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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
See Anna Lauren Meeks's new endorsement
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
See Anna Lauren Meeks's new endorsement
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Anna Lauren Meeks added connections you may know
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Tuesday, December 10, 2013
See Anna Lauren Meeks's new endorsement
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Monday, May 9, 2011
2 weeks of school
Well these past two weeks have been amazing! Not having to go to school and being able to travel around with my sister :) but today we have to start back at school and the following week is final exam week... so let the stress begin!
Another positive: I'm finally completely well again -- so I get to start back at the gym! and the weather has been amazing so there is definitely going to be some beach time coming up!
Write soon! xo
Another positive: I'm finally completely well again -- so I get to start back at the gym! and the weather has been amazing so there is definitely going to be some beach time coming up!
Write soon! xo
Monday, April 11, 2011
4th post... updated 2 weeks worth in all!
Hey! After you read all of this... I'll only be a month and a half behind in my postings... hahaha -- at least I've caught up this far!
02/14 Monday
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!
After the class was over, Jasmine and I were bombarded by about 8 people wanting to get our emails, numbers, etc. so that they could practice with us after class. We agreed to four girls whose timetables matched ours a little better than the others... so now I have six intercambios to meet during the week. This should be great for my Spanish, don't cha think?! Our volunteer time lasted from 6-8/8:30 and then we took the long bus ride on bus 24 back to Alicante. I can assure you now that Wednesday's are not going to be my most favorite day of the week even though I really enjoyed the volunteer school. I didn't even get home till 9:15!! That's more than a 12 hour day... whoa!
Seeing that I didn't get home until 9:15 last night to even begin homework, I didn't get much sleep before having to wake for school this morning. bleh... I hate waking up feeling like that! Then the
day just feels like it drags on and on and on!! Oh well -- today was a good day! I had school, like usual, but it was followed with lunch at Matt Small's host-mom's house and a dinner date with my original intercambio: Alba! I did a quick workout at the gym after school because Matt said to arrive at the apartment by 2:30... so I got there at 2:45 and sat there til 3:30 with Lola (Matt's host-mom), his host-brother and the host-brother's son. I actually really enjoyed the time I got to just sit and talk to them! His host brother lives on a boat in the port and sails everywhere... he had some pretty interesting 
stories to tell. The son was ADORABLE and loved messing with the big fluffy cat! Then Matt, MaryAnn and Krista came in at 3:30 and we all had a lunch I will never eat again: soup with Conejo... what is that, might you as
k? RABBIT. bleh. I don't know why my stomach reacted the way it did, but after a few bites I started quietly gagging -- and could have kept it a secret a
nd just passed my soup off to Matt -- had Krista not asked why I was gagging... So I politely told Lola that it was probably just the egg in the soup since I instinctively gag around eggs, and then did just as I had planned: passed the rest of my soup to Matt. ALMOST got away... I hate people feeling like I'm insulting their food when I don't like it, but I could not eat that. It was a bit like chicken but with a weird spicy / gross taste to it... and the feeling was a bit different as well. The rest of them loved it but there was something that I couldn't handle. The dessert was amazing though! Strawberries and creme... mmmmm!! And the salad -- as usual -- was great as well! So I didn't leave hungry! Lola always makes sure of that...
After homework and a bit of rest, I left to go meet Alba for the first time. I had to take a bus (bus number 23) up to another part of town called "Gran Via". Alba met me at the bus stop and we walked to a little coffee shop where we sat and talked for two hours. I learned that she is 23 and she teaches at an elementary school in that area and she is as picky as I am about her apartment being clean! She studied in England for a few months and she has never been to America... She continues to think I'm from California even though I've told her several times "South Carolina".. and she is from Valencia and she goes home every single weekend to spend it with her family (hmm... reminds me of ME when I'm in Clemson)! Haha... I really liked her and I can't wait to keep meeting up with her! The time we sat and talked flew by as if no time had passed at all...
