Life Update

What's up faithful BGA readers? I'm interested to see how many of you are still out there because, man, do I have some updates to share.

Life post-abroad is one interesting mix of emotions and I'm sure my fellow classmates would agree, whether or not they've opened up about the awkward transition. For me, the first couple of weeks back were rough. My poor family sat through meal after meal where I hijacked most, if not all, of dinner table conversations to talk about my semester in Barcelona. Additionally, after surviving the initial shock of arriving back at home, I became obsessed with the idea of returning to Spain (some would argue this is still shock-phase). However, this Spain obsession of mine is nothing new for those who know me well.

The obsession began back in 2010 after a trip to Cádiz. The years following my Cádiz trip were full of study abroad friend group reunions and countless nights spent scrolling through my iPhoto albums of World Cup pictures, weekend trip pictures, etc. Whether I realized it or not, all along I was counting down the years and months to junior year of college, when I could pick a semester-long program that would send me back to my beloved Spain.

As you may know from reading my weekly posts, my Barcelona trip didn't just live up to standards, it exceeded them. So it makes sense that after returning from this second study abroad experience, I would naturally dive back into the "get Liz back to Spain" campaigns with my parents and my friends. While I have not yet ditched my campaigning, life has thrown me some interesting curveballs in the past couple of weeks.

For starters, when I got back I started to ask a lot of those big, serious life questions like what kinds of jobs should I apply for after college? Will I stay in Texas? Will I go back home? These questions are awful and I feel like it was just the other day that my older sister faced these life-rattling decisions. While Sarah's life called her to stay in Texas after graduation, I'm really just not sure where I'll be, which is why I now refer to myself as the "family wild card". Everyone's guess is as good as mine when it comes to my future.

In a perfect world, life after graduation would probably take place overseas. I figure I have a couple of years to keep exploring and feeding my curiosity before life really gets serious for people my age (weddings, children, mortgages, responsibility). When I changed my major to political science a couple years back, my initial thought was US POLITICS! Nope, not necessarily. I tested those waters at the mayors office in Fort Worth last year and while I loved the mayor and her staff, I walked away from the experience saying meh, maybe not for me. Cue the international affairs-loving stage, which I'm still happily enjoying.

In the past couple of weeks, I've realized hey maybe this isn't just a phase. My friend Olivia hooked me up with a family friend of hers at the United Nations International Headquarters and he was the real deal, security clearance and all. This sweet man spent an entire day with me, showing me around, sharing stories of his experience with UNDP and UNESCO, treating me to lunch, entertaining my kid-in-a-candy-shop fixation at the UN gift shop, and taking the time to give me valuable career advice.

Then, just about a week later, my dad came through with the contact information of a woman who works at the US State Department. This young and very accomplished woman kindly carved time out of her schedule in Washington D.C. to get on the phone with me and explain careers at State. I was relieved to hear that entry level jobs at the State Department, in comparison to the UN, do not necessarily require candidates to know multiple languages or have graduate degrees (holding off on these things for now).

After the call with the State Department, I thought surely my lucky streak of new connections and mentors was coming to a close for the summer but NOPE! My internship with E Pluribus Partners presented me with the opportunity to sit down with the author of a book I had been assigned to read on the job. The book, Everyday Ambassador, falls so in line with what I want to do and how I perceive the world. This meeting with author Kate Otto inspired me to the max. I can't wait to see what opportunities come out of working with professionals like Kate, people who understand the importance of connection.

If you've made it all the way to the end of this blogpost, I thank you for giving me a bit of time and space to vent. This year, I became an advocate of wearing my heart on my sleeve. I strive to portray the natural ups and downs of my life more honestly through social media and therefore love having the opportunity here, in what I consider to be a safe space, to share the feeling of not having all my ducks in a row. My heart has been tugged in all sorts of directions since I got home from Barcelona. While I would love to return to Spain soon, I've decided I'm along for life's ride. With one month left of summer, I intend on kicking butt at my internship and part-time job and taking advantage of R&R with family.

Lastly, if you're a friend or family member I haven't caught up with in a while, PLEASE PLEASE give me a shout. I realize that I haven't been the best with keeping in touch over the past couple of months and would love a "hey" or "hello" so I can get back on track with you all! Much love, people. Thanks once again for lending an ear (or would it be eyes?)

#BeBrave #Out

Ode to Barcelona

Many people before me have studied abroad and many before me have shared their experiences through a blog. As I was leaving Barcelona recently, one of my friends started calling me “brave” in a teasing way and that is when it occurred to me that it is unclear (for some) why I decided to blog under the name Brave Goes Abroad.

“Be Brave” became a motto for me back in the fall when I participated in the filming and promotion of the TCU Frogs for the Cure 10^th anniversary music video, featuring Josh Groban’s song “Brave”. While I wish people would acknowledge living and studying in another country as something that is brave, the brave part was never about me. The brave part was about my mom, the brave part was about Frogs for the Cure chairwoman Ann Louden, just as much as it was about the women who I do not personally know, like the mom of a friend’s friend who more recently received a heartbreaking, late-stage diagnosis. All of these women inspired me to take the “Be Brave” campaign overseas. While my original plan was to chronicle the Frogs for the Cure “Brave” t-shirt around Europe, I found myself with a handbag full of pink ribbons and just like that Brave Goes Abroad was born.

To update you all on my whereabouts, I am now home on the east coast after finishing my semester in London where my trip overlapped with the birth of a new royal. Welcome Princess Charlotte! With many hours to kill on the long flight from London to New York, I found myself making a list of miscellaneous thoughts I wanted to remember for myself but also share with others. So below you’ll find the ramblings of a girl whose heart and soul are wrapped up in Barcelona.

“This heart of mine was made to travel the world.”

