Yeah, I'm into Fitness

Today was my eighth consecutive weekday at the gym :) My college friend Anna convinced me to join with her, and I'm SO glad. I've seriously slacked off since, well, the wedding. I've never paid for a gym membership before. My family had one growing up, and in college it was "free." It feels different paying for one. It feels more important, like a real investment. I'm hoping that feeling sticks.

I'm also watching what I'm eating. I got the MyFitnessPal app and am logging faithfully, probably because I need something to do on my phone to replace Facebook (#Lent).

In the past, I've struggled with anorexic tendencies. I'm following a lot of healthy fitness models now though, and I actually think my mind is fixed. I'm more interested in being healthy than skinny now. I do want to lose weight and tone up, but I want strong muscles, not chicken legs. I dunno. That alone feels like progress.

(Highly recommend following Emily Skye on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. She's my absolute favorite. Goofy, yet insightful; beautiful, yet real; funny, yet admirable.)

Tomorrow I'm gonna work out again. It'll be leg day.

Yeah. I've become pretty dull. Oh, but Gem and I went to Charleston, SC this past weekend! It was hands down--honeymoon included--the best trip ever. The weather was perfection, we had money saved to spend, and Gem's and my travel styles are so in sync. Every meal was delicious. Every store was fun. Every night was full of TV and king-sized-bed wallowing and Things Married People Are Allowed to Do.

I know we haven't been married long at all, but it's nice to still feel so in love. We've been on each others nerves a lot lately. It was nice to have a fight-free weekend in my favorite US city.

Gem bought me this necklace! I had asked a while ago if he would buy me a necklace I could just wear all the time, like a default. So he did :)

Flabbergasted that the bed behind us was worth--prepare yourself--one hundred and twenty-five THOUSAND dollars.

I just really enjoyed this children's book series XD

My favorite Charleston jewelry store is closing! Sad. But I got excellent deals.

This cannon was dug up in someone's backyard when they tried to dig a well or something XD

It went from 60 degrees to 35 over night. We bundled hard.

Aaaaand this one is just because I felt like it was a good hair day.

Sad to leave, but glad we went.

~Stephanie

Giaraffe Emesis

I hope that this will be a brief post. I've been really productive this evening, so I don't want to break my flow, but I was also suddenly seized with the need to say something here.

I've been blowing through pages in my "New United Nations" textbook like nobody's business. Seriously, I think I read like twelve pages in an hour and a half, and that is flat-out UNHEARD OF. I'm even in the basement of the library, a place I usually reserve for literary homework. I have a strict No PolySci Homework policy when it comes to the library:  I don't want to taint these sacred halls with the wrong kind of stress.

But this evening, polysci did not stress me out, so I made an exception.

Since coming to college, I have been listening almost exclusively to Mutemath's self-titled album. When I start getting ready for bed, I turn on Mutemath and hit my iHome's Sleep button until it promises to turn off in 30 minutes. Sometimes I'm asleep by the time the music stops; sometimes Gem keeps me up longer.

At any given time, I have 70+ pages of reading to do. I must read about the evolution of the United Nations; I must read about ethical philosophers and how their views apply to the government; I must read about different literary approaches (Allison:  "So you're literally reading about reading?" Me: "...well, when you say it like THAT..."); I must read "Emma," which is wonderful; and I must read about how to write.

And sometimes I get to read about a girl who plays with fire, but not often enough to maintain continuity or remember my place.

When I'm not reading, sometimes I watch Lost. I am on Season 1, Episode 12, so no spoilers. I really like Sayid. I really hate Sawyer, but you're supposed to.

My school internship is going really, really well. I'm writing letters of inquiry, which means I get to write about Campbell University's projects in ways that appeal to lots of different money-giving foundations. I get to take one project and spin it ten or twelve different ways, exercising my creativity and persuasive skills. It is incredibly fun to me.

My alarm didn't go off yesterday morning. I woke up one minute before my class started. I was still only eleven minutes late.

My suitemates are amazing. We stay up and talk and laugh til we cry. I always have people to do things with, but they also understand my need to be left alone. We have "family dinner" every Monday night, which, so far, has consisted of Harley making spaghetti and us pulling together every table-like surface in the apartment to have room to seat everyone.

This Saturday, Gem and his sister, Abigail, are visiting. Harley's making tacos. We will not have enough table surface, but we've decided not to address that until the problem is staring us in the face. It'll be fine.

I'll be glad to see Gem, although not having any alone time with him will be a little disappointing.

How are you all doing? :)

Road Trip:  the Arch in St. Louis :)

Whatever Campbell's shortcomings, scenery isn't one of them.

Road Trip:  Chicago

 Gem: "Oops, these are too small for me...maybe you want them?"

True love.

Road Trip: the Bean

~Stephanie

Dear Friends...

London Layover (4.15.12)

Dear Cass,

I sat behind a guy who had a growth on his earlobe. It would've bugged you.

Dear Sam,

Gah, everyone has a British accent :P

Dear Daniel,

I listened to Fall Out Boy basically all night. Do you like them?

Dear David,

Can't stop being excited about you and Rose. It's not even a big deal, but :D

Dear Ellie,

Accents make everything better, don't they?

Dear Alicia,

You always meet all the interesting people.

Dear Aaron,

I wonder if superhero stuff will be big in Italy too? :O

Sienna/Florence (4.17.12)

Dear Cassidy.

I've seen like 6 owl things so far. It's hard to resist.

Dear Aaron,

Superman stuff abounds! I've seen like 2 Batman T-shirts. I pretty much had to be dragged away.

Dear Sam,

Italian pug at 2 o'clock.

Dear Alicia,

I miss you so much. This feels wrong without you beside me on the bus.

Dear Everyone,

I HAVE ON BATMAN UNDERWEAR!

Dear Sam,

Our guide: "One of the best things about Italy is that we don't have a lot of urban sprawl." You love.

Dear Alicia,

It rained today. And I saw shoes. And purses.

Dear Alicia,

I think about you every time I open the windows :)

Second Day in Florence (4.18.12)

Dear Kirsten,

It rained cats and freaking dogs today. Great bonding time ;)

Dear Sam,

I saw one of my people today. But it was weird. He looked like Darth Mal.

Dear Aaron,

I saw Darth Mal.

Dear Cassidy,

It is cold and miserable. You'd love it.

Dear Daniel,

I've heard Italian thunder.

Traveling to Pisa (4.19.12)

Dear PC,

Catch-22 is so good.

Dear Cass,

Even you would be miserably cold right now. It's like 55 degrees on the bus, AC blasting, and I have on damp shoes and socks. I cannot wait for NC weather.

