Can you actually believe it? I have been in Spain for a full 6 months! And read on for an even scarier fact…I only have about 3.5 more months in La Coruña!!! My how the time has FLOWN!!! Even though I realize I still have a full and hopefully amazing 3 months ahead of me, to all those who are planning to study abroad in the future…savour every moment, it really does go by in the blink of an eye!

So I am finally back into full swing of my new classes. I am currently taking: Political and Social Contemporary History, Interventional Psychology in a Family Context and Sociology of Health and Sickness. Those are the direct translations from Spanish to English, and don´t worry I had no idea what these classes were about when I first read the title. The History class discusses political, social and economic changes throughout history, with a special focus on Galicia. The psychology class, is in the infant education department and basically discusses the role parents play in their child´s education and how teachers should encourage and discourage certain parental involvement. The ethical discussions that we have had so far are quite interesting. The third class covers the different public health care systems in Europe….and well the ¨public health care¨ in the USA. Not getting too political or anything…but my first day in class the professor harshly criticized the USA´s lack of public services and I was quite embarrassed but also agreed. In comparison with European countries, the USA is severely lacking in social services from public health care to college tuition. Once again, the USA def. has something to learn from its European friends! My fourth class is the Holy Cross Grammar and Culture Spanish class, which in a week we are switching teachers for the second semester.

Besides classes, my ICIP is going quite well. On Mondays, I trek up one of the hills in La Coruña to a classroom finacially supported by one of the banks in La Coruña. There are 2-3 other Spanish students who help me teach the immigrants Spanish. The class usually consists of 3-8 immigrants, all of which are from Senegal, as there is a huge influx of immigrants from Sub-Saharan African to Spain. There are Spanish language/grammar classes as well as computer technology classes for the immigrants throughout the week, all of which are taught by university age volunteers. While at first it was quite difficult to teach Spanish, it is becoming easier every passing week. My other activity is teaching English lessons to a 9 year old boy twice a week. On Mondays, I have both, with 30 minutes to get from one side of the city to the other and switch my mentality of English back to Spanish!

Dato Divertido: This is somewhat of a random fun fact, but in the grocery stores the milk is not refrigerated.  In fact you don´t even have to refrigerate it until after you open the milk! This freaked me out quite a bit when I first walked into the grocery store and saw an aisle of milk cartons, just chilling on the shelves next to the bread. However, to all those concerned…the milk here is fine…especially with Spain´s hot chocolate-Cola Cao! Yummm!!!

***Also, to those sophomores back at HC (if anyone is actually reading this…) I was recently informed that a few of you have heard from study abroad and are starting to make a final decision! If you have ANY questions about ANYTHING please leave a comment here or email me at my HC email! Just type in nmmari12 in the recipient box and send! Whether, you are coming to the amazing La Coruña or those other two programs (which are still awesome) don´t hesitate to send me an email…I love getting mail and talking about Coruña…as you can see. But just let me give 1 word of advice to you guys about study abroad…GO!

¡Hasta Luego!

And apologies for the length of this post! 🙂

This past weekend Kelsey and I hit the ski slopes in Spain! It was quite a haul to arrive at the ski resort, but when the day was over, it was totally worth it. We left Coruña Friday morning with James and Kristen on a bus headed towards León. Once we arrived in León, we were greeted by Emily and Andy (Crusaders who are studying there) and had a picnic of chorizo and potato chips in a park. It was interesting and enjoyable to hear Emily and Andy´s stories about their experience and fun adventures in León thus far, and how it compared to A Coruña. After lunch, Kelsey and I returned to the bus station to catch a bus to Oviedo while Kristen and James stayed in León for the weekend.

Once we arrived in Oviedo, Kelsey and I walked around for a few hours. It was a surprisingly nice city, with pretty plazas, outdoor cafés artsy statues, few high rise buildings and lots of gorgeous churches. For dinner we went to our favorite Pizza Móvil (equivalent to Dominoes) and devoured the hot and tasty cheese pizza. Yum!