(the girls: MaryAnn, Caitlin, Krista, Me, Emma, Alexa [in back])
When I got home, the girls and Matt and I along with a few other people from the program went out to go to a black-light party, but ended up just going to the Goa -- the bar that MaryAnn got a job at. Matt and I stayed about 45 minutes at the max before we both decided we'd like to sleep more than to stay out and socialize.
Good night world.
(the boys: ___, Ryan, Alec, Matt)
And that last sentence is true to me now too (on April 11, 2011)... GOOD NIGHT WORLD!!
Sincerely,
No time to do homework
02/14 MondayHAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!
Today is Valentine's day and the school celebrated it!! Every coffee machine on campus was giving out free coffee -- just push the kind you wanted and it popped out a cup, the coffee, the sugar and a stir all FREE! Our track teacher, Eva, laughed when one of the guys walked in after break double-fisting coffees in both hands: "Just like Americans... taking as much as they can when things are free." In a way she's right... but in a way I was offended because I wasn't sitting there with two and three cups of free coffee -- ignorantly, I had actually paid for my one little cup that day. Funny to hear what the rest of the world think
s about Americans, though, and how they stereotype us all being alike.
At break, I went over to the Torre (USAC office location) to check for mail and I got a card from Lauren Berkey, my aunt Cyndi and a huge box of Nutrisystem along with my mom and dad's card... haha. I hit the gym up to do cardio in between classes, grabbed a little bit of lunch and finished out my classes. The box of Nutrisystem was so big that Sylvain (picture to the right) -- the employee -- had to drive me home from school because I couldn't carry it by myself. He was hilarious in the car! He
was cussing at all of the other drivers on the road -- but he was using Italian curse words. Then he'd start singing and dancing and making weird faces... goof.
Today was my cleaning day -- I decided to clean the kitchen up a bit: mopping, counters, reorganizing, etc. and I also did a bit of laundry. I like for things to be clean :) and hopefully, the roommates appreciate it as much as I do! Alec came by later with a vase of flowers... 5 pretty red flowers: one for each roommate and then one for Emma McNeil because she was at the apartment at the moment... haha :) It was really cute because since none of us had received flowers for Valentine's day we now had something to decorate the table with!
Ensaladilla Rusa (Potato Salad), Brochetas de Magro con Verdura (Loin of pork and vegetables brochette), and Arroz con Leche (Rice with Milk) for dessert. **remember -- I have all of these recipes if you'd like any of them! Just leave a message on here or something** I remember back in high school my friend Jennifer Palma brought in arroz con leche for our Spanish class and it was one of my favorite deserts that I'd ever tried -- so I was really excited about tonight's class because I was getting the opportunity to learn how to make that (that I hadn't had since that one day in class). It turned out that Jennifer's mom's arroz con leche was way better than the one I cooked up, but she's had more years to practice ;). The other food was great, though! It was just like grilled kebabs on a stick that we make back in the U.S... the meat was very juicy and the vegetables, too. Chelsea and I had great appetites this night.
Alright... I'm tired of starting off each day with "Today was... " So, let's think of a different beginning. What can I say about this Wednesday?
s about Americans, though, and how they stereotype us all being alike.At break, I went over to the Torre (USAC office location) to check for mail and I got a card from Lauren Berkey, my aunt Cyndi and a huge box of Nutrisystem along with my mom and dad's card... haha. I hit the gym up to do cardio in between classes, grabbed a little bit of lunch and finished out my classes. The box of Nutrisystem was so big that Sylvain (picture to the right) -- the employee -- had to drive me home from school because I couldn't carry it by myself. He was hilarious in the car! He
was cussing at all of the other drivers on the road -- but he was using Italian curse words. Then he'd start singing and dancing and making weird faces... goof.Today was my cleaning day -- I decided to clean the kitchen up a bit: mopping, counters, reorganizing, etc. and I also did a bit of laundry. I like for things to be clean :) and hopefully, the roommates appreciate it as much as I do! Alec came by later with a vase of flowers... 5 pretty red flowers: one for each roommate and then one for Emma McNeil because she was at the apartment at the moment... haha :) It was really cute because since none of us had received flowers for Valentine's day we now had something to decorate the table with!
