A picture says a thousand words..

~till next time
Chloe

Changing Persepective Brings Joy

When looking back at the last 5 years of my life, I'm sometimes amazed that I'm even functioning. Life has been full of its ups and downs and I know that there are many more just waiting for me.  But the last 5 years have been an emotional roller-coaster. 

At times, it hurts to look back and remember the things that have happened and the people I hurt while trying to "live my life".  Other times, all I feel is joy knowing that I have the most amazing people in my life. People who have been supportive, understanding and just loving. 

I think the hardest thing for me right now is trying to focus on the positive side of every situation.  If you know me at all, you know that is not something I am good at. I've been that way most of my life, kinda a pessimist. It's nothing something I'm proud of, but it's been sort of a crutch for me the past couple years.  I've used it as an excuse, a way to protect myself. And though it is not something I like about myself, I have never really made an effort to change it. In fact, I've convinced myself that this is who I am and that I will be this way for the rest of my life.

But...the last 8 months have been life changing and recently I made the decision that I didn't want to be a pessimist anymore and that I wanted actually allow myself to be happy. I've started to "look on the bright side" and not think so negatively.  

It's amazing how different the world looks already. I'm seeing everything in a new light. Things that would normally seem sad or depressing have actually turned into some of the happiest moments. Instead of assuming the worst and expecting everything to go wrong, I've started to let myself hope and enjoy life.  Hope is huge. I don't know how I've gone so long without it. It's given me a little burst of life that I didn't know existed and has made everything that much better. I'm more ready and excited for this semester of school than I have ever been. I'm excited for winter to come. I'm ready for new adventures. The world isn't as horrible as I have thought it to be.

I'm happiest I've been in a long time and I don't say that lightly. It's the people in my life right now that have brought this change. And I am so grateful.

I know that there are going to be days that just suck...it's life. It's going to happen. But now I don't expect everyday to be that way. And that is a wonderful feeling.

till next time
~Chloe

I've lost my wisdom

What purpose do wisdom teeth serve?! They don't do anything...just sit there. Sprouting from the gums, causing pain and strife. Someone please tell me why you have to go through the process of pain to relieve pain? And speaking of pain, why is getting your teeth pulled so painful in the first place? Also, why do drugs have to be so dang complicated? All I want is to get rid of the pain you have caused me...so just give me something that will make that go away and not make me feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. And another thing, give me something that will make the holes in my mouth heal faster so that I can enjoy the great food that I have been blessed to be surrounded by.

Welp, it finally happened. After about of year of feeling like I've been teething, I finally got my wisdom teeth removed.  My wisdom is officially gone. Blast. I was suppose to get them out last December, right before I went to Spain...but I decided I wanted to spend New Years in California with Miss Jamie Pickett...she's my bas fran. Obviously, I do not regret that decision at all since I had a wonderful time with her and the Pickett family.  But it was time to get those bad boys out of my mouth.

To be honest, I had been freaking out about it. Everyone has such different experiences, and I was convinced that mine would end up being a sort of teeth horror story. Luckily, I have the greatest family and friends in the world so it wasn't that bad.  I don't remember Friday, Saturday is a blur and Sunday was painful. Bridger stayed with me literally the entire time. She changed my gauze, took embarrassing pictures of me, gave me pills. You name it, she did it. The little sweetheart. Seriously, I am so lucky to have a sister who is willing to give up her entire weekend to just hang out with a drugged up version of myself. We watched so many movies...at least 7 a day...yes...a day. What makes that even better? I never stayed awake for a whole movie. I just liked having something playing in the background.

Really, all I want now is pizza...I've been craving it all weekend. That, honestly, might be the hardest part of getting your teeth pulled...you now have four freaking holes in your mouth and you can't eat real food. Kinda depressing.  Especially when your sister has come back to Provo to stay with you for the week and wants to go eat at all these fun places. Of course, I won't turn her down. I mean have you seen that face! But now I have to sit and watch whilst she eats wonderful food. Quite the bummer. We did go to Lagoon yesterday with Jamie and Ashley. Which was very fun, but also very tiring...and I'm still not 100% yet so it was rough at times. But Bridger wanted to go...so we went. I'm pretty excited about her being here. Just sayin. 

Anyways, thank you to my mom, grandma, sisters and friends! I could not have made it through this weekend without any of you and I am extremely blessed to have you all in my life. 

~till next time

Chloe

Northern Espana

Our second to last weekend in Spain, we took a trip up north. Our scheduled trip was to visit Burgos, Bilbao and San Sebastian.  We stopped in Burgos first. We took a tour of the Cathedral there and then were given a couple hours to just chill.  It was such a beautiful day, so after napping by a river I decided to wander around by myself.

I ended up meeting Alejandro...had a nice conversation (in english) and then left him to continue on with life. Funny the random people you meet. 

We then ventured to the town of Bilbao, where we visited the Guggenheim Museum...when we got there we discovered that the Manchester United futbol team was there playing Atletico Bilbao...on top of that the team was staying in our hotel. So, of course, Lindsay, Chelsey and I being the dedicated soccer fans that we are, decided that we were going to try and scalp tickets and get into this game.  Unfortunately, any sane person would never give up a ticket to such an "important" game, so we were unable to succeed...but we did find a spot outside the gates that allowed us a small visual of the field...and we watch about 20 minutes of the game sitting on the beer/glass covered ground. 

