The Vatican & Sistine Chapel.

As I stepped foot off of the airplane, I knew that I was in for the adventure of a lifetime. Four of my fellow colleagues and I took a shuttle from the airport in Rome to the hotel we were to stay at, Hotel Florida. When we arrived at the hotel, I felt as though I was in an old time movie. The hotel was a four story walk up hotel located in a shopping strip at the heart of Rome. To the right of our hotel was a Michael Kors store and to the left was another high end Italian clothing store. The hotel had italian charm and was located on a cobblestone street. The hotel room had large bay windows that you could open up and see the city or the courtyard in the center of the hotel. It was just like a dream! We arrived to Rome late in the evening on Friday. I decided to venture out past the hotel! I convinced two of the girls to adventure with me. We found a Gelatto shop that was still open, the only store open in the whole area! We were so excited for it was 1 in the morning and we were hungry. We enjoyed our ice cream on our walk back to the hotel. I knew as soon as I arrived, Rome was a city I would cherish forever. 

The next morning we made our walk to the Vatican City. The smell of sweet grapes, wine and coffee filled the air. The streets were bustling with tourists and peddlers trying to make money. We stood in the line for the Vatican for an hour and a half. The Vatican is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It is considered an individual state in Rome. It is said to be the smallest country in the world and a city-state as well. The Vatican serves as the home of the Pope who is head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican is also the site of St. Peters Basilica, a large beautiful building encircled with walls and statues. 

My personal favorite portion of the Vatican was the world-famous Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is without a doubt one of the greatest art treasures of all time, and I of all people was given the opportunity to view the Chapel and the artwork first hand. The Sistine Chapel was the last stop on the Vatican Museum tour. The tour was amazing, every ceiling, wall and floor was decorated with the most beautiful paintings and mosaics. I have never seen anything quite so astonishing. As soon as I walked into the museum I stood in awe while the other girls walked ahead. Tears filled my eyes in every room, I was constantly reminded how lucky and how blessed I was to be standing in the Vatican, the home of art and history. I couldn't help but think about my parents and all the other people in the world who would never see such beauty in their lifetime. It was a truly humbling experience. It was also an emotional experience for me. I realized while I was standing looking up at the ceilings just how blessed I truly am to be on this trip of a lifetime. As we walked through the museum the anticipation heightened. Every step was one step closer to seeing Michelangelo's work the Sistine Chapel. This is something I have learned about in my history books for my entire life, and here I was a little Auburn girl about to see history and famous art with my own eyes. 

Let me tell you, the Sistine Chapel didn't disappoint. I have never experienced something so heart-stopping in my entire life. I literally just stood in the center of the room with my eyes on the ceiling and my mouth opened wide, awe-stricken. The room is completely overwhelming. One could spend an entire day in that room and never even see all of the works of art. Every character in the painting is magical, telling a particular story of the Bible. While looking at the ceiling I remembered learning about Genesis as a child; I could vividly see the 9 scenes of Genesis jumping off the ceiling and off of the walls into my imagination and into my mind. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life, it was truly heart-stirring and spine-tingling. The over feeling I received when I walked into the room was a feeling like I have never felt before. Tears filled my eyes once again when I laid my eyes upon the altar and the "Last Judgement." It reminded me that this life is fleeting. We only have one life to live, so we have to make it the best life possible. The scene was a moving experience, I realized at that moment that this wouldn't be my last trip to the Sistine Chapel. 

I wish everyone could experience what I experienced when I was in the chapel looking up at the paintings. It is something everyone should experience once in their lifetime, it is humbling and awe-inspiring. I hope that this blog helps to paint a mental image for you of how magnificent the Sistine Chapel truly is. I am blessed. 

Pictures from Rome, Italy.

Leaving for Rome after school!

I am so excited!!! Emily, Katie, Brianna, Erin and I will be leaving for Rome, Italy tonight! I am SO excited. It hasn't completely hit me yet that tonight I will be in Rome! We will take a flight there, then a shuttle to our hotel! We will arrive at 11 pm this evening! I hope to get there in time to still grab a Slice of pizza or something yummy! Well I will keep you all posted! Until then, it's a lovely day at St. Paul's!!!

Rice, squid, squid ink... Oh my!

My favorite food here so far is paella! Delicious rice with seafood (squid or octopus) with cheese, and squid ink. I kid you not, black squid ink... It is delicious!!! 

Have a nice day...

This guy is...

I just love how carefree people here in Spain are! 

Happy Sant Jordi's Day!!!

Here in Spain everyone celebrates a lovely holiday called Sant Jordi's Day. This is a day filled with love! It is much bigger than our Valentine's Day. Here in Barcelona there are thousands of book stands and flower stands selling roses. 

The story says that once long ago in Spain there lived a terrible dragon. Each day he was fed cattle, when all of the cattle had ran out they began feeding the dragon townspeople. These people were drawn out of a hat at random. 

One day, they drew the name of the princess. She had to go to the dragon and Sant Jordi (George) came to her rescue and slayed the dragon. From the blood there grew a rose and he gave the princess the rose. 

Now days the men in Spain give the women roses on Sant Jordi and the women give men books. They celebrate love and literature on this day. 

So far today I have received 3 roses! It's been a lovely first Sant Jordi's Day for me!!!! 

Time is flying by too fast. Can I press pause?

The top of Mount Tibidabo

My chicas and I exploring Las Rumblas!
The market place

My experiences in Barcelona thus far.

Hello there!

Well, I know most of my posts have been pictures of my trip, which I am sure you LOVE to see. However, in this post I am going to break down my trip day by day for you so that you may truly have a feeling of what life has been like for me lately.

