Sooners in Paris

Jordan and I flew to Paris for Halloween to reunite with friends from all over Europe and spend the weekend in this incredible city. This was my second trip to Paris (I decided I needed to give it a second chance after having not the best opinion after the first trip) and this time around I saw a completely new city which I fell in love with. Now I understand the obsession. I love Paris.

Jacek (Germany/Poland), Koke and Gloria (Spain), me, Guillaume (one of our wonderful French hosts) and Jordan. Marc, our other French host was not with us for this picture but he has the most incredible apartment ever. You can see an unobstructed and very near view of the Eiffel Tower from his balcony. In fact I think you can probably see his apartment in the background.

Soaking up the sun on the most beautiful Autumn day.

With all the guys in front of Les Invalides - the tomb of Napoleon.

With Gloria in front of a beautiful leaf-covered wall.

Halloween Night in Marc's apartment. The window behind us is where you can see the previously mentioned incredible view of the Eiffel Tower. We watch it sparkle and light up for hours.

My first visit to the doctor in Spain

Yesterday I went to the doctor for the first time in Spain (not the first time outside of the US though, as I have been lucky enough to get sick many times in South America). It was very interesting because there were many similarities but also many differences. The first HUGE and most notable difference is that I didn't pay anything (not a penny) because Spain as a socialized healthcare system. Because of that I could have went to any public health clinic but my program provides us with private insurance so I went to a private clinic near my house. My roommate helped me call to make the appointment earlier in the day because I virtually had no voice and when I arrived at 7:30pm (much later than any private clinic that I know would be open in the US) they of course said they had no record of my appoint. Welcome to Spain. Nonetheless, they let me wait and since it was the end of the day I didn't have to wait long for them to work me in because I just went after their last appointment. So I only waited about 15 minutes until the doctor came and got me. Another big difference - there were no nurses and they did not take any of my regular stats such as weight, temperature, etc. and didn't even ask me anything about my medical history (he did at least ask if I had any allergies before giving me my prescription). He just took me into a room that was the combination of an office and an examination room. So first he had me sit at his desk and skipping any sort of small-talk, acquaintances or introductions (I didn't even know his name) he just said "Ok what's wrong with you?" and had me tell him about my symptoms. Then he had me move to the examination table (which was identical to what we have in the US) for an examination. He listened to me breathe about 27 times on each side of my back, looked briefly down my throat (which was my primary reason for coming) and didn't even have me say "aaaaaaaahhhhh" so I'm not sure how he really saw anything. Then without telling me what I had he just handed me a prescription and said goodbye. I of course asked what was wrong with me and he said "Oh you have a virus that is going around..." Thanks for the elaborate info. So for all of you who think face time with the doctor during an appointment in the US is short, should appreciate it more. I mean it was okay since I had already begun to feel better and the only reason I actually went to the doctor is because it was free and because I needed a doctor's note to justify my absence at school but it definitely left me desiring a little more interaction and information. Note: The health system in Spain is good and I'm sure there are much better doctors than this guy out there.

OU/TEXAS weekend!!!! Sooner Reunion in Madrid!!!

Being the girl that organized OU/TEXAS weekend for 88 people last year, I could not just sit passively in Spain and watch this essential Sooner weekend pass-by without a proper celebration. So once again I put my event-planning skills to work and sent out an invitation to all of the Sooners who were part of the infamous trip last year and happen to live or be studying in the same country/continent as me. Nine of mine (6 from Spain, 1 from France and 2 fellow Americans) and Jordan's friends came to stay at our apartment for the weekend. We ate American food, we partied like Sooners and we watched the game (which luckily being thousands of miles away didn't impact our weekend quite as much as it does if you are actually in Dallas). We were 11 crazy sooner fans who took Madrid by storm, decked out in our OU gear.

Here we are in Plaza Mayor on Saturday. It is really funny to walk around a city in Madrid dressed in matching clothes. Since there are so many tourists, we had several people approach us to ask about the game or say boomer sooner. And we even got in a yelling fight with some texas fans in a park.

In front of the Templo de Debod (an Egyptian temple in the Park of the West). This is where we heard some clearly demented individuals yell "Texas Fight" and then the battle was on!

Watching the game in my apartment.

Trying to make cookies and pizza in my ghetto kitchen. See the butane-filled orange container? That is what we put in front of the oven to keep it closed. Would our apartment pass any level of safety test? I think not.

Glo, Sus and I in Retiro Park on Sunday. We packed a picnic and enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather (the last that we would have for this season in Madrid).