The next morning we went to Guernica.  Yes, the same Guernica Picasso's piece of art is named after.  Let me tell you, after learning the history and all the background information of the painting, this place holds a whole new meaning for me.  We were able to visit the Peace Museum while we were there. Honestly, one of the most touching experiences I had while Spain. 

There was this insane graffiti wall! Our trio decided to go find it when we were given our free time and had a little photo shoot...I am not as photogenic as Linds and Chels, but I wanted to show just a tiny piece of the amazing graffiti art. 

So then...we're getting on the bus to venture to our next destination...when Lance and Jacqui inform us that we had extra funds and would be able to make another stop on the way to San Sebastian...they then told us we had four options we could choose from...to be honest, I don't really remember what the first three were. I wanna say something along the lines of visiting another cathedral, stopping somewhere a book was based on (I think I just made that up, but it was something like that) and then go to a McDonalds where we could find wifi and play some sort of video game...and then the final option was given. How about we go to the town of Biarritz, it's just a small town on the coast in Southern France. Needless to say, this was probably one of my favorite parts of my whole Spain experience. We kept singing the song You and I by Ingrid Michaelson...if you don't know why then listen to you it and you'll understand. It was so freaking beautiful! We got there and went to this amazing pasteria and then were given a little while to wander around. Definitely went straight to the beach. 

We weren't there very long, and we didn't get in the water...but Biarritz, France will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

We then went to our last stop of the trip, San Sebastian (located back in the great Country of Spain). We were just given the whole night free so once we got there we all split and wandered around. A couple of us went to this amazing Italian restaurant and rode a carousel and played on the beach a litte more. It was nice, not having any tours and just being able to wander around the last two towns we visited, doing whatever we wanted. 

This trip was such a fun one for us and will definitely go down as one of my favorites while in Spain.

~till next time

Chloe

I suck..

I still have so many different things I need to write about Spain and all my travels!! And it isn't like I haven't had the time or anything, cause up until about a week ago I didn't even have a job. I just start to feel overwhelmed when I think about everything that I need to update my very small blogger world on.  Maybe that's why I haven't had the desire to write...cause really who cares?! 


But I need to keep up on a journal somehow, so this will have to do for now. 


I'll slowly post things about the rest of my journey in Spain but I'm just going to give a short recap of the last month and a half of my life. 


I got back into America on the 12th of April. I cannot even begin to describe how ready I was to be home. Don't get me wrong. I love Europe and Spain...but I was definitely missing my family and friends and the good ol' USA.


My plane ride home was actually the most traumatic 24 hours of my life. I made it to the airport in London with plenty of time to make my flight. When I finally got on the plane we started moving and the sat on the runaway for about 45 minutes...to be honest I hadn't even noticed that we had just been sitting there. Then the Captain comes on and informs us that there is a technical difficulty and that best case scenario it would take an hour to fix...an hour!! Now let me explain why this stressed me out to the max (cause I'm normally pretty chill and would have dealt). My layover in Dallas was 3 hours long...I had already been sitting on the runway an hours...that gives me 2 hours in Dallas...which is manageable when needing to go through customs and such...but then I'm told that we will be waiting AT LEAST another hour.. 
So to sum up, best case scenario, my 3 hours layover has just been cut down to 1. For anyone who travels internationally and knows the process of going through customs and having to re-check in...that is not enough time. Especially in a huge airport like Dallas. 


So, of course, I'm freaking out. I know I know, they change your flights for you la de freaking da...people...I WANTED TO BE HOME! So the fixing of the plane took about an hour. The whole flight across the ocean I'm just trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to do this. This is where it gets fun.


The plane lands...of course taking forever to taxi and de-board. But once I'm off I book it to customs...and there is a long line...luckily many people saw me on the verge of tears and I was quickly pushed to the front of the line...THANK YOU STRANGERS! The customs man takes his time....I'm a freaking American Citizen...let me in! Once I'm through customs I book it across the airport to where I have to print off my connecting flights ticket...yes London decided not to provide me with the second ticket...though everyone else had there's and I asked about it. That took forever because I skipped the line and went to the electronic check-in thingy...which wouldn't print my ticket because the lovely airline people had already booked me on the next flight to SLC...just in case. So then I hop in line and finally get both tickets...the original and the back up flight. I'm going to say I had maybe 15 to 20 minutes at this point to sprint across the airport and go through security again and get to my gate...oh yeah, you have to go through security again. It's fine. At the security, the people were not so willing to let me skip through the line....though I did cut through the VIP lane...the security guy was nice. Now I get through the scanner just fine when this big black lady (not racist, just stating the facts) decides that I have to unzip my suitcase and let her check it out...my suitcase it locked. I had to dig through my backpack, unlock and unzip my fully packed suitcase and allow her to throw things away that made it through the London security just fine. She tried to be nice and asked if I wanted to check my bag so I could keep those things...NO LADY! MY FLIGHT IS LEAVING AND I STILL HAVE TO TAKE A FREAKING TRAIN TO MY GATE! STOP TALKING TO ME! I didn't yell...but I made my situation very clear to her. So as I close my suitcase and start sprinting to the train she gives me a very cheerful farewell....efff you. Yes, I know it's been over a month since this incident...but go through it and you will understand...I was not in the mood. Anyways, I make it to the train that will take me to my terminal...there are 5 of them...mine is the last one. I know right. So I finally make it to my terminal...at this point it is obviously past the time that my plane is scheduled to take off....but I'm praying out loud and running, hoping that by some chance my plane is still there. As I exit the train and start running, my backpack unzips..and everything falls out...so I'm bawling, picking everything up and running and then wouldn't you believe it....my pants fall down...literally fall off my butt. Hello Dallas. So I pull them and finally make it to the gate where my plane is suppose to be..and guess what...
IT'S STILL THERE!!! My second plane also had technical difficulties!! What are the chances....so I sprint down the runway onto the plane where the flight attendants cater to me because I'm obviously a hot damn mess. I still cannot believe to this day that I made that flight...I know it would not have been a big deal if I had just gotten on the flight a few hours later...but I was exhausted and just wanting more than anything to be back in Provo holding Soren. I'm convinced that I was to be taught some serious patience that day...LESSON HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD! thanks.