Dear Senora Millen.

I keep getting the urge to answer Italian with Spanish. *sigh* I miss you and Pass the Monkey already.

Dear Kirsten.

There's so much Nutella here :D I think about you at every breakfast.

Dear Alicia,

Cinque Terre flooded! Like, right now it's unvisitable. They're digging houses out of the mud :O

Dear Cassidy,

Just saw the most massive Ikea ever. Like 10 football fields of store. At least.

Hotel Outside Switzerland (4.19.12)

Dear Pandora,

Remember when I blogged Top 10 Guy Eyes and Wentworth Miller was on there, but I didn't actually know who he was? Well. He's in a movie that's on called Dinotopia XD

On the Way to Lake Como (4.20.12)

Dear Alicia,

TUNNELS! Lots of tunnels.

Dear Gabe,

I just had the horrible realization that we'll never be the pronunciation police together ever again :(

Dear Michael,

I keep hearing the accents of the Italian waiters and remember the mission trip. How people thought your fake Italian accent was legit? Ha XD

Dear Daniel,

Hm. I just miss you.

On the Way to Milan (4.21.12)

Dear Cassidy,

Our tour director says "ek cetera" instead of "et," and "tide you by" instead of "tide you over." Weird.

Venice (4.21.12)

Dear PC,

We heard music tonight like I've never heard in my life. The violin player was the most incredible musician I've ever seen or heard. I think them playing was the #1 most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm not even kidding. I wish you could've been there.

Dear Cassidy,

We just heard the most amazing violin player ever play the Titanic theme song! I actually almost cried it was SO BEAUTIFUL.

Dear Sam,

We took a gondola ride today and Sarah had to be packed next to this massive Russian guy. I laughed once we got off and said I was sorry for her. She raised an eyebrow and said to me, "Such is life in Soviet Russia." I think she misses you too XD

Pompeii (4.24.12)

Dear David,

I literally just saw a retarded running horse.

Back to Rome (4.26.12)

Dear Alicia,

I saw some cows today!

Dear Cass.

I took Motrin last night. I hate.

Dear Sam,

I almost bought a plaster penis as a joke. My dad said no.

Dear Cassidy,

I'm not afraid of dogs here. It is the weirdest thing. Nor do I get lost. I might need to move here.

Dear Aaron,

I dreamed about you the other night. I miss you.

Rome (4.26.12)

Dear Aaron,

I miss TJ. I'm going through withdrawls. Please tell me you've written some since I left.

~Stephanie

Italy

Guess what, guys.

My family is going to Italy. For two weeks.

{I realize that this is April 1st, and so this post will probably not be taken seriously, but it's actually true. I will confirm this fact at a later date, if you wish.}

My dad has never been to Europe, my mom has never been out of the country, and my sister has never been farther than Illinois. This has been one of my parents' dreams basically forever. And now it's finally happening.

I can't wait to be back in Italy. The food, the people, the culture, the history, the ruins, the weather, the water, the mountains...

And I can't wait to show my family stuff! I feel like a tour guide, someone with an inside scoop. It's so weird and awesome how I know things that my parents don't XD

But anyway, we'll be gone from April 14-27, so I'll be taking a Pandora-'cation for those couple of weeks. I'll miss you guys, but I'll have, like, Italian stuff instead, so I'll probably be okay.

Ahaha. I'm so mean.

Ciao :)

~Stephanie

I Miss Europe.

I miss Spain.

I miss living with a Spanish family.

I miss Llucia.

I miss Consuela.

I miss Lica {the tiny dog}.

I miss the heat.

I miss not being allowed to put my hair in a ponytail when wet.

I miss not being allowed to go barefoot.

I miss eating Spanish pizza.

I miss siesta.

I miss Olexiy, the French boy who lived with us.

I miss not having a towel.

I miss sleeping on top of the covers.

I miss hearing Spanish everywhere.

I miss being able to speak English without anyone else understanding.

I miss Spanish thunderstorms.

I miss Spanish malls.

I miss Llucia's wonderful mother, Rosa.

I miss going to the park.

I miss vendors with their stuff on a sheet so they could take it and run in a moment.

I miss streets without lines.

I miss people who drive too fast and turn too quickly.

I miss weird intersections.

~~~~~~~~~~

I miss the other People to People people.

I miss Alicia putting up with me and making me feel like myself.

I miss hating John.

I miss Nalin looking beautiful all the time.

I miss Briar trying to beat people up for me.

I miss avoiding Michael.

I miss being disgusted by Matt and Tori.

I miss holding back Jackie's temper.

I miss Haley keeping me grounded.

I miss making fun of "the Barbies."

I miss Geno making me laugh.

I miss Emily being emo and cynical.

I miss Geno making Larry Boy faces.

I miss Torin cussing up a storm and our weird, close-distant relationship.

I miss Geno wanting to hold my Polly doll.

I miss Pedro's gelled hair and constant eating.

I miss Geno asking me to please wear my lion shirt.

I miss Kyle and Alexsis being adorable together.

I miss Adam's shoulder massages.

I miss David being a MASSIVE teddy bear.

I miss Leron's hilariousness and singing southern gospel on the bus.

I miss Alyssa being annoying.

I miss hating how Kelly talks out of the corner of her mouth.

I miss catching phrases from peoples' guidebooks.

I miss Drew being disorganized.

I miss Cindy being reliable.

I miss hating the way John pronounced "nutella" as "new-tella."

I miss Emma walking around being homesick.

I miss Sabine saying, "now, when we get back to dah HOE-tell..."

I miss Sabine's massive green eyes.

~~~~~~~~~

I miss France.

I miss pointy noses.

I miss being corrected when I speak.

I miss crystal and fancy smells.

I miss putting my bread on the table.

I miss nasty seltzer water.

I miss walking.

I miss climbing mountains.

I miss not knowing what to wear.

I miss the random weather.

I miss trying new food.

I miss feeling stressed over purchases.

I miss venders with delicious accents.

I miss trees growing from rocks.

I miss Via de Amore.

I miss blue, blue water.

I miss cheap expensive clothes.