Busy Busy Busy

So I haven't updated in awhile because my life is crazy busy. Basically I wake up at 6:45 everyday, make a 1.5 hour commute to my school, teach from 9 to 5 and then give private english lessons to various students and adults after school until 9:30 or 10. Then I commute back home just in time to eat, shower, and sleep!!!! And this schedule is accented with 4.5 hours of Master classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and homework and lesson planning. So basically by the time the weekend rolls around I don't want to do anything except for sleep. And not talk to children, haha.

The schedule has been a little bit tough for me the first couple of weeks (I basically had a complete breakdown which was provoked by a combination of sleep deprivation, overextending myself, and no personal time) but I'm getting more used to it now and I have found ways to make it a bit more livable. I talked to the headmaster of my school because I knew I couldn't survive a year at the pace I was going and we found some ways to change my schedule in order to better use my time. Before I had a lot of random short breaks during the day that did not count towards my hours but that required me to be at the school and did not allow me to get anything productive done. He is a very nice guy and he moved my Tuesday classes to Monday and Friday so now I don't have to go to Alcalá (the town outside of Madrid where I teach) on Tuesdays!!! Having one day where I don't have to do the awful commute and can actually get things done such as going to the bank and the grocery store (bc any other day I don't get home before 10 and everything is closed) is amazing! It makes a huge difference! I am much happier!

And I do really love teaching!!! Especially 3rd-6th grade!!! I like pre-school and high school too but middle school is just absolutely, 100% horrible!! I dread every single class I have to go to with those punks!! They just have the worst attitudes and grrr...I'm trying to find something to like about them but so far I've got nothing! Luckily only 4 out of my 18 classes are with them so the rest of the time I am very happy. I have so many cute kid stories...I'll start trying to write one per day because they are really just precious and so funny. I also really really enjoy teaching private lessons. I can just do so much more one on one plus the kids I teach are some of my favorites! I teach a 4 year old, 2 6 years olds, 3 10 year olds, 1 university student, and 2 adults (all at different times of course). The 10 year olds are particularly fabulous because they are smart and will do absolutely anything to get a sticker (which is what I use to motivate them). I'm telling you these kids will do anything for a Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, or High School Musical sticker. And my favorite little girl Laura almost hyperventilated when she found out I was a cheerleader in high school (cheerleaders are a uniquely American phenomenon which the rest of the world is fascinated by) and have an American Girl doll. So basically we get along just great!!

What keeps me doing during some of my longer days are the amazing weekends I spend in Madrid. There are no words to explain how amazing my roommates are and how much fun we have together! Basically we are so lucky because putting 7 strangers from 5 different countries together could potential be disastrous but for us it is the magic formula!!

Here are my roommates and I (starting from the left): Jordan from Calvin, Oklahoma; Gigi from Milan, Italy; me from the one and only K-Town; Gaby from France/Malaga, Spain; Saila from Finland; and Simón from France. Not pictured because she was sick is Maite who is from Bilbao, Spain. The amazing OU flag hanging in the background is because it was OU/TEXAS weekend in my apartment (more details about that amazing event to come later).

And I have met some really great people in my program as well who I have become good friends with! My favorite weekend activity so far is the "Sunday Food Club" which consists of a group of friends from my program who all love food (like me) and every Sunday we find a new restaurant and have an amazing meal. Its the only time I get to eat out and have a delicious, full meal. I love it!

The delicious Peruvian meal (Lomo Saltado) we ate a couple Sundays ago...bah I get hungry just looking at it.

My friend Amanda and I the next Sunday at an amazing Mexican restaurant called La Panza es Primera. Oh the nachos were sooo good! Mexican food is the thing I miss the most from the US so this meal was long overdue.

Amanda and I hanging out in Buen Retiro, the big park in Madrid. We had a picnic and were enjoying the perfect October day.

A group of friends from my program. We all went to Alcalá for a big festival celebrating Miguel de Cervantes. Fun night!

Madrid was a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics. Sadly we came in second (same as for the 2012 Olympics) but the Sunday before they announced the results there was a huge rally to show public support for the Olympics. There was a concert of a famous Spanish singer and lots of street performers and music, etc. It was really fun. A group of friends from my program went and we were joined by about 500,000 other people in a plaza that is very near to our apartment.

Our group in the yellow section.

We kept walking and ended up in the red section. Here we are using our colors to shield ourselves from the rain. The less than perfect weather didn't keep anyone from coming out to show their support for the olympics.

We finally ended up in the blue section where we belonged (note the color of all of our clothing).

The 500,000 people and their colors in the Plaza de Cibeles. We were in the very front of the blue section near the stage.

