Vamos a echar de menos...

1. Taking notes on graph paper

2. Judias blancas

3. Escamplero (especially our amigos: no teeth, Irish wannabe, and Beth's gym buddy)

4. Humming homeless woman on the way to school

5. Metro dive

6. Being the only people talking on the metro

7. Croquetas

8. Corte Ingles

9. Sainz de Baranda

10. 79 cent vino rosado

11. Victor

12. MC's butterfly tendencies

13. No pasa nada, but really PASA

14. Pollo con manzanas

15. Tortilla de patata

16. Stealing fruit and lying about it

17. Our mini white fans (MC is going to miss them too)

18. MC's orange dress and brown winter skirt

19. MC's fake front tooth "CHICASH"

20. Fighting over who gets to take the straightener and blow dryer for the weekend

21. Being called "Bath", "Becan", and "Be..."

22. Glass jugs of water in the fridge

23. Pepe

24. Alicia and Nacho being so cute together

25. Ghali

26. Guzman el Bueno

27. Dia, Comprado, Open Cor

28. Cafe con leche

29. Our Pasteleria

30. Sweating Susie

31. Sleeping with our feet hanging off our mini beds

32. Everything mini

33. Carbs

34. Racing old women for Communion

35. Barajas

36. Medhi

37. Becca's blue Gap Kids pants and Limited Too dress

38. Starchy laundry

39. Angel, the doorman

40. "Proxima estacion..."

41. Shin splints, therefore not working out

42. Creepy old men

43. Limpieza

44. Mahou

45. Not knowing Megan... SIKE, love you novia

46. Ten cuidado con las puertas!

47. MC flickering the lights while we shower

48. Raul

49. Retiro Park

50. PDA

51. Metro de Madrid

52. Beggars on the metro

53. Musicians on the metro

54. Our school being the size of a Barbie play house

55. Ginny

56. Saying "z" and "c" like "th"

57. Rolling our R's

58. Helado

59. Staining the desk with our waterbottles... oops!

60. Burning the chair with our straightener... oops!

61. Living on top of each other

62. Running with our keys in our shoelaces

63. The Fortress after MC changed the locks

64. Skype

65. No privacy

66. Powerade and State Farm waterbottles... who are we kidding, those aren't going anywhere.

67. Huge box full of food on top of the wardrobe

68. Being turned down by locals because of our accent

69. Pinocchio pizza

70. Drinking in public/on the metro

71. Jamon

72. Almorose

73. Ponering la mesa

74. Shaving our legs once a week

75. Being Isabel y Rebecca

76. Ohmigosh Megon!

77. Spanglish

78. Sunny weather, never rain

79. Zara

80. Plaza de Doctor Laguna 12, 5F

81. Sol

82. Magdalenas

83. Using euros

84. Becca's rash

85. Darren Parker

86. Making whole loaves of PBJ for the weekend

87. Being SO stingy

88. Making friends/Becca's future employers/Jess' future husband while traveling

89. Sangria

90. 1.90 euro harras at Escamplero

91. Making dinner for less than a euro each

SHARKS!!!!!

As finals approach, we have been spending some time in the good ol' fashon American Starbucks where we can jam out to Christmas Carols while reved up on caffeine. On Thursday we did just that and afterwards, our Moroccan friend Ghali had us over for tea, shesha, and good company...don't fret for a second...shesha is an all natural dried fruit herb. The next morning we took our time getting ready for our ultimo weekend viaje.

Dashing Through the Snow? not quite....to ROMA we go. 25 estudiantes from Joe's are studying in Rome this semester! We stayed with Lexi, Jenna, and Kerri, who couldn't have been better hostesses. Upon arrival, we got ready for an evening out, Italian style, and hopped on the tram, which unfortunately wasn't full of Little Drummer Boys like our Madrid metro. We met up with the other pack of St. Joe's friends to Rock Around the Christmas Tree.

The next morning, we bundled up for a day in the Winter Wonderland of Rome. Oh Baby, It Was Cold Outside! We had an authentic tour of one of the oldest cities in the world with the help of friend and Rome expert, Santa Baby, aka Charles Tribe. He took us around the