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Home!

I have just about thirty-three days left of school and the fact that it's just out of reach is killing me. You know, that feeling when something feels so close, but at the same time is sooo far away?

That's how I'm feeling right now.

So I've decided to put together this post which is just a compilation of some of my favorite pictures from home!

Sorry there are a TON of beach pictures on here, but hey, I'm in the middle of Pennsylvania right now, I'm missing my beach!

By the way, most of these were taken on Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo, CA and San Francisco, CA (some pictures are edited, most aren't). Also, the girl in the middle photo is not me (I took all of these pictures), it's my best friend!

 

Care package from the fambam!

One of my favorite things (basically the only good thing) about living 3,000 miles away from home is the occasional surprise care package from my family! I received one in September, one in October (a not-so-surprising birthday package!), one in November, one in February, and one in March (this one)! It's my last one of the year, since I only have 35 days of school left!

 

This care package had a bunch of wonderful goodies in it!

 

An essential part of any good care package (for me!): some coffee from my favorite coffee shop at home, BlackHorse Espresso and Bakery! ( Perfect timing; I was starting to run low!)

 

A beautiful necklace that says "Climb High" from Amy Peters' Studio. This is my second necklace from here and I absolutely love her charming jewelry. I couldn't find my exact necklace on her website (linked above), but there are loads of other beautiful bits on here.

 

 

Some Trader Joe's Raw Almonds (nom nom!).

An Urban Outfitters gift card.

A cute little box with all of the ingredients to make a Lavender Friendship Garden in it.

 

 

See's Dark Chocolate eggs and a See's Chocolate Bunny (Happy Easter!).

 

 

And my personal favorite... Lonely Planet's Guide to Travel Writing! I have a hunch my parents know I've been obsessing over travel books/traveling in general...  ;)

 

Anyway..

THANKS MOM, DAD, and LIV! Love you all so much!

 

My week

Bonjour mes amis!

I’ll be taking a bit of a different direction with this post. However, before I do that I would like to announce that I have chosen the city that I will (hopefully) be living in a year from now… SALAMANCA! I still have to talk with my academic adviser, but as of right now, that is the location! I have a couple of reasons for choosing Salamanca over Granada, a few of which I will share with you now:

1.       Salamanca is smaller

2.       Salamanca is close to Madrid and is more centrally located

3.       The University of Salamanca is extremely old and prestigious, and it also draws in a lot of university-aged students from around the world

4.       It has less tourists than Granada

5.       I was reading a blog written by a student living in Granada, and he said that there are a lot of Rasta-type people hanging around all of the squares smoking dope (sorry, but that’s not really my scene)

6.       There was also word floating around that the Spanish in Granada is a lot harder to understand and sort of looked down upon by other Spanish-speakers

Now, I honestly don’t know if numbers five and six are true, so if they’re not.. well, too late! I will definitely still visit Granada while I’m in Spain, though. Also, my dad wasn’t a huge fan of the fact that I would be going to Morocco on the Granada program (civil unrest and what not). On the other hand, my mom is a very big supporter of traveling and exploring new parts of the world, and told me to go where I want to. I have wanted to go to Morocco for a while, however, I decided to respect my dad’s wishes and hold off on that trip. But if I don’t get my first choice, I could still end up going to Granada, so we’ll see!

So this week...

Films – I am a huge fan of films. They’ve made my rather hard year adjusting to uni quite a bit more bearable.  This week I didn’t watch quite as many films as I normally do because of exams, homework, and an astonishing increase in social life.

I started off this week with the 1997 animated film, Anastasia. This is a childhood favorite and never fails to boost my spirits, so after my French exam on Monday I popped it in. The astounding cast, including Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Angela Lansbury, Kelsey Grammer, Hank Azaria, Christopher Lloyd, Bernadette Peters, and Kirsten Dunst, and Disneyesque quality (it’s not Disney, I promise!) make it a very fun film to watch.