I know this post has been a little bit of everything. As always I will say that I will try to update more often but that always ends up being more difficult than I thought. Currently the only reason I had time to update this is because I am at home sick instead of at school. I have a very sore throat and fever. I am the 4th of the 7 people who live in my apartment to have the same symptoms. I am going to the doctor in a few hours so I will let you know if it is Swine Flu (just kidding). I am actually starting to feel a bit better but I'm still basically unable to talk and since I missed school I need to go to the doctor. If I felt like this in the US I don't think I would go to the doctor but since it is free (thanks to socialized healthcare) I will go. And don't worry Mom and Marmie, my roommates are taking good care of me. Maite came in to help me call the doctor since I couldn't really talk and Simón gave me some Vitamin C tablets to put in my water and they have all offered to do whatever I need. So I guess if I have to be sick in a foreign country without my mom at least I have 6 other people to help care for me.

I'm officially a teacher (or Professor as they like to call me here in Spain)

I have just completed my second full week of classes (both as a teacher during the day and a student at night) and I absolutely love it! I never thought I would like teaching so much but it is great.

Okay to explain fully...I am doing a Masters program here in Madrid and a big part of it is called "la practica" which is basically like an internship teaching at a local school. I use the term local loosely because my particular school assignment involves an almost 2 hour commute for me, each way. Everyday. I take the subway to the train station then take a train to Alcalá where I walk to a bus stop and ride on the school bus with the kids for another 25 minutes. It is fine though because I am very productive on my commute - I always use the time to study and read for my Masters classes and also to plan my lessons for my classes. In my Masters Program there are 64 students and we are all assigned to work at different schools in Madrid and the surrounding communities. My school is small compared to a lot of the ones they are working at so therefore I am the only foreign "language auxiliary" at my school (while many of them are with other Americans from our program). It is fun to be the token foreigner because I am unique. On the first day everyone knew who I was and all the kids knew my name before I even met them. They all seem to think I'm pretty cool and fascinating which I don't mind too much ;) So I teach a different class every hour so I teach 18 different groups ranging in ages from 3 to 18. I teach all three levels of pre-school and 3rd-12th grades. The only grades I don't teach are 1st and 2nd because their teacher is from England so my particular and highly valued skills (speaking English) are not needed. Every class I has is different but they are all some sort of English class: English Grammar, Phonetics, Reading, English Conversation, and whatever you would call trying to teach English to 3 year olds. I will be so happy if they can count to 10 and tell me the colors by the end of the year.

Since I am not actually trained as a teacher I am supposed to always be with a teacher and just assisting them with English. My school is very good about always making sure a teacher is in the room to help with discipline and lesson structure and such but I have pretty much been given freedom to teach and input whatever ideas I have. They are really open and interested in my opinion and really want me help with the lesson plans and grading so it is fun. It is so funny how I found myself thinking back to all of the teachers I have had throughout my life and I find myself remembering and using various techniques and teaching methods of theirs.

I really love all the ages but so far my favorites are 3rd and 4th and high school. The high schoolers are just because they aren't that much younger than me so I can really relate to them and talk to them and just hang out. They class I teach the seniors is English conversation so they really don't care what I do as long as I get them to talk. So my plan is to teach them new and practical English that they will actually remember and learn to correctly pronounce through popular music. They are pretty excited about that. I tried it out last Friday and they loved it. I even had a group of girls volunteer to sing a Beyonce song for the class and it was so fun! I have learned a great deal of Spanish from music and it has always been my favorite and most effective way to learn.

The 3rd and 4th graders are so great because they are old enough to know how to be at school (unlike the 3 year olds who just cry and cry and cry for their moms) and have a pretty decent level of English so I can actually teach them (unlike the pre-schoolers who look at me like I am an alien speaking this crazy language to them). Plus they are still at the age that they are very innocent and love to learn and all want to answer every question and are always volunteering to read, etc. Plus they still love their teachers at that age.

The number one rule of my program is that the kids can absolutely under no circumstance know that I speak Spanish because then they would just speak Spanish to me. At first I found it really difficult to have to pretend to not understand what they are saying (especially when they tell jokes...I laugh without even thinking because it is a subconscious reaction) and I hated having to lie to them when they directly asked me if I really didn't understand Spanish but I have since then seen the huge benefit of them believing that I only speak English. The thing is they really want to talk to me or answer me when I ask them a question so they go out of their way and try so so hard to speak English and figure out the word in English, even when it is very difficult for them. If they knew I understood Spanish they would just tell me the word in Spanish and would learn nothing. Its just funny though because I always understand exactly what they are saying but have to sit there with a blank look on my face and say "what? in english please?". They are even getting better about speaking English with each other if I am around because they know it is rude to speak a language I don't understand in front of me.