I miss blue and white stripes.

~~~~~~~~~~

I miss Italy.

I miss green.

I miss exploring.

I miss music coming from tunnels.

I miss real pizza.

I miss foreign guys that scare me and intrigue me at the same time.

I miss tan, huge-eyed toddlers.

I miss Brother Alesandro.

I miss Assisi.

I miss the tiny cathedral inside a cathedral.

I miss Brother Alesandro's beautiful explanation of prayer.

I miss castles.

I miss parks and playgrounds.

I miss that tiny little phone booth.

I miss the leaning tower.

I miss the colosseum.

I miss gelato.

I miss Pedro stopping to get a panini at every restaurant.

I miss closing our curtains because boys were staring in.

I miss laughing from our balcony at boys calling "Baywatch!"

I miss people playing soccer in the street.

I miss pasta.

I miss Italian cola.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I miss the trip.

I miss getting ready and packing in 45 minutes exactly.

I miss eating breakfast with 39 other people.

I miss never being alone.

I miss hearing someone else breathing as I go to sleep.

I miss using each others' bathrooms when Alicia or I had a bathroom-hog roommate.

I miss Haley doing Alicia's hair in cornrows.

And dreadlocks.

And French braids in Italy.

I miss putting all our luggage in the elevators and sending it up alone.

I miss taking the stairs when the Barbies' luggage took too long.

I miss never wearing makeup.

I miss riding on the bus for hours.

I miss Momma's little notes.

I miss journaling until my hand seizes up.

I miss looking for presents.

I miss Haley calming me down.

I miss Alicia laughing whenever I was in a pissy mood.

I miss Jackie being my homesick buddy.

I miss Geno making me laugh, but never laughing at himself.

I miss Briar being fun, then obnoxious and me telling him so.

I miss falling asleep to the sounds of chaos down the hall.

I miss military time.

~~~~~~~~

I haven't been sick for Europe at all until just last night when all this came crashing down on me. Gosh, I miss it. I had an amazing time and I don't regret anything and I know I really seized every day.

But gosh, I miss it.

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 9

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

Day 9

7.16.11

"Dude! We were just in a castle! Like a legitimate castle where 700 years ago soldiers were marching around protecting people. It looked exactly like it should. Stone and sturdy. Our tourguide was pretty cool :) Small and French. She was funny. The castle was built around the 13th century. The French ppl over-took the heretics and built it onto the existing Roman wall. You can still see it in places. The French tried to level it out by digging under it. Inside was a door where the defenders could get out easily and attack, but the entry, an "elbow" entry, was harder for the enemy to come through quickly. Smaller stones on the old Roman pieces btw.

So, about the little village around the outside. It was originally built against the castle, but the king feared his son would take over the kingdom so he called all the people into the castle and made them swear allegiance, which they did. But when the son came, the people betrayed the king and helped the son. Unfortunately the attack failed, and the king had the houses burned to the ground. He allowed the ppl to rebuild, but not against the castle, down a ways.

After that story we went to see the basilica, which is inside the walls too. Part of it was rounded and Roman, and part of it was angular and gothic. It was stone and beautiful :) The closer you get to the front, to God and the alter, the lighter and bigger and more colorful it is, just like when you personally get closer to God.

I just never realize that I never finished journaling about sight-seeing with Rosa! We saw the most beautiful churches. The first church took my breath away. I felt God. It was so beautiful. Stone, with arching dome ceilings and criss-crossing bubbles... It's too hard to explain. It was simple, yet captivating; gray, yet cheerful. The stone blocks were so neat. ?I can't describe it right, and the saddest part is that the church was in session and I couldn't take pictures. Another church we went to had a model that blind could touch and know what it looked like. The rained while we were sight-seeing. The rain in Spain! And as we ran for cover, the huge church bells started ringing! It was like something out of a movie.

Okay,French castle. Now there are a bunch of shops. In there too. We got 20 minutes of free time to shop. I got Sooey {my sister, Sarah} a scarf and some earrings. I REALLY wish I hadn't been so rushed though. 1) I'm not sure if I made good purchasing decisions and 2) I want to get stuff for Momma! I see so much I want to get her, but I don't and... I'm so afraid I'll end up with nothing or it'll suck and she'll think I didn't care or think of her. I'm only going to buy stuff for other people now. I don't need anything; this trip itself is a present!

After the castle, we had an "adventure lunch." Sabine gave us 35 euros per group of 5 people and let us loose in a horribly busy marketplace/festival. IMO, a stupid place to shove us and tell us to figure out lunch in French and meet back somewhere in only 45 minutes. BUT, whatever.

My group was me, Haley, Jackie, Michael and Alicia. Being thrown into a situation like that made my stomach quite unhappy for a bit, but it was okay. We walked up and down the street, even though we'd already seen a good sandwich shop because Michael was being picky. He kept wanting to stop at slow, sketchy, expensive places and was very inflexible.

With 25 minutes left, we 4 overruled him and went back to the Picnic Cafe. Sorry, but we didn't want to select an expensive random dish and hope for the best. He ended up walking off and saying he'd just use his own money. We girls, with 12 minutes to go, finally got to order. We got 2 "toaste poulet"s because we recognized "poulet" as chicken. And we each got a smooth.

Although we had to eat on the run, the sandwiches were AMAZING. round bread toasted to perfection with just the right amount of fillings: warm chicken, cream chees, lettuce, tomatoe and a little bit of some sauce. It was SO delicious! Honestly one of if not the best things we've eaten yet. I wish I'd gotten a whole sandwich. I'm gonna have to try to recreate it back home.

Today I missed Aaron [a cute French guy in a car waved and it made me think of his warning: "Don't get into a car with a hot French guy. He'll kidnap you and turn you into a crack whore."] and then Sam [because he remembered for me that that senario is from "Taken"] and Jordan because I dreamed something a little like "Tattered Flesh" {his book}.

Something else that happened two days ago: City Quest. Assigned groups, a map, and some questions. I had me, Alexis, Jonathan, Matt, Lacie, Haley, Ryan and New York/Bryan. Sabine said sometimes determining a clear winner is difficult, so each group could/should write a poem to be judged too.

Well, City Quest was not my thing right away. Maps, directions, and Matt {the Ken of the Barbies} as a leader. Ugh. No. So, I wasn't that much help, except that I knew the language question [Besides Spanish, what other language is mostly spoken in Spain? Catalan.].

We had a limited amount of time [not enough, of course], so as we started to get close, Haley asked if I would write the poem. I said I'd try. Honestly I sort of assumed they'd ask me to, but under pressure? With about 15 minutes? It was sure to suck. But I tried, and got something cranked out. I handed it in with our incomplete quest answers and forgot about it.

Today they told us the winner: Jessica's group! :) Yay! They had Dena go up and read the poem. It wasn't that great, but her group was the only one to complete the quest questions. After Dena read it, Sabine said, "There was one other group that did not finish the quest, but had a really wonderful poem, Myself and all the leaders really enjoyed it. The team of Matt, Alexis, Lacie, Ryan, Bryan, Jonathan and Stephanie?"