I didn’t watch another film until Thursday night, when, on a whim, I decided to watch Moulin Rouge! It’s one of four films that I have at uni with me, the other three being: Pretty Woman, The Devil Wears Prada, and Beauty and the Beast. I know. Pretty deep films. I promise I have a much more eclectic taste than these four represent. They’re the few films from home that were actually, fiscally, mine.

Friday morning I received a text from my friend Kelsey (another brave Californian trying out the East Coast) asking if I wanted to grab dinner and go to a movie. We went to see the new Tina Fey and Paul Rudd movie, Admission. All I can say is: Paul Rudd is very attractive and Tina should stick to performing her own writing. Basically, it wasn’t as funny as Kelsey and I thought it would be, which is a shame because I think both actors are hilarious if they have the right material. We both agreed we didn’t hate it, but we didn’t love it. It sort of left a lukewarm impression on us. Also, we had these super obnoxious people next to us who were snorting (no joke) and yelling at the screen. Who does that? And it was rather uncomfortable because, based on some comments they made, I think they were admissions people for my university! AGHH! Maybe they were the people who admitted me! So unsettling.

My last film of the week was Beauty and the Beast. Nice, light film to listen and sing along to while working on homework.

Also, I received a Netflix this week. La Vie en Rose. I am very excited to watch it and will let you know what I think!

Television – Unfortunately, I don’t have a TV in my dorm room. Fortunately, I live in 2013 and have a computer. Hulu, Netflix, sites I prefer NOT to mention: you are my good friends. This week I have been serial watching Friends, one of my favorite shows ever (I’ve watched all of the episodes, countless times, except for the very last one, because I like to pretend it never ends! I don't make much sense, do I?) That’s okay! I’ve also been watching A Game of Thrones. I absolutely love the books, and people rave about the series, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I’ve only seen two episodes, so I haven’t made up my mind about it yet, but I’ll keep at it and see how I feel. I also watched the new How I Met Your Mother, The Mindy Project, and New Girl. I love all of these shows so much!

Books – I love books and stories, but I don’t read as much as I should. Over my spring break I decided I should try to read more. I am currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (liked the film, thought I’d try the book) and Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie (love history, am fascinated by this particular time, location, and family).

Small (Travel) Book Haul: I just purchased Fodor’s Spain 2013 (for obvious reasons!) from my uni’s bookstore. It was rather pricey at $24.99, but I figured it’s something that will come in handy in the long run. I also purchased Hanging Out in England (2001 Edition – I wonder if the “hoppin’” pubs they mention are still  as “hoppin’” as they were twelve years ago!) and Rick Steves’ Ireland 2005 from my favorite used bookstore downtown! Together they were under $7! Whata deal! They may be outdated, but they’ll still give me good tips!

 

Bits o’ News – I am currently obsessed with Tazo’s Earl Grey Lavender tea. I. Am. Obsessed. As in 20 oz tea every time I stop at the coffee shop. This is new/odd for me, as I am a crazy coffee drinker/ ex-latte drinker. I still have about a half a cup of coffee every morning, but I seem to drink less and less every day. I also used to drink a latte every day and now it’s down to one every two weeks or so.

I am also in love with The Mortal Instruments series. They’re a young adult fiction series written by Cassandra Clare. And I have to say, they are pretty freakin’ awesome! I feel like I should be reading all of these classics (Bronte, Salinger, Fitzgerald, etc.) right now and act all adult, but I can’t help it… I love my YA! I just finished City of Glass (the third book) about a week ago and can’t wait to get my hands on City of Fallen Angels.

Finally,  to end on a positive note, my plane home is booked! May 5^th! So long Pennsylvania, hello California! It’ll be so good to be home, I simply cannot wait!

 

Au revoir, mes chéris!