All the teachers at my school are really nice and fun. Luckily at my school I don't ever have to do lunch duty (unlike poor Jordan) so I get to relax with all of them during lunch in a private teacher's lunchroom. It's also a great time for me to get to speak Spanish and not have to pretend to be the idiot who is living in Spain for a year but doesn't understand a word of Spanish. I met a couple of other teachers who are close to my age so I hang out with them a lot now so thats fun.

As for my masters classes (it is so strange to be a teacher and a student at the same time...not to mention exhausting), they are going well. I am currently taking two classes and they are on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 4:00-9:00pm. So Tuesdays and Thursdays are really long days because I leave at 7am to go teach, go directly from the school I teach at to the campus where I take my classes and return home around 10pm. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I leave at 7am, teach all day, and return home around 6:30 pm. So all in all I love it but having any ounce of free time is a simple memory of the past, haha. It's fine though because at the end of the day I feel so happy and fulfilled after interacting with so many kids and seeing the smiles on their faces and the little light bulbs in their heads light up when I teach them something. Plus I'm learning a lot about technical Spanish and Spanish and Latin American history at the same time. So my brain is on overdrive, but I like it. Now I must go work on a paper so I will leave you all. But coming soon will be many funny stories about my kids since they are pretty much all I talk about now. Jordan and I get home everyday and spend about an hour talking about what our kids did that day. Thank goodness we are both teachers because I don't think any of my other friends would understand or want to listen (just like I'm sure that no one has made it to the bottom of this long blog except my grandma and mom, haha).

The Past Three Weeks...

Okay so I have gotten a bit behind with my blog but I will try to update you all. I will try to be as brief as I can but a lot has happened so I expect it to be very long and full of pictures!

Okay so after the Tomatina, Annie and I then went back to Sagunto and had a wonderful dinner of calamari, patatas bravas, horchata, and a killer ice cream sundae on the beach.

We woke up early Thursday morning and took Annie to the airport. I was sad to say goodbye but so happy she came to Spain. We had a great time and finally fulfilled our dream of traveling in Spain together.

On Friday I went with Sus and her family to another river. It was really beautiful (as everything in this region has been) and it was fun to hang out with her aunt and uncle and precious 2 year old cousin. Later that night we went to the Castle of Sagunto and had an amazing tapas dinner in an open plaza. We were looking up at the centuries old castle, listening to live music, and eating incredible food. It was a great ending to my vacation in Sagunto and Valencia.

On Saturday, Jordan and I took a bus back to Madrid. It was really nice to be back in our apartment and no longer living out of a suitcase. It is amazing how quickly a place can become home. I feel so comfortable in my room now and I still really love our building and area just as much as before. I have finally finished decorating and arranging my room (at least with everything I have for now) and I love it!! It feels very much like me. Jordan describes it as being "very Kayla": girly, sparkly, bright, and full of Shakira!! The best part is that I have lots of photos of all of you guys all around the room so I see you always! Another exciting thing is that I received my first letter and I was so excited!!! I have always really loved getting mail but I’m telling you when you are thousands of miles from home it is even more fun and exciting than I could have ever imagined. So that being sad, please send me mail!!! I’m hanging on my cards on the wall by my desk so they add another nice personal touch to my room.

My room!!! I love the balcony and the whole area around my couch thanks to the beautiful, colorful artwork I found!

My bed and my doors that open into the living room.

My desk which I covered with sparkles!!! And my beautiful computer! And of course Shakira :)

One side of our living which is better now that we rearranged things and decorated the walls with some old records Jordan and I found.

On Sunday we went the the Rostro, a huge open air market that has anything and everything you might ever want to buy. Later we went to check out an Egyptian temple that is in a park near us. It is from the 2 BC and was given to Spain because Spanish engineers helped save it when the Aswan dam was flooding. Pretty cool and interesting…it was weird to be looking at something Egyptian in the middle of Madrid.

The next week was spent just hanging out with our roommates (who are amazing!).

Here we all are. From the left it is Jordan, Gaby, Maite, Saila, Guillermo, and me!!

Jordan is my fellow Oklahoman who I have already mentioned. He is also doing the same masters program as me and I'm so happy to be living with him. We are good friends, have a lot of fun, and it is a very nice comfort to have someone who comes from the same place and culture as me.

Gaby (Gabriel) is 18 and is from Nice, France although his mom is Spanish so he has lived in southern Spain for the last 5 years. He is beginning his 5 year program at a University in Madrid this year.

Maite is 25 and is originally from Bilbao, Spain (which is in the very north). She is the only one who doesn't speak English which is actually quite nice because then all of us are forced to speak Spanish which means we get to practice a lot more and improve.

Saila (pronounced Sigh-la) is 24 and is from Helsinki, Finland. She is in Madrid for a year to finish up her masters. She and I have a lot in common so I have a blast hanging out with her.