O_O OMG! My body tingled with that tight, hot energy of happy tension. I went up because Sabine asked if someone from that team would please come read it, and no one else moved. So I did :) After, Cindy whispered "Did you write it?" I just nodded.

Then I tried to get the poem back from Sabine, but she wanted to keep it. And Cindy asked if she could sent it in to People to People! I was like, "Sure...but can I copy it into my notebook first?" Sabine said she'd make a copy at the hotel :) So Yeah. Wow :) It really wasn't great. It was quick and shallow and not personal or deep at all. But oh well :)

{later}

We've been on the bus for 3 hours, but it feels like 6. I am cramped and bored and there is a frigid gust of air blowing on my head. Traffic is terrible.

I'm starting to get nervous about going home. I have so much to say that I won't know where to begin, and for some reason I'm having trouble being excited today. It's like peoples' bad attitudes are catching. I need something do, like write, but I don't wanna use up room...

{later}

Okay, hey. We went and saw another castle! It was cool, and I took pictures, but we didn't learn anything about it -_- So I'm gonna Google it later. After that we had some free time in, like, the castle courtyard or something. There are tons of streets and alleys and shops and performers. Mimes and traveling performers and musicians... It was one of the coolest parts of this trip actually 'cause it was just me and Alicia and I felt like I could BREATHE and walk and STOPE and actually look and enjoy stuff. Freedom is great.

To be honest, I really think I'd rather have come with my family. Well, I dunno. We do get to do things I probably wouldn't with just my family. But we're always late, people don't take this seriously, the leaders don't know what's going on... I kinda feel like I'd have more fun with my family. But this has been a good experience so far as getting out of my comfort zone and living. I just really hope I can put a good face on this so that Momma and Daddy won't be upset or disappointed. I've gotta muster up some excitement for my arrival back home.

So, tomorrow I think I'm gonna do some sink laundry. I need socks and undies XD

Most people are at the pool. Alicia and I are in her room, listening to my iPod on her teddy bear. He has speakers in his feet."

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 7

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

Day 7

7.14.11

"Today we saw the Sagrada Familia! And I realized that I had somehow miscounted the days til we go home! It's not 15, it's 12!! :O Somehow that made all the difference. I was walking on sunshine all day. When I wake up, it'll be 11 days, which is not that long!

So, last night I called home and cried :-\ Last time I didn't really, but I did last night >.< I was super homesick. For family today I was mildly homesick for other things. I missed Cass and Daniel and Bonanza and Sam. Cassidy a lot :(

The Sagrada Familia was AMAZING!!! I've never seen anything that beautiful or amazing in my whole life. It's so detailed and ornate...impossible to describe. It actually looks a lot like a dink castle, but obviously planned... The inside is even more incredible cool and clean and calm. And HUGELY tall. Jaw-dropping. It made me feel small.

Our guide did a good job of being unbiased about the Xianity. I honestly couldn't tell if he was a Xian or not. But he did say that Spain isn't very religious anymore, tho it used to be. And when the SF is finished, it won't really be used as a church. For some reason, that really felt heartbreaking to me. I almost cried. Gaudi {the architect} would be rolling over in his grave. Something so BEAUTIFUL, so purposeful can only be meant for God.

We also saw Flamenco dancing! It started out lame and I was like -__- but it got great!! I was impressed. And I got a picture with the attractive singer :D

So, I know this isn't important, but the hotels here are NASTY. They don't give us fresh towels or change the beds and to be honest I don't think they cleaned the bathroom between us and whoever came before, because there was a clump of hair on the wall when I took the first shower. I'm trying HARD not to think about it.

I am so happy that when I wake up, there will only be 11 days left :) My brain has never been so full! Tomorrow we're going to France! I'll be getting Sarah's, Katie's, and probably Momma's presents soon.

I miss them. I do NOT like one of my roommates. And the hotels are making my skin crawl. I gotta ttyl."

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 6

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4 Part 1

Day 4 Part 2

Day 4 Part 3

Day 5

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

Day 6

7.13.11

"Right now, I am on the Mediteranean coast :) Homesickness has been stronger today. I think David bet on Day 6? Or maybe 7. Anyway, 4 and 5 I didn't get homesick at all. 3 was bad, today is like a 5 or 6 on the scale. Anyway, back to the Med.

I decided this might be a good place to look for Mrs. Marcia's <3-shaped rock. I was right! Haley and Jackie helped me and we found several to choose from. I'll look again on the Riviera.

The wind here is crazy! And the sand isn't sand tho. It's tiny rocks. And when the wind blows, it's a tiny-rock storm. The water is cold and SO BLUE. Teal, really, but a blue teal. I'm not swimming though. I haven't been about to shave in days, and I can't anyway.

I really want the trip to be over D: Like, I'm so glad to be here...but I really want to go home. I have so much to tell everyone...I haven't even been gone a WEEK yet though. I have like...16 more days honestly.

I gtg, but I'll tell you Alexei later ;)

{later}

We're on the bus to Barcelona! Sabine {our guide} just finished telling us about the pick-pockets XD And about Franco. We're going to do a "city quest" once we get tehre, ever man for himself but in "teams" of 6.

The air conditioner in our bus broke, so we have the sun roof thing open. Michael, Alicia, Geno, Jackie, Haley and I are playing monopoly {on Michael's iPod}. He and I are also listening to his iPod. The earbud keeps falling out of my ear and he puts it back all gentle-like. Whatever. If he starts to like me, I swear..."

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 5

This post is gross. I'll give an award to anyone who can tell me why.

Hint: It has nothing to do with the content of the post.

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

"Stephanie, Alicia and the French Boy in Spain"
Day 5

7.12.11

"I haven't been doing my travel quotes! For the first couple of days I did that on purpose because I only have 17 quotes, but then I never started. So today is, "There are no foreign lands. It is only the traveler that is foreign." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Guess what? Alicia and I talked to the French boy last night! It took us a few minutes to work up to it, but Alicia went and knocked on his door. I would've, but we'd been staring at him out of door like total creepers and it was awkward. I'm so glad Alicia did though!! If she hadn't it would be another instance of me not carpe diem-ing and waiting too late to find out something awesome.

So she knocked on the door, and he apparently looked at her, then went away. She knocked again and he opened the door and just stared at her. That's when I came out from hiding and saved the day with my favorite tool/weapon XD WORDS!

"Hey," I whispered--Consuela was in bed.

"Hi," he said, looking for all the world like we were the stupidest girls ever, but he found it amusing.

