Loco

So I've been slacking major on el blog this past week so here we go...

Thursday (I'm starting here cause it was exciting):

We (David, Laura, Micheal-Ann, Luisa, Kailie, and I) went to the soccer game, Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid. I'm going to make this really long night short and in chronological order cause that's logical:

1. Got to the game too early and we're surrounded by crazy Atletico Madrid fans
2. David got spat on for wearing a Ronaldo jersey, so we made Micheal-Ann keep her coat on to cover her's up so she wouldn't get harmed.
3. Finally got into the stadium and excitement started to overcome the fear of being fans for the visiting team.



4. The seats started to fill up with loco fans



It's like nothing in the US. There was one whole section of crazy fans that were standing the entire time cheering for Atletico Madrid. People had made a huge banner that covered the entire section before the game of a car running over a Real Madrid player. Everyone around us was cussing at the Real Madrid team as they warmed up and while playing.

Friday

5. We left the game and stadium unharmed and headed for the bus that runs all night to head back to Alcala.
6. We got to the bus stop at 1:05 am and it only comes on the hour. We waited for the next bus for an hour and filled our time waiting in the nasty Metro station to stay warm.
7. Made it back to Alcala and were safely tucked in bed by 3:18 am.
8. We had to wake up at 7 to be ready for a 9 am trip to Segovia.
9. Went to Segovia and it was hard to enjoy because we were freezing cold and tired



Skipping a few days...

Tuesday: El loco day of this week

1. We found out we were going to have to move...again.
The house we were staying in, the one I blogged about in this post had 3 Brazilian boys and we shared a bathroom with one of them. That equals not okay. So we moved, but our new family's mom didn't have a working car so we had to ride the bus with our huge bags, get off at another stop and ride a new bus to our new house...

We weren't too heart broken about leaving our second house cause the food was gross, there wasn't much hot water ever, and we couldn't get to know the new family because they had 4 other exchange students. But mainly we're glad to not see the food from our second fake mom's cooking ever again.

BUT, our new house is awesome! It's an older couple, who are Mormon, with a huge house, located a block from the Church, with WiFi, hot water, and delicious food (well we've only had one meal and it was good).

Awkward

So today Kailie and I moved from this:





A nice bedroom, nice desk, and nice closet. With a family that smokes and was super nice...to this:



Why you may ask... Well I'll tell you.

So we moved in a week ago to the top pictures and it was way awesome, the only complaints we had were there was no internet and our family smoked. Well it's BYU's policy that the family can't smoke so they moved us.

Our new house now has internet (so we'll be blogging a little more frequently, get excited) and there's no smoking. The family is just a husband and wife it seems like and there are a bunch of students that live here as well, besides us. It was only a 5 minute walk from the other house.

However, it was way awkward to leave...
The university said they had told our old family that we were moving out, only when we were packing our stuff they had no clue we were leaving. The dad seemed kind of offended and we had to just explain that we were being moved and we that they were super nice and thanks for everything. The most awkward was when we were leaving their front door with all our stuff and we just left and walked on our way.

But here we are in our new house! We're excited and ready to start the semester...again.

Madrid

We finally made into Madrid and have been visiting ever since.



La Plaza de Mayor



El Museo Del Traje



Real Madrid Stadium

Fun times!

First

On Wednesday we had our first day of school:

We got all ready and headed off on the bus:



Today it was funny, we saw the bus by the round-about right before the bus stop and had to run and wave him down and then he stopped for us, instead of having to wait for the next one. It was awesome.

Landed

Well we made it here to Spain...

The flight(s) was/were pretty good and super long, but they lost my bag. I was able to check the bag that was going to be a carry on and they lost it... So now I'm praying it will come soon cause it has half my clothes and shoes and my contacts, so I'm stuck wearing my glasses until then.

My host famliy is nice, we have a mom, dad, and they have a daughter that's about our age. The only problem so far is that they smoke. Well everyone smokes here in Spain, it seems like, and so when I'm trying to breathe I get a breath of the toxic fumes. So if I die of lung cancer in the next 3 months you'll know why and be glad people in the US don't smoke as much. I mean haven't these people heard smoking will kill you?

Also, I need to practice/learn my Spanish. Let's just say it's a good thing Kailie is here to help and is patient with me. For the most part I can understand, I just can't repsond...