The next morning, Kelsey and I woke up at the usually unpleasant hour of 6 AM, but quickly jumped out of bed as we knew what lay ahead. We returned to the bus station and boarded a bus filled with loyal skiers and snowboarders. One hour later, of winding through mountain passageways and snow covered peaks; we arrived at the San Isidro Ski and Snowboard Resort. Honestly, I was a bit nervous as I had been skiing about 4 or 5 times before this trip, and most of those ski trips were to Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. For those who don´t know the geography of the Midwest…it is as flat as sheet of paper. On the other hand, Kelsey (New Hampshire native and ski fanatic) had been skiing hundreds of times before and started when she was two years old. Nonetheless, we had an excellent time. The views were absolutely breathless from the top of the mountain, the snow covered peaks stretched for miles and miles, and the sky was as blue as the ocean. So even though I am currently walking around Coruña and the university with a limp from muscle pain, it was a really great and memorable weekend! Now, after traveling for three weekends in a row, I am pumped to have two weekends in Coruña and then to celebrate Carnival weekend in Barcelona!

Dato Divertido: In Spain, or at least at this ski resort, there were no markings of the level of difficulty of the ski slopes. (Aren’t you content Mom and Dad?) Therefore, I just hoped as I started skiing down a random slope, that I wouldn´t come across a huge, steep slope or thousands of moguls. Thankfully, I only needed Kelsey to rescue me once on our skiing adventure! So for those who consider skiing in Spain, don´t worry about finding the level of each slope, just close your eyes (metaphorically) and ski!

Just a gorgeous view…

I love snow….and mountains!

It was a little warm…but enough snow to ski!

And the mountains continue for miles and miles!

basically an olympic skier…

One of the few times I didn´t fall into the snow…

It doesn´t look to steep…but for a Midwest native….that was Mt. Everst!

The gorgeous León cathedral…the stained glass windows were so PRETTY…we couldn´t take pictures outside…so I guess you will have to go see them for yourself!

¡Hasta Luego!

Hello all! This past weekend I hopped on a plane, and a short two hours later I landed at the Heathrow Airport in London. Ahhhh the ease of travel in Europe!!! Once in London, I went through immigration which was extremely strict and a bit daunting…I´m surprised I was let into the country! I then caught a bus headed towards Brighton, England. Once off the bus in Brighton I was immediately greeted and hug tackled by one of my best friends at HC, Amanda (who is also blogging)! She is studying at the University of Sussex and like me, is having an amazing time.

She gave me the grand tour of the campus, which included a massive library, multiple eateries, cafés, bars, mini grocery stores and gorgeous trees and green quads. After meeting her British roommates, we ventured into town. Sussex is located about 20 minutes outside of Brighton, which is located on the south-eastern coast of England. It is a cool and ¨happening¨ city, with many stores, clubs, restaurants, beaches and a pier with carnival rides. Unfortunately the temperatures remained below zero, so we stuck to the indoor activities.  We found an excellent Italian restaurant, ate our body weight in pasta, and then returned to her dorm as we were absolutely exhausted.

The next day we travelled north to London. We walked and toured London for hours on end, which included without a doubt: the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Primrose Cupcake Bakery, Starbucks, and of course Platform 9 3/4! After mastering the ¨underground¨ (the local ¨L¨, ¨T¨ or ¨metro¨ depending where you are from) and riding it all over London, we sleepily returned to the hotel. Even though I hadn´t hung out with Amanda for more than 6 hours in the past 6 months, it felt like just yesterday we were laughing in the Mulledy hallways and spending hours at the Kimball dinner table. While both of us dearly miss Holy Cross and the comforts and familiarity of the USA, we both are having amazing a life changing experiences abroad that we wouldn´t change for the world.  

Now back in Spain, I am eager to start my second semester of classes tomorrow! Wish me luck!!!

Dato Divertido: On January 2^nd, 2011, Spain issued an amazing and an intelligent new law…they prohibited smoking from restaurants, bars and clubs! This was exciting for me as now I don´t have to worry about having my clothes and hair smell like smoke for days after eating a tortilla in my favorite restaurant!

¡Hasta Luego!

Didn´t I tell you? I was accepted to Hogwarts!

The London Eye at night!

Don´t you love the hat?

So many places to see in London!

Any fans of the TV series ¨Friends¨? Especially the episode when they make the trip to London?!?

The London Eye…we were very high in the sky!

A view from above…

Classic photo!

The London Eye by day!

If you ever travel to London…you must go here!

The classic london double deckers! How cool!

I have officially completed and survived my first academic semester in Spain!!! Woo!  Unlike at Holy Cross, Spain does not officially end the semester until after winter break, which left me worrying and attempting to complete tests and papers during the holidays. Personally I don’t like this system. I think that winter break should be a time to relax, spend time with family and friends and not worry about finals. However, part of the study abroad experience is learning about different cultures and their educational systems. I won´t receive my final grades for a few weeks, so everyone please keep your fingers crossed that I passed! The new semester starts next Monday, so basically I have a week off (yay!). I am currently taking Sociology of Urbanism, Contemporary History of Social and Political Movements, the HC grammer class and I still have to choose one more. Any suggestions?!?