I made it to Salt Lake with no further event and Chris was there to pick me up and I went and saw my favorite children. I then got back to Provo where Jamie, Ashley, Kelli and Bryndee were all awake waiting for me. They made me a poster and covered my bed in chocolates...they really don't know how much that meant to me. Especially after the day that I had.  Jamie and Ashley even stayed up with me till the wee hours of the morning while I unpacked. I really could not have been blessed with better friends.


So ends April 12, 2012. 


But wait...there's more!


The next morning, Chelsey and I (she made it home without anything happening...) we woke up bright and early and began the wonderful drive to Santa Cruz, CA. 10 hours for those of you who don't know. The drive actually wasn't that bad at all. I had my 5 hour energy drinks and the scenery was beautiful and I was going to see the lovely Lindsay Walch at her house and go to her farewell. I do not regret how tired I was by the end of my trip at all. Seeing Lindsay one last weekend and meeting her family was such a great experience! We stayed with her a couple days, went to her farewell talk and then took off. We went south to go home so that I could stop in St. George and see my family for a couple days. Thank you Chelsey for tagging along. I would have died without her. We spent a couple days in St. George and then April 19th we were finally back in Provo for good.


That was over a month ago. A lot has happened...but then again not really. I feel like Spain was a dream...it's really hard for me to believe that I actually lived there. It just doesn't seem real. I miss it at times and I'm so very grateful that I had the opportunity to live there with Ana Maria and Oscar and to be able to experience another country and of course make new friends. A few of which I am convinced have produced life long friendships. 


~till next time
Chloe

Just another sporting event

Back to my Spain adventure. 

The week after we got back from our "Spring Break", most of us girls made arrangements to attend my second (their first) Spanish sporting event. We were going to a REAL Madrid game! 

Preparing for this game was much more relaxing than the Barcelona game. We had a huge group of us going, plus the game was in Madrid. The danger of the Barcelona game was not present.

The day before, me and a couple girls went to make sure we knew where the stadium was, but more importantly, I had to buy myself a jersey. My Barcelona one was not an official jersey, in fact it was very cheap. Which is totally great, but I told myself that I was willing to spend the money to get an officially jersey from the stadium. 

The morning of the game we had our classes and then we got ready and headed into Madrid. In case you forgot, I was indeed participating in classes whilst in Spain. One of our assignments for our Art History was to visit the Reina Sofia Museum and see Picasso's Guernica. So that was our first stop. Side note: The Guernica is amazing! It's huge and tells an amazing story! 

So funny story, after the museum Lindsay, Chelsey and I went to our favorite bubble tea place. So good, it was sad that it took us so long to discover it. The weather was really nice so we then decided to walk around downtown Madrid and enjoy life. As we are walking down what I like to call prostitute road (named this because it was lined with trees and every tree housed one of these lovely ladies) this guy came up to us, completely drunk. He was wearing a suit and a REAL Madrid scarf and he saw three Americans walking down the street wearing REAL Madrid jerseys. So naturally he wants to talk with us. He was actually kinda attractive to be completely honest. Anyways, he throws himself into the middle of our trio and wraps his arms around me and I think Lindsay...I don't remember which of the other two.  Well he proceeds to start yelling random things like how we are hott, look guys look at my new guapa friends, "kissy kissy" noise, go REAL.  All the while he has his arms around me and pretty much groping me. Totally uncomfortable, but one of the funniest ten minutes of my life. We ran into him later, he was so far gone he didn't even recognize us.  

After that we got some food and then went to the stadium. REAL was playing Moscow, so when we got there we had the lovely pleasure of interacting with some of the Moscow fans. Some of the other girls has really horrible experiences but our little group had a blast! We took pictures with a bunch of them and really they were all just hilarious. 

We eventually made it into the stadium and painted our faces and watched the game from the highest up seats in the stadium. Oh by the way, Spanish sports fans...yeah they don't paint their faces. You will not believe some of the looks I got, ranging from surprise to complete disgust. It was really just great to already be singled out because you're American and then on top of it being the only people in the stadium with paint on your face. 

The game was pretty much everything that I imagined it would be. REAL won and I got to watch Ronaldo and Kaka play in person. I mean really, what more could you ask for. 