02/15 Tuesday
BANANA MUSH! Yes -- today I spread the love of the mushed banana sandwiches... now for those of you who don't know what Banana Mush is, it's a spread for sandwiches consisting of:
ALSO met with my other
intercambio today: her name is Marie Carmen and I met with her in the cafeteria after classes ... she didn't show up till 4PM so I had to sit there for three hours doing homework while waiting on her to come. She was pretty cool even though conversation got quiet at times! Interested to see where this will lead!! (p.s. an intercambio is someone I meet with once a week or so to speak with so I can practice my Spanish and they can practice their English... right now I have two!) She read me a story that they were reading in class and I corrected the English words that she pronounced incorrectly... then I had to leave and rush home because today is Tuesday and you know what that means... COOKING CLASS (and the picture to the left is a picture of Alicante from where cooking class is located)!!
Tonight was mmmmm oober delicious! We made: - bananas
- peanut butter
- mayonnaise
- sugar
ALSO met with my other
intercambio today: her name is Marie Carmen and I met with her in the cafeteria after classes ... she didn't show up till 4PM so I had to sit there for three hours doing homework while waiting on her to come. She was pretty cool even though conversation got quiet at times! Interested to see where this will lead!! (p.s. an intercambio is someone I meet with once a week or so to speak with so I can practice my Spanish and they can practice their English... right now I have two!) She read me a story that they were reading in class and I corrected the English words that she pronounced incorrectly... then I had to leave and rush home because today is Tuesday and you know what that means... COOKING CLASS (and the picture to the left is a picture of Alicante from where cooking class is located)!!
Ensaladilla Rusa (Potato Salad), Brochetas de Magro con Verdura (Loin of pork and vegetables brochette), and Arroz con Leche (Rice with Milk) for dessert. **remember -- I have all of these recipes if you'd like any of them! Just leave a message on here or something** I remember back in high school my friend Jennifer Palma brought in arroz con leche for our Spanish class and it was one of my favorite deserts that I'd ever tried -- so I was really excited about tonight's class because I was getting the opportunity to learn how to make that (that I hadn't had since that one day in class). It turned out that Jennifer's mom's arroz con leche was way better than the one I cooked up, but she's had more years to practice ;). The other food was great, though! It was just like grilled kebabs on a stick that we make back in the U.S... the meat was very juicy and the vegetables, too. Chelsea and I had great appetites this night.02/16 Wednesday
Alright... I'm tired of starting off each day with "Today was... " So, let's think of a different beginning. What can I say about this Wednesday?
Volunteering was a thing that was different about this Wednesday than the others I've had so far in Alicante, Spain.
perfection.
On Wednesday, February 16, 2011, I went to the English as a second language school in San Vicente to volunteer my time to help teach adults learn English! But seriously, after school I waited around till 5PM when Luis took Jasmine (another girl from my program who decided to volunteer as well) and I to the English school about 15 minutes away from the University. I honestly didn't know what to expect because when I had originally signed up, I thought I was signing up to teach kids -- I get more nervous in front of adults! We got to the school and I felt a little better once I met t
he director there -- a cute little brunette with big glasses that reminded me so much of my friend Karissa O'Keefe I had to smile and feel okay. She had an Irish accent but was Spanish... she said she studied in Ireland, England and then taught English in North Carolina for a few years -- this blew me away because she doesn't look like she could be more than 25 or 26. Oh well.. she calmed my nerves and took us into her classroom where we sat and watched a few students give book presentations... then she beckoned us to get up and talk a bit to the class. You should have seen their faces! It was as if they had never heard an American talk before! Half of the class couldn't understand Jasmine at all because she has a Chicago accent and talked really fast whereas I talked a bit slower and more clearly. It was funny to them to hear the two different American accents rather than just the British / Irish accent they were used to with their professor. Oh and Jasmine and I learned a bit about ourselves: we are TERRIBLE at drawing!! hahahaha. Whatever they needed explained, we would try to draw on the board, but I think that just confused them even more!
