Reduced to Tears

School has been tough. Having the 6 hour delay is a bit challenging because professors don't post things until later their time, so I don't get things until the next day which seems to put me a day behind. I have lots of reading and more reading on top of that.

This weekend I was trying to do my Financial Management homework. The assignments are so difficult and I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what the terms are or how anything functions. I read but it doesn't make sense. I was overwhelmed with everything and actually cried. Silliness.

That evening, I found out that I didn't get the government scholarship that would have paid for all of school and gives a $1000 monthly stipend for a commitment of 2 yrs of service to a hospital in need. I was disappointed and asked Dan if that was a sign from God that I could quit school :) He of course answered, "NO!"

As for everything else, I'm still running. Exercise is always the first thing to go when I get in school. I feel guilty if I'm not studying, but Dan has kept me motivated and I feel better overall. I pushed myself yesterday and ran farther. Someday I will get around that entire island!!!

First Day of School

I am usually all nervous on the first day of classes, but not today. Dan and I got up early and went for a run (it's my new thing to do with him). We walk to the Roman bridge, run around part of the island and then walk briskly about 3 miles in total. I realize, running before breakfast doesn't take away the cramps away that I get when there's food in my stomach. I guess I can't win.

Here is the map of the city. Our house is pointed out. We live right by the Roman Bridge and we run around the island in the river.


View Larger Map

Anyway, today is my first day of online classes. I'm a bit nervous, but I think it will work out well. I only have classes on Weds and Thurs, but two are at night, so for me they are from midnight to 3am. I won't be able to do those until the next day.

I still have to catch up on reading for today. Some of the classes have 5 chapters a week. I'm in 5 classes, so the reading is going to slow me down a lot. It seems like a lot of writing. My physiology class will have an exam on 10 chapter every other week...man I hate quarters :)

Well, off to start my reading and prepare for class.

My first Spanish meal

A couple of days ago I was looking up Spanish recipes so I could cook with ingredients here and have people over for a Spanish meal. I found a recipe for Lomo con Chorizo. It was awesome! I was really happy with how it turned out!

We made it to church last night and will go again tonight. There was a sermon from the pastor's daughter which was good. After the service, the pastor approached Dan and asked him if we'd like to get up and talk tomorrow, but Dan declined. I think he was a bit shocked. I'm not sure what a melancholy personality would do in this church :)

It rained for the first time since our stay. It was kind of refreshing. The weather has been beautiful.

Dan and I are now running almost everyday. I've never been a runner (except for one season as a chunky hurdler in 10th grade). My first run started out going against the wind. That was so hard. I was almost in tears. The next day was much easier, but my quads hurt a lot. Speaking of running...I should get out there now!

Time is flying

You would think that since I don't have much going on at the moment, that time would be dragging on. That is not the case. I find that I'm getting a bit nervous for school to start on the 24th.

We have our internet hooked up, so you can reach me at skype.com. I can now relax, knowing that I have internet for my online courses.

Nothing too new to report. We are settling in well. We have bought a lot of necessities for cooking/living at the Chinese shops in town. They have the best prices and I don't feel like I have to live without certain things, like a frying pan.

Dan made Spanish tortillas for lunch yesterday. They are our favorite and he did a great job! We've been enjoying all this time together now that we have it before the busy-ness kicks in.

We are hoping to visit relative in Milan, Italy and also visit other Fulbrighters all over Spain. Christmas is up in the air, but many people said they'd like to visit, but we'll see.

Church

Oh my, what a day. A couple of years ago, Dan and I were walking along the roman bridge and heard music that we recognized. The building was unmarked, but we knew it was a church.

Last year, we tried to visit, but were busy or not near enough.

This year, the building is still unmarked, but we heard a familiar tune playing last night. Today we woke up bright and early to attend. It took 5 trips and eventually it started. Wow!

It was like being at a Gypsy Kings concert. The music was beautiful and Dan and I obviously didn't have much rhythm.

The other highlights were getting telepizza and buying odds and ends from the Chinese store.

Madrid

Wow, Madrid was amazing! Dan and I didn't get to tour very much, but what we did see was amazing! The buildings and layout reminded me a lot of Paris. It was quite noisy. The Spaniards never sleep and that is why I'm exhausted. We had a 5 hour bus ride back to Mérida last night which wasn't too bad. It feels great to come back "home".

In Madrid, Dan had a lot of conferences. We met most of the Fulbrighters. There was a great couple our age who were on their way to Salamonca. We were able to hang out with them quite a bit and it was pretty awesome! I feel as if we are all kindred spirits. I hope we'll be able to visit them or that they'll visit us soon.

