SPAIN: a semester=the shortest time ever

Well, my time in Spain is coming to an end. Bags packed and I am dreading my departure. I cried a couple of times already. How do you say goodbye to a country, family, and tons of friends that you don't know when you will ever see again? My Spanish Grandmother told me not to cry though because I can come back one day. Thanks to my sister Fran for setting the bar, I can live in Europe for a year after I graduate!

It's going to be strange not eating a huge lunch at 3:00 and eating dinner at 10:00 p.m. and not having someone force me to eat as much as a Sumo Wrestler. Don't be alarmed when you see I've put on some kilograms... The culture here is so much more slow paced. My host Grandmother literally makes me take a nap after lunch. If I study more than an hour a day she gets worried that I am working too hard. It's great. Also, the people are so open, honest, and raise their voices at each other pretty regularly. I guess we'll see if they rubbed off on me.

I love my Spanish family so much. I've spent more time with them than my own family since I've been in college. Eating all of your meals with people equals a lot of time! It's been fun having a little brother, too.

Sara, Grace (San Diego), and I went to church last Sunday in Madrid with our Spanish friend Jorge. It was so cool to be at a church service in Spanish and understand it!

I finally finished with exams and now am a JUNIOR! I have no idea what my grades are because this school I attend is slightly stuck in the twentieth century. Hopefully they will get that stuff sent to Auburn.

May 8 I am going to Munich with Sara and Mary Susan is meeting us there! After Munich we are going to Paris for four days! May 16 Sara leaves for the U.S. and Mary Susan and I head south to the Almalfi Coast where we are going to meet her parents. After the coast we are headed to Sicily to find our kinfolks! Everyone mark your calendar! I will be getting back to my Sweet Home Alabama May 23 and if you want to bring me a Milo's Sweet Tea with a ton of ice, I won't be opposed.