I have officially been in Barcelona now for 8 days. I honestly can´t believe it has already been 8 days. I completely feel so at home here. My host family is amazing; I feel as though I am in my own home with them! I live with Itzair, Miquel, Pau and Aran. Pau is 18 and Aran is 8. They are so wonderful. Aran struggles some with speaking English. I try to understand him but sometimes it is very hard. Miquel also speaks some English but some of it is very broken and hard to understand. Itzair and Pau speak perfect English and we carry on full conversations all of the time. My Spanish has gotten much better since I have been here. However, my students and host family laugh at me sometimes when I say things wrong, I can´t imagine what I sound like to them speaking their language. Here I am a country, American girl trying to speak Spanish... I can only imagine haha.

In the classroom I work with a WONDERFUL mentor named Abbey. She is from England and talks with a British accent, I LOVE it! She is delightful and is always in a good mood like I am! She is so sweet and she gives me FULL control of her classroom. It is great, by my 4th day I was already teaching full lessons! So far I have taught geography and science. I love science, so that was wonderful. I also love social studies but it was rather hard for me to teach climate. I had to research the climate of Spain and I have to teach a whole unit about climate. I know that I will have to research every night so that I sound as though I know what I am talking about when it comes to Spain´s climate. Abbey is truly wonderful, I honestly have gotten so lucky. My host family is the best and so is my cooperating teacher at St. Paul´s. I dont know how I am so lucky?!

Pau and I went to the city one night we rode the tram and then the metro to a beautiful place called Montjuic. It was a phenomenal day! We walked and talked until we got to the castle and then we walked all the way up the castle and saw the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. We walked and talked for hours. Our personalities and our sense of humor is nearly the same, so we had a blast! We got lost a few times and found a hidden Greek theatre. A man was playing guitar and singing at the theatre and it was really quite wonderful. After that we walked down to a place called Montaditos where we had some tapas and a drink. After that we walked all the way back to Montjuic where we saw a fabulous and extravagant light and fountain show! It was beautiful! After that we went for a walk around the city... yes, people here walk MORE than you could imagine!!! The metro, tram and train are the only ways to get around here. They are insane to figure out alone, I am so happy I had Pau to help me figure them out!

School has been wonderful. The children in year 6 that I teach are all around 11 years old. The children here however are quite different than American children. They are VERY loud and talkative. Even if you ask them to be quiet, they continue talking. Mostly all of the teachers at St. Paul´s are from England. They are all very strict. I have found myself become much stricter on the children here. My teacher, Abbey even said that I have wonderful classroom management and that I don´t tolerate bad behavior from the students. I have to get onto them more, but they are also VERY intelligent. I truly believe that Spain´s education is WAY ahead of ours in the states. Partly, I think it is because the students learn Spanish, Catalan, French, and English at school at St. Pauls. The young boy who rides with me to school goes to a German school after school everyday where he also learns German. These students are so much ahead of ours in the states because their minds are constantly processing different languages CONSTANTLY. Literally, every other class they speak a different language... it is AMAZING! The teachers even say their being lazy when they speak Spanish. We dont consider our students lazy fro speaking their native language. It is really amazing to see. When I get back to the states I VOW to take more Spanish classes. I love the culture and the language... not to mention, I love the people here!

My host family took me to see The Cathedral of Barcelona. It was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. The architecture is like nothing I have ever laid my eyes on. It is so intricate and truly beautiful. I also saw the Columbus statue pointing to America, Gaudi works of architecture, and many many many art galleries with both modern art and classic art. The rich culture and art here amazes me everyday. It makes me realize how little we value the arts in the states honestly!

Teaching here is making me realize that I need to be more patient with students who are talkative in class. I think I have great classroom management, but since I am in another country maybe I should let them talk a little more since that is what they are used to... I am not sure what is acceptable here and what isn´t.

I honestly love it here, I have not missed my family or my friends yet, so that is a good thing! I am a very independent person. I usually love everything and I am always happy. I love change and I love meeting and interacting with new people. I definitely chose the best place to travel abroad. If you read this and you want to contact me to ask me more questions, please do so.... Well, it is dinner time! So, until next time ADIOS!

SORRY FOR TYPOS I AM USING A SPANISH KEYBOARD! The letters are in different places on this keyboard and te computer will only auto correct Spanish! 

The true story.

All of my friends are so homesick. Literally, crying and physically ill. I think mostly they have culture shock. I don't know what to say to them because truly, I love it here. When I return to the states I vow to take more Spanish courses. I could see myself living in a city like Barcelona one day. I love the culture and the people. I have had an amazing experience. I feel bad for my friends, I just don't know what to say to them. I am having the time of my life and they are not as happy here. My host family is just like I am. They love to travel, they are positive, they enjoy meeting new people outside of their comfort zone. The mother in fact, has traveled to all 7 continents. She's amazing, she is someone I hope to be like one day. Also, I love that they value the same view points about marriage as I do. When I tell them about my friends who are engaged who are 20-26 they are flabbergasted. They don't think it's enough time to explore life alone. I tell them I couldn't agree more. I want to travel on the weekends but part of my heart wants to stay here. I love my family and the relationship we've built in this short week. It's amazing here.

If I could give advice, I would tell the homebodies to stay at home. If traveling isn't for you, don't force yourself. You'll just be unhappy and ready to go home. You'll cry constantly and Skype your family. I haven't Skyped or talked to my family once! It's wonderful, I'm independent and living out my dreams. If you're a free bird like myself who loves an adventure with people you don't know, then traveling abroad is for you! Please don't do it because you think it'll make you look good. Do it because traveling makes you feel alive. Here I am alive. 

The last 3 days were nothing less than extraordinary.

Most beautiful sights I've ever seen!

Barcelona...see the city from my eyes.