~till next time

Chloe

Spring Break Spain Style

When we were preparing for the program, we were told that around mid-March we were going to be able to have a "travel week" where we would be able to go anywhere (within reason) for 4 days. The rule was you had to go in groups of 3 or more. When the list of places we could choose from were read you could tell most of the girls were going to pick Rome, Italy. And why wouldn't they?? It's an absolutely amazing place and I loved it...but I had already been. Luckily there were a couple other girls who were in the same boat as I was. We didn't decide where we wanted to go till after the program started but we all agreed on going to....LISBON, PORTUGAL!! When am I ever going to have the opportunity to go to Portugal? We decided it would be the perfect place....funny thing is we didn't even know just how "perfect" perfect meant.We didn't really plan very much for our trip, the plane tickets and our hostel were way cheap so we booked those and just planned on laying out at the beach all day everyday. It was a very relaxing trip to plan compared to the Rome trip. I was so worried those girls were gonna be way to stressed to even have fun, but they did so that's good!

Anyways, my friends Alyssa Smith and Derek Allen have both been to Lisbon so I asked them about things to do and such. They gave me great lists and Alyssa recommended the hostel we stayed in, but even with this information, none of our little group really knew anything about Portugal, so we were just gonna wing it. AND IT WAS PERFECT! It turns out, there is actually A TON to do in Lisbon...we needed another whole week. But even with knowing that, I don't regret any decision made on that trip.

Our group of six (Chelsey, Anna Solomon, Alyson Astle, Elizabeth Dalton, Janeen Jensen and I) made it to Lisbon and checked into what would turn out to be the greatest hostel on this earth! I'm actually not kidding...they've gotten awards for best hostel. Seriously. Amazing. I don't know how else to describe it. It's called Yes! Hostel. YES FOR YES! HOSTEL! Thank you so much Alyssa! This hostel has the nicest workers and they all know you and recognize you and remember you and they are just so helpful, they feed you a 3 course meal with 3 drinks and dinner every night for 8 euros (and the food is handmade by the owner Isabel and DIVINE. DIVINE I tell you.) they give you tips on things to do, and for the party going visitors they take you on a guided pub crawl every night and free shots at 1130...oh and they can all speak like 5 languages...ugh just....perfect! I don't know anyone who is or will be visiting Lisbon, but if you or anyone you know is....STAY HERE!

....Anyways, once we were settled in the six of us took a stroll around our part of Lisbon. The city is right on the coast and very hilly. Nothing like Madrid. Now don't get me wrong, Madrid is great but Lisbon is just beautiful! We ended up just wandering all over for awhile then eating at a cute little restaurant overlooking the water. (the food wasn't very good but the place was cute).

The next morning we got up and headed to a town about 45 minutes outside of Lisbon called Cascais. This is another thing that Alyssa (and the hostel) recommended. Actually, when we got to the hostel we found that, on their blackboard thingy, they had posted what they recommend you do as "day trips". Cascais was one of them so I just took a picture of their recommended layout and we just planned to follow that. The trip consisted of visiting the furthest western point on the European Continent, Hell's Mouth and several different beaches. Sadly, we didn't make it everything, but again, I don't regret a single thing I did or didn't do on this trip.

We went to Boca de Inferno, which means Hell's mouth in Portugese....OH YEAH! did you know they speak Portugese in Portugal? yeah so did I....did you know that almost everyone speaks real good English as well? yeah neither did I. Freaking America. Why don't you make us a learn billion languages in school?

Anyways, Boca de Inferno is basically a large grotto right on the coast in middle of beautiful cliffs. Pictures don't do it justice. We got there right as the tide was coming in so the waves were extra large and loud, which made the experience all the more cool.

After that we walked up and down the coastline for awhile trying to figure out how to get the free bikes they have so we could ride around town. We ended up not being able to find six all together but as we made it back into the actual town of Cascais I discovered something I think is better than bikes.

SEGWAYS! I've always wanted to ride a segway...and after I saw the price I figured "why not in Portugal?" Luckily, Chelsey was down to join me. Best decision of the day! After we ate some Indian food, we rented segways for an hour and rode around town. The weather was just so perfect all day and we laughed the entire time. I think that will be a memory I cherish for a long while. We then chilled at the beach for a couple hours till it was time to meet up with the other girls and head back for dinner (our first night eating the famous Isabel Hostel meal....sooooooo good!)

The next morning we went to a town a little closer than Cascais called Belem. We walked around for a bit and saw some of the sights and got a Pasteis de Belem...Heaven in a pastry, no joke. In fact, after we finished eating them with the girls and split up, Chels and I went back and got more. Don't judge.

I'm pretty proud of this picture BTW.

We then went to Carcevelos, which according to Derek and the hostel was the most popular beach around. It was perfect for the relaxing afternoon in the sun that Chelsey and I were looking for. I mentioned earlier that the tide had been coming in when we visiting Hell's Mouth....turns out it was this freak event where the water was crazy high and the waves were insane! There were so many surfers out and we had to keep moving our spot because the water kept reaching us. We even saw a movie being filmed while we were there.

We ate lunch at a little restaurant on the beach and had burgers and shakes...now we aren't really sure if they were really as great as we thought or if the state of pure happiness we were in had clouded our judgement...but the food, to us, was delicious. After spending the rest of the perfect day on the beach, we returned back to the hostel and ate our final dinner in Portugal, prepared by Isabel.

The next morning, after we checked out of our hostel, we went to a little flea market not very far away. When I say little, I mean HUGE! We were there for hours and we didn't even make a dent in it. We all bought some cool trinkets and such and then headed to the airport.