"We don't want to bother you but--I mean, if you were about to sleep--were you? Sleeping?"

He shook his head, not glaring for a second. "No."

"We wanted to talk."

"Tahk?" There was the confused-amused-annoyed look.

"Get to know you," Alicia finally spoke.

"Ah." He got it then.

"What's your name?" I asked as the 3 of us stood in this door way. He was still holding it partway shut.

"Alexei."

"Alexei?" I tried to repeat it. He snickered good-naturedly and said with a shrug,

"Yes, olay." I knew I was a little off XD

"Where in France are you from?"

"In France?"

"Si."

"Eh..." He pointed down. "Sout. The sout?"

"Southern France?"

"Ah, si. Yes."

"Cool," I nodded. A silence stretched between the 3 of us for a minute. Then he opened the door and held up a finger in a "one sec" motion. He went to his things and grabbed something. He held up a pack of cards. My eyes lit up. Yes! Perfect!

"Sure!" We went in and pulled the door to so we wouldn't disturb anyone. It took us a minute to figure out what to play. In the end we just showed him Go Fish. I'm not sure if he already knew it or not, but he caught on super fast. It was a good ice-breaking few minutes.

"When'd you learn English?" Alicia asksed.

"Whaht?" *trademark face*

"How long have you known English?" I said.

"Oh..." He shrugged.

"Did you learn in school?" I asked.

He sort of shrugged, looking honestly unsure.

"Two...I don't know," he said.

"Two years?" Alicia repeated. He shook his head, sort of frustrated.

"I don't know how long...I don't speak English." We laughed.

"What? You're speaking it right now!" said Alicia.

"You speak really good English!" I said. He sort of smile-grinned and nodded. "Much better than I speak French. Or Spanish. I don't speak any French."

"I speak Russian too," he said.

"Me too!" said Alicia. She spouted off something.

"That's not Russian," Alexei said.

"What'd you say?" I asked.

"It is too," Alicia protested. "I means 'stupid monkey wants a banana."

"Styupit mohnkey vants ah bahnana?" Alexei was laughingly making the Face. "That's English."

We laughed.

We finished Go Fish and I asked Alexei if he liked it okay. "Iss too easy," he said.

"Do you know any other ones?" I asked him and Alicia.

"I know a game called Mau," said Alicia to me. "It's where only I know the rules and you and Alexei try to figure them out by playing. If you do something wrong you get a card. And no talking."

"That's horrible!" I said. "I hate stuff like that! What a horrible game!" Alicia laughed at me. Alexei was taking the cards.

"I know one," he said. "It is...for example." He gave us each cards and tried to show us. Some cards were better, he said. The... "What is...?" He pointed to the club symbol.

"That? A club," I said.

"A club," he repeated.

"Club," I nodded.

"Okay. So, it is better card...see, the...the..."

"Club."

"The club is...better--Let's play."

We tried, but we couldn't understand XD It ended with him saying, "No, iss too...complicated. Your game," he said to Alicia. She explained it and we got ready to play.

"Why..." Alexei began, shuffling the cards. "Why you say...is horrible game?"

"Oh," I said. "I just...don't like not knowing the rules.

"Ah," he nodded and smiled.

"You have nice hair," Alicia giggled. He looked at her blankly.

"Huh?" I said. I had missed it too.

"I told him he has nice hair." She looked a little mortified at herself. Alexei was looking at me for help. I shook my head.

"Uh, she just...she likes your hair."

"Whaht?" The Face. I touched my hair. "Oh." He got it and made the Face, with a little extra smile and blush. Then we all found out the time, 10:53, and had to go to bed.

"We'll play tomorrow night," Alicia said after going through me to ask if he would be here. "We don't have enough time." We all said goodnight and went to bed. Alicia and I talked and laughed for a long time.

Right now it's 3:07, siesta, and very hot. We had yellow rice and chicken {and salad and bread} for lunch. It looked disgusting was it was quite good! There was mellon again for desert. It is SO. GOOD. I have no idea what it is, maybe honeydew, but it is so amazing! Sweet and juicy and not a gross consistency. I love it. I also gave the bowl and explained it: "Um hombre en mi communidad hace. Un arbol in mi communidad." {A man in my neighborhood makes. A tree in my neighborhood.} I also gave Consuela and Lucia each a bracelet and said "Mi hermana hace." {My sister makes.}. And I got pictures :)

While we out shopping Consuela bought us each a BEAUTIFUL, most likely handpainted Spainish fan. Mine's red.

I kind of don't want to leave; that is, I want to go home, but I'd rather stay here than go to France and Italy. I think. Well, no. I still want to go to those places. I have lots of presents to get. In Spain I want to get Bri's earrings and Cass's keychain. And I need to get on Mrs. Martha's list of things to see!

{that night}

Rosa took us REAL sight-seeing today! We saw the train station and the colleseum and 3 GORGEOUS churches and mas {more}! Mi favorita estuve la iglesias. {My favorite were the churches.} On the way in the beginning, talking was stilted and slow but very friendly and eager. Rosa asked about my siblings and what my parents do and where I live, and she told us the same things about herself. She's wonderful! I managed "Tengo una hermana" {I have one sister}. Then "Hermana es catorce, pero *makes height with hand* (she's taller than me)." {My sister is 14, but...} Rosa laughed :) And about my dad, "Mi papa es...es iglesia? Y mi madre es professora." {My father is...is church? And my mother is teacher.} She asked what we wanted to be, and I didn't know how to say lawyer at all, so I went for "Escribo." {I write.} Remember, she's talking in full-on espanol. All the tour she went on and on, sometimes having to simplify things for me, but I got it!!!!!!! The more used to it I got, the better I got! Soon, SOMEHOW, I could more or less understand her."

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 4 Continued Continued

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 Part 1
Day 4 Part 2

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL
Day 4 Continued Continued

7.11.11

"I put on my pajamas, but I didn't feel like figuring out the toothbrush situation since we can't ingest the water here, so I just went to bed.

I wanted to write, but reading was mas importante {more important} and since lights out at 11, I had to pick. God's been giving me exactly the right Psalm every day, and last night it was Psalm 16. It was so right I cried. Again -___- That makes two days on this trip.

Then I just read "Lily's Passport to Paris" til lights out.

Let me tell you that sleeping without air conditioning is muy dificil {very difficult}. I was so glad Momma and Sarah didn't have to be here. Alicia has a thermometer somehow and it said 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah. Luckily I was on the lower bed with the window over it. Unfortunately it doesn't cool down that much at night, and the elevator runs right outside. XD I fell asleep eventually, after more crying, and 17 days felt like an unbelievably long time.