Yesterday (Monday, the day we arrived) was kind of hard for me and Kailie, well for me especially. We were both super tired and I was super stressed out and frustrated with my bag. Fortunetly our host family made us dinner early and we went to bed early, getting much needed sleep.

Today is a lot, lot, lot better. We rode the bus into town and have been looking around. We found a bank, a bus pass, the university, and as you can tell we found the internet as well. (We only have it on campus, so there will be limited use of it.)

Well I hope things are going good, where ever you may be. I'm here where the weather is a wonderful 57 degrees, so I'm not complaining :):)

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I'll take some soon and post them.

Adios

Adios Estados Unidos...

Tomorrow, I'm off on my adventure to Spain. I'll be stopping in Washington DC and then from there going to Madrid. But I won't get there until Monday morning, which will be Sunday night here in Colorado.

I'll be keeping track of my travels pretty regularly (I hope), here on my blog.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be doing something like this. It'll be great to get out of Rexburg (even though I have been missing it), taking a break from school in the sense that I won't be working on classes for my major, all while seeing a new part of the world, well new to me. Plus, I'll be greatly improving my Spanish.

Well United States...Colorado...Highlands Ranch...House...Room...Bed...I'll be seeing you in 3 months.

Here we go!

Packed

Wow, packing for 3 months is hard. Usually when I go on a trip I wait until the day before to start packing. It usually takes me an hour and I'm good. Ha, not the case these past few days...

I coordinated with Kailie, my friend who wanted me to go with her to Spain and who I'll be rooming with these next few months, to see how many bags we should each take. We agreed on 4 bags each, 2 checked and 2 carry on. Unfortunately, United didn't seem to agree with our plan. Kailie checked online and read that you can only check one bag or pay an outrageous fee, and, as always, it can't be more than 50 pounds; she alerted me right away on Friday. I had started packing earlier that day and was like, maybe I can fit it all in 3 bags.

Today I've spent all day packing, with the exception of taking time for meals. I fit everything I could into my checked luggage and found out it was 62 lbs. I spent the next 2 hours rearranging and taking stuff out to fit it in. I weighed the bag about 14 times and it finally came out to be 50 lbs exactly.

Tomorrow will be the true test, when I take it to the airport for them to weigh and check, if it's even 1 pound over we'll have to pay a fee of $200, ridiculous.

Bored

I'm bored, I now know why I go to school year round and don't come home for long periods at a time. Right now I'm longing for Rexburg (I never thought I would say this, but it's true). It's sad to think that my friends are up there partying it on up and I'm in Colorado waiting to start my fun.

I'm longing for/missing:

Friends



Watching friends have fun



Making food in a tiny kitchen



Nights where we stay up way to late playing semi-mindless games



Nights where we stay up way too late in general



Going to the temple with Em, even if it means driving 4 hours south



Randomly finding birds in the dryer



But most of all the friends



Well this was a fun post to make, it was fun to see all the great times I've had with friends I've made in Rexburg, plus it cured my boredom for 23 minutes. I'm for sure going to miss it (except for the cold). However, I'm grateful to be leaving Highlands Ranch in exactly 6 days to go to Spain. But until then, I'll be in a state of sadness and boredom.

Edited

I'm going to edit this challenge to 25 days.

I'm tired of forgetting to write each day and I'm sure you're tired of flipping to my blog and seeing 5 new posts in one day.

So, The End. Now you know a little more about me. But if you really want to know more just ask.

Until next time, enjoy the Tetris Song:



If this video doesn't work click Tetris Song above.

Day 25

What would I find in your bag

My wallet
Gum
Gum wrappers
A book
My camera
My phone
Old movie tickets
Lip gloss
Headphones
and My iPod

Day 24

A letter to your parents

I love you and thank you for EVERYTHING.


(I'm not going to write everything here on the blog, sorry.)

Day 23

Something that you crave for a lot

Chocolate, in any of its forms:

Day 22

What makes you different from everyone else

Many things:
I'm an only child
I eat certain foods differently
I'm Mormon
I'm going to Spain in a week
I love to play board games
I love shoes
My name is Felicia Lynn Harbison.

Day 21

A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 20

Someone you see yourself marry/being with in the future

A man,
...who's Mormon,
...who likes milk,
...and music,
...who makes me laugh,
...who likes movies,
...and mangoes,
...who makes macroni and cheese,



...and who loves me.

New

Happy New Year!

I started off the new year by seeing the Nuggets ball:



How'd you bring in the new year?