Guillermo is 22 and is originally from Mallorca, Spain. Mallorca is an island of the east coast of Spain which I'm hoping to visit sometime this year. He works for a PR and marketing firm and is really fun! He loves to go out and dance and we hit it off really well!

We have a really good balance of personalities and all get along well, which is so nice and makes sharing an apartment with so many people much easier and actually extremely fun!!! I have so much fun just sitting around the kitchen table or living room with all of them. We have had some pretty great moments so far, especially during the week before we started school. Since we had nothing to study and nowhere to go we just hung out and partied a lot. Good times. We joke about ourselves being our apartment 'family' and we have come up with some funny nicknames for each other that are all very fitting. We have "Mama Maite" because she is the older, very responsible one who from time to time seems to take care of us all...and some how she knows everything concerning cooking, cleaning, etc. And she likes to pretend to give us curfews when we go out (she is the only one that doesn't really like to go out and dance and party). Then there is "Baby Gaby" because of his age (17) and because it is his first time to live on his own so he is learning a lot about cooking, etc. Jordan is Jordan Dormilón, which is someone who sleeps a lot and Saila is Barbie Loca (Crazy Barbie) because of her platinum hair. And I am Kayla Cookie because they all learned how much I love cookies and love when I make them the cookies from the cookie mix my mom sends me from home.

Today a new guy named Simon moved in to a 7th room (that previous to this week none of us knew existed, haha). He is 21 and is from France and seems pretty nice so far. He is finishing a Masters in Biology. So now our apartment is completely full. 7 people, 2 refrigerators, 3 toilets, and 1 shower...that's right, ONE SHOWER!! haha, it has been okay so far but that seems to be the only problem that might arise. There is another shower that needs to be fixed so hopefully our crazy landlady will get around to that soon.

Here is a group that we went out with one night all hanging out at our apartment. They are all European exchange students that go to Saila's university. They are from Finland, Portugal, France, Brazil, Germany, Italy...many places. They all enjoyed the American drinking games Jordan and I taught them...of the beauty of sharing one's culture :)

Boomer Sooner baby (even though we lost). Jordan subscribed to ESPN so we can watch any games they cover (which so far was only the first one since they dropped us after the loss). Luckily we made the wise decision of leaving mid-game to go out dancing with our friends. But no matter where we are in the world, our hearts will always scream BOOMER SOONER!!!

Here is a group of students who are in our Masters Program (so they are all American). We come from all over the US: New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Florida, Arkansas, New Jersey and many more. And there is even another Sooner!! Jordan and I didn't know her before but we have many mutual acquaintances. They are a very fun group! We have had several party nights at our apartment (making the most of our free time before the program began) since we are located right in the middle of the city. It is the ideal place to meet up and pre-party before going out to the thousands of bars and clubs that are all in walking distance of our place. I just love it (if I haven't already made that clear, haha).

Only September 10 & 11th we had orientation for the program which went really well. We all then enjoyed one last weekend of freedom before becoming both teachers and graduate students at the same time (which I can assure you leaves very little free time). Last Monday I began teaching and I absolutely love every aspect of it! My school is amazing, my kids are incredible and I'm thoroughly enjoying teaching. I have much more to say but I will update you on my entire first week of teaching tomorrow because right now I have to eat and get ready to go out. Tonight is a really cool night in Madrid called La Noche en Blanco, which means the Night in White. They shut down all the roads and no cars can come into the city and thousands of people are walking everywhere and all the museums are open all night long (until 6 am) and there are tons of free concerts and art shows and poetry readings and special clubs opened. It should be cool. And once again we are in the center of the action and on of the concerts is happening in the building next to ours :) Yay!

La Tomatina = insanity covered in tomato sauce

Wednesday, August 26th

Annie, Jordan, Koke, Dini, and I went to one of the craziest and most famous festivals in Spain - La Tomatina. Basically it is a huge tomato fight that occurs annually in the city of Bunol, which is about 30 minutes outside of Valencia. This year around 45,000 people attended and more than 200,000 pounds of over ripe tomatoes were thrown. The event occurs at 11 am and a lot of people go the night before to party through the night and up until the event. All of us were extremely exhausted after spending several festive days in Valencia so we made the VERY wise decision to get a good night's sleep and go in the morning. We arrived around 9:15 and it was the perfect time to be there.

Unsure of what to expect we prepare ourselves with an early morning drink (I think the only other time I have consumed alcohol before noon is in Norman on a game).

Team Blue (because of the color of our goggles)...nice and clean and ready to go.

Koke, Dini, Xamu (who came the night before and was definitely not walking as straight as the rest of us at this point), Me, Jordan and Annie. We parked the car, had a few drinks and then headed towards the street where all the action would take place.