Oh! I forgot some things at dinner. We ate with the French boy, who's great. He's 13 and gorgeous. Brown hair, tanned skin, and a boy-cute face. His voice, I love. At dinner, Hannah, the resident translator, tried talking to him, but she's kinda mean. It's like she assumes anyone who doesn't speak English is stupid. She and Kira talked about the boy like he wasn't even there, and said things like, "He probably doesn't understand anything."

"Well, he probably does, just not the things we're talking about."

"No," he said suddenly in his adorable accent. "I do."

"Oh. But not very much."

"No, I do," he was endearingly indignant.

"I think you understand a lot," I said honestly. "You're much better at English than I am at French. Or Spanish." He smiled. We talked a little about tennis, and Hannah brought up escargos. We asked the boy if he'd ever had them. He made a funny face, confusion and skepticism and humor. It was cute.

"Whaht?"

"Escargo."

He looked totally confused, which baffled us.

"But that's French! Escargos? You know, snails?"

"Wait, I have a snail shell!" cried Hannah, leaping up from the table and leaving. While she got it we tried explaining it to the boy.

"They're slow...like a slug? With a shell?"

"Es. Car. Go!"

*makes crawling motion on table*

I tried pronouncing it French-ish, but it came out Spanish-ish.

Hannah came back with the shell and the boy immediately exclaimed, "Oh! Ehs-KEHR-gohh!" He laughed, we did too, blinking.

"That's what we said...!"

He laughed and shook his head.

"Say it again," I asked. He did, looking at me kind of annoyed-like, but laughing. I repeated it, he smiled.

Back to this morning. I knew I'd dreamed, but I couldn't remember. Consuela came in and told us we could shower then eat breakfast. This morning I felt terrible. My stomach was churning and the thought of facing another day was unbearable.

Alicia showered first; after a few minutes, she came racing into the bedroom. "Help! I can't turn off the shower! I've tried everything!" We ran into the bathroom. I turned the knobs both ways and all kinds of stuff but couldn't do it either. I felt bad for Alicia, in a towel, because just last need she'd told me she hates using other peoples' bathrooms because they always do something weird.

I went into the dining room and found Lucia.

"Ayudame," I said, motioning. She came and so did Consuela, who turned it off eventually.

While Alicia was finishing, I ate breakfast. I expected it to be awful from Kira and Hannah said. It wasn't! Not one little bit! The toast was good, we got to make our own hot chocolate with warm milk, the peach juice was fine and this little sugar muffin was delicioso!

Almost immediately after, we went out to shop. I was feeling rather worked up again. As we went out onto the street with a shopping cart that looked like a stroller, the world tilted and felt lumpy, like my body was in a house of mirrors. I really thought I was going to pass out, but as we walked I told myself to chill. Sure, it felt like we were in the ghetto, but as Lily says, "Details are details." I noticed the awnings and peoples' clothes, the cracked buildings and funny "walk" and "don't walk" lights. We went to a flourist first, where we left a plant. Consuela told the man something about water. Next, we stopped at a bakery, which smelled funny. The woman told Consuela that whatever it was wasn't ready and to come back.

We went to markets and fruit stores and supermarkets and all kinds of places. As time passed, Lucia began to talk to me. She tried to tell me the name of each store and things like that. I used a lot of "No se" {I don't know} and "Que?"{What?} and "Si," {Yes} but we got along okay :) She showed me more, and in the supermarket we played "Que es?" {What is?} I identified cheese, soda, milk, a basketball, a camera, and probably more. She told me towel, cart, basketball hoop, juice and mellon. I'm much better with Spanish than Alicia, so Lucia would sometimes tell me to keep quiet so Alicia could answer XD

I asked what some things were, like a mirror. Espejo. I knew but I couldn't remember. We got pretty good at communicating between making connections, reviewing and hand motions :) She told me about vans, which hold "muchas personas."

After shopping we went to a "parke." It has an airplane model/statue thing, so it's called "Parke de Avion." Lucia showed us this "pyramide" of ropes you can climb, a "rio" {river} that runs through the park, a stage where they have "concertos y peliculas en el verano,"{concerts and movies in the summer} and a swimming pool. she also showed us a memorial that looked like a jungle gym in a concrete planter. Something about death and the sun. Each side was dedicated to a different person or creature or something, which an engraving in the concrete. She told us that unlike the pyramide, we couldn't climb on this one XD She showed us her favorite patch of flowers and made a picture-taking motion. I did.

On the way back a la casa {to the house}, we looked in the window of a pet store.

Later we played "Mentito," which is basically BS. Actually, it's exactly BS XD

For lunch we had pasta! And salad and bread. At desayuno, I had told Consuela "Como poco, siempre." {I always eat little.} She remembered because just when I was getting full, she smiled and said, "Si quieres no mas, es bueno." {If you don't want anymore, it's okay.} I was ecstatic! I told her gracias, that everything was muy, muy bueno and ate a little more. Perfect! :)

Kira and Hannah have been wrong a lot. Lucia is wonderful, the food is good, and Consuela is the kindest Spainish lady ever. You just have to be open and try!

This morning I was completely inconsolable and wanted to go home. Right now, at 5pm, I think this has been on of the best experiences of my life. 16 {days} is still a painfully, painfully long time, and I don't like to think about it, but I think I can do it.

Oh, one thing that SUCKS: no towel! I can't BELIEVE I forgot a towel -__- *sigh*

{minutes later}

We just ate this little loaf of cake-bread that was so good! And cinnamon milk called...h... {I couldn't remember.}

{that night}

We went shopping! I got two shirts. One is black with a blue glitter tiger and the other is green and white and peasant-ish. We went with Lucia and her wonderful mother, Rosa."

Stay tuned XD

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal Day 4 Continued

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL
Day 4 (continued)

7.11.11

"All too soon, it was dinnertime. Consuela served us salad {lechuga y tomates}, French fries and chicken. At least that's what we were told. It was brownish and boned, er, like, bone-ful; lols XD

Feeling completely helpless, I ate. Salad, fries, chicken, water. Til I couldn't do it anymore. Then I saw there was a piece of bread too. >.< Noooo, lols XD I chocked down almost all of it. Still, Consuela asked me about why I didn't eat. I told her it was good and patted my stomach to say, "I'm full!" I still felt terrible throwing away the food.

After dinner, Kira and Hannah went into their room and watched Scrubbs on a laptop. Alicia joined.

