Cuatro

Pan. Sol. Tren. Viajes. Helado. Tarea. Amigos. Lengua. Vida.

The list goes on and on. These are just a handful of words to describe my Spain experience this week. I want to break down each word and provide an explanation as to why I specifically picked each one. I thought I'd take a creative approach to this blog entry...we'll see what I come up with next ;) Here we go:

• Pan= bread. Number food source right here. I seriously eat bread every meal, every day. The nutritional value is debatable, but the taste is not. It's good. And I like to eat it. Confession: Maddie and I ate an entire loaf of bread today at lunch. That will probably happen again. 
• Sol= sun. The sun has been alive and active this week. There are clouds in the sky, but they have definitely given the sun the spotlight. It has been a sweaty, but very beautiful week. 
• Tren= train. If we are not walking, we are riding a train of some sort. We take the train to go to Madrid at least once a week, as well as day trips and weekend excursions. Even though the whole process takes some time, I really enjoy using this form of transportation. 
• Viajes= trips. I have expanded my Spain city list even more since my last blog post. The MSU group took a day trip to Segovia yesterday and a smaller group of us went to Madrid this afternoon. We also have another trip lined up this weekend. Where to? Barcelona! I am very very excited. And of course, I plan to write a follow-up blog post about my weekend once we return...I won't leave y'all hanging :) 
• Helado= icecream. The perfect "postre" (dessert) for any day of the week. Maddie, Anna, and I found a good place to get icecream tonight. I ordered my safety flavor, "menta", and it was muy delicioso! 
• Tarea= homework. Yes, I have homework here. Crazy, right?! Well, maybe not so insane. Believe it or not, I am still the same Bethany here in Spain as I am back in the States. I like doing my homework! And it really does help me learn Spanish. All the assignments are both reasonable and beneficial, and my teachers do a great job of incorporating each assignment into our class time. I am and will continue to be thankful for all of it in the long run. 
• Amigos= friends. It has been such a blessing to form so many friendships here. I am learning new things about and growing closer to the people in my study abroad group each day. It has been really neat watching other friendships unfold at school with various classmates as well. 
• Lengua= language. Angela, a Chinese girl in my class, comes to mind when I think about this topic. I don't know when it started, but we have gradually become friends over the past two weeks. We do not communicate all too much, but we do use the limited Spanish we know to talk to one another. She is so sweet and always asks me questions. I try to respond as best I can and then proceed to ask her a question in return. It has been a really neat experience trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language than me through a secondary language like Spanish. Language really is beautiful.
• Vida= life. Regardless of where I am, I have the ability to enjoy life and life to the fullest. The Lord truly has shown me that. He has also opened my eyes to life beyond my own "bubble". It is easy to see life through a very narrow lens, but I believe this cultural exposure and unique experience has allowed me to see the world beyond my own comfort zone and understanding. Thank you Lord for life. 

Okay, now I'm going to give a quick recap of our day trip to Segovia. Let me tell you, it was an ADVENTURE. We left for the train station right after school and made our way to Segovia one train at a time. We arrived around 4:00 p.m., give or take, and headed into town. We had three main points of interest on our itinerary: los acueductos (aqueducts), La Catedral (Cathedral), y La Alcázar (Castle). We visited each one and toured the inside of the Cathedral and the Castle. They were awesome! It was incredible to think that men built these historical buildings and handcrafted every little detail inside of them. Truly amazing. After we checked those items off our list, we went to dinner together as a group. We ate at a really good restaurant right by the Cathedral, but time seemed to get the best of us...we were rushing out the door by the time the check came. We left the restaurant around 9:25 p.m. and our train left the station at 9:37 p.m. Can you guess what happened? Yep, you're right, we missed our train! After a frantic race to the station, we ended up taking an hour-long taxi ride back to Madrid. As bad as that may sound, it actually turned out to be a crazy, enjoyable, and most certainly memorable experience. We got to drive through the countryside and watch the sunset while listening to Spanish pop music on the radio and having good conversation in the car. It was quite an evening :) 

And for the finale...more pictures! Segovia really was awesome and I hope these pictures do it justice. Enjoy!

 Starting the afternoon off right with a group picture in front of the aqueducts.

 Cool view of the aqueducts. 

 Love these amigas :) 

 La Catedral de Segovia.

 Inside shot of the Cathedral. 

 Me and Anna with a view of Segovia in the background.

 La Alcázar de Segovia. 

 Maddie and me at the top of the Castle's tower! 

 Our favorite photographer, Frank! 

 The view doesn't get much better than this.

 Solo pic in front of the Castle.

 Awesome picture of William. Check out those shades.

El grupo. 

I am off to bed now and then off to school in several short hours. We are headed to Barcelona tomorrow evening all will be there majority of the weekend. I am excited to see what adventures lie ahead and look forward to sharing them with you. Have a wonderful rest of the week and an even greater weekend! 

Adios, 

Bethany