I have never been in such an intense crowd. If you can imagine the most packed place you have ever been (such as in the middle of a mosh pit in a concert) and multiply that by about 100, that's what it was like. There was one point where I couldn't really breathe because my ribcage was so compacted and I was fearful that if I fell I would be trampled. Thank goodness Annie and I were there with the guys and the four of us just held on to each other like our lives depended on it (I believe they did). Once 11 am came, huge trucks came through the streets to dump and throw the tomatoes over the side. I had thought it was crazy before but at this point we had to make room in the streets (in which we previously couldn't move because it was so tightly packed) for the huge trucks to come through. Crazy. But we survived, had a lot of fun, threw a lot of tomatoes (at least Jordan did...I never did quite have the courage to bend over and pick one up. I just held on to him. I did throw a couple that he handed me though), and after we were completely covered in tomato juice and pulp followed the migration of people towards the river to bathe and play. It was a very unique and fun and crazy experience!

Tomato Fight!!

Intense crowd and the trucks that came and dumped the tomatoes. I believe at least 5 trucks came through.

The perfect expression to describe the madness.

Making sure we didn't lose each other.

The aftermath as the crowd begins to dissipate.

Cleaning off in the river.

We changed clothes, drove back to Valencia and went directly to the pool at Dini’s house. We all found a nice place in the shaded grass and took a nap for an hour or so and then played in the pool and ate. What a great Spanish day.

We were exhausted!

Adventures with Annie in Valencia

On Saturday (August 22...I know it was awhile ago but I've been waiting to get pictures from Annie) one of my best friends and past roommates Annie arrived to Valencia. She currently lives and works in LA and was traveling in Europe and was able to stop in Spain for a few days. It was so great to see her because we haven’t gotten to spend any significant time together in a year and a half. It is interesting how quickly you can fall into the same old pattern of friendship. From the instant we saw each other it was like we were the 19 year-old, date-party duo, bathroom musical performing roommates living in the tri-delta house all over again. But this time we were a temporary roommate duo ready to take on the adventures of Spain! Since it was pretty late when she arrived we just went back to Susana’s house, ate one of her masterpiece salads, and attempted to go to bed early (although in reality Annie and I stayed up talking for hours).

We woke up early Sunday morning to join Susana her family and about 12 other people in a river hiking, rock and waterfall climbing excursion. The place we went to was about a 2 hour drive from Sagunto (the town Susana lives in) but the drive was a great time for Annie and I to catch up. We then spent about 3.5 hours hiking up a river (through the water, over rocks, up waterfalls, diving in natural pools) to reach the mouth. It was amazing, exhilarating, exhausting, and just so much fun!! I really love any type of outdoor activity and adventure so this was my ideal way to spend a day.

Sus, me, and Annie in one of the natural pools we came across.

We then spent a couple more hours coming back down the river and drove back to Sagunto. We arrived around 9 and Annie and I showered and packed at lightening speed in order to catch the last train into Valencia to meet up with my other friends.

We arrived around midnight in Valencia and Jordan and Koke picked us up and then we went to a plaza where the rest of our friends were waiting. Dini and Koke both live in Valencia but two guys from our group of friends at OU had come in for the weekend: William from France and Jacek from Germany. We drank and danced and Annie and I later went to my good friend Gloria’s house where we were staying (Gloria sadly couldn’t join in the festivities because she is studying for some big exams).

On Monday we went over to Dini’s house for an amazing home-made Paella (the typical dish from Valencia) and lots of tapas. Words can’t even begin to describe how incredibly nice and hospitable Dini’s family is and how DELICIOUS all of the food was.

Here I am pretending to be the one making the delicious Paella.

Later that night Koke, Dini, Jacek, William, Jordan, Annie and I toured some of the sights of Valencia and then we were joined by Susana and Gloria (who both took a break from studying) and Miguel, Alejandro and Xamu for an amazing OU reunion dinner to say goodbye to Miguel who got a job in Brussels. That night we went to several bars and clubs and danced a lot. I love Spain.

Here we are in front of La Cuidad de Las Artes y Sciencias - a really cool area in Valencia where there are several museums and an aquarium.

Annie and I in front of the cool modern buildings of this area.

On Tuesday Annie and I went to Valencia acquarium to fulfill her life-long dream of meeting her favorite animal – the Beluga whale. It was quite a magical moment. I thought she might cry. We met up with a friend of hers from LA and then went to the beach in attempt to find a restaurant that I had eaten at last year. That never happened but we did walk approximately 10 miles on the beach looking for it. Not the ideal situation but also not a bad way to get some exercise and see sights while walking along the Mediterranean shores.

Annie and I at the Beluga Whale exhibit :) She is extremely happy/giddy.