Salamanca

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts I Found on Wikipedia

Capital of the province

Located in northwestern Spain

~ 200 km west of Madrid

~ 80 km east of Portugal

Population: 192,000

University of Salamanca

Attracts thousands of international students

Program – IES: Salamanca

Notes from Session: smaller college town, all classes taught in Spanish, minimum of four semesters required

Housing: Dorm, Homestay
Type of Program: Direct Enrollment, Study Center

Language of Instruction: Spanish

University: Universidad de Salamanca o Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca

Fun Facts:

-          Small class sizes

-          Access to courses in Psych, Journalism, Religion, and Communications

-          Includes a mid-semester break – Semana Santa

-          Atmosphere of a small town + the hospitality and charm of a small city

-          “Regardless of your major, you may combine your interests in linguistic and cultural proficiency with your academic pursuits”

-          Extracurricular activities include: movie nights, language exchange gatherings, salsa and flamenco dance lessons, local theatre performances, Spanish cooking classes

-          Past field trips have included: Toledo, Portugal, Madrid, Segovia, Granada, Zamora, and Camino de Santiago

Quick Study Abroad Update!

So just to let you know, it's between Salamanca and Granada! But which one?! I'll keep you updated!

Granada

 

Fun Facts I Found on Wikipedia

Capital of the province of Granada

Located in Andalusia, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains

One hour from the Mediterranean Coast

Population: 236,982 (as of 2005)

The Alhambra, University of Granada, Generalife, Cathedral of Granada (some attractions)

Granada means 'pomegranate' in Spanish

 

 

 Program - IES: Granada

Notes from Session: good for an immersive experience, smaller program

Housing: Dorm, Homestay

Type of Program: Direct Enrollment, Study Center

Language of Instruction: English, Spanish

University: Universidad de Granada

Fun Facts:

- Advanced language students can also take Arabic language courses

- Internships available

- One or two field trips are offered

- Past field trips have included: Cabo de Gata, Córdoba, Jerez, Cádiz, La Alpujarra, Gibralter, Sevilla, and Ronda

- A five day trip to Morocco is partially subsidized by the program as well

 

 

 

 

 

The Decision!

Alrighty! So I’ve decided! Drum roll, please……

ESPAÑA

Pero, ¿qué ciudad?

Sevilla or Valencia or Salamanca or Madrid or Granada

¡Ayúdame! Help me! Aidez-moi!

I’m going to post information about each program and city, as well as add photos, with the intention of helping me learn more about everything and make my decision!

By the way, my Spanish professor told me she’d write me a recommendation today! She was so encouraging about it and so happy that I had decided to go to Spain! I raced home after class to do some more research and can hardly sit still because I’m so excited about all of the possibilities!

Where to go, where to go...

Bonjour tout le monde! Ah I’m so happy I decided to take a chance and begin learning French this year!  It’s a beautiful language, don’t you think? And it’s the diplomatic language [ever wonder why they always speak French at the Olympics?..]! Eh, you all probably knew that already! Still, it’s a fun fact!

Moving on. Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to go to an informational session concerning my plans of studying abroad in Spain next year. I know, I know. Spain? Hold up. I was just speaking French (sort of). You see, I have a bit of a dilemma. I’ve been learning Spanish for about five years and I just started learning French this January. I’d love to master both languages and I believe the only way to really do that is to actually live in a country where the language is spoken. So there is my problem. Spain or France? Oh, then you might as well throw in the UK, for I’m looking to major in history with an emphasis on British history (I feel like I sound rather redundant there.. oh well!). And I’m an anglophile who’s wanted to live in the UK for as long as I can remember.

So where to spend the spring of 2014: Spain, France, or the United Kingdom?

Then I have to decide where to study within these countries. It’d definitely be London for the UK, but the other two have many appealing options. Sevilla, Madrid, Granada, Valencia, or Salamanca for Spain and Paris, Aix, or Montpellier for France.

By the way, I must decide in the next few days, for my application is due on April 1^st. Fantastic, right?!

So for now that goes on the back burner (but seriously, just for now, since I need to figure this all out ASAP!)