WHAT!?

Adele concert next weekend!!!

Don't know who she is? See link below.

Mick Boogie & Adele

Thanks to the very talented Jordan Winn for this link on his site. Check it out, "Hook Up Your Music". This site is dedicated to getting new artists or songs noticed.

Let's talk about these tickets for a little shall we...

We missed the UPS man both times he visited our piso. So I contacted the appropriate people to figure out where the office was. (Look at me being all responsible). Find out the office is an HOUR metro ride to the other side of town into zone B1. What's zone B1... no mans land, that's what it is!

Attempt number one: We made it out there and started walking towards the office (well, what we thought was the right direction). We needed to go north, but we were headed south. Once we figured it out we turned around. I swear we walked into the next town, it was such a long friggin walk.

Finally made it to the biggest UPS warehouse ever! We weren't sure how to get in or where the office was exactly because there was 30+ truck stalls for loading and unloading the packages. Luckly, we found it. We have found the office, Yes! All I can think about is getting these tickets and going home. Once we have them, all we will have to do is wait for the concert.

Oh but that would be too easy.

We're in the office and the gentleman sitting behind the desk (who happened to be wearing a liverpool jersey. My first clue he was bad news bears), told me the tickets were signed off by a John Reyes. WHAT?! My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. I had no idea what to say back to this man in spanish (I had another one of those brain blackouts where I can't think straight in spanish and get really flustered). Meredith took over, thank God for her. She asked him what this meant we were suppose to do because neither one of us is John nor was a John authorized to sign off for them. He ran to the back to talk to his manager...so we sat and waited.

Wating, waiting, waiting, uhh... I felt sick. Finally the guy comes back and tells us the address they were sent to. Turns out John Reyes is the secretary of Seatwave, the company we bought our tickets from.

After a four hour trip to no mans land, we made it home empty handed.

Attempt number two: I contacted Seatwave and explained to them that our tickets were sent to their office branch in Madrid. I kindly asked if it would be easier to pick them up there instead of messing with UPS again.

No reply. Hmm... I'll wait until tomorrow to see what they say...

Next Day: Nothing. Maybe I'll give them one more day.

Next Day: Nothing.

Alright, time to do work.

Gathered all my information that I needed and went to the site I purcased the tickets.

Huh, there is an instant messanger help link. BAM! Clicked it and started typing. Stan, the seatwave helper on the messanger, informed me to remain calm and he would find where the tickets were. My reply: I am calm, I just want my money back if I don't recieve these tickets in time for the concert. Stan: Contact UPS, they have them. Me: WRONG! Already tried that Stan. They were sent to back to a seatwave branch in Madrid. I want to pick them up there if that's okay?

Stan gave me the address and their hours. He said he contacted them and told them we were on our way. NICE! Finally, get the tickets and be done with it! Geez...

Oh but that would be too easy.

Attempt number three: Started on our journey to the Seatwave office. We successfully found the address Stan gave us, but...

It was an apartment building.

We thought maybe Seatwave was inside? But how do we get into the building. We didn't know which room to buzz to let us. So like a couple of creepers, we waited until someone exited the building and snuck in before the door shut.

Ok, we're in. Now what? Lets look at the mailboxes for John Reyes or Seatwaves name. This building was eleven floors, so we had a lot of mailbox names to go through. Finally we found John Reyes mailbox, but it didn't have a floor number or anything on it. Where is this invisible room?! Ok time to use process of elimination. Meredith took one half, I took the other and we started counting the mailboxes. There were 4 rooms on every floor. We found a mailbox for every room on every floor but not one belonged to John Reyes. His mailbox was roomless. JOHN REYES were are you?! We were very frustrated at this time. Okkkkay, let's ask the next person that walks in for help. A man walks in, "Disculpe, ¿puedes ayudarme?" Nope, shot down. He walked quickly to the elevator and starred at us awkwardly until it arrived. The next lady was much more willing to help. She told us she thought that mailbox belonged to room 2 on floor 10, even though there was already a seperate mailbox labled floor 10 room 2. We buzzed it and no one answered.

Feeling very defeated and crunched for time, Meredith thought maybe we should e-mail seatwave after class and get better directions. I'm much to stubborn to quit though. For whatever reason Sherlock Holmes popped into my head. What would he have noticed and concluded from everything we saw. Time to think like Mr. Holmes. While we were inside we did, in fact, find a mailbox for John Reyes, which means this is where he picks up his mail. There was a white door by the mailboxes. Every mailbox was accounted for except for J.R. Perhaps that door led to Seatwave?! We went to the room attached to building 4 next door. Guess what...SEATWAVE! YES!!!! That white door led into the back of there office. I don't know why the address didn't say building 4 1/2, I would of known to look next door the first time.

