put my suitcase in her incredibly small car. (all the cars are small here) I couldnt help but laugh. Every time Im with her its an adventure, something crazy always happens. I love it!

Hope you are all well!

Besos!

Kelly

Besos, besos, y mas besos!

Everyone here loves to kiss! Its funny cause when I meet people, I am programed to reach out my hand, which here is pretty rude. When you meet someone, you kiss twice, once on each cheek. I actually really like it, but I keep forgetting! Today I went to el centro again and it was a beautiful day. I saw lots of awesome, grandiose palaces and buildings, I ate at a place called Museo de Jamon, which means ham museum. Ill be sure to take my parents there when they come--you guys will love it! And, for Meredith and Dad, I took a picture of my sandwich and the first beer that I have bought...it was pretty cool. I was pretty excited, but I felt really strange sitting there at the bar and taking pictures of my food. (thats how much I love ya, mere!) A lot of the new pics are from La Palacio Real, which is where the king of Spain used to live. And I heard two people speaking English, so I asked where they were from, and one was from Belgium, and the other London! They were only staying in Madrid for a couple of days, but I did talk to them! 

So tonight I started my internship, and I have never, really, never, felt so enlivened!! I LOVE talking in Spanish! And I do not know why this is, but in LA I have always disliked working with homeless people. And, since I decided to come to Europe while some of my friends are braving Uganda, I decided that I would do the thing that is hardest for me. What I feel most uncomfortable with. But tonight was awesome! I loved it! The people were great, I did have some trouble understanding them but most of the time it was alright. They were hilarious, cracking jokes all the time, and I even kissed them on the cheeks! I would never have done that in LA. I dont know why, I feel like I should feel more uncomfortable here, but I love it. We brought thermoses of coffee, chicken broth (warm), and juice and then had cookies and crackers, and there are different routes, and we went on our route, and the girl I was with, Isabel, knew a lot of the people, and we just sat on the street and talked with them. It was awesome. We did get some looks from other people, but I think that they were more of surprise. 

The people were so great too! They love that I came all the way from Seattle to come and work--it actually says a lot about their program and purpose. They asked me tons of questions about Clinton and Obama, and they asked me to just say words in general in English. It was so funny!

So yea, I love it here. Don't tell my mom, but I could live here forever! It is fast paced, but not rushed. Does that make sense? People just move quicker here, but its not a nervous-quicker. I swear, even the escalators move quicker here. But I love that they stop everything to eat. I have not seen one person with a coffee cup in their hand outside... cause when they drink coffee, they sit and enjoy it with friends. Its not like our lives where we do everything on-the-go. There are no drive-thrus!!!! And I love Spanish, I love speaking it, and love everything about this place! And yes, I miss home, and my mom's cooking, and all my friends and family, but I have been blessed and privileged beyond belief here. 

Te amo mucho! (love you much!) 

Kelly   

It's raining...

So today was supposed to be my day to do all the touristy stuff, but it was pouring so I didn't get to do nearly as much as I wanted. Somehow my rain jacket did not get into my suitcase, so all I have is two zip up sweatshirts...but Pamela, who I'm staying with, gave me a jacket to wear out in the rain. 

I have been doing everything on my own since I have been here, and haven't really been eating dinner cause Im not sure of where to go or what to do. And honestly, I probably wouldn't have gone out today if Pamela hadn't come home and talked to me and told me where to go and what to see. So I did go out, and I had lunch in a restaurant all by myself (which is something I havent even done in the states, so you can imagine how difficult it was for me) but I am getting a lot of good reflection time, so at least there is some positive aspect to it. Before I left I didn't really think about how hard it would be to travel alone, and how much I would miss companionship, so it has kinda hit me hard since being here. 

I think the reason I havent met more people is because I dont look like an American. I went into a Starbucks today just because I figured there would be tourists/Americans there that I could talk to and make friends with. But no one thinks I am an American! This guy started talking to me and I was really confused as to why I couldn't understand what he was saying, and why  he wasn't understanding me. Then he asked me if I was Italian, and I was really surprised, cause he had been talking to me in Italian and I just thought I couldn't understand his Spanish! But I told him no, and then he asked if I was Spanish, and again I said no, that I was from California (and yes, it pains me to say that, but everyone understands California no matter what language they speak, Washington, not so much) and they were really surprised! He told me that he thought I was Italian because I was very beautiful. Haha, I dont know if that was a compliment for Italians or for me! But it is pretty interesting, because people will see me with my little map trying to figure out where to go on the metro and they look at me puzzled, because they think that I should know my way around. I feel like strapping on my backpack and tennis shoes just so I can get a little more help! 

