GET ME OUT OF HERE

Well yesterday pretty much sucked the big one. We thought Barcelona was super pretty and were having a great time... until someone ROBBED Magda's bag! It was absolutely terrible. We were sitting at the beach and she took her hand off her bag for a second so she could take a picture of the water. (At this point in time I was looking at a pretty white rock that I found in the sand) As she was taking her picture and I was looking at this rock, a skateboarder went behind us and was obnoxiously close. He swooped down and grabbed her bag. We tried to find out who it was, but he was gone in a flash.

We then decided to go straight to the hostal so that we could cancel her cards before going to the police. The problem is that at this point in time, I had no cash. So we went to an atm in order to get money to take the metro, and my card would not work! Just what we needed. NOT! So we ended up having to walk all the way back to the hostal. She called her bank and her parents and I fixed my card. Not exactly sure how I fixed it but it now works.. so?? haha.

After canceling her cards we went to the police station to file a report. We know she is not gonna get anything back but we figured it was good to do anyway. There were a lot of people there reporting theft! It was insane.

We then had to go deal with her luggage. She had left her bag in consignment so that we did not have to carry all our bags with us. However, when her bag was stolen, so was the key to the locker! Luckily we were able to get it.

So that was our day. Thanks spain! Barcelona was REAL NICE to us :(

Barca

Well- I did it. I said 'see you later' today to all of the people that have come to be my family over the last 5 months. ( Apart from Mags and Dora that is, because they are here with me in Pamplona) Thank god they came with because there is no way I would be able to handle leaving everyone at once.

This is how it went : I spent friday packing and preparing. Then we did our secret santa exchange, with was a ton of fun. After that, we went to the cocktails of the world party and were there until 3 or so. We then went to reverendos for a party. We then went home so I could finish the packing. After packing I was able to go get baked goods with my friends and then we went to the train station. I had told myself that I was gonna hold it together, but I of course was an epic fail at that. haha. I am going to miss everyone so so so so so much.

I am now in Barcelona. I didn't get to do much today cuz I was exhausted from not sleeping, however I will do some tomorrow. Also- I will post pics from my last few days in Pamplona soon. We had a ton of snow over the last week! It's been crazy.

I will see you soon xoxoxo

It's surreal-

Well, as I sit here writing this message. I am in a room that has been de-personalized. I am looking at the contents of my life for the past 5 months condensed into two suitcases. It's insane to think that it was so long ago when I moved into this room and UNPACKED those gigantic suitcases and turned Spain into my home. Now I have once again folded and shoved my life into those same two suitcases to return to the place I came from. I warn you all however- the girl that is returning is not the girl that left you. I come back to you a stronger, more mature woman who picked up her life, went to a foreign country alone, and survived. While the outside might look the same, just as with the suitcase, the contents on the inside are not. I am not leaving here with the same belongings as I came with. Nor am I coming back with the same frame of mind I had when I came. I was forced to remove the barrier between myself and other people (the shy barrier that is) and make friends with complete strangers. I moved into a piso where I knew no one, and came out with friends that I will have for the rest of my life. I met people from all around the world. People who have come to be like family to me. Now, don't worry guys. I am still the same crazy, silly Yvonne that loves to have a good time. I'm just a better me.

On the first day of orientation I asked the head guy 'what is the meaning of life.' I will be happy to report that although it wasn't from his response that I learned the answer to this question. However I do have an answer. The meaning of life changes from person to person. For me, the meaning of life is to experience as much as you can. It is to meet as many people, make as many friends, and to truly enjoy the life that you have. I have done this. I can go back to the states and know that I have made my life mean more by taking part in this experience.

Slide Show

This is the slide show that a friend of ours made for the official going away party a few weeks ago. It was quite funny. Pay special attention to the random photos that come up of my group. They are never normal! bwahaha

Tis the season-

.. to cry. It's officially the goodbye season for ERASMUS/EXCHANGE. Kamilla left on saturday and it was definitely a shocker. I'm not ready to say goodbye, so I didn't allow myself to say it. (In all honesty, I couldn't say much of anything through the tears) however I did manage to say 'see you later.'

For remember guys, it's not Goodbye, but rather 'I'll see you later.'

You cannot get rid of me that easily :)

--- but seriously, no one else is allowed to leave. Got it?

San Cristobol

On Friday, we decided to make ourselves an adventure. The weather was pretty nice, even though it was cold, so we decided to hike El camino de San Cristobol, which is a small mountain nearby. At the top of the mountain there is an abandoned prison. Let me tell you, it was creepy!