Victory, we finally have our tickets.

You think it'd get better from here. But oh no no no, that would be too easy.

As you all know, I am always flustered about doing well in class and making sure I will pass. Well, thursday March 24th did not help my case.

Thursday March 24th, 2011 at approximately 1:10 Spain time: My professor informed the class that we will have our midterm Saturday April 2nd. Yes, you read it correctly. We were given a week and a couple days notice that we have an exam, a very important exam, on a SATURDAY. Just happens to be the SAME saturday of the Adele concert in Barcelona. I didn't know whether I should laugh, cry, or ignore it. For a split second I even talked myself into thinking maybe April Fool's Day is on the 2nd in Spain and this was just a joke. Sadly, it wasn't.

We went through sooooo much work to hunt down those tickets and for WHAT?! To not go because we have an exam. Who does that anyway? An exam on a Saturday...that's just silly!

But God is always smiling down on us.

Friday March 25h, 2011 at 1:05: Our teacher told us for the first time in a long time that the Falculty will be closed Saturday. No exam!!! Ha ha ha yeah buddy. Thank you baby Jesus! I know that had your name written all over it. The first saturday in forever that the school hasn't been open, and it just so happens to be the same saturday we were suppose to have an exam. Truly amazing.

Needless to say this concert better be good!

Excited for next weekend,

Kimee Paige

P.S. We also went to Toledo yesterday. It was so cool. I'll write about it another day since this post is already long enough. If you're anything like me, you won't even attempt reading something if it looks too long haha. So I'll save Toledo for another day.

"Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat" -Malcolm S. Forbes

Corrida de toros. Bullfight!

BULLFIGHT!!!

Bullfights have been a huge part of spanish culture since about 1726. There is a huge festival in Madrid for bullfighting. It lasts two weeks and there are daily bullfights. We were invited to go see a bullfight with some of the guys. It was....interesting.

I honestly thought I would be absolutely disgusted and terrified. Oddly enough I wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I did feel bad for the bulls.

There were three matadores and two rounds, which means there were six bulls killed. Sounds terrible, right?

The bull comes charging out immediately pissed. Before his release into the ring they already have him punctured in the neck. This is to keep him lifting his head to high and to piss him off. This, now very pissed off, bull is surrounded by four to five men with pink and gold muletas (fancy capes). These guys run the bull around to wear him out and piss him off more. Their job is also to try and direct the bull towards the area for the next step. Once they get the angry bull in position, a man on a horse ,the picadore, stabs the bull with a huge lance sword thingy. Don't worry there are two picadores in the ring, somone is going to stab him. Unfair advantage for the bull, yup. I felt bad for the horses too. They were blind folded so they would not get spooked and run away from the bull. They were also protected with armour, so that they would not be stabbed by the horns of the toro. I'm still not sold on them being fully protected though. I mean a huge bull with sharp pointy horns is CHARGING at full speed towards this poor blind folded horse.

Now the bull is really pissed and very wounded. At this point two more men in fancy pants and socks enter the ring, they're called banderilleros. They attempt to plant two banderillas, sharp barbed sticks into the bull's shoulders. You have to be very skilled for this job. The men with fancy capes have to keep the bulls attention long enough for these guys to run up and stab the bull on the back of his neck. You have to react quickly because this thing is already angry. Stabbing him with more sharp objects only pisses him off more, and you only have X amount of time to run away from the bull.

At this point el toro has now lost a lot of blood, but still very angry and willing to put up a fight. Here the matador enters the ring and approaches the bull. You know this guy is important because his cape is red, not frilly pink and gold.

Ok, so the matador now has to perform a "dance" with the bull. This is called faena. The point of this stage is to show his control and domination over the angry beast. It's also to wear out the bull. Once the matador decides to rid of the poor bloody worn out bull, he positions himself directly in front of the bull. They are face to face, eye to eye. Matador has his sword raised and pointing at the animal. They're both still, wating for someone to make a move. Why doesn't the bull charge the matador? Well el toro is tired, lost a tremendous amount of blood, and the cape isn't moving around to piss him off. The matador runs towards him and aims between the shoulder blades for the bulls heart. If it's a good strike it will kill the bull instantly. If not, then the matador tries again until the bull is D-E-A-D.

We watched this happen SIX times. By the sixth bull, I felt like it was watching nascar. Bored and waiting for an accident to happen. That's why people watch nascar, right? To watch the wrecks or finder binders. Yup, I was rooting for the bull at this point. I know the bull doesn't stand a chance, but for him to give the matador a good scare would of been nice. To sum it up we didn't want to see a human die. Like my favorite elf says, "Dobby never meant to kill! Dobby only meant to maim, or seriously injure!"