All in all, this trip could not have come at a more perfect time. I was starting to really feel my SAD coming on, even though we had just been to Barcelona. I know my life is just so hard living in Spain, it's not. But it was nice having a break where we could do whatever we felt like doing and enjoy ourselves with no pressure. Definitely the spring break I needed.

Thank you Portugal, I hope to see you again one day.

~till next time

Chloe

Busy Busy

Gosh I have so much to write about I don't even know where to begin...

The last couple weeks have been filled with a lot of traveling and planning. In the last month I have been to Portugal, most of Northern Spain including a beach in southern France, Valencia for Las Fallas, went to a REAL Madrid game and the Madrid Temple. And in the midst of all this I have studied for finals. Yes everyone, I was attending school whilst living in Spain. Let's just say a plethora of posts will be making an appearance very shortly.

Chels and I have been doing a pretty good job keeping up with out Conference Challenge. It's been so great listening to talks from last Conference. There are very precious truths within these carefully prepared talks and I am so grateful for the time and energy each speaker puts into it. I am so grateful for my testimony of ALL the leaders in our Church. I hope that one day I can be as righteous and faithful as them. Our scripture reading is a litte behind, but we are working to catch up. Man I love the Book of Mormon! Have you read it? If not you are missing out on the greatest gift. I'm grateful for the missionaries that leave their homes and families for 1.5 - 2 years to share this gift and other truths with the people of the world. People need it.

This week is my last week in Spain. Holy Poop! I've been here for 3 months? It's insane! Sometimes I feel like I've only been here two weeks....other times I feel like it's been 5 years. I am so very grateful that I was blessed with this opportunity. I seriously have the most amazing parents. I don't know if I'll ever be able to properly thank them for making this possible but I'm sure gonna try. I love you both so much!

To be honest, I think I'm ready to go home. I love Spain and the memories that have been created here, but I'm ready to get back to life in America and continue down the path the Lord has created for me, wherever that may lead. I'm ready for more adventures with my new friends and to continue the friendships with my amazing friends at home, whom I cannot wait to see! I have a feeling that this summer is going to be a great one :)

Before I head home though, I think I may just travel Europe for a bit...yeah sounds good. France, Scotland, Ireland and London? Here I come!

Now, I'm just going to rant about how absolutely adorable my cousins are. Everyone on my program is so sick of hearing about them, especially Soren....BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!!! They are the cutest children on this earth and I am obsessed.

I mean look at them!!! Are you looking? Cause they are the cutest little people in the world! I cannot wait to see them....I'm probably going to cry...no lie. I don't have a picture of Lydia but she got baptized while I have been away...she's getting so big...and to my dismay Soren decided to walk while I've been gone...you couldn't wait just a couple more weeks bud? Otto and Olin sound pretty much the same which is totally fine with me :)

Luckily, I've had the opportunity to Skype with them which has been a great blessing. Last time I talked to Otto (while he was at my parents house) he asked if I was on the other side of the world and then asked if I would just come home already....my heart broke into a million pieces. Don't worry buddy... Less than 20 days till I hug you and never let go!

~till next time

Chloe

No Sleep.

DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT ME COMPLAINING.

I haven't been sleeping very well the last couple of nights. Why you may ask? Well it has nothing to do with my health. Nope it's because I have an addiction. To Sports. Seriously, I love sports with all of my soul. When I first decided to go on a Study Abroad program and I was trying to decide which semester I would rather "miss" I knew I couldn't miss fall...I can't miss football season hello? Sadly, when choosing winter semester, I chose to miss the season of my all time favorite sport. Rugby. I can't begin to describe how sad this makes me at times. I know, I know. It's just a sport right? I'm living in Spain it's fine. You know what? Sometimes it's just not fine okay? Just accept that. I am missing Shaun Davies, Mikey Su'a and so many others play their last season for BYU. Just let me be sad about it.

Anyways, also during this time...March Madness everybody. I have been up the last three nights, watching/re-watching games and highlights, listening and reading analyst opinions and pre-planning out my bracket for the Madness. Oh...and BYU is playing in the WCC Tournament right now and. of course, they play at 11pm...Vegas time. No sleep for this girl.

But the thing is I'm not complaining. At all. I love it! I love everything about it. Yes, I'm bummed I'm not in the States enjoying all of it (it really does make me sad sometimes), but that's what the internet is for.

Also on a side note, just found out that the National Rugby Championships are on the weekend of my 21st birthday...in Sandy, Utah. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! :) don't judge.

till next time

~Chloe

Spiritual Growth.

I know I have mentioned this quite few times since I've been in Spain, but I am so glad that Chelsey is my roommate. We are so alike so it's way easy for us to communicate. About a month ago, her and I decided that we wanted to read the Book of Mormon together and finish it before the end of our program. That left us 60 days. Luckily, there are reading schedules that fit perfectly for our plan. We have missed days and had to catch up a couple times, but on the whole we have successful read the Book of Mormon together everyday. Actually, yesterday marked the half way point. So Bravo to us. I so enjoy reading the Book of Mormon with another person. We ask each other questions and discuss the things we read. It's awesome! It's definitely on the list of something I would like to do with my spouse if I ever get married.