In the morning it was super cold, so we dressed warmly. Also, it was really foggy, however we decided to go anyway because we had planned on it. We figured if nothing else then it would be excellent exercise. Honestly, I'm glad that we went because it was so amazingly cool. Once we hit a certain point, it was sunshine and beautiful views. We were above the clouds, which is probably cooler than seeing the city below us! I even got sunburned! In December! hahahaha. Although now it's freezing cold. The weather here is so very strange.

Anyway- the hike was amazing and the view was fantastic. We even made friends with this crazy old woman and old man who said they hike up there 2-3 times a week. They told us which trails to take, and it turned out to be the hardest ones. They did it like it was a piece of cake! It was incredible. Everytime they saw us they would start dancing and singing and tell us that we were close. I want to be like that when I'm old.

Here are some pics from our lovely hike! Enjoy!

This will make your life 1000X better

Haha. So today, instead of studying Nerea decided to do these fun little videos for us :)

It pretty much made my life 100 million trillion times better :) I hope it does the same for you!

This is how we... study?

Yes. They do it in Spain too. WE have been studying like crazy for our final exams. I am lucky and am finished in just 12.5 hours from now. However, others are not so lucky and have exams until December 18th! I would just like to share with you all a few pics demonstrating how we have decided to make studying... a little less painful :)
Tip #1: Study with people.
Tip #2: Take frequent breaks
Tip #3: Discuss with your friends
Tip #4: Drink a bit of coronita( or any beer for that matter)
Tip #5: Be sure to eat
Tip #6: Hookah calms the soul :)

I will have you know that I rocked exam number 1 using these techniques, and I hope to do just as well with exams 2 and 3. I will let you know how it goes!

Besos :)

A quick tidbit-

So in the midst of studying for exams, I have also been dealing with attempting to register for classes back at UW so that I can graduate on time in June :) I had been having a little trouble getting into a Spanish 303 class, but thank god they opened another one because there were SO MANY students needing to get in it.

But now my schedule for next quarter is official. All I need to do now is pass all these lovely classes. hehe. Here is my schedule for your viewing pleasure. Please note the days/ start time / end time and you will realize why if you see me next quarter I will most likely be a zombie. Don't be offended if I don't see you. I won't be seeing much of anything after these days!

For your viewing pleasure! XOXO

Course	Type	Credits	Title
SPAN 303 C	LC	5.0	STYLISTICS & COMP
I BUS 491 A	SM	1.0	CISB SEMINAR
MGMT 300 D	LC	4.0	MG ORG EFFECT
MKTG 340 B	LC	4.0	ADVERTISING
OPMGT 301 A	LC	4.0	PRIN OPER MGT
Total credits: 18.0

For your viewing pleasure :)

Here are a few random pics to keep you entertained until I am done studying for my stupid exams and can get back to telling you all real stories!

Goodbyes

Last night we had a going away party for the international students. We did it now so it doesn´t get in the way of finals. But I really must tell you that it was hard to watch. When the slideshow came on it was everything I could do to keep from crying. The realization hit me that I actually was having to get ready to leave. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see my friends and family and enjoy the Christmas holidays. However, I am not quite ready to leave all of the amazing people I have met here. This really has been the adventure of a lifetime. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I've had and the things I've been able to do/see while I'm here. So if it's alright with all of you, I'm going to wait to say goodbye because saying goodbye means it's over, and I'm not ready for that.

DECEMBER

Ok so here we go guys. This is the calendar of my next month .

Tomorrow ( Dec 2nd) : LAST DAY OF CLASSES!
Monday Dec 7th : Economia Mundial Final
Wednesday Dec 9th : Spanish Art History Final and Applied Economics Final
Saturday Dec 12th : Say goodbye to Kamilla :(
Friday Dec 18th : Final Goodbye Party :(
Saturday Dec 19th: Head to Barcelona with Magda and Dora
Tuesday Dec 22nd: Take flight HOME!
Wednesday Dec 23rd: Drive to Vancouver
Thursday Dec 24th: Christmas Eve in Cathlamet
Friday Dec 25th : Christmas with the Fam
Saturday Dec 26th : Family Gathering
Tuesday Dec 29th : Move back into My house in Seattle with Courtney! :) :)
Thursday Dec 31st : New Years Eve in Downtown Seattle !
Friday Jan 1st : Star work at the Dirty once more.

Now that I've put it down like this, it's incredible. It looks like absolutely nothing at all. I will be back with you in Seattle in just a bit of time. Unfortunately though, this means leaving all of the people that I have come to love here in Pamplona. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place!