What the heck?! was my thought. We're in SPAIN. We're in someone's HOUSE in SPAIN! And they're gonna be reclusive and watch American TV? Not me. I went into the dining room/living room and sat down. Lucia was watching "The Simpsons" in Spanish. I said, "Hola" and she said it back, and we watched in silence for a few minutes.

I practiced a sentence in my head, organizing it and checking it. I breathed in and said, "Tu tienes hermanos y hermanas?" {Do you have brothers and sisters?}

She said a lot, but I only retained that she had a brother, and I asked his name. It's Juan. She told me some other people and some ages, but I only remember that she'll 11. She said, once she was done,

"Cuantos anos tienes?"
"A sis--un hermana."
"No, cuantos anos tienes!"
"Oh! Diecisiete."
"Muy bien," she smiled.

She motioned me to sit on the couch, and when Alicia came Lucia gave her the other couch seat. Then Lucia showed me her DS. "Juego," she said. And she showed me lots of juegos {games}.

Not much else happened that evening. It was 10:30 before I realized , and since I couldn't call home I sent Momma a text from Hannah's phone. I hope she got it."

Once again, to be continued XD I have school work to do now unfortunately. *sob*

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal: Day 4

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

Day 4

7.11.11

{This was during the Homestay, and I accidentally used a lot of Spanish because it's literally ALL we heard or spoke, so I'll translate sentence by sentence in this lovely brackets.}

Hola! Ahora eso cosas are settling dow, puedo escribir. {Hey! Now that things are settling down, I can write.}

Alicia y yo estamos staying with Consuela y ella nieta, Lucia. {Alicia and I are staying with Consuela and her granddaughter Lucia.} We were picked up by Consuela's either hijo {son} o nieto {grandson}, which scared me to death. I'm not sure cuando {when} I've been so scared. We were la prima {the first} to get assigned to a family, and Sabine, our guide, said, "You're going to be staying with his mother, who couldn't make it."

Okay, sketch. That immediately sent my estomago {stomach} churning. The guy was about 25ish, and he had a girl about the same age with him. He seemed simpatico {nice}, and even made a joke about how we pack smaller than everyone else. although he said it in Spanish.

He put our stuff in the trunk of her car, and the cuatro {four} of us drove off. More like "dug off." This guy drove like un loca persona {a crazy person}! We took esquinas {corners} like no one's business, pulling out without looking. We sped in front of motorcycles,m just hoping they'd stop. We drove 45 down streets narrower than our old driveway, zipping past people and open car doors with no room for error. It was freaky, but mostly exciting. The thing that bothered me was the lack of security; I felt thrown under the the bus, and I didn't trust this guy! He and his girlfriend kept talking in low voices, and the section of town was growing more ghetto with every hairpin turn.

His mother couldn't make it? My thoughts were jumpy and scared. What kind of rapist bull is that?? I was growing more terrified by the second, almost sure this would turn into something wrong.

Suddenly, the car stopped, right in the middle of a street that screamed "ALLEY OF DEATH" and the guy said, "Vaminos," and got out of the car. He went to the trunk. I looked wide-eyed at Alicia. "Here? Where are we going?" She shrugged, not looking as freaked out as me.

I turned to the girlfriend. "We get out now?" She laughed in an accusing sort of embarrassed way and called to the guy. I asked him the same question. "Here? Now?"

"Si," he said, looking like he doubted by mental ability. So, shaking, I got out. There were bars on every window and graffiti on every wall. A guy drove up behind us and honked the horn. He was about the same age as our guy. Our guy grinned and called something to the other. THey joked and gave each other thumbs up. I couldn't understand anything, but I felt like we were being led into a gang rape or something.

Our guy led us inside a storefront building, and inside it was pinkish tile and stuffy air. Directly in front of us was an elevator, to the left, some stairs. He pushed the elevator button--wait no, we just stood there with our stuff. After an eternity of me praying for help, the elevator opened and a lady like a Spanish Mrs. Bernie {my grandpa's wife} came out. Relief flooded through my body in cool, electric rivers. His mother?! We were safe?

"Hola, que tal?" she said.

"Bien," said the guy. She stuck some money in his hand and he left with an abruptness that felt rude. The lady asked us the same thing, and we said, "Bien." She was smiling and friendly and not at all scary.

We got on the elevator and she asked,

"Hablais espanol?"

"Poquito," I managed. Alicia didn't understand, so we took that as a no.

"Es muy calor," said the lady, acting out the feeling. I smiled and agreed.

We got out of the elevator on floor cinco {5}, and she let us in to her casa. She showed us our room, which is pretty much square, a little longer than a twin bed both ways. There were dos twin beds in there, with only sheets. The walls were pinkish tan and like a popcorn ceiling, but a little smoother. Above one bed is a big rectangular window with closed blinds. Above the other is a dark wooden Jesus on the cross.

I said, "Gracias," and we put our stuff in there. Then the lady started to tell us things in Spanish. No comprendo. At all. For a moment, I was totally lost, but then a girl my age walked in.

"Hola," I said.

"Hi, girls," she said, waving. Another girl followed. The lady made a motion like she was handing over the situation and smilingly left.

We soon learned that the girls, Kira and Hannah, were from People to People too, on the same trip but they'd done it backwards. They told us everything.

Shower for ten minutes, and there's no hot water.

Always wear shoes.

There's no air conditioning.

We can't drink the tap water here.

Lights out at 11, and be quieter once Consuela's asleep.

Don't put your hair up when it's wet.

Eat EVERYTHING or she'll think you didn't like it.

Her granddaughter will take you to the park and try to get you to do stuff that you can't fit into. It's horrible and it's like babysitting.

Don't feed the dog, Lica.

No phone.

Don't use the lights much.

You can't charge anything.

And lotsa other stuff, like how she'll give you this gross peach juice and nasty toast. Oh, and they speak no English; none of them. Not Consuela, not her granddaughter Lucia, not her daughter-in-law. No one. And there's a French boy here too, for tennis camp. He speaks a little English and Spanish.

They--Kira and Hannah--had us pretty much depressed and ready to leave, even though I really appreciated their help, and they really were trying to help.

{This journal entry is wicked long, so I'll continue it either tomorrow or Thursday :)}

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Europe Journal: Day 2

Day 1

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL

Day 2

7.9.11

"Well, I'm in Spain! Right now we're chilling at the baggage claim, and I'm starting to think our luggage is lost. Oh well, it'll work out eventually.

I'm so exhausted! I got about 4 hrs on the plane.

{later}

The bags were fine.