-Unknown

If there is one thing I am sure of after living in Barcelona, it is that I love to wander. I wandered abroad when I was broken, hurt, and confused over my mom’s third cancer diagnosis and I just continued to wander and wander and get lost. While feeling lost and somewhat lonely marked much of my fall semester this past year, going abroad filled my heart with hope. I got to see how incredible the big, beautiful world beyond my world is and now I’m starting to wonder what’s next.

I suppose I meant for this post to be a reflection on Barcelona and every reason I came to love it but where do I even start? Barcelona drew me in from day one because of its fierce pride, spirit, and tradition. Barcelona is part of an autonomous region of Spain called Catalunya and for many political and historical reasons, people in Barcelona do not consider themselves Spaniards but instead Catalans. When Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992, the King and Queen of Spain were introduced and honored to the sound of the local, Catalunya anthem instead of the national anthem, a “mistake” which came as a major surprise to the monarchs. In addition, Catalunya Independence flags are hung all over the city and the iconic red and yellow stripes have been recreated in public demonstrations as well as “mosaics” in FC Barcelona’s stadium, Camp Nou. While a fascist dictator once tried to oppress the Catalan people and drown out their unique culture and language, they have survived and thrived. And the Catalan people who I made friends with on my trip helped me create some of my fondest memories from this semester.

There was also so much to see and do which could have felt daunting, but instead I found exciting. After getting the metro system down in the first couple of days, I would spend my afternoons off from class exploring. Some days I would go out on a coffee shop crawl of my own and other times I’d pick a park to sit in with a book. Living with Tori, the #1 foodie queen herself, I also ventured out and tried lots of new foods and restaurants, continuing to combat my childhood dislike of seafood. At the end of the semester, I even found myself hopping the train to spend time in towns just outside of Barcelona because my curiosity wouldn’t simmer down. The list goes on and on… Barça games, rowing boats in the park, spending time on the beach, treating myself to an ancient baths spa day…

Even though this is so specific (and not to mention random), I also LOVED that just above Barcelona on Mt. Tibidabo there was a church you could see from almost any point in the city. One day, while I had a friend visiting from out of town, I decided to go up and see the church along with a rather smallish amusement park also situated at the top of Tibidabo. While I found the church and the amusement park to be rather disappointing, the view from up there (the tallest point overlooking the city) was spectacular to say the least. But regardless of this initial disappointment, I continued to love Tibidabo. Walking up any street that runs into the mountain, I would catch sight of that one church and I just wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes off of it. Lit up at night, keeping watch over the city, Tibidabo is magical. And on my last day, as night time was settling in over Barcelona and I was leaving aboard a British Airways flight for London, Tibidabo made me incredibly nostalgic about my time abroad.

You see, it’s hard to wrap up this post because I’ve been thinking about all this for a while and I know I’ll never do it justice… my love for Barcelona. They say that when you get home from studying abroad you find that people aren’t so much interested in your stories of traveling so I’m trying to remind myself to not be that girl. But I have to say, if given the opportunity to see the world, or at least just some of it, go for it. Don’t be afraid of what you could be leaving behind because I promise it will be there when you get back. Home isn’t going anywhere but oh the places you can go.

As I was leaving Barcelona two weeks ago, one of the friends I made this semester reached out to me one last time to give me the whole “it was so nice to meet you” spiel (which if you’re reading this… I so appreciated). But goodbyes always suck. Anyhow, he told me Barcelona isn’t going anywhere just as I’ve told you that home isn’t going anywhere. When you come to love a place, its hard to leave, I know. But I’m here to say it’s all worth it! Today, I’m posting from home but down the road, who knows where I’ll be. Barcelona, perhaps. 

#BeBrave

Week 17.0: Irish Adventures

Just yesterday I got back to London from spending a couple days in Ireland, making up for the trip I missed last month. As you may know, this trip involved a brief visit to the southern coast of Ireland followed by some days in Dublin. Where to begin?

My time in Kinsale, Ireland, was made special by friends of mine from Greenwich who recommended the town and set me up with their local friend, Mike. Mike, having some days off from work, was happy to show me around the town, which came as a relief since I was traveling solo and had no idea where to start. On Monday, he collected me from the Cork airport, showed me around the city, and answered the thousands of questions I had about the Irish. On our drive from Cork to Kinsale, Mike walked me through nearly 10 Irish accents and I'm embarrassed to say that it took me a moment to clue back in after he'd wrapped up the impersonations and was just speaking as himself. It's not easy developing an ear for accents, which is why I will now cut the cabbies in Barcelona some slack for thinking I was British.

Between Monday and Tuesday, Mike showed me the best of the town. One of my favorite parts was our drive out to the Old Head of Kinsale, which in the past 20 years has become a golf course. Although the course is not open to the public, the view of the cliffs just outside the course and the rolling landscape that surrounds it are still quite amazing. Bless Mike's heart for being so patient with me as I attempted (and failed) to take a ribbon picture... the wind just wouldn't allow it.

While in Kinsale, I also enjoyed the time I spent on my own. The bed and breakfast recommended to me was simply adorable and I loved every second of having a full-sized bed to myself. On Tuesday morning, I redeemed my complimentary breakfast voucher at the café next door, where I realized that people were referring to me as "the girl staying in B+B". Kinsale is a small, small town and I'm sure it isn't every day that a girl from the US, traveling alone is standing out on the street corner attempting to take pictures with a pink ribbon. But hi, it's nice to meet you... my name is actually Liz!

After breakfast and coffee, I took a walk up to an area called Compass Hill, which boasts incredible views of the harbor. During this walk, the skies opened up and gave my poor little travel-sized umbrella a beating so I ran back into town to see if Mike wanted to grab lunch. He did, indeed, want lunch and so we wrapped up my second and final day in Kinsale by grabbing food and touring the old forts. Mike was also kind enough to drive me back into the city to catch the train to Dublin, but with stupid traffic I came quite close to missing it. When I jumped on and the doors closed behind me, I was quite happy to find onboard wifi and a vacant seat next to me.