This past weekend 5 of us Crusaders went on a day trip to Pontevedra, a city near A Coruña. We hopped on a train at 9:35 and arrived in Pontevedra two hours later. We walked around the city for a few hours, which was quite a bit smaller than A Coruña but still gorgeous and very quaint. We also ate at an amazing Spanish Tortilla place that had about 10 different types of tortilla. Mine was stuffed with cheese and Galician ham! I am going to sure miss this food when I leave in June…but let’s not think about that quite yet.

Yesterday the other HC kids and I went over to our director´s house to watch an American football game (Bears v. Packers) on TV as he has American channels. We ordered pizza and drank Coca-Cola. While I was a little homesick earlier that day as my parents were throwing a football party for our nieghborhood , sitting there watching the game with the other HC kids and Pablo, felt like a new mini family, thousands of miles away from home. While the wrong team won, it was still great fun.

This upcoming weekend I am traveling to England to visit my friend Amanda at Sussex University. It will be quite a short trip (Friday afternoon-Sunday morning) but I am so excited to see her and tour around Brighton and London. Even though I saw her about a month ago when I went to NYC, in college your friends are like your family and a month apart really feels like years!  

Dato Divertido: After three kings day (Jan 6^th) all the stores have tremendous ¨rebajas¨ (sales).  Some stores discount their items to over 70%! The ¨big sales¨ last a week after three kings day, but supposedly sales continue until March! There are a lot of cute clothing and accessory stores in A Coruña and every time I walk by them I am tempted to go buy something. While I have been fairly good about not buying anything these past two weeks, after completing the semester, I might have to go treat myself!

                                           Elena, Arinelli and I in Pontevedra

              Elena, Kristen, Kelsey and I. Getting in touch with our inner child

              Elena, Arinelli, Kelsey, Giselle, Kristen at the best tortilla place! 🙂

As the entire northern half of the U.S. (and southern to think of it…) are covered in several feet of snow, black ice, and sub-zero temperatures; I am enjoying my first year without a winter. Of course I miss building snowmen, sledding down Mt. Saint James on my green Kimball tray and bundling up in 5 layers of sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves, boots and ski goggles in order to walk to class…but being able walk outside without a coat is definitely a nice break. Today, when I went for a run (in my shorts and t-shirt) on the boardwalk, I glanced into the water, and thought I saw birds floating with the waves. However as I jogged closer I realized they were actually surfers! Even by Chicago standards it´s not THAT warm to be surfing, so I give these Spanish surfers huge credit for braving the cold Atlantic Ocean.

Ok so back to my week. This weekend, my friend from high school, Rachel and her dad came to visit me in A Coruña! She was STILL on her winter break and making her way around Europe and visiting friends who are studying abroad. It was so much fun to walk around the city with her, showing her all my favorite touristy destinations and eating at the most fabulous restaurants in town! We explored the famous Torre de Hercules, Montaña (Mountain) de San Pedro and Calle Ralle shopping. It was truly a great time. On another exciting note…I have planned my Easter break trip! I am officially going to Athens and Santorini Island with Kelsey and Amanda (who is in England…and blogging) and then to Northern Ireland for a family wedding. There is so much to see and dozens of amazing places to travel in Europe, I will be lucky if I get to see even a small portion of it!

Dato Divertido: I am not sure if I commented on this before, but the meal schedule is different here in Spain than it is back in the States, and I was reminded of this when my friend Rachel and her dad came. Breakfast is served normally, Lunch (the big meal) is around 3 pm and dinner is around 10 pm.  Also, there is a ¨Siesta¨ from 2-5 in which the entire city seems to shut down. During this time, everyone stops working, goes home, eats with their family and if possible takes a short nap. While I haven´t exactly ¨physically¨ adjusted to this meal time (my stomach still growls at noon and 6 pm on the dot)…I have definitely adjusted ¨mentally¨ and eating at any time besides 3 pm and 10 pm, seems very weird. I guess I am assimilating into the Spanish Culture!

¡Hasta luego!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can you believe it is 2011 already? I cannot! I have finally made it back to A Coruña after a wonderful 2 weeks at home. It was great to be home and see my family and friends. While I haven´t seen some of them for over a year, we were able to pick up exactly from where we left off and it felt as though nothing had changed. I also managed to fly out to the east coast to visit my family in New Jersey and friends from HC. It was great to see their smiling faces and hear their stories from the past semester!