It's now 3:30ish {pm} I'm guessing and we're in the Prado! I keep falling asleep without realizing, but I really want to stay awake. Lunch was okay but we ate at the Hard Rock and they gave us specially made menus...which was a little disappointing.

We've been touring the city. Taking pics but I doubt I'll remember what they are! I've never been so tired!

{that night}

Alright it is now 9:38pm and we're at the Holiday Inn. I've discovered that I didn't pack my khaki cargo pants, which pretty much drove me to tears. I'm still holding some back, but I guess it's cause of TOM, lol.

We don't have to get up til 8, so yay. I can't wait to sleep.

It's because I'm tired, I know, but I cannot remember what I'm doing here. I'd like to be home.

I got kissed btw. 15 minutes off plane. But I can't talk now. I'm too down."

How's that for a cliff-hanger for ya? ;)

~Stephanie

Hi :)

I'm actually here this time! This is not a five-sentence quickie. Life has finally given me a breather, and I'm posting! Either you've been waiting with bated breath to hear about my Europe trip, or you've completely forgotten about it. Either way is cool with me XD The trip seems a thousand miles away to me too.

BUT, I journaled every day, so there are 19 little treasures for me to post here...and that's a lot. So, I'm only going to be posting my journal entries on Tuesdays and Thursdays. {The other five days of the week you'll get some of my usual unparalleled wittiness to chew on.}

Hopefully this will last longer than the Twi-Hard posts. I'm sorry guys, but about Chapter 5 I just sort of lost interest in Bella Swan et al. The book was never awful or anything, I think I'm just sort of over it. It will probably never interest me again. Ever.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you {uncut, unedited, uncensored}...

STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL
DAY 1

7.8.11

"I'm on the plane to Dallas as I'm writing this :) Two other girls besides me had never been on a plane either, and we're all sitting near each other. I'm sitting with Claire and Karson, who are really nice and helped me not be too nervous during the take-off.

The take-off was not bad at all! At first I didn't even realize we were moving, then I noticed as we picked up speed and inclined. My stomach felt jumbled once, but that didn't last long.

And it's a good thing because I forgot to take Dramamine! I threw my water bottle away before I did.

I chewed my first piece of gum when the plane took off, and everyone thought Sarah was the coolest, sweetest sister ever for doing that for me. I'm about to put in piece #2 :)"

IMPORTANT NOTE: So, I really do have an amazing sister, guys. She knew I was nervous about my first plane ride, so she made me a gum package. A piece of gum for every hour of the plane rides, each a different flavor, each Sticky-Noted with the appropriate hour. {First Hour, Second Hour, etc.}. She made me gum for the plane ride from here to Dallas, from Dallas to Madrid, from Rome to Chicago, and from Chicago back home. She's so awesome XD Anyway. Back to the journal.

"The flight should arrive at 12:45, and the pilot said we're right on schedule. He seems wonderful from the intercom and he said the flying weather is perfect. So far no turbulence really :) Flying isn't as freaky as I feared, although Claire said this is even gentler than usual. Perfect, haha :)

I think I really like it. We're literally in the clouds! They look just the way they do from the ground except closer and lower...which is a dumb thing to say, I guess b/c how else would they look? XD

The stewardess just came by and I got some ginger ale, even though I feel just fine.

I've started reading 'Lily's Passport to Paris,' and I still love it :) Having Lily and her family is a little like having my own here :) I don't feel at all the horrible, empty loneliness I expected. Yet XD"

~Stephanie

HEY YOU.

Well hey there. I am home.

This is one of those things that's just too hard to explain. I had an unbelievably good trip and saw things that I still can't believe... There's really no way to express how inexpressible the whole 19 days were... Amazing. Completely incredible. So...yeah.

BUT, because I anticipated this kind of mental collapse upon coming home, I journaled on the trip. In my usual excessive style. But at this moment the entries are not typed up and I just got home and things feel weeeeeeird, so I'm going to take a little while to chill and get my brain back. I plan to start posting my journal entries probably around...the 7th or 8th.

And then I start school on the 10th. Yeah. Bite me. Urgh.

Europe rocks guys XDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Gah, I'm so inarticulate right now.

And thanks for following Sarah-who-I-can't-find-a-link-to and Dave!

~Stephanie

Last Day

I'm coming back tomorrow. I haven't seen my family in 18 days. That's longer than I've ever done ANYTHING, much less been without my family for it. I've see three new countries and one new continent. I've heard accents and eaten strange food and switched hotels about every 3 days. It's been crazy and fast and scary and probably wonderful. And now it's all over.

There are two possibilities to how I'm feeling.

Either I'm sick and tired of being in a strange and scary place and ready to get back to my own country...

Or I never want to come home.

~Stephanie

Homesick?

It's Day 13 of my Europe trip. This is the day my non-biological brother Daniel is betting I'll get homesick. Am I? I don't know. Because I'm writing this ahead of time and scheduling it, mwaaaaahahahaha.

But I bet he's right.

~Stephanie

Day 8

I feel like I'll be in France today. I still haven't actually checked the itinerary *shameful wince*. I know.

Soo. France. At least I know the food is supposed to be good. And French sounds so pretty. And it's all about fashion and stuff, so it's probably at least classy and clean. I'm assuming. Totally assuming. I am basing that on nothing.

As I write these little scheduled posts I can't help but become more and more NERVOUS. I can't believe that as you're reading this, I'll be in FRANCE. In EUROPE.

But I think I'll have fun. I think I'm HAVING fun as you read this.

Croissant anyone?

~Stephanie

Time Difference

Just so you know...

Right now, it is 8am at my house. {Or at least it was when this post was published.} That means that...

...in Spain, it's 2pm.

...in France it's also 2pm.

...and in Italy, it issss...
also also 2pm.

Well. That was a little more boring than I anticipated...

So anyway, I live on the east coast of the good ol' US of A, so at any given time at my house, it is 6 hours later in Spain, France, and Italy. Fascinating. Truly.

~Stephanie

Homestay

I'm not completely sure what the itinerary for the trip looks like {probably something I should check into}, but I'm pretty sure today I'll be doing my homestay; it's supposed to be near the beginning of the trip.

Basically, I'll be staying with a real family in Spain for three days, probably with a fellow Student Ambassador. I think it's a safe bet that today will be one of my homestay days, whether it's the first, the last or the middle day.

Hopefully I'm okay. Hopefully Spanish food doesn't make me sick the way Mexican does. Hopefully the shower won't be gross. Hopefully I'll be in good health. Hopefully I'm not panicking about anything. Hopefully I'm having fun.

I probably will be.

Probably.

~Stephanie