Once in Dublin, I was met at the train station by my friend Aidan, who I met years and years ago in Cádiz, Spain. When he first opened his mouth I thought oh gosh, he's way more Irish than I had remembered. And we shared a good laugh later that night when he admitted that he had thought the same thing about my voice... not the way he had remembered it. Anyhow, we seemed to pick back up where we'd left off five years ago and I am so thankful to have had time to catch up with him, his sister, and one of the other friends I made on my Cádiz trip in 2010.

Between Tuesday night and Thursday, Aidan showed me around central Dublin, hitting some of the major attractions, while also finding time to take me out to a nearby beach town. We both enjoyed touring the Guinness Storehouse where I became the Master Brewer's Honorary Apprentice and Aidan stuck his entire head in barley fumes (a story for another time). Earlier that day, we had told friends we'd be free after touring Guinness, which we figured would take us around an hour. Turns out we spent closer to three hours at St. James's Gate Brewery, which concluded with free pints in the Gravity Bar atop the storehouse... a bar with AMAZING views of the city.

I know that down the road one of my favorite memories from this past week in Dublin will be the laughs I shared with my friends as we compared common words and sayings from our respective cultures. You should have seen the enjoyment they got out of a game we played where they would write down traditional Irish names and I would slaughter the pronunciation, time after time. Why don't you try and pronounce Siobhan, Saoirse, Tagh, Aoife, and Yvonne. Not easy, huh? Buzzfeed knows what I mean.

I really could go on about my trip to Ireland for hours but my time abroad is now limited to just days! I'm off to adventure around London some more and will write next week from home. Until then...

Old Head of Kinsale.

Walk around Compass Hill.

#BeBrave from downtown Kinsale, Ireland.

xoxo, girl staying in B+B

APPRENTICE STATUS, HELL YEAH.

Enjoying a Guinness from the Gravity Bar.

Aidan and I.

Temple Bar.

#BeBrave at Trinity College in Dublin.

And I'm back to London. Cheers!

Week 16.0: Keep Calm and Carry On

Writing to you all from London, it feels appropriate to title this week's post "Keep Calm and Carry On". Beyond it being a classic Brit saying, "Keep Calm and Carry On" has truly been my motto this week after packing up my life in Barcelona and saying lots of hard goodbyes. The good news is that I made it safely to the UK on Friday night and have reconnected with TCU friends who will help me to keep my mind off of Barcelona.

Since arriving in London, I have gotten to spend time with three very awesome friends of my family. The first, one of my mom's good friends Cathy, was kind enough to treat me to a traditional British tea on Saturday afternoon at the trendy Ham Yard Hotel near Piccadilly Circus. One thing I've loved about London since Day 1: the names of streets, squares, and neighborhoods. Piccadilly Circus happens to be one of my favorites and trust me when I say it becomes instantly more awesome when announced by the British voice on the tube (London's metro). Anyhow, at afternoon tea, Cathy gave me numerous suggestions of things to do to keep busy in London and I cannot wait to start knocking some of these off my list, from museums to street markets and new restaurants she's enjoyed. Cathy, if you're reading this, thanks again for a wonderful afternoon. I couldn't have asked for a more fun first day back in London, not to mention a memorable first tea experience!

Today (Sunday), I got a slower start to my day, still feeling somewhat worn down from final exams. After spending time with my TCU roommate, Sarah, in the morning, I met my second parents for lunch at the National Portrait Gallery. For those of you who are unaware, my second parents = Leslie and Richard Kaskel, the parents of my best friend from home. These two have known me since I was probably seven years old and what a wonderful surprise it was to overlap weekends with them in London. The restaurant for lunch had a stunning view of the city and we enjoyed a nice, leisurely meal while catching up on all things that have happened since I was last at their house over the holidays. Thanks to you both for making time for me on your quick trip through London! I can't wait to see the whole Kaskel gang again in just a few short weeks (miss you Em)!

Tomorrow morning I am off to Ireland for four days to make up for the trip I missed over St. Paddy's Day Weekend. After Ireland and another sum of days in the UK, I'll be homebound after four plus months abroad. When I am back home in the States, I have every intention of writing a reflection on my time over here since there are many things I have yet to share. In this reflection, I'll spend more time explaining my final days in Barcelona, which included the holiday Sant Jordi. So please... stay tuned! And wish me luck on my first solo travels through Europe since Cádiz in 2010. Kinsale, Ireland, HERE I COME!!

(Pictures to be included next week... sorry y'all!) #BeBrave

Week 15.0: The Final Days

I'm playing a game that goes how many times can Liz type out this blogpost and then delete it all and I think I'm getting quite good at it. I'm in Week 15 of my trip with three days left to my program and my return ticket to the good old US of A does not exist (yet). This right here is the reason that words aren't coming together quite like I want them to today. I'm swamped this week with finals amidst packing up my apartment and organizing this last girls dinner and that last night out. This semester has hands down been one of the craziest and best times of my life and while I am so excited to get back home for summer and back to Texas come August for my senior year (!!), the idea of leaving Barcelona breaks my heart a little more each day.

"Everyone needs a little Barcelona in their life."

On Facebook the other day, I saw another study abroad student post the above quote as their status. To that I say, retweet, yes, 100 percent, preach. Everyone and I mean everyone needs a little Barcelona in their life. In the past couple of days, reminiscing on this semester with other study abroad kids, many people have asked what my favorite city has been and to that I say Barcelona. Did I love the Swiss Alps? Of course. Can I see myself living in London? Yep. Every new country, every new city I saw this semester amazed me and left me starry-eyed in a unique and special way. However, Barcelona has nuzzled its way into a soft part of my heart the way Cádiz, Spain, did five years ago and I am just so thankful for everything it's given me: new friendships, a new perspective, and the list goes on. 