Well to add to the great spiritual growth the Book of Mormon reading is providing, Chelsey and I have decided to do the Conference Countdown from the LDS General Conference facebook page. We are, unfortunately, not going to be able to watch Conference like we do normally. Of course we will make time to watch it on the internet (if we have it) but Chels and I will be in Paris during Conference. So, to make up for the fact that we will be "missing" it, we are participating in the 30 day prep reading. Everyday you read a certain talk or two from last Conference. Yesterday was our first day and let me tell you, it's been the greatest idea ever! We just listen to them on the internet and just let the spirit fill our hearts. Or at least I do ha. I can't speak for Chelsey but I'm assuming it's the same experience.

I had multiple people tell me that when I would go on Study Abroad that I would learn more about myself and would grow in more ways than one. At first I just kinda took it as some advice and didn't really think much about it. But the last couple of weeks I've realized just how true that is. I can tell that I've grown more spiritually. I have a stronger testimony of the Gospel being the same wherever you are in the world. And that it is true. Also that the Book of Mormon is true. There is no way it isn't. To be honest, for most of my life I've lived off of others testimonies. It wasn't until I went through some pretty hard things that I realized I couldn't do that anymore. Only my testimony was going to pull me through. It had to be my decision to make changes and get myself on the right track, though I know there were people wishing that their testimony could be enough. And their prays were so very helpful. But during that time I began to develop my own testimony. And it's been an ongoing project ever since. These last couple months have increased it so much it's hard for me to believe sometimes. It's true that when you surround yourself with the right people, they can have the greatest influence on you. The Lord puts people in your life for a reason. I believe Ashley, Bryndee, Melissa and Jamie in my life because of their great examples and testimonies. (I know that there are more people and I just don't have room to name them all, but these four girls have literally saved my life). I know that the Lord made it possible for me to come on this Study Abroad so that I could be surrounded by all of these amazing, strong girls so that I could see just how great the Gospel really is. My testimony of the Lord and His plan for us has never been stronger, and what is amazing to me is that I know that it is going to grow so much more.

Visiting the Temple, attending Church, reading scriptures and listening to talks are all things that at one point in my life, I didn't think were important. I just didn't care. I was so wrong. I cannot imagine my life without the Church. Without knowing that Heavenly Father is there for me always. How could I have gone through the things I have and not know that? He has always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it, and always will. And I am so very grateful for that. My mom shared a scripture with me one time. I don't think she will ever understand just how much this scripture has helped me. Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. The Lord is with you. Always. No matter what. He wants you to return to Him. Trust me, I know.

This program has added to this testimony. If it makes my parents feel any better, what I have learned and experienced has been worth way more than the cost of coming here :) I think everyone should make it a goal to finish the Book of Mormon this year, and if anyone would like to join Chelsey and I in our Conference Countdown the readings are posted on the LDS General Conference facebook page. I highly recommend it.

Remember, Be strong and of a good courage. He is with thee.

till next time

~Chloe

A Good Day

So pretty much every single day is a good day. But some days are just better than others. This past weekend I had one of those days. Chelsey and I had been seeing signs all around Alcala for the Circus. Now my mom says that I have been to one...but I don't recall this so in my mind I've never been, and neither had Chels. So we had thought about maybe twice during the week, but then we went to Barcelona so of course the Circus was the last thing on my mind. Wouldn't ya know it though, as we are driving through Alcala to get home, we discovered that the Circus is maybe 100 yards from our house...Done and Done.We told Ana Maria we wanted to go and she was so excited for us. She had gone with Oscar earlier in the week and had nothing but good things to say about it. We timed it perfectly. The Circus started at 5pm. Chelsey and I were like giddy little children, no joke. Neither of us could stop smiling and we just found joy in every single thing that happened. It was so much fun.

The Circus ended at 7pm and at 730pm we met up with Lindsay and headed to Madrid for the event we had been waiting on for weeks now. FC BARCELONA GAME! You heard right my friends! I went to a freaking Barca game! I saw Iniesta, Puyol, Fabregas, Pique, Xavi and most importantly MESSI!!! IN FREAKING PERSON! Lionel Messi. The best soccer player in the entire world. And I was in his presence. I could have died right then and there and been perfectly happy. Oh that's right I almost did. FC Barca was playing Atletico Madrid. Now if anyone knows anything about European Soccer, you know that the fans are loyal to the death. Madrid fans do not and will never cheer for Barca and vica versa. So needless to say, a home game for Atletico Madrid was not the best place to wear my new Messi jersey.

For those who know me, you know that I am not someone who is scared to walk into rival territory supporting my team. I'm a loyal fan and not a sport idiot so I can defend myself. But when you're not in the states, and you don't understand the language very well, fear is inevitable. I kept my hoodie zipped all the way up for the entire game. I also didn't cheer when Barca had anything great happen....like scoring. Again if you know me, it was extremely difficult to just keep quiet. But hey I got to watch freaking Messi. Nothing was gonna bring me down. It was a good game and it went by way to fast if you ask me. Barca won 2 to 1. (side note: the attractive spanish man next to me kissed me on the head when Atletico scored. just wonderful)

We then took the long trip home, since the trains stop running we had to take the metro to the bus station and bus then taxi back home. It was all worth it. I had so much fun with Chelsey and Lindsay. In two weeks most of our group is going to a REAL Madrid game! Kaka and Ronaldo for those who don't know that awesomeness of this game as well. And since this game will be a home game for them, I will get to cheer as loud as I possibly want :) so excited!