he director there -- a cute little brunette with big glasses that reminded me so much of my friend Karissa O'Keefe I had to smile and feel okay. She had an Irish accent but was Spanish... she said she studied in Ireland, England and then taught English in North Carolina for a few years -- this blew me away because she doesn't look like she could be more than 25 or 26. Oh well.. she calmed my nerves and took us into her classroom where we sat and watched a few students give book presentations... then she beckoned us to get up and talk a bit to the class. You should have seen their faces! It was as if they had never heard an American talk before! Half of the class couldn't understand Jasmine at all because she has a Chicago accent and talked really fast whereas I talked a bit slower and more clearly. It was funny to them to hear the two different American accents rather than just the British / Irish accent they were used to with their professor. Oh and Jasmine and I learned a bit about ourselves: we are TERRIBLE at drawing!! hahahaha. Whatever they needed explained, we would try to draw on the board, but I think that just confused them even more!02/17 Thursday
Seeing that I didn't get home until 9:15 last night to even begin homework, I didn't get much sleep before having to wake for school this morning. bleh... I hate waking up feeling like that! Then the
day just feels like it drags on and on and on!! Oh well -- today was a good day! I had school, like usual, but it was followed with lunch at Matt Small's host-mom's house and a dinner date with my original intercambio: Alba! I did a quick workout at the gym after school because Matt said to arrive at the apartment by 2:30... so I got there at 2:45 and sat there til 3:30 with Lola (Matt's host-mom), his host-brother and the host-brother's son. I actually really enjoyed the time I got to just sit and talk to them! His host brother lives on a boat in the port and sails everywhere... he had some pretty interesting 
stories to tell. The son was ADORABLE and loved messing with the big fluffy cat! Then Matt, MaryAnn and Krista came in at 3:30 and we all had a lunch I will never eat again: soup with Conejo... what is that, might you as
k? RABBIT. bleh. I don't know why my stomach reacted the way it did, but after a few bites I started quietly gagging -- and could have kept it a secret a
nd just passed my soup off to Matt -- had Krista not asked why I was gagging... So I politely told Lola that it was probably just the egg in the soup since I instinctively gag around eggs, and then did just as I had planned: passed the rest of my soup to Matt. ALMOST got away... I hate people feeling like I'm insulting their food when I don't like it, but I could not eat that. It was a bit like chicken but with a weird spicy / gross taste to it... and the feeling was a bit different as well. The rest of them loved it but there was something that I couldn't handle. The dessert was amazing though! Strawberries and creme... mmmmm!! And the salad -- as usual -- was great as well! So I didn't leave hungry! Lola always makes sure of that...After homework and a bit of rest, I left to go meet Alba for the first time. I had to take a bus (bus number 23) up to another part of town called "Gran Via". Alba met me at the bus stop and we walked to a little coffee shop where we sat and talked for two hours. I learned that she is 23 and she teaches at an elementary school in that area and she is as picky as I am about her apartment being clean! She studied in England for a few months and she has never been to America... She continues to think I'm from California even though I've told her several times "South Carolina".. and she is from Valencia and she goes home every single weekend to spend it with her family (hmm... reminds me of ME when I'm in Clemson)! Haha... I really liked her and I can't wait to keep meeting up with her! The time we sat and talked flew by as if no time had passed at all...
(the girls: MaryAnn, Caitlin, Krista, Me, Emma, Alexa [in back])Good night world.
(the boys: ___, Ryan, Alec, Matt)And that last sentence is true to me now too (on April 11, 2011)... GOOD NIGHT WORLD!!
Sincerely,
No time to do homework
Sunday, April 10, 2011
You can pick your friends; you can pick your nose; but you can't pick your friends' noses!
... But in Spain you probably could! The people here have no recognition of personal space!! That's one thing that I have noticed... and there is no such thing as "PDA" ... meaning, they have never heard that term and been told not to use it. People are all over each other in the streets, stores, concerts, beach... everywhere!