Alright, alright, so what have I been up to lately? A couple of things. Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to snag a friend's extra seat at the Barça vs. Valencia game. Barça won 2-0 with goals scored in literally the first and last minutes of the game and the stadium was alive. From where I sat on Saturday afternoon, I could not see a single vacant seat in the house. Everyone around me sang the Barça chants at the top of their lungs and no referee call went unquestioned by Barça's biggest fans. Luckily, the game still ended well for the home team. Go Barça.

I also got the opportunity to escape the city recently with some classmates. On Sunday night, a handful of us hopped on the train and rode out to a residential area just over the mountains where one of our teachers lives. She met us all at the station with her 3-year-old twins in hand and we walked to a place for dinner to review the crazy semester and get one last laugh out of all the times we drove her crazy. On the way to dinner, I held hands with my teacher's sweet little daughter, Alba, who simply could not stop smiling. By the end of the night I was saying things like, "so why again did I not babysit for you this semester??" But seriously, why didn't I? Mommyfiles Barcelona, anyone?

Another highlight from the past couple of days was breaking in the "Corsega Frat Castle" as we like to call it (aka our apartment). All semester long, my roommates and I have abided by our RA's rules and not had guests in the apartment but this past weekend we simply couldn't resist. While I was at the game, Tori made party announcements at the beach. That night a good group of people came over and hung out with us before the bars/clubs. It was a great last hoorah and clean-up wasn't bad at all. Miranda, Elizabeth, Tori and I (the CFC gang) plan to make apartment shirts. It started as a joke and now we're literally in the process of designing these babies. Pretty pumped.

Other highlights from this week:

-Gave into Park Güell for the infamous bench pics (see below)

-Tried the last restaurant on my list, Picnic, which is a great spot for brunch

-Discovered a somewhat magical and amazing cactus park in Montjüic

-Nicknamed my roommate Elizabeth "Pancakes Campbell" for her true pancake-making talent

-Finally experienced Pippermint, a bar known for their fishbowl-style drinks

-Spent more time at the beach

-Had a coffee and study date with Tor

-Got one last lunch with my local friend Xavi who has been an awesome tour guide this semester

So what's next? What comes in between Liz leaving Barcelona and Liz coming home? Well, if you know me well... goodbyes aren't really my strength, which is why and how I've been able to convince my parents to let me stay in Europe for a little bit longer. This Friday, I will be traveling back to London to stay with one of my TCU roomies and best friends, Sarah. In London, I'll get to see Sarah, Annie, and a handful of fellow horned frogs. I also have a date for afternoon tea set with one of my mom's good friends who is now living in London. Pretty excited for my first tea experience! From London, I will be traveling solo to Ireland, flying into the south of Ireland, spending time in Kinsale, and then training it up to Dublin where I get to catch up with old friends. After that, it's back to London. I'm working on another quick side trip to Scotland (the homeland... yes I'm part Scottish) with a friend from Connecticut, Taylor, but this is not yet finalized. Momma and Poppa Stallard have their eyes on return tickets now and it's gotta be any day that this part of my trip is set in stone. Trying to look at the bright side... I should be connecting through Iceland!! So while I'm not so fond of leaving Europe, pit-stopping in Iceland is probably one of the cooler things I'll get to do in my life. I'm sure of it.

Ok... thanks for tuning in another week friends! More stories, ribbons, and rambling next week on the blog. Happy week to you all :) #BeBrave

Gorgeous flowers in the cactus park in Montjüic.

Saturday's match at Camp Nou (Go Barça)!

Pancakes campbell in action this week.

Littla Alba on my arm.

Obligatory Barcino pic in our "school uniforms".

Park Güell with Jenn and Emily!

Pippermint before our last "Loco Lunes".

Did I mention I donut want to leave?

Week 14.0: Loving on Lisbon

BIG NEWS THIS WEEK: Momma Stallard will be done with radiation treatments tomorrow! If you're friends with her on Facebook, have her email, or phone number... give her a shout. She's not one to draw attention to herself but I say this is a huge step in the direction of healthy, cancer-free Katie. #BeBrave #KatieDidIt

I can't do this past weekend justice without being unladylike for a moment. My trip to Portugal began as a disaster and by disaster I mean that Tori and I both had food poisoning at 5 am in the Barcelona - El Prat airport. As if a 6 am flight wasn't bad enough, huh? Well throw food poisoning in the mix and yeah, disaster becomes the appropriate term. Also, at this ungodly hour, the airport seemed to be packed so many people were graced by the sight of me making a run for the nearest trash. However, nothing compares to the spectacle I made while boarding our flight to Lisbon. At the most important moment of the morning, I just could not keep it down. I was doing so well! Handed over my passport and boarding pass like a big girl and oh, oh, there it came...

Thanks to Tori and Sarah for letting me be a big baby about feeling sick. Tori, too, was feeling our meal from the night before and she handled it like a true champ. Me? Not so much.

When the three of us arrived in Lisbon, the only thing on our minds was sadly getting in bed. Unfortunately, our hostel wasn't ready to receive us until two in the afternoon so yes, we went in on a cheap hotel room to give our bodies a break. Five hours later, we woke up feeling only semi-refreshed and laughed hysterically on the phone with Sarah's mom as we explained how weird and awful our day had been thus far. After that, we decided it was time to check out of our gross and thankfully temporary hotel room to get back over to the hostel. From there... Day 1 officially began.

