First week

The first week in Spain couldn't have been better... We had a 4 day orientation trip through southern Spain and were able to see some beautiful cities such as Nerja, Toledo and Granada among others.  We were able to see some of the most beautiful cathedrals, monasteries, palaces, and even stayed on a beachfront hotel in Nerja.  I was one of the lucky ones and had a 1st floor room with the ocean about 15 yards away.  

We went out twice during the trip.... Once in Nerja which proved to be a bust since it was raining and once in Granada... I was brave enough to lead the group to a bar and discoteca in the Granada trip and there were many twists and turns...   20 screaming college students, not an easy group to control...I successfully lead the group to a nice bar with real cheap drinks and good music but when we attempted to get into the biggest discoteca in the city, we were turned down... We decided to find another bar and found this awesome little place with 1 euro chupitos (shots)  and they played all hip hop and as you can imaginge, I was breaking it down...

My host mom is awesome... We've had some intense political conversations and she cooks really well... She even cooked some rice and black beans for me yesterday!  She has a 26 year old son that lives in the apartment (common here in Spain) and a 29 yearl old son that lives in London.  

My first day here was really hectic.... Gettin used to the metro and the "go go go" attitude of the city was not easy... I also got lost comin home and ended up walking 20 minutes in the wrong direction.... 

On a sadder note, the airlines  lost my bags and its been a week now...   some guys were kind enough to give me some t shirts, boxers, and socks... There are thousands of bags lost in the airport because it snowed on the 9th and the airport shut down.... It never snows here so they don't have the necessary equipment to deal with it...  Iberia, the company that lost my bags, has many other problems to deal with as well... The workers are on strike so they have a small number of people working.... They decided to bunch up all the bags and have the passengers look through them... After looking through 1600 bags yesterday which took a total of 3 hours, I was not able to find mine... They told me they have no clue where it is...  I hope they show up soon...

Hope everyones doing well in the states...

Love u guys

Introduction

For the past three months , I've been thinking about one thing.... and one thing only... Going abroad.  Images of beautiful churches, elegant palaces, and bustling discotecas have made this quarter the most difficult quarter I've had at Stanford...

I literally could not put my hands on the keyboard without opening up google and looking at the thousands of images of Europe...  When attempting to do stats homework, my inner impulses forced me to draw stick figures doing the most obscure things.   Here's an example of one of my favorites...

Its me, with my new European haircut on the left,  and Natalie flying a kite at the beach in Barcelona!!! Sounds fun huh!!!!  Can't wait! 

Anyway, I will embark on this journey on January 6th, 2009...  It will begin in the 3rd largest city in Europe, Madrid, known for its strong historical presence and crazy nightlife.  I promise to let my impulses take over, which as many of you know and have witnessed, can prove to make for some very interesting stories.  I'll add about an entry a week, including pictures, to let everyone know whats poppin in my life.

Brant Bishop, aka "The Animal", will join me in a few fun-filled weekend trips... we'll try our best to come back alive. 

Hope everyone's enjoying break.... I'll miss you guys!  Don't forget all the shotguns you owe me!