There's my cultural awareness for today -- as for following up on the blog: LET'S CONTINUE!!
d that her fridge was VERY full of magnets... not sure if I got a picture of it or not but they literally covered every single side of the fridge from top to the floor. I don't know if you could fit even one more on it! She said her family has been collecting them for YEARS. We ate and then left to go exploring the Saturday market (where I found some REALLY cute little pink 
shoes) and to just walk around a little bit till I had to leave at 1PM. Aida had a lunch date planned with her aunt, so we had to cut the day short, unfortunately. But! we did get to go to the Museo del Calzado (Footwear Museum) which was INSANE! There were four floors of just rooms of shoes and shoes and more shoes dating from 3200 B.C. to now! There were rooms of machines that were used to make shoes and all different kinds of models to show how they were made... each step. There were books of the bookkeeping for the main shoemaker that lived in Elda in the 1800s and all sorts of odds 'n ends in that museum. The Guinness Book of World Record's largest and smallest shoes (picture below) were there along with some of the craziest shoes ever made for art contests and the tiniest shoes I've ever seen... I took LOADS of pictures! I even found out that Aida's grandpa was a huge contribution to the shoe history of Elda and he had a picture hanging of himself in the museum. 
I left Aida (sadly) to go back to Alicante for the remainder of the weekend. I got back and ate pasta with chicken, then watched a movie for my cinema class homework, and then caught up on picture editing.
Well there are two more catch-up days... but I have some studying I have to go do! So I'll have to write more later...
Sincerely,
Missing America
There's my cultural awareness for today -- as for following up on the blog: LET'S CONTINUE!!
02/12 Saturday
Remember, I was in Elda -- the quaint, little town of shoes! -- visiting my friends Francisco and Aida. Well I woke up feeling like I was in heaven because I wasn't in a tiny bed that felt like springs were poking me in the back everywhere! I got up, got dressed and met Aida in the kitchen to have some breakfast. I notice
d that her fridge was VERY full of magnets... not sure if I got a picture of it or not but they literally covered every single side of the fridge from top to the floor. I don't know if you could fit even one more on it! She said her family has been collecting them for YEARS. We ate and then left to go exploring the Saturday market (where I found some REALLY cute little pink 
shoes) and to just walk around a little bit till I had to leave at 1PM. Aida had a lunch date planned with her aunt, so we had to cut the day short, unfortunately. But! we did get to go to the Museo del Calzado (Footwear Museum) which was INSANE! There were four floors of just rooms of shoes and shoes and more shoes dating from 3200 B.C. to now! There were rooms of machines that were used to make shoes and all different kinds of models to show how they were made... each step. There were books of the bookkeeping for the main shoemaker that lived in Elda in the 1800s and all sorts of odds 'n ends in that museum. The Guinness Book of World Record's largest and smallest shoes (picture below) were there along with some of the craziest shoes ever made for art contests and the tiniest shoes I've ever seen... I took LOADS of pictures! I even found out that Aida's grandpa was a huge contribution to the shoe history of Elda and he had a picture hanging of himself in the museum. 
I left Aida (sadly) to go back to Alicante for the remainder of the weekend. I got back and ate pasta with chicken, then watched a movie for my cinema class homework, and then caught up on picture editing.
02/13 Sunday
AHH finally... the day of rest! Today was my catch up on my FCA podcast day! I love how Clemson has a podcast for the FCA speakers because it's something I can understand and listen to with my Christian background in the message. I worked on homework and made a few Valentine's day cards, cleaned my room and unpacked from Aida's house. Later in the afternoon Emma McNeil and I went on a walk down to the Explanada... decided to try out the parfaits at McDonalds -- so we split one small one. mmmm :) good treat! Oh, I also cooked some vegetables that I bought at the mercado central recently! What is a good way to cook these types of beans? Because mine came out soggy and a little gross after letting them boil in water. (picture above on the right)
Well there are two more catch-up days... but I have some studying I have to go do! So I'll have to write more later...
Sincerely,
Missing America
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