Because I bore myself by recapping these trips in chronological order, I'm just going to start rambling. Hope that's cool. First off, Lisbon has great vibes. On my last trip, I visited Prague and Berlin where Prague in particular felt overrun by tourists. You can't take two steps through Old Town Square without a middle aged man shoving a tour-related pamphlet in your face and Lisbon just didn't give off that "its all about tourism feel" at all. I overheard someone at the hostel saying that you come to Lisbon to see the city, that there is no attraction because Lisbon is the attraction. I had to ponder that for a moment but yes, I agree. My trip to Lisbon was so refreshing (despite the food poisoning) because Lisbon presented itself humbly.

Highlights from the trip! Although Barcelona boasts a beautiful waterfront, this past weekend in Portugal I got to spend time on the beach in a bathing suit. Yes, it was that warm! On Saturday, we messed up pretty badly and showed up at the beach in skinny jeans, t-shirts, and leather jackets, sticking out like sore thumbs. All too often I underestimate and overestimate the weather so of course I thought the beach would be too cold to actually enjoy. Well, we certainly took note of the temperature as we still attempted to lay out in our jeans. We returned the next day better equipped for a day at the beach and also enjoyed multiple pitchers of sangria because, well, we felt obligated while enjoying the waterfront. What else? We tried the famous tarta de nata that is made right outside of Lisbon in Belem. On Saturday, we passed right through Belem on the train to get to the beach and decided Day 3 required a trip to the bakery with a quick peak at the nearby monastery. The monastery ended up having a HUGE line around the block so our trip to Belem really only encompassed coffees and pastries but... still worth it.

While in Lisbon, we also made best friends with our roommate in the hostel. Tori, Sarah, and I had booked beds in a room for four people just hoping and praying that the fourth bed would be filled with someone normal. Well, our fourth roommate ended up being a 25-year-old man named Jason, originally from China but now living in Canada. We're not totally sure that his name is Jason because it was one of those long pauses followed by "you girls can just call me Jason." At one point during the trip we actually asked him about his real name and I have never seen someone dodge a topic better than our friend "Jason" did in that moment. Well played, friend. When we met up with more of our friends towards the end of the weekend, we joked that we had made best friends with our hostel roommate but we didn't actually confirm this until Sunday morning when Tori and I found a note Jason had left us. In his note he said that he found American women to be strong personalities, complimenting us in many ways and also attempting to reconnect with Tori some day if he's able to work in Seattle like he hopes to. Not sure when he developed the strong bond with Tori in particular (jealous over here!!) but the note was much appreciated. We love ya, Jas! Thanks for putting up with our spontaneous dance parties.

Sunday, after a perfect day at the beach, Tori and I were preparing to board our 8:45 pm flight when the airlines announced the gate would actually be released at 9:45 pm... wait what? While our experience on the way to Portugal was mostly positive with TAP Portugal airlines, this time we could not get any information out of them. Imagine pulling teeth with your airlines. We just wanted to go home!! At 11:30 pm, after playing on the kiddie playground, conducting our own airport wine tasting, and joking about what would go into our blog posts this week, we finally got to board our plane. While getting home at 3 am was pretty awful, it was worth having most of the day Sunday to enjoy more of Lisbon. Looking past food poisoning and delayed flights, Lisbon made for a great trip!

Today, Tuesday, April 14, I am now less than two weeks away from the end of my program. WHAT!?!? Did I not just get back from spring break? Thursday marks our last day of classes and by next Thursday, I'll be done with finals too. Yesterday, our program held reverse culture shock workshops for us, mandatory since they replaced our Spanish class. Well, if leaving here hadn't already been on my mind every second of the waking day, it definitely is now. In this workshop, they explained to us how most study abroad students have made their host city feel like home by the end of the trip. Each student has a unique routine and going back home to a new and different routine can be equally as frightening as entering a new country. They made us read testimonials from former students and then and there I became depressed. These students said exactly what I've been feeling. I've spent the past couple of days making frantic to-do lists of oh, you still haven't seen this or eaten there but you can't forget to do this one last time for the memories. Where am I going to find all the time for these checklist activities when I am studying for finals and packing up my apartment? Luckily, thanks to my loving parents, my time in Europe does not end quite as soon as my program does. After Barcelona, I will be returning to London to spend several days with my TCU friends studying there. From London, I will be making a brief trip to Ireland to visit old friends in Dublin and new friends in Kinsale! Therefore, there are certainly more stories and ribbons to come but for now, check out the pictures I snapped in Lisbon.

#BeBrave Lisbon

View from the Arc de Triomphe.

Best gelato in Lisbon (and only my second gelato this entire semester)

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

Celebrities are people too ft. Sarah Newton and a glass of orange sangria.

When we got it right on Day 3 (swimsuits over skinny jeans)

Hi Ginger!

Paradise in Portugal.

Week 12.0/13.0: Spring Break

While I wouldn't have minded some swim suit weather, this year's spring break was definitely not Cabo or PV. Last Friday at six in the morning, Tori and I left Barcelona with our bags packed for more winter weather and potential rain. We were headed off to Berlin and Prague before returning to Barcelona for Easter weekend with Tori's family. So... how did spring break end up? While I usually narrate my weeks in the chronological order of events, it seems more fitting to recap this past week by a handful of reoccurring themes. Between Berlin and Prague, Tori and I spent many hours getting lost, dining with strangers, chasing good coffee, asking locals to explain the history, making more American friends, and lastly, taking ribbon pics!

