J2911: twentytwelve

EVERYBODY participated in the dress up game for New Year's...

Listening to: The Big Bang by Rock Mafia because it's STUCK in my head

I’m sick with some kind of cold again. Only this time, I don’t mind, as it serves as a reminder that Shea Elizabeth Woods, Kristeen Gonzalez and Josiah Toepfer were REALLY here! If the homesick blues plan to hit me someday while I’m here, it should happen soon because I am equipped haha. They each brought a piece of “me” to me, Shea with her priceless sense of humor& finishing my sentences, Kristeen with her Texas style & Spanish language proficiency, and Josiah with his positive attitude & TALL height. My friends visited for New Year’s and we spent it consuming our 12 good luck grapes at midnight at Plaza de Sol in Madrid. WHY you would ever want to put your body through something like that more than once in your lifetime is beyond me…they’re not kidding when they warn you that you’re stuck in the crowd! It was a once in a lifetime experience, where conversations in about 12 different languages must have been going on around us and the energy was on another level. More on this later…

the famous Spanish tortilla everyone must try!

the smiles I was so happy to have visiting from Texas!

I love how Spaniards decorate their apts with climbing Santas and wise men :)

I’m sitting here in my boyfriend’s hoodie (thank you delivery service in the name of Shea!), cozy and happy to be “home” at my piso here in Spain. I think my resolutions began in September with this move, and they're still something I'm working on: my 20384 flights of stairs to the piso have my work out covered, but I could add to it a bit more...I suppose... I'm still debating the whole "what to major in if I got my master's or should I get another degree to major in business as well?"... my brainstorming continues for the coffee shop & this is the one that gets me passionately excited about the most (just look at everything that came from this!)...reading more (finally getting the chance!)...Anyways, three months in and for once, I know exactly where time went:

-I spent a month learning to LIVE in a foreign country, all leading up to receiving my Espana resident card (and you thought your driver’s license was a big deal!)

-Another month was spent planning for the first trip to another country: my dream location of ITALY. I hope to hang on to the pounds I gained in gelato/coffee/cannolis/pasta and lose all the other ones as I do the usual resolutions gimmick this new year…

- A few weeks were spread out amidst the whole thing: my brother and I emailed each other A LOT and it was incredible, my parents’ love was emphasized more than I thought possible with their supportive words over the phone, my 4 year old niece kept forgetting I was actually in Spain but that’s fine haha, and overall I saw true relationships strengthen. There’s a Christmas card now hanging over my bed sent from home that I will frame when I settle back in the states. P.S. my mom might visit in February and wants to see Paris!

- Finally, a month was spent realizing how important this job has become. I didn’t really know what I was getting into with teaching, much less a foreign language (even though I’d already spent most of my life doing that with my family) and I now realize this is something I needed to experience in my life. I may not go on to be a professional educator, but I will forever hold on to the memories these kids have given and the lessons they in turn have taught me.

Now, I’m standing in front of the last 5 months. With 5 countries under my belt and 3 more in mind for the rest of the stay, I feel a kind of euphoria that only one thing can bring: stepping outside of your comfort zone. So with that said, here’s to the resolutions we’ll all set & forget. Focus on yourself, it pays off – no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifices, no matter the hard work it takes: do it for yourself and watch how the people who truly love you become happy with you, that’s how you know it’s real - "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain.

Updates coming soon on holidays spent in the Christmas Wonderland that is Brugges, Belgium (and their INSANE food of course, yes their waffles are worth the hype), driving 8 hours across Spain & visiting Madrid, and soon to see: Barcelona!