In other news:

-It was Ana Maria's birthday this week! She told us that she was turning 25. She carries her age well. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to have her and my mom away from mom. She has done such a great job taking care of Chelsey and I. I honestly feel important to her, like she cares. I wasn't expecting that when we first got here so muchas gracias Ana Maria! y Feliz Cumpleanos!

-Next week....Lisbon, Portgual!! Can't wait!

till next time

~Chloe

Pure Joy.

It has been a wonderful week. I feel like I say that all the time. But really this entire experience has been the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, so again, it's been wonderful. Before I get to the highlight of my week I'll update on what's been going on. Last weekend we took a day trip to Cuenca, you can read all about it here on Chelsey's blog. It was the cutest little town, but sadly I hadn't been feeling very well for a couple days and Saturday it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chelsey was feeling the same way. By Saturday night we were both sure we were dying...not dramatic at all. We ended up spending the next two days in our beds, no church or school. Ana Maria did a great job taking care of us and by Monday afternoon we were ready to go at it again. Tuesday after class we went to Madrid with a couple girls to visit "Taste of America". They sell all these American food items that you can't find anywhere else. I may have bought my own little stash of Dr. Pepper....don't judge.

Then we prepared ourselves for the trip I've been most excited for....

BARCELONA!

I cannot even begin to describe how freaking excited I was. I have been wanting to go to Barcelona for as long as I can remember. And I'm just so grateful that I had the opportunity to do so. There is just so much to say about the trip I don't know where to start! I've heard that the beginning is the best place...so let's start there.

We left early in the morning, per usual. I knew this was going to be a great trip when everyone else had to change roommates for the week and I didn't. As I mentioned before Chels and I had been "down with the sickness" for a couple days so we were quarantined. We were totally fine by the time we left but they decided to just keep us together. Now, not saying that I wouldn't have loved rooming with someone else, but when one isn't feeling very well it's nice to have some sort of stability. Plus Chels and I together equals pure awesomeness.

Anyways, on the way to Barcelona, we stopped in Zaragoza where the Basilica de Pilar is located. We took a litte tour and I touched the pillar left by the Virgin Mary...I didn't kiss it though...I wasn't sure if that was sacrilegious or not. There were also two bombs hanging on the wall inside. They came through the roof but never went off...A MIRACLE! So that was pretty interesting.

Finally, that afternoon, we arrived! I made it to freaking Barcelona!! Pure Joy. That's all I can say. We checked into our hotel...now I don't mean to sound snotty or anything...but this place was horrendous. And I'm not the only one who thought so. It looked like those places in horror movies where the Jason hides in your closet and then chops you up. To be honest, I was completely terrified. I feel like such a brat...but the water wasn't even working when we got there! and the beds looked like that had nastiness things in them and the shower was salt water once it started working. I'm justified in being afraid right?

Luckily, the situation was made better when Lance and Jacqui took us to gelato. Not gonna lie, after eating italian gelato, nothing here has met my standards...well this place did it. It's called Amorino and it was divine. Divine I tell you. I mean goodness that great should be illegal.

We also got to visit the Boqueria Market on La Rambla, it was way cool. There was just so much fruit...and other interesting choices of food. I can't believe people eat some of this stuff....that I'VE eaten some of this stuff. Ugh. Yeah that's a cows tongue. No big deal.

We then wandered down La Rambla until we found ourselves at the pier. Man do I freaking love water! It was dark and you couldn't even really see anything, but just knowing that I was dangling my feet over the Mediterranean Sea...again Pure Joy. We then ventured back to the hotel to enjoy a wonderfully terrifying night of sleep.

The next day was our designated tour day. We woke up bright and early and hopped on the bus for a tour of the city. I discovered that I am completely naive. Barcelona is huge! I guess when you hear about the same couple things you kinda forget that there is a whole city there. We visited the Park Guell. This place shows off some of the architecture stylings of Gaudi. It was pretty freaking cool. And the weather? just fantastic in case you were curious. When we were leaving the park we received some great news....WE WERE MOVING HOTELS! Apparently, we weren't the only ones not impressed with the hotel. So we ran, literally ran, to our hotel and packed up everything and got outta there. It took ten minutes. That is very impressive for 23 girls. Just saying.

Anyways, after packing all our things onto our bus, we headed toward the Sagrada Familia. Simply amazing. I mean really, I don't have any other words...do you think my art professor will accept that for our essay? It's another Gaudi creation. Why is he so good?

We then visited the Picasso Museum. He wasn't always a crazy artist...did ya know? My favorite part was the Las Meninas section. He repaints different sections of the original Velasquez painting, except in his Picasso style. It was actually pretty cool. We then made our way to our new hotel, which was WAY nicer by the way. It reminded me of a place my dad would stay. For those who know him, I just provided the perfect description. After we got settled we went to dinner at a nearby Thai food place. Alana Woodbury was living in Thailand before the program and helped us order the best things. Let me tell you, it was great. I just love Thai food. After that we just settled into our hotel and talked with a couple of the girls. It's like a big ol' sleepover when we are all together.

The next morning was our last day on Barcelona...and I started it by watching the sunrise on the beach. You have my permission to be jealous. It was amazing! Seriously everyone should experience it at some point in their lives. We had to wake up pretty dang early since the sunrise was at 730 and we didn't know exactly where to go. But thankfully I'm a map genius and I got us there without any trouble. It was so worth it getting up. I love the beach. With all of my heart. My grandma has always told me that I belong on a beach, and it's so true. I'm a person who needs warmth, water, sand, sun, bright colors, relaxation, etc. The beach is just a place that always provides these things for me. I'm probably gonna need to live on/near one at some point in my life.