 Bledi the bull , one of the bulls I named, gave us a show. He rocked one of the matadores hard. Put him on the ground and rolled him in the dirt. I honestly thought the guy needed to be taken out on a stretcher. He got up though, limped away, got a new sword, and went back for more! Ah! It was intense. Bledi the bull died along with the rest of them, but he did it with spunk and style.

Supposedly, after a bullfight you can go to the market and purchase the remains of the fighting bulls. The most prized items to purchase from the bulls body is the tail and tongue. SICK! I don't think I'll be joining in on that part of the experience.

Like I said earlier, it was gross, it was not pretty, but I wasn't completely disgusted. Will I go to more bullfights? More then likely I will go to just one more. Only because I told my friend I'd take her when she comes to visit.

Enough bull talk,
Kimee Paige

“Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death.” - Ernest Hemingway

Can you feel the love tonight...

First of all, I am sorry it's taken this long to write. I wasn't aware that people were tuning in regularly and upset that I haven't posted. I'll try not to be such a slacker  =)

A lot has happened since the last post. I don't even know where to begin...

 oooooo Let's talk about love....... it's all we're
needin'!!! (Sorry Celine Dion moment.)

But seriously, Love has been very present this last week. (And I'm not talking about the PDA level in Spain. That's everyday). We went Sunday to the Prado Museum with some friends and then walked around for awhile. We walked to Plaza Mayor, a place we have visted many times before, but this was the first time I noticed the "love locks".

Surrounding the King Philips III statue were these love locks. Every lock had hearts, dates, names, etc. professing their love. Usually I would wrinkle my nose and snub this ridiculousness. However I really liked these locks (weird I know). Maybe it's because I'm in Spain, but I really like the symbolism behind the padlock and that love can be real.

Monday I decided to shave my legs. I only tell you this because everytime I shave something exciting comes in the mail. Monday I got this...

I looked like a kid on christmas morning. Peanut butter (Crunchy and Creamy), Cheetos, girl scout cookies, reeses, sour patch kids, butterfingers, snickers, twix, crunch, milkyway, M&Ms, Airheads, AHH!! (And I thought the nutella was going to make me gain weight...ptshh.) You girls really know how to pull at my heart strings.

Had to hurry and finish getting ready because Meredith had some friends coming to Madrid. We had a lot of errands to get done before we picked them up. So I ran up stairs and the phone rings, again. Ran downstairs and there is another package for me! Say what?!

Not only do I love singing/talking cards, but I LOVE HUGE singing/talking cards with pictures of my best friends hidden inside.

Who knew a monday could be such a great day. I have been a little stressed out lately or "in the middle of a big stress sandwich", but receiving all of this from the people I love back home felt really good. I also have received numerous messages on facebook, emails, and texts that make my heart smile. God has blessed me with his love and some pretty amazing people. My amazing roommate being one of those people. (Who knew you had to go to Spain to find such a great person) Whatever is headed my way God has a plan and I can't wait. It may not be in graduate school immediately when I return. I might have to wait a little longer but that's ok.

After my Christmas in March we ran some our errands and picked up Merediths friend and his sister. What a great time. I hope they had as much fun as we did. "oh yeah, Madrid, oh yeeeeeahh!", seemed to be the quote for the past few days. I really wish we could of toured the Santiago bernabeu Stadium, but there was a game wednesday. I think Sr. Plemons would of liked it. Meredith has some of the coolest friends. Most of her friendships started in the sixth grade! I think that's so awesome. Listening to all of their stories made me want to contact all of my old friends. Sadly, most of my middle school friendships dissolved after I transferred high schools. But I can't complain, I've got a pretty good wolf pack now. I miss my bii-ahhs and the crew daily.

Upcoming events and things you can look forward to reading about...

• Bullfights
• Toledo
• Barcelona
• Adele Concert
• Brother's wedding
• Peanut butter cookies
• No-bake cookies
• More traveling
• More recipes with peanut butter
• Increase of weight gain
• Roller skating in Retiro
• More Museums
• Istanbul Turkey

So many things coming up. It's going to be good.

Shout out to Bailey, Jordi, Rachel, Paisley, & Danielle! You are all so awesome. Thank you so much. Love you all.

Feeling God's love,

Kimee Paige

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Lately...

Here's the skinny on my weekend.

Friday: I was very discouraged, yes.

I'm taking a new direction on life, but I'm still unsure which direction that is. You see, I recieved my first rejection e-mail from one of the Graduate schools that I applied to. This sucks. I already had to postpone graduate school by a year; due to the fact that one class was not available last spring. However not graduating on time gave me the oppotunity to study abroad this semester. Part of God's plan, I think so.