Annie and I then went back to Sagunto and had a wonderful dinner of calamari, patatas bravas, horchata, and a killer ice cream sundae on the beach.

We woke up early Thursday morning and took Annie to the airport. I was sad to say goodbye but so happy she came to Spain. We had a great time and finally fulfilled our dream of traveling in Spain together.

On Friday I went with Sus and her family to another river. It was really beautiful (as everything in this region has been) and it was fun to hang out with her aunt and uncle and precious 2 year old cousin. Later that night we went to the Castle of Sagunto and had an amazing tapas dinner in an open plaza. We were looking up at the centuries old castle, listening to live music, and eating incredible food. It was a great ending to my vacation in Sagunto and Valencia.

On Saturday, Jordan and I took a bus back to Madrid. It was really nice to be back in our apartment and no longer living out of a suitcase. It is amazing how quickly a place can become home. I feel so comfortable in my room now and I still really love our building and area just as much as before. I have finally finished decorating and arranging my room (at least with everything I have for now) and I love it!! It feels very much like me. Jordan describes it as being very Kayla: girly, sparkly, bright, and full of Shakira. The best part is that I have lots of photos of all of you guys all around the room so I see you always! Another exciting thing is that I received my first letter and I was so excited!!! I have always really loved getting mail but I’m telling you when you are thousands of miles from home it is even more fun and exciting than I could have ever imagined.

On Sunday we went the the Rostro, a huge open air market that has anything and everything you might ever want to buy. Later we went to check out an Egyptian temple that is in a park near us. It is from the 2 BC and was given to Spain because Spanish engineers helped save it when the Aswan dam was flooding. Pretty cool and interesting…it was weird to be looking at something Egyptian in the middle of Madrid.

Valencia!!!

On Thursday Susana and I drove into Valencia to meet up with our friend Xamu. We walked around the old part of downtown to see all of the historical buildings and plazas.

Me and Xamu in front of the town hall.

In the center of one of the plazas there are glass tiles through which you can see ruins of the Roman city that is underneath Valencia. Xamu's grandfather was actually born in a house that used to be on top of this area until they discovered the ruins underneath. It is so interesting because the current city and it's structure date back to the 12th century but that was all built on top of the original Roman city that was built in the 2nd century BC so it is not uncommon to uncover really old ruins underneath existing structures.

In Spain and in Europe in general, there is such an abundance of old, beautiful buildings. I have seen a lot of them but I still am always amazed to be in the center of a huge city surrounded by the mixture of modern technologies and structures that are 600 years old. After walking around for a couple of hours we went to grab a drink and chat for a bit. It was a fun evening and especially great to see Xamu.

Fideau en Toga!

Tuesday, August 18th

Sus and I left Javea on Monday and drove about an hour or so back North to Valencia. She actually lives in a town called Sagunto that is about 20 minutes north of Valencia. Sagunto is an ancient town that was established during the 5th century BC so it is pretty cool.

We arrived and had lunch with her mom. It was the first of many incredible meals. Really, I can't talk enough about how good of a cook both Susana and her mom are. Susana is for sure, without a doubt the best cook I have ever met who is my age. Actually she is the best cook I have ever met of any age with the exception of my grandmother. She turns cooking into an art creating her own inventions of food, using anything, improvising anything, all with the same result: blissfully divine food. I would rather eat something cooked by Susana than go to a restaurant any day. I could write the rest of this blog about every meal we have but I'll spare you all. I'll just sum it up to say that after a week of starving and eating crackers in Madrid, I am eating well. And learning a lot. I actually excited to go back to my apartment in Madrid to try out all the things I have learned to make with Spanish food (I'm sure Jordan will also be very excited for my newly acquired Spanish cooking knowledge).

On Wednesday we met up with Susana's group of college friends to go to a town name Toga that is about an hour up in the mountains. It was such an amazing little town because it is extremely old and remote and tiny. The majority of the city streets were so narrow that you couldn't drive a car down them and all of the people in the town seemed to be right out of an old Spanish movie. I had a great time, especially because her friends were particularly friendly and welcoming. I felt so comfortable with them and within the first hour I felt as if I had been part of their group forever which was a blast. We at some delicious food cooked by one of the guys and then walked down to the river. It was the clearest river I had ever seen and was so refreshingly cool.

Sus and I with the road signs on the walk back from the river.

There were many colorful bottles hanging as decoration in the streets because the city had been celebrating some holidays.

The delicious Fideau that Pascual made. It had noodles and spices and all kinds of fresh seafood. It was soooo good! One of the best things I have eaten here (which I will probably say a lot because I have eaten all kinds of great food but really it was amazing)!

A few of us in the river.