While I have loved my first semester in A Coruña, I have realized there really isn´t any place like home, nor anyone like family and old friends. While it may sounds cheesy, I have also realized that in order to grow as a person I must explore the world and take advantage of life changing opportunities aka study abroad. It may be hard to leave the comforts of home and family, but I know that they are always supporting me and will be there upon my return. After a relaxing and truly enjoyable Christmas and new years, I am ready to start España Parte dos!

Favorite memories of winter break (not in any particular order):

1. Waking up to a white Christmas, with about 1 foot of snow outside my window.

2. Meeting the new member of the family, a 4 month old yellow lab, named Higgins.

3. Competing in the annual Christmas Eve ping pong tournament

4. Having a large dinner with 10 friends from high school

5. Seeing the famous Lincoln Park Zoo lights, so magical!

6.  Eating at the best ever flat top grill of Evanston. YUM!

7. Seeing my family in New Jersey and watching the movie ¨Zombie Apocalypse¨ and being the oldest and most terrified cousin. This was followed by ringing in the New Year by banging pots and pans at the stroke of midnight with my cousins on the streets of New Jersey.

8. Seeing 7 of my HC friends in NYC!

9. Watching the complexities and brilliance of ¨The Bachelor¨ with my sister. (Im trying to be sarcastic…)

10. Knowing that I still had another semester in A Coruña waiting for me upon my return!

Dato Divertido: In Spain, Christmas is fully celebrated, but the holiday ¨Three Kings Day¨ which falls on January 6^th is the big holiday of the season. Historically, on Three King´s Day, the three kings brought gifts to Jesus, Mary and Joseph after Jesus´s birth on December 25^th.  In Spain, this is the day that gifts are exchanged (especially for the kids) and families come together. Unfortunately I spent three kings day in the DC airport, awaiting my flight back to Spain. But upon my arrival in my apartment, I received my first Three Kings Day gift, a cute purse from my host mom!

The big dinner!

The Magic of Zoo lights

Liz, Sheridan and I at the zoo lights!

The new pup!

HC friends!

What is the best thing about going home for the holidays?…Well besides my mother´s ginger bread cookies, it is knowing that there is another amazing, eventful and exciting semester waiting for me in Spain. Within 24 hours, I will be halfway over the Atlantic, heading towards the familiar continent to the west. While I cannot wait to see family, friends, Starbucks, Lou Malnoti’s Pizza, and the new family dog, I am in complete disbelief. Time has flown by way too quickly. I must admit, there have been moments this semester when I was caught in self-doubt, homesickness and culture shock, but I have learned that this is completely normal. To all those studying abroad in the coming years, you will go through this, but more importantly, you WILL get over it, and be stronger. Looking back on the semester on the eve of my departure, it really seems like just yesterday when I said the teary goodbye to my parents at Boston Logan, terrified beyond belief as to what was ahead.

While it may sound cheesy and cliché to say, I am not that same teary eyed and scared girl. I am not completely sure how I have changed, and probably won´t realize completely until I am home or further in the future. But I know that I have changed dramatically in two ways. First, I have more confidence in myself. I have confidence that I can move to a different country and create a life for myself, involve myself in different activities and improve in a language I could barely speak.  Second, I have a new appreciation for other cultures.  Traveling to Morocco, Portugal, Ireland and throughout Spain has made me realize that while we all might celebrate different holidays, speak different languages and have different values, that we are all people and in one way or another can relate to each other and most importantly, get along.

However, there are many unfinished plans, conversations, travels, and experiences that I have yet to complete in Spain. Thankfully, (while I may have complained before) HC makes the majority of the study abroad students stay for a year in their host country, as a way of completely immersing themselves in the culture. While I do miss HC and all my friends on the hill, I am not quite done with my experience in Spain and I am so thankful that I have another semester waiting for me when I return!

Dato Diveritdo: A lot of Spanish high school students try to go to the USA for one full academic year. It is quite competitive to get a spot in this program, but the kids who come back are very fluent in English. Kristen, James and I interviewed a few of these prospective students today (in English!), and it was quite interesting to see the interview process from the interviewer´s point of view. While a lot of the kids were quite nervous during their interview, the majority of them could speak English very well. It was very exciting for me to see these students passion to learn another culture and language and be willing to live in a different country for such a long period of time. It was pretty inspirational.

¡Feliz Navidad!