BUT now... I finished my hours in december, applied to graduate school and was shut down by one already. What if all three turn me down?! Another part of God's plan, I think so. Exactly where is he trying to take me? I don't know. Maybe I'll join operation smile, stay here in Spain and teach english, become the 30 year old that lives at home with mom & dad...who knows!? The possibilities are endless. One thing is for certain, I will not be returning to my old job. Recent advise from family members is to "let God guide my feet." But you "can't ask God to guide your footsteps, if your not willing to move your feet." So which way do you I move my feet?

Saturday: The sun was shining and it was a new day.

There is no time to be upset in Spain when there is so much to do, especially on sun days like this. The weather forecast said it was going to snow, but it didn't.

Reminds me of the weathermen  back home. Always wrong but oddly enough you knew how to interpret their forecasts. Slight snow means a blizzard, partly cloudy means recorder breaking heat with not a cloud in the sky. Ahhh, home. <3

We jumped at the weatherman's mistake and went to the Grand Parade with some other students studying abroad in Spain. The parade was fun, but short. It is not a typical parade like back home. With pretty floats and people throwing candy. However there was alot of different and interesting things.

Here's a little video of what I saw.

After the parade we all went out for dinner and a couple of drinks.

Sunday: Woke up and headed to Segovia.

It was B-E-A-utiful! I haven't not painted in a long, long, long time, but looking at the scenery in this town made me want to paint again.

This is my favorite picture from Sunday. Doesn't it look like it belongs on a puzzle or something?

I don't know why, but I like this one too.

The main attractions of Segovia are...

Roman Aqueduct in Segovia.

The Segovia Cathedral was the last Gothic Cathedral built in Spain. It is also known as "The Lady of Cathedrals".

The Alcázar palace.

Segovia trip:

I can't wait for more trips like Segovia! There is so much to do in Spain, it's insanely awesome.

Monday was back to the books. I'm enjoying my grammar short course. Its the only class I feel like I can understand the teacher and follow along.

I know some of you are concerned because an American boy recently went missing in Madrid. I just want you to know I am aware and being very safe. Only travel in packs, never alone.

My prayers go out to his family and for his safe return.

Well I think that's enough for today.

Inspired to paint again,

Kimee paige

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

 - Unknown

Blackout.

My palms are sweaty, my heart is racing, and my vision is getting blurry. I feel like my mind is shutting down. I'm lost, confused, and trying to comprehend what is happening. "Kemburrrly, Kemburrrly.... Entiendes?", calls my professor.

Quick say something, anything! You can do this brain just think. Nothing. I got nothing. Okay breath, calm down, think...I've got it! So I kick back to reality and open my mouth to answer, but the professor has given up and moved on....ugh.

In every class all I do is sit there, listen, and pray that I am invisible. Where is that dang invisibility cloak when you need it, huh?

Classes are so hard, but on the up side my spanish IS, in fact, getting better. Except for the few times I am called on in class, that's when I blackout and my mind draws a blank. Not only do I have trouble thinking of an answer in spanish; I can't even come up with a witty answer in english! I get so nervous. I hate it. All i can think about now is the students that are studying abroad at OSU. I have put myself in their shoes and I now understand how completely vulnerable they are.

This is where I spend all day being utterly lost and confused.

I'm constantly trying to improve though. I study every morning and every night. Listening to one lecture over again twice and scribbling in a notebook vocabulary I don't understand. No one said this was easy...Gosh they were right. Looking back I took all of my classes as OSU for granted. Complaining and whining about things I understood, but was to lazy to comprehend. It was so much easier and all I did was whine because I wanted to be out with my friends instead. Now I'm in this amazing place and all I do is study! haha. Funny how that works.

I'm meeting new people everyday. The number one question here is, "how many languages do you speak?"...my not so impressive answer, "one and a half?!" I'm so jealous of these other students. Most speak at a minimum three languages. Yes, three! For some it's more then that. Why do the American school systems have to be uncultured and cheap!? Could you imagine if our country integrated different languages from the start of kindergarten. Americans think we're powerful, but imagine if only we were a little more well rounded. We could accomplish so much! I hate answering that dreaded question. It makes me feel so small, smaller then I already am, and uneducated. If languages were a sport and Spain was a playground, I definitely would be the last kid picked. The loser, bench warmer, waterboy (girl in my case), the poor kid that's shagging the soccer balls for the team. Yup, that's me.

It's a struggle not to feel incompetent compared to all of these other students. I just have to keep reminding myself I will come out on top, eventually. Patience is a virtue?...I'm still not so sure. haha.

Trying to play along with the big kids in Spain,

Kimee Paige

Here is my attempt at a Vlog. I don't know which is worse, my writing or a vlog haha.

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." -Japanese Proverb