Tomorrow, I fly out to Ireland! I’m kinda nervous, as I never really have traveled before. I’ve only been out of the country twice, which were both to Canada. In addition, my dad accompanied me. Now, I’m sorta on my own to make my own decisions. One thing that I’m already concerned about is making sure that I bring enough with me. I have one big bag for clothes, a smaller one for various things, and a backpack to take me with across the country. Despite my nervousness, I am excited to go, and I’m really looking forward to what I will experience. My next challenge is to survive the flight, so wish me luck!

This week was just a mix of bad and amazing.  I will start with the bad first.  Then end on a happier note.

Last weekend was awful!  my friend Sierra and I paid to go on a tour to see more history about Italy,  but we missed the tour,  Then my phone was stolen because my phone was stolen we missed our train,  Lastly we got stuck in a different city because apparently in Italy trains do not go far distances after 7:30 PM

Even though all this happened  This week was AMAZING.  Because we missed our tour we made our own day traveling,  while we did that we turning around to ask someone in the line for the bus if we needed a ticket,  The husband and wife tell us they cant help us because they are deaf!  (This is perfect because we are studying sign language)  So we got to try out our new LIS  (Italian sign)  skills. I would also like to add that the classes here are so fun!

Also In my last blog I talked about the different contradas and how the pallio was going to happen.  This week we got to see it!.  This event is no joke!  The tower contrada is the one what won.  Before the race there are parades, then the jokey are blessed and at this point can not be changed.  Then they have police bring a paper of the order of the line up that the horses will stand in.  Now this paper is extremely important because it determines how good you will probably do in the race.  Jokeys will try to switch places, because it has to be in this specific order it can take hours to start the race I would say we stood there for a good two hours waiting for them to quit cheating and get in order.  Then the race started at the end  people started cheering, crying, screaming.  I even saw a few fights brake out between enemy contradas  It was a huge thing.  It lasted from 3 pm- 12am and into the next day.  they paraded around the horses, they were singing, the campo (where the race happened)  was PACKED.  You could only stand there was barley any room, flags were all over the place.

I did a little digging into why people would be fighting,  Apparently  contradas that know they can not win will group up to help another or try to hurt their enemy.  For example, a jokey in a contrada that will not win may whip another jokey or their horse,  sometimes they knock them off their horses, It is really insane.

I really can not explain well enough how amazing and intense the whole pallio was you would defiantly have to see it in person.

Below are pictures of the parade, a horse that raced, and how packed the campo was.

What a whirlwind of a week! So far I have really loved my classes. Coming early with the other Western students was so worth it because we were able to get a feel for the city before classes started. This past Sunday we met our host families for the first time. Mine ended up not working out so I am currently being relocated. Which is for the better! Between getting lost on my way to school and getting sick from the difference in food, it has been crazy. But so, so worth it. Each night we have been out exploring the town which has been really awesome. I am so glad that our group has a really good, strong dynamic. Classes are difficult but my ability to converse in Spanish is already improving remarkably. It is crazy to switch your whole brain around to a different language. Writing back to home in English actually takes some effort. I am looking forward to meeting my new host family and being a little more settled in. 

We flew into a smaller airport so we were first in line at customs which was a welcome surprise to me. I was ready to answer any question that came my way but completely failed when I actually got up to the customs person. I didn’t fill out my customs form correctly and did not understand that in the least when he tried to tell me – embarrassing. Despite the fact that I had to get my luggage checked by a guard, they were both very nice trying to learn why we were here. We took about a 45 minute cab ride to the hotel and we were ready to take a nap! The drive there was incredible though, it was so interesting how vastly different it was in some places and how other places reminded me of Oregon. The city we are in has cobble stone roads and is lined with unique, traditional style buildings. It very much reminds me of Venice, Italy. 

I am a little late doing this but remember the feelings well! I think that it didn’t really hit me that I was going to be living in Mexico for over a month until I was sitting in the airport with my mom waiting to fly out. I was less nervous about everything because the Western group had the chance to go early and explore a little bit before students from the other schools came. Knowing that I had a readjustment period ahead of me was extremely comforting. I was always just concerned that my Spanish wouldn’t suffice with this new family that I was going to be living with. Despite all of the nerves I couldn’t be more excited for this adventure though!

This is a test.

The nerves have set in! I hope I didn’t forget anything, and I hope I didn’t overpack! Even though I am only studying abroad for a month, I hope to make the best of my time there. I can’t wait to fall in love with the city, or to shop for groceries at a local market! This will be a special trip for me, because many years ago, my late uncle traveled the same streets on his own when he was just a little older than I am. I hope navigating in a city where I don’t speak the native language won’t be too troubling….at least I have mentors there that can help. As I’m sitting in the PDX airport I wonder what my parents are thinking. I have a feeling they are more nervous than I am! We had an awesome dinner last night at a Brazilian Steakhouse, and it was a good way to say farewell for just a short while. This summer is going to be one for the books.

See you soon, Barcelona!