First things first: Tori and I like to go about things the hard way. This is one of our favorite inside jokes... we simply cannot do things the easy way. Upon arriving in Berlin, we could not for the life of us locate our airbnb. While planning spring break, Tori and I had split up the cities so each of us could become the respective "Berlin expert" and "Prague expert". Well, her city was Berlin and there we were wandering the streets of Kreuzberg feeling desperate and homeless. After about an hour of wandering around and playing phone tag with our airbnb host, we finally found the apartment and ditched our bags. Well, for the next couple of hours we proceeded to get even more lost by the Berlin metro system which I swear would not have been any easier to navigate even if we could have read the German signage. Once we finally emerged from the metro, our Berlin expert Tori realized she had taken us to the Berlin Wall Memorial and not the remaining strip of the Berlin Wall referred to as the East Side Gallery. So Day 1 of spring break concluded without us seeing any of the famous Berlin sights, minus Checkpoint Charlie but Tori and I have decided this is not a sight. Checkpoint Charlie is a tourist trap.

Besides getting lost, Tori and I also frequently dined with strangers. Once again, this reoccurring theme began on the very first day of our trip when Tori made dinner reservations for 3 at a restaurant called The Bird and our third friend did not end up making it. The Bird, being a very popular burger joint in Berlin, eventually decided to make Tori and my 4-person table into a communal table when they realized our other friend was not joining us that night. So... Tori and I made friends with an extremely friendly, gay couple from Berlin. Berliners, they called themselves. Sasa and Simon were great table company as they told us about local history, their favorite spots to eat and go out, as well as what not to wear as a girl according to a guy. Apparently, guys hate rompers and high-waisted shorts. Come on boys... high-waisted shorts give us a great figure! Anyhow, Tori and I towards the end of the meal, after feeling like we had made best friends with this gay couple, decided to put our new friends on the spot (as we like to do with locals) and ask about their perception of Americans. Simon weighed in on this one saying how American girls go crazy when they travel internationally and are not very conservative or respectful of their bodies. Sasa said he thinks Americans like to act informed while really they are not very educated. They also agreed that Americans are known for being violent or at least that our country has way higher violence rates than anywhere they are aware of... and this was sadly a response we got from more than one of our random "dining with strangers" experiences.

In Prague, Tori and I were seated with two men from Sweden, who were road-tripping back home from the Swiss Alps. When asked of their perception of Americans, one of these guys had something very interesting to say. This table mate of ours, Jona, said Americans are hard to get to know. He explained this further by saying he finds Americans to be very friendly, yet we all have this self image or brand that we seek to maintain and so he and others find it impossible to get to know us because we do not allow for conversation beyond surface-level. Sadly, I found myself nodding through his entire answer.

While eating seems to be one of Tori and my favorite past times in Europe, we don't just chase good food joints around town... we also chase coffee! I always say I could live in a coffee shop or one day when I retire I'm going to own a coffee shop so of course before traveling to Berlin and Prague I did my homework. Lucky me, Buzzfeed had already done most of this research and so, at least in Berlin, I dragged Tori to a place called Bonanza Coffee which resides at #19 on Buzzfeed's "25 Coffee Shops Around The World You Have To See Before You Die." Sunday morning, this satisfied our coffee craving before we ventured into a local market with vintage clothing/furniture and other local vendors.

As for asking locals to explain some of the history, I'm sure you already picked up on Tori and I harassing Sasa and Simon about the Nazi era in Germany and the local concentration camps. While in Berlin, we also received a brief history lesson from our airbnb host Ignacio. After returning to the apartment from a busy day of sightseeing, Tori and I sat with Ignacio at his kitchen table as he drew out a map of Berlin and explained how the wall separated the city and had an impact on the surrounding areas, separating families, lovers, and friends for over 30 years. Ignacio, who has lived in Berlin for just a few years now (originally from Chile), said he has even seen the city transform since he has been there. In his opinion, Berlin just keeps trying to be bigger and better and the city is loosing green space by the day and even some of its history is getting destroyed as the local government caters to tourism and overall appearing more "efficient". Efficiency = a German thing.

Beyond making friends with locals of the cities we visited and other foreigners seated with us for dinner, Tori and I also collected a handful of other American friends during our travels this past week. In Berlin, we met a cool guy named Doug from Philly. Doug did his undergrad at Harvard, worked a few years in commercial real estate and just recently went back to school for an MBA at UT Austin. Doug's continuing his studies this semester from Switzerland (not really sure how) and was on the bar crawl we did in Berlin one night. Doug became one of the crew and gave us some great Berlin tips, as he had arrived in the city a couple days before us. Tori and I also made some American friends in Prague at a Mexican restaurant called Agave (same place we ate with the Swedes). The restaurant owner had joked about making our table a communal one and we insisted that we didn't mind so he proceeded to ask what our type was. Tori joked "American college guys are our type" and a couple minutes later we found ourselves with two house margaritas, apparently paid for by the American college guys in the other room. Although this was a total set-up by the owner, our main man Glenn, we ended up meeting the other American students before leaving and they invited us to go out with them that night. To sum it up, the whole study abroad experience is one big "wow what a small world" kind of thing. Turns out two of the kids are from Connecticut, a couple towns over from Greenwich, and happen to know my amazing, adorable little sis Eileen (miss you baby boo).

Lastly, this trip consisted of a lot of ribbon picture-taking because it's impossible to get the perfect shot when your iPhone 5S won't focus. Coming at you this week with two of my best shots from spring break... a pink awareness ribbon from the Berlin Wall (East Side Gallery) and another in front of the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square of Prague. As my fabulous travels are soon coming to an end, I hope that each of you are inspired by my ribbons around the world. Brave Goes Abroad has been my baby this semester and it brings me true happiness to leave this little pink reminder in every city I visit.

A few other highlights from this week:

-Running into my high school friend Ben in both Berlin and Prague and meeting his crazy college friends (Jake Richman new BFF)

-Experiencing some of the coolest graffiti murals in the world

-Trying bizarre drinks like Club-Mate, popular in Berlin, and Banana Bread Beer which we found at a restaurant in Prague

-Having our first shared-room experience at a hostel, shout out to our cool roommates nights two and three in Prague

-Getting to spend some more bonding time with our IU crew from Barcelona, including Megan, Emily, Bos, Danny, and Connor (Jake... you too!)