Now that Dan and I are back, we walked all over Mérida for a printer. No luck. We'll have to go to CarreFour later today or tomorrow.

We got our first piece of mail today stating that we missed a package (probably text books) and we won't be able to pick it up until Monday. Hopefully the internet will be hooked up then too.

lazy Sunday

Dan and I have finally been able to relax a little now that we have a place to live. We still need some gas tanks to make food and have warm showers, but the place is great! The festivities are ending, but we´ll be in Madrid for a week, so we´ll get the gas when we come back home.

I was nervous about our internet not being hooked up until the 30th, but the library has free wifi (wee fee)!!! That takes a lot of worries away.

We will take the bus to Madrid tomorrow and return on Friday. I'm excited to see a known city!

A flat in Spain

Wed Sept 3:
Dan and I tried to get money out of 3 different ATMs and it wouldn't work. I was in panic mode, but our friend lent us 80 euros. We arrived in Spain by bus and were able to get money from the ATMs!
We took a taxi to our favorite hostel, but it was full because Mérida is in ferias. We then went to our least favorite hostel, but the cheapest. It was beastly hot, but it worked for 2 nights.
Dan called multiple property owners and scheduled apartment viewings. He was excited about a place near the Plaza de España. He said that would be the place.

Thur Sept 4:
We spent the day looking for apartments. I liked a lot of the places, but the locations were not ideal. Our legs were crying out in pain by the last visit. Dan swore we would sign on the last place. I said, "How do you know it will be so great?"
Now in Mérida, no one speaks English. We were looking at the place and I asked Dan if one of the windows opened. The lady answered me in English. I was shocked. We found out that she speaks English and her husband is Australian. They are both English teachers in Mérida. We began speaking in English and after a café, we signed the lease!
We wandered around the feria. It was just like the Marshfield fair but a little bigger. Very fun!

Fri Sept 5:
We moved in the morning and trekked all the way to CarreFour (Wal-Mart equivalent). Our legs were in pain from the days before. We were going to get a taxi, but we thought we'd be able to carry everything. Uggghhh. It was hot and the stuff was heavy...carrying it over the roman bridge.
It was our first evening in our new flat. The fireworks banged for the last day of the ferias.

Today:
Dan and I bought some necessities from the Chinese stores. Everything is quite cheap! I was disappointed that I skimped on the sheets. Ouch...they're scratchy.
I had to finish up an assignment for my nursing class this summer. I was a stressed about it's quality, but hopefully it will be sufficient.
We will head to Madrid on Monday for the week. I'm excited to see an actual known city in Spain!

Otro Cosas:
Signing up for internet was a process. It will not be connected until Sept 30th. Ughh, my classes started on the 24th. Dan and I laughed at this offer, "The first month is free if you don't use the service for 30 days!"

Portugal First

Sunday we finished up packing and headed to the Central Wisconsin Fair in Marshfield. I enjoyed it very much. I ate fried cheese curds, fried mushrooms, and mouse ears.

I took my 57 year old mother on The Zipper which was cruel and unusual punishment. I was so sentimental about it at first because she was the first one to ride with me when I was around 12 or 13 years old. I think we both vowed to never go on it again.

Dan and I rode a circling umbrella ride which was quite dizzying and then the Farris Wheel. The last ride my mom, dad, Dan and I rode was the Spider. Dan said he'd get sick, but I thought he was just not wanting to go on it. About halfway through the ride, he stopped talking and got really sick. We stopped (after a really long ride) and he was soaked in sweat. I can't believe he didn't puke, but he was pale for quite awhile...until he got ice cream :) Poor Dan.

5am: Off to Minneapolis airport with my mom and dad. We read online that they were going to charge for our checked luggage ($15 for the first piece and $25 for the second). That would be $80 together plus another $50 for our one bag that is over 50lbs. They didn't charge the checked luggage, so we were more than happy to pay the $50 overage.

Philly: What a stupid airport! We had to walk outside to the furthest terminal with all our carry-on luggage (we had a lot because of the 9 month stay).

Atlantic Flight: Dan had a 2 year old ninja (AKA: seat kicker) behind him. He managed to get a bit of sleep after the 8 year old (sitting in the seat a head of him) spilled apple juice and got his feet wet. Poor Dan! (there is a trend here).

London: uneventful. Aimless wandering.

Portugal: good friends, good food, nap!

We're off to Spain tomorrow. We're hoping to not have to pay too much for all our luggage.