I have the worst jet-lag of my entire life. My body has never been this screwed up before. For example, last night I went to bed at 11:00 and was tired and slept for maybe 30 minutes and then woke up completely awake like I had just slept for 8 hours. This has happened since I arrived here with the exception of the first night. And that was only because I was completely exhausted. Every night I lay awake until about 3:30 or 4:00 am and then fall asleep only to have to wake up a couple hours later and be even more tired than I was before. And my stomach is still on U.S. time. I eat dinner every night and then go to bed and I am laying awake starving. Like, my stomach is growling...and loud. And when you are staying in a hostel I´m sure it´s really annoying to everyone sleeping around you. And during the day I am not hungry at all. I don`t have an appetite at all during the day so I hardly eat anything and then at night I am famished. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get over this jet-lag, please send them my way because I don´t think I can continue like this for much more.

More apartment hunting this morning and then I am going to my friend´s house to stay there until I find a place to live. We have some good leads and are going to go check them out this morning.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I´ll write more soon. Besos.

I am finally here in San Sebastian and it´s just as gorgeous as I remember. I arrived this evening and I am really tired so I am going to make this really short. I checked into my hostel which is really nice and then went to call my mom and dad and then was starving because I hadn´t eaten in 12 hours s. I went and had a bocadillo (sandwich) from Juantxo´s and it was amazing...maybe even better than before. I came back to the hostel to eat my sandwich and met a really nice girl from Australia who is sharing a room with me. I took a shower (the first in two days, the first time I washed my hair in 4 days) and now I am heading to bed. I´m quite exhausted. Tomrrow is going to be a long day of looking for an apartment and buying a cell phone and all that jazz. I´ll write more as soon as I get a moment to breathe.

I´m finally here!

Hello to All!

Yes I am finally in Spain. Let´s just say that is wasn´t the easiest trip I have ever made but I arrived, nonetheless. I arrived last night around 6:30. I had a difficult getting out of Salt Lake because air traffic control in Memphis was down so there were no flights leaving, arriving or could fly into Memphis air space. So our flight was delayed an hour and then we had to be re-routed down to New Orleans and then through part of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of taking 3 hours to get to Atlanta it took us almost 5 hours. Originally I only had 1 hour to make my next flight to Madrid and, of course, I missed it. I was still in the air when the flight took off. So I arrived in Atlanta and they re-booked me for a flight to London and then to Madrid. I had a couple hours in both Atlanta and London before my flights left so it put me even farther behind. I hardly slept on the flight from Atlanta to London because I was in the very last row in the very last seat next to the bathrooms and the flight attendant station. And I discoved that flight attendants from the South should all be named Cathy because they are super chatty. It was quite annoying. So I hardly got any sleep and then arrived in London and had to wait another couple hours for my next flight. I didn´t have any British pounds with me and I didn´t want to use my Visa because it would have been like $6 for a bottle of water so I just walked around and looked at all the things I couldn´t buy. I finally got on the plane and arrived in Madrid only to find out that my bags were still in the States. And the Delta office at the Madrid airport is only open from 8:00 to 12:00 and it was about 7:00. Go figure! I´m convinced Spainards hate working....

Well I only have a couple more minutes on internet time. I´ll update more when I get to San Sebastian tomorrow night. Love you all. Thanks for the e-mails. I promise to respond when I get the time.

My journey to Spain is about to begin. In about 24 hours I will be arriving in Atlanta with just enough time to run to my next plane bound for Madrid. My parents and I are driving to Salt Lake City tomorrow morning at 4:00 am and then I fly out at 11:30 am.

My bags are almost packed. I thought packing was going tobe so easy this time because I was so organized (or so I thought). My dad and I started to pack and with about half my things in my 2 suitcases my dad asks: "What is the weight limit for international flights?" I tell him I am allowed 2 suitcases weighing 50 pounds each. He then says that we better weigh my suitcases to see where I am at. We weigh them on the bathroom scale and one weighs 65 pounds and the other 55 pounds...already 20 pounds over my weight limit and not even half packed! Panic starts to set in. What the hell am I going to do? My dad tells me that I better re-evaluate my "stuff" and decide what I can live without. I take out 10 pounds of books that I guess I can live without. I would rather have shoes than books anyways. I had literally already given away 2/3 of my clothes and shoes and what I am taking with me is my bare mininum. We called Delta to see what the overage charges are...let's just say it's quite ridculous. Eventually my dad decided he would pay for the overage charge and instead of sending it, I would just pack it with me.

It's been a good week here in Battle Mountain. I thought I was going to go crazy after 2 days but it has gone by faster than I ever imagined it would. Being able to spend time with Elliott and my sister and parents has been well-needed. Elliott finally knows who I am and comes running when he sees me. He calls me " Ce Ce" and it's pretty darn cute. We are going to carve a pumpkin in a couple hours. I am going to miss him so much.

That's about all for now. Once I get into Madrid I'll let everyone know. Wish me luck on the flight...I'm not exactly looking forward to it!

Leaving Reno...

Today is my last day in Reno and the emotions that I am feeling are completely overwhelming. I honestly didn't think that I would ever feel this sad about leaving a town that up until recently I despised. Being an emotional wreck these last couple weeks can only be attributed to one thing: the amazing friends and family that I have adquired here in Reno. It's really hard to explain how I feel and have never been the best at putting what I feel into words, but I need to get some things out before I leave.

I just want to say Thank You to all my friends who have supported me and loved me unconditionally throughout these last 5 years. I didn't know that friends like I have actually existed in the world. At my lowest times I have had people around me to lift me up and help me through the dark times. And when I was at my best, I have been fortunate to have those same people around to congratulate and support. The feelings that I have experienced from my friends I wish everyone could experience.

I especially want to say Thank You to Mary, Matt and Estela for letting me crash at their houses these past 3 weeks. It has meant more to me than I can say and I am so grateful. You all are more than welcome to crash with me anytime en Espana...in fact, it would be my pleasure.

Thank you to all who came to my going-away party and made it such a special night for me. Erin, you are such a fantastic friend and the party was so perfect. I couldn't have done better myself.

I am really excited about my new adventures in Spain and can't hardly wait to begin my new job. Don't get me wrong...I am terrified. But as much as it scares me to jet-off to a new country by myself, I am even more scared to settle in Reno where life would be so easy. I feel the need to challenge myself every day and this is, by far, the biggest challenge yet.

Before I forget, I also want to say Thank You to all who have showered my with gifts these past couple weeks. Lance, the necklace that you gave me is perfect and I haven't taken it off yet. Estela, I was so surprised by the LaraBars and I know it may seem like something simple, but it truly warmed my heart. I will think of you everytime I'm snacking on one. Matt and Mary, I love the travel book you gave me! All the journals I have had in the past have been from someone special in my life and this one fits in perfectly with the rest. To everyone else that has bought me drinks/dinner/coffee/snacks, they have all been very much appreciated and have added to the great memories I have of Reno.

It's hard to express how much I'll miss everyone but just know that I'll be thinking of you all often. You all have enriched my life more than I could have ever asked for and I couldn't be more thankful and blessed by the people I have around me.

These are just a few photos of the last couple weeks in Reno. As soon as I get more, I'll post them.

Erica and I
Estela and I

The ladies of the Polo Lounge

As of 3:30 pm yesterday I am officially unemployed and couldn't be happier about it. This is the first time since I entered the work force that I have been without a job and although it feels weird, I think I'll enjoy every minute. I just hope that I don't get too comfortable...I have to re-enter the working world in a few weeks when I arrive in Spain. Goodbye smelly Caughlin Club and the ugly green shirts. Hello new possibilities and new adventures in Europe.