-Visiting places my best friends from home suggested to me in Prague

-Happening upon a Dali/Warhol exhibition in Prague where Tori made a custom banana-print shirt (there has never been a more Tori shirt in the world)

Enough babbling from me. The picture part:

East Side Gallery, Berlin Wall.

#BeBrave Berlin

Beer "garten" experience (where Tori ordered and hated the wiener schnitzel)

Cheers! At least the beer was good.

Found Ben in Berlin.

Old Town Square, Prague.

Banana bread beer... in case you thought I was kidding.

The John Lennon Wall (because spring break was actually a graffiti tour of Europe)

Tori went bananas at the Warhol exhibition.

Sugary goodness, famous in Prague.

#BeBrave Prague

Week 11.1: Can't Keep Me Away From Ireland

Drumroll pretty please!!

So I can officially say that I'm Ireland-bound in just one month. While this time I do not get the free pass to wear shamrock-shaped face tattoos, drink terrible amounts of beer, and pretend to be Irish, I am still over the moon for this opportunity to visit after missing out on Paddy's weekend. In the span of four days, I will be traveling to Kinsale on the southern coast followed by some days in Dublin to see old friends. Ok, that's all. #BeBrave 

Week 11.0: Where Did Time Go

Where did time go? Really, I mean it. Last week I realized I'm about 2/3 of the way through my semester abroad and since then I haven't been able to stop thinking 5 weeks left, 4 weeks left... and so on. Cue the anxiety... there's still so much that I want to do!

Health update! I'm back in the game. Although it took a couple days for the antibiotics to kick in last week, I am finally feeling revived. While I know I have a poor immune system and I can be somewhat of a baby about getting sick, when I tell you tonsillitis was one of the worst experiences I've had, I truly mean it. Thank goodness it's in my past (or at least I hope). Knocking on wood.

Anyhow, feeling healthier this week, I decided to make up for missing Dublin by going out Tuesday night for a Guinness. My roommate Elizabeth and I met up with another friend and found an Irish bar in the maze-like Gothic Quarter. There we sat for a few hours enjoying drinks, making friends, and accepting freebies from the bartender (hats, shamrock-shaped cookies, really an assortment of things). Before we left, a British guy approached us asking if we were American and turns out he's our age, on scholarship at Fairfield U in Connecticut, and we have friends in mutual! He was part of a group visiting for the Manchester City game and what a small world that we met.

After my classes finished on Thursday, I had a Skype call with a marketing group based in New York. Amidst my classes here, weekend trips, and attempting to complete that checklist of mine, I'll be interviewing for summer internships. While it's not ideal to apply and interview for these positions while being all the way over here in Spain, I'm excited to see what opportunities materialize for this summer. Updates to come...

Later on Thursday, I met up with one of my best friends from home, Morgan, who is visiting from study abroad in Rome. Morgan, her friends from school, and our mutual friend Chessie met for sushi and then migrated over to my favorite hole-in-the-wall bar, Sugar. With great mojitos and cozy vibes, Sugar was the perfect way to finish the day.

Friday, I met up with Allie, one of my best friends from TCU who is also visiting from another study abroad program. Over lunch by the beach, I got to hear a little more about Florence and Allie's weekend trips! After that, we walked off our meals by wandering around and doing some of the touristy stuff like Las Ramblas, the Boquería, and Sagrada Familia. Switching off spending time with Morgan and her friends and then Allie and her friends made for a fun weekend. So great to see them both!

Yesterday, Tori got back from a weekend trip to Brussels bearing gifts of chocolate (what a doll). We both spent the afternoon preparing for a busy week of school and then went out to watch El Clasico, the annual Barca vs. Real Madrid game where Barca won! While I didn't expect to be highly productive after last night, I've been cranking out school assignments this afternoon and even fit in a trip to MACBA, the contemporary art museum I've been dying to see.

Well... I'm off to have dinner with Morgan on her last night. Next week I'll be blogging from Berlin if wifi on the road holds up. ¡Hasta luego!

Guinness in one hand, cookie in the other (ft. my roommate Elizabeth)

Paddy's Day!

Morga in Barca.

MACBA on a Monday.

Week 10.0: Third Doctor's A Charm

I now know there's some truth in the saying "third time's a charm" because this week it took three doctors in Barcelona to correctly treat me for tonsillitis.

It all started last week as I wrote my blog post over hot beverages and bowls of soup. Coming off of midterms and the excitement of having my best friends visit me in Barcelona, my immune system was about ready to give up while I was still going full force ahead. With St. Patty's Weekend in Dublin just four days out, there was no time for rest... or at least so I thought. Take my word for it... tonsillitis will clear your calendar if it is rest that you need.

So as you may guess, I didn't make it to Ireland this weekend. I had the bags packed, the boarding passes printed, and everything ready to go. Thursday morning, however, I woke up and thought I just can't do this. Doctor #2 had kindly sent me away from the clinic earlier this week with instructions to take Ibuprofen. Are you kidding me? Anyway, there I was on Thursday morning with 20 minutes to decide whether or not I would be walking out the door for the airport and I freaked out. I hadn't been able to sleep in days, I couldn't eat, and my voice was completely distorted. I knew I wouldn't be any fun nor would I have any fun SOO I stayed in Barcelona to recover.