Yesterday I went to the super market with Belen, my host mom, and that was probably the most stressful time since I have been here. She kept asking me what I want, and I had absolutely no idea! I knew all the words, it was just that I didnt know what everything was, and I didnt know what I should get. Then she took me to the milk section and it wasn't in a refrigerator! And I asked her, how can the milk be ok warm? And she said that once you open it, then you have to put it in the fridge. I was so confused! I asked her if it was leche de vaca (cows milk) and everyone around laughed, Belen was absolutely hysterical. She was laughing so hard she couldnt even get words out. And I just stood there wondering what the heck was going on, and how in the freaking world they could drink milk that had been sitting in their cupboard for a month. I still dont know what they put in it to make it preserve like that. Needless to say I have been feeling a bit out of my element, and am excited for the time to come when I feel a bit more comfortable here. 

One great thing is that I have slept through the nights since being here, and have not really had much trouble with being jet lagged. I think its because I have this uncanny ability to sleep where ever and whenever, so my body must not get as affected. Weird, huh?! 

Besos y abrazos

(kisses and hugs)  

Estoy en Madrid!

That means I'm in Madrid, in case you didn't know! This city is so amazing, I absolutely love it! I have to admit, I stalled a lot this morning before I left the house...I was pretty nervous to just go outside. But once I did, everything was great! I found my internship, which actually was the wrong office, but they were so nice and they helped guide me to the right one. My contact, Carlos, is pretty much the nicest person I have ever met, and has done everything he can to make me feel comfortable! That little Eyewitness Madrid book is my best friend, and I honestly do not know what i would have done without it. (thanks mom!) 

I am going to start my internship on Monday night, and usually people only work one night a week, but they go out and talk with homeless people mon-thurs, so I think that I will do every night unless something comes up. That way Ill meet a lot of people, and hopefully make some friends! I am really, really glad that I did LA term before coming here, because I feel like I have some city smarts that are really helpful. However, la termers, the Madrid metro system puts LA to serious shame! Ill put up some pics later, but it is awesome. Huge, but awesome! I know that I will be able to write an awesome research paper on Homelessness, and I already have been able to narrow it down a bit, because the people here who are homeless stay together in homogenous groups, and I am going to be working en el centro, which is the center of the city. These homeless people are all from Spain, and a lot of them have addictions. Other places around the city are different groups, like immigrants without papers. The internship is extremely organized, which is really nice. 

I am really excited for my Spanish to improve, I can understand pretty much everything that people say, but I am having a bit of trouble expressing myself. But I am also nervous, but everyone I have talked to is really nice, and they have helped me through it. 

Tonight I am going to meet Belen, my maybe future host-mom. We'll see. I am going to keep looking, and Carlos and Jesus (the homeless program coordinator) are going to help me put up signs around the university that say I need a place! 

I really love it here, and cant wait for my family to come and to show them around! I hope you all are great, leave me a comment or email me with how you are! 

hasta luego, 

Kelly

Stuck in DeGaulle...

So, as anticipated, I didn't make my flight into Madrid, so I got in at 1030 am and am waiting until 330 cause thats the soonest flight they could get me on. Its ok though, they gave me a voucher for a free lunch, and I have a lot of reading to do, so its all good. 

The plane was awesome...I feel so spoiled! I had a tv right in front of  me, which showed a camera of the arial view. So legit! And there wasnt anyone sitting next to me, so I got to lie down! The 10 hours passed by pretty quickly. 

I feel really excited! I keep thinking that I should be scared, or at least a little nervous, but I am so excited there's no room for that! I sat next to a lady in the airport who spoke Portuguese and a little English, so we kinda talked in Spanish, and she said she knew that I was an American because I smiled so much! I thought that was kinda funny. 

I dont feel jet-lagged yet...but Im sure it will come. When I get to Madrid Im going to make my way to my friend Pamela's house, and then we will see what happens from there! 

I am thinking of all of you, and miss you already! Thanks for your prayers, keep sending them up! 

Love, Kelly 

Getting ready to leave....

So I'm sitting here thinking about how in 24 hours I will be on a plane to Spain, and for some reason it still hasn't really hit me yet. I am pretty much all packed, my mom bought me some peanut butter, I've got some euros, and Im ready to go. A few weeks ago I went through a period where I was freaking out a lot, but now I feel pretty ok. I still don't have a solid host family, but I have someone to stay with until I find one. 

But I do want to thank all of you who have helped me through this process, who have supported and encouraged me, because I wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of you. 

So just so were all on the same page, I have an internship in Madrid with a non-profit called Solidarios. I will be doing a homeless ministry that will involve talking with homeless people, passing out water bottles and food, and building relationships. I am really excited for this opportunity, and cant wait to get started! If you want to look it up, just type in Solidarios into Google, and when you get to their page you can press the button that says 'ingles' to translate it into English. 

So thanks everyone! And if youre not doing anything at 2pm tomorrow you can pray for me as I get on my plane. 

And fyi, I will have my phone in Spain, and my plan actually allows me to receive text messages for free! It is expensive for me to send any back, but you all can text me whenever you want and tell me you're thinking about me!