Busy BEE! Spain

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! I've been so, so, so busy! This post will be dedicated to my trip to Spain to visit Ali! Sadly it's been so long since then, I'm sure I'll be leaving out vital details, but that's ok.

I headed out for my first, big journey by myself to some foreign land! Elizabeth (one of my apartment-mates) was heading out at the same time, so we arranged a taxi together to cut the cost and be economical! It was great because I had someone to hang out with for the first part of my airport journey. Once we departed ways, I was left in the hands of Ryanair and we were Spain bound!

I arrived in Madrid with no problems, but quite a few butterflies in my stomach and fake confidence painted on my face. I had faith that I would make it to Cordoba, but I wasn't quite sure how. I remembered to be resourceful so I stopped at the information desk to ask the direction of the metro and how to use it, but while I waited in line, I heard a woman asking the same thing as I would be, and she was Irish and looked approachable so I decided to ask her and tag along. Before I knew it, I had my very first travel buddy. She was absolutely lovely! She was from a village in the west near Shannon; visiting her sister, brother-in-law and niece in Madrid, who are residents of Chicago. We quickly bonded, and before I knew it, she was buying my metro ticket and trying to set me up with her son, who is studying at UCC (Cork), maybe one day... Sadly, we had to depart ways and I was on my own for one more metro switch, and left to conquer the train station. With 2 minutes to spare I made it safely onto the correct train! I arrived in Cordoba to Ali's open arms and familiar face! It felt great and liberating!!

The next morning we met a few other Wheaton girls from her program and headed south to Malaga!

Malaga was wonderful and rainy!! We stayed at great, little hostel over looking the Mediterranean Sea. We met some very

interesting people, and befriended a few as well. We roamed around the main plaza, stopping in a Dunkin' Coffee, and then checking out the Picasso Museum. We went out both nights with two Irish and three English boys, all who were staying at the hostel. They were incredibly entertaining and winning us over with the "brilliant" vocabulary and classic accents. Malaga is a beautiful place, and I can only imagine what is it like in the sunny, summer months!

Back to Cordoba on sunday to some much needed rest and some more exploring. Ali had class, so I roamed around the city with another girl who was visiting a boy on Ali's program. Vicky was on her spring break, and traveling around Spain, from a program in London. We quickly became friends. It was great having a buddy to explore with. We went into this mosque, it was enormous and very beautiful!

I really enjoyed seeing another part of the world! It is very, very different then Ireland of course. Ali amazed me with her nearly fluent spanish skills and cooking skills. She made me delicious spanish tortilla. It is similar to a quiche, made with egg, potatoes and onions and lots of oil! Yum!

I was sad to leave Spain after such a short trip, but incredibly anxious to get back to Ireland for Mom and Bob's arrival! As much as I loved Spain, I found myself longing to return to Dublin. It was the first time I was able to miss Ireland, and boy if that is any indicator, then this summer will be very hard! I was so delighted to see the squared off green fields from the airplane! Just BEAUTIFUL!

As I expected, this trip to Ireland, and all the other traveling that I had planned gave me a whole new sense of independence and freedom. It's amazing what you can do when you're by yourself and without any comfort zone. A large and necessary lesson for all to learn and I'm so glad that I finally have.

It's amazing that I am more than half way done with this program! I feel as though I just got here.

Just a quick update: Mom and Bob came and I had the most fun with them! Needless to say, they completely fell in love with the country as I have, and thoroughly enjoyed their vacation and just today they arrived back in Maine.

My internship is going so well. I love the organization and all the women I work with. Yes, it's only women, but that can be expected when it's a women's organization.