Guess I won't be needing these:

I must admit that I didn't unpack my bag for Ireland until today (it is now Sunday). I thought maybe I could trick myself into thinking that I would wake up magically cured and just get a one way flight to Dublin to meet up with everyone? But that didn't happen. I also started telling my other roommates that I was only allowing myself "two to three hours of fun each day," which in all honesty is the amount of time it takes to have me completely worn out. So this weekend, in the few hours I spent out of bed, I got to hang out with my roommate Elizabeth. We saw the "Magic Fountain" show at Plaza de España, treated ourselves to a nice dinner, enjoyed multiple cups of coffee, and explored el Parc de Laberint D'Horta, a labyrinth park that overlooks the city from the mountainside. I also wiped out the entire Season 3 of House of Cards so there's that too.

Anyhow, today I believe I have turned a corner. Last night I slept through the whole night without interruption and my real voice is attempting to make a comeback. With a doctor's note to skip my entire upcoming week of classes, I'm tempted to see what else I can find on Netflix but I think it's also about time I leave my little apartment in Entenca.

Send good health prayers my way! 'Til next week :)

Week 9.0: Reunited

So this past week, two of my best friends from TCU, Annie and Sarah, came to visit and I think they loved Barcelona just as much as Tori and I do. While it feels like it has been a long time since I've left town, I would say this was one of my better spent weeks in Barcelona.

First off, I got to start the week by handing in a considerable amount of midterm papers for my classes at IES. With this load off of my shoulders and feeling more energetic than ever (no longer being sick), I decided to treat myself by doing a little shopping, trying some new restaurants, having a girls night out for drinks, and so on. Well, I guess I started to celebrate my good health a little too soon because here I am sipping on an english breakfast tea doctored up with milk and honey, still a little bit heated that the farmacía won't fill my second prescription for a Z-pack from Dr. Saval. I'm going to have to give "grandfather" Saval a call because being sick while abroad is a new level of misery. Anyway... I swear this was still one of my favorite weeks to date.

On Thursday afternoon, Tori and I anxiously awaited our friends arrival in Plaza de Catalunya where a 5 euro shuttle to and from the airport drops off every couple of minutes. I guess we were a little too excited to see Annie and Sarah because we probably sat and watched 20 buses come and go before our friends actually arrived. Seeing as it was already 3 pm when we finally met up, we picked a place in the area to have lunch and then headed uptown to settle into our airbnb. If you are thinking it seems odd that we'd have to settle into an airbnb this weekend, why yes... we agree that this was both odd and annoying. Since our program in Barcelona does not allow for overnight guests in our apartment, Tori, Sarah, Annie and myself became temporary residents of the neighborhood Gracia, situated above the city's center. That afternoon as the sun set over the city, us girls enjoyed red wine from the patio of our rented apartment before heading off to a traditional Spanish tapas meal. After that, we wrapped up the day at AbroadFest music festival down by the beach. I'd say we covered a lot of land that day... but not as much as Friday!

Quickly, I'd like to ask who doesn't love a good brunch? Finding great places for breakfast and brunch is definitely a favorite pastime for Tori and I. On Friday of this past weekend, we got to try a place we've had our eyes on for a while, Federal Café. The four of us got lucky and arrived just 5 or 10 minutes before the brunch menu was ending and even snagged a great table on the roof! I died over banana french toast and the other girls loved their various egg-based dishes too. Sometimes I read these blogs back to make sure I'm not speaking Spanglish and end up laughing at how much I go into detail about the food we eat over here. For your information, Tori is one of the biggest foodies there ever was so I blame her! Side note- check out Tori's blog Talk Tapas To Me because it's pretty great. And isn't that blog title clever? Thanks people... all me!

Back to Friday. From brunch, we migrated down to the water to show our land-locked London friends the beach. There we sat for a while, enjoying the great weather, rejecting foot massages and mojitos from strange men (you laugh but this happens a lot). Before returning to Gracia, Tori and I walked our friends up Las Ramblas, an infamously touristy street where people complain about pick pockets. Our tour of Las Ramblas led us into one of the local markets and then the Gothic Quarter for a quick peak at the cathedral. Day #2 ended with an amazing sushi dinner and drinks at our favorite Irish bar. Another successful day covering lots of land.

Sadly, yesterday was the girls' last day in sunny and warm Barcelona. Feeling like there was still so much to show them, we got up, found another place for brunch, walked around Plaza de España and hiked a little ways up Montjuic for the view. Since Tori and my apartment isn't too far from the mountain, we gave our friends a little tour of our neighborhood and briefly stopped at home to kick off our shoes after all the walking. If you've been keeping up with Brave Goes Abroad, you may remember that a couple weeks back I visited Cádiz, Spain, for carnaval. In Cádiz, Tori and I met some students from Madrid who planned on visiting Barcelona this same weekend (for AbroadFest) and we ended up hearing from them later that day when they invited us to hang out on their yacht. Casual... we know. So of course we took them up on this offer and UGH why can't I have a boat?

Anyway... last night upon leaving the marina, we experienced the coolest sunset EVER. After spending the past three-ish years in Texas, I didn't think there was anything better than a lonestar state sunset. Well, the Mediterranean wins. Wouldn't you say?

From the "boardwalk" (if that is even what it's called here), we grabbed dinner at our favorite pizza place followed by ice cream at Eyescream and Friends. I know it's a cliché college girl thing to say but... I'm seriously detoxing after this past weekend, especially with Dublin coming up. Well, that's all for me this week. If anyone knows why the states "sprung forward" this weekend but Spain didn't... give me a shout because I'm still trying to figure this one out.

The pics part:

They've arrived!!

Rioja red.

AbroadFest.

Group FaceTime FTW (miss y'all)

Holy, french toast.

Taken while thinking *No I don't want your suspicious mojitos, strange men of the beach*

But Snewt wanted a legitimate mojito so we stopped.

Brunch, day 2.

Montjuic.

Plaza de España.

Yacht with Jack.

My "eyescream" friend.

¡Hasta luego!