We've spent the past few days mostly relaxing at Susana's house and taking it easy because I have been sick with allergies and a cold (I always seem to have health complications when I travel). Its been nice to be able to relax in such a comforting house. Today is Susana's mom's birthday so we have been cooking and preparing things all day. Last night, I made a cheeseball with my favorite recipe which my mom gave me and I tell you it is not such a simple thing that you can prepare in 15 minutes here. For example, you cannot find finely chopped pecans in a bag. No, I spent 30 minutes peeling them and chopping them myself. The same goes with crushed pineapple. I chopped it, crushed it and drained it rather than just opening that simple little 8.5 ounce can of crushed pineapple (and converting everything to grams was fun to, haha). And seasoned salt? Well that most certainly does not exist in Spain so I looked up a recipe to make it from scratch using 7 other ingredients. 2 hours later, at 4 a.m., I had my final cheeseball product. And the final taste is delicious. I'm very proud that I made it all from scratch but man does it make me appreciate the cooking luxuries I have at home. When I return in December I know exactly what my suitcases will be packed with...food.

The cheeseball was a big hit at the dinner and everyone kept asking me what it was called. I said "Well, we just call it a cheeseball" and they all decided to just call it "la comida americana" (the american food). So they would say, pass me the american food please, haha. I got several recipe requests so I am happy with my labors.

Cliff Diving

Sunday, August 16th

On Sunday our wonderful friend Susana drove down to Javea to join us for the day. We went to a cove that was about 30 minutes away because it has great cliffs to jump off of. When we arrived we also discovered that is also a popular nudist beach :) Interesting. Especially considering that the majority of the people who decide to go nude are over the age of 70. And overweight. Nonetheless, the cove was gorgeous and it was so fun to be there with our friends. It is so strange to be with them in Spain instead of Norman. I have to keep reminding myself of where we are.

Koke, Jordan, and I decided to jump off the cliffs, while Gloria and Sus hung out on the beach. The climb alone was exciting and quite challenging. We reached the highest cliff which we all intended to jump off of and oh wow, was it high!!! It was about 40 feet which may not sound like that much but it is incredibly high, especially looking straight down off of the cliff into the deep blue ocean. We tried to work up the courage to jump for awhile but the longer we stood up there discussing it, the more difficult it became. My heart was racing and my hands were shaking. We all want to jump but we decided we needed at least one person who was fearless to say "this is easy" and then jump so that we could quickly follow. But it just got scarier the longer we waited so we decided to climb down a few rocks and jump from about half the height which was no problem. So we jumped and then we realized that the scary part was no the jump but was the fact that we were in the middle of the ocean. Near a shore where I had just seen an octopus wash up on and that we knew was frequently full of jellyfish. So we swam quickly. And after getting our courage up we were ready to take on the big cliff. Rather than going all the way back to shore we decided to climb up out of the sea onto some rocks. It didn't seem difficult at the time but Jordan and I both realized later that we cut our shins climbing out of the ocean because the rocks were really rough. So we were bleeding. Shark bait for sure. We got back to the top of the 40 foot cliff and sure enough it was just as high as we remember. Finally Koke got up enough nerve to jump after Jordan and I assured him that we would come right after him. So then Jordan jumped and the intensity of their screams did not help my courage. So I stood at the edge and wanted to go so badly and I just couldn't. My body was shaking so much that I thought my legs were going to give out (like my dad says, its just not natural for our body to be okay with jumping off a perfectly good cliff). Koke threatened to leave me and started swimming away thinking that would help me go but that just made me more scared because even if I did jump I would be all alone in the ocean. So I couldn't go. And couldn't go. And finally Jordan said the magic words..."Kayla...Shakira would jump!! Come on, be a loba!!!!" And that was it. I knew with those words there was no turning back. Because Shakira would go. So I began to sing the lyrics of the chorus of loba to myself and there is a part where you hear a wolf howling and that is when I jumped. And it was the perfect duration of the time I spent in the air (which seemed to be about 10 seconds but in reality I think was about 2.5). It was an amazing rush. One of the scariest things I have ever done (that and mountain climbing and repelling in Mexico). The landing though was quite painful (even though I was wearing tennis shoes) and I am still suffering some repercussions from it. But it was awesome. Such a fun day! After we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream and then drove to some scenic points to check out the views.

This is the cove we went to (I don't think you can see any nudity in this picture. That was mostly contained in the back area near the mountain). You can't make out the specific cliff we jumped from but its on the mountain that is in the back of the picture.

With Gloria and Susana...I LOVE these girls and am sooo happy to be with them in Spain!!!

The five of us after the day at the beach.

Jordan and me at one of the many scenic points we stopped at.

Beautiful sunset.