Anyways, that day was Friday and our free day. So after the sunrise Chels, Lindsay, Jenna, Hilary and I went off to see the city. The Fab Five as I like to call us. We first went to the Cathedral of Barcelona. It's really weird going through one without a guide like we usually do. But it was nice at the same time. We spent all the time we wanted there and were able to just walk around. This Cathedral always has 13 geese in its cloister to represent one year in the life of the martyr Santa Eulalia, a young girl tortured to death in the 4th century by the Romans for her religion. I also may have smacked a random ladies butt while in there. It was an accident of course, I simply thought she was one of the other girls in our group. Surprisingly, she thought it was as hilarious as I did so no worries, it all worked out.

Afterward, Chels and I went to a little plaza area while the other three went shopping. Now for some information about Chelsey. She hates birds. Not saying that I like them, but Chelsey absolutely despises them. Anytime one flies or waddles anywhere near us she flinches and makes faces. And this plaza was crawling in birds. I convinced her that we should go walk/stand around the birds and let me tell you, she is stinking funny around em. She has a video so someday when she finally posts it I will share but until then, just imagine us "ghosting" birds and squealing/screaming when they fly.

We then met up withthe other girls and went to Hard Rock Cafe then back to the beach. Duh we went to the beach again. I would have stayed there all day if someone had let me.It wasn't very hot (but it was nice) and the water was freezing so I didn't get in the water. In fact, Chelsey was the only one who did. Here's a video of the entire scene:

We had been told that, even though they aren't nude beaches, some people may be naked. We were finishing up our beach trip, so I thought that we had gotten lucky. I was so very wrong. This very tan, old Spanish man showed up all of the sudden. It was seriously out of nowhere....and he was completely butt-naked....and he walked right by us....literally about 15 feet away. Some people amaze me. Guess it's all part of the experience. We quickly got our stuff and booked it outta that area.

Once we were clear of him we slowed down and took our time walking down the boardwalk. We then decided we didn't want to walk all the way back to La Rambla, but we needed to get there...So we stopped Kitty and Adam, the best bike trailer peeps ever and caught a ride. It was so fun just chilling riding in a bike cart along the beach.

When we got to La Rambla, I made a shopping stop. Disclaimer: I've been extremely good about my spending while here. Chelsey can vouch for me. So I felt it was okay to purchase a couple things, namely FC Barcelona gear (it's not all for me). I was/still am just so freaking happy about my purchases. I even got to wear some of it to a game! But more on that later.

After we got some more gelato (I owed Chels for getting in the water) we headed back to the hotel. A bunch of the girls made plans to go clubbing, but I laid down at 830 just to chill and next thing I know it's 3am and I'm making sure my alarm is set so we can wake up in time for the bus to leave. I completely zonked out. Don't remember a single thing. Obviously I was exhausted, but those are the best kinds of sleep right? So ended my Barcelona adventure. Pure Joy. That pretty much describes my trip in two words. I am just so grateful that I was able to have this opportunity.

till next time

~Chloe

Gratitude

These past couple weeks I have been grateful for:

-Two working legs, that are the same length, that have never failed me.

-Caring friends. Friends that are aware of you and your feelings and are always there for you.

-An understanding mother. Even though I am in the most amazing place on earth, having the most amazing experiences, she is there to listen to me whine and complain about the tiniest things and she doesn't judge.

-Having the opportunity to make new friends. My friends back home can never be replaced, but making new ones has never been so fun!

-The blessing of having the best roommate on this program. I get along with all the other girls, but I am so grateful that Chelsey was the one I saw outside of class and decided I wanted to live. The Lord sure knew what He was doing last semester. We are pretty much the same person and I couldn't be happier with my choice.

-Having the means to even come on this program. I know it wasn't easy to make this happen, but I know that this is where I am suppose to be. And I'm grateful that my parents were/are willing to sacrifice so that I could be here.

-Ana Maria. She has been the most perfect host mom, I just feel bad for the other girls. No one can beat her. She has been the nicest lady to us. She is very caring and motherly and is honestly interested in us. She pays attention and is aware of our needs. I have never felt unwelcome.

-The ability to use the internet. Especially in my home.

-Skype. Yes, it deserved its own point. Skype is such an amazing invention and I don't know what I would do without it right now. I've been able to stay in contact with my family and friends. I miss my parents and sisters so much and it feels good to know that I can see them if I want. I'm able to make sure that I won't be completely out of Soren's life. AND I got to see both pairs of grandparents. (I haven't seen Grandpa Corbyn in who knows how long and may or may not have cried when he appeared in my view). I got to watch Jamie open her mission call (an experience I will always cherish) and Ash can keep me updated on everything else. Thank you Skype.

-New sheets! Ana Maria has changed our sheets probably four different times now and can I just say....I love it!

-Sun/Warmth. Having SAD definitely makes winter a lot harder than it already is. I'm grateful for the days the sun is out. I'm grateful for the random warm days in the middle of the week.

I am grateful for so many other things. Some huge, some small. But I just want to make sure that I sit down and acknowledge those things. The Lord has blessed me and I don't want these blessings to be whisked away because I took advantage of them.

In the words of Elder Ben Mack. Be grateful and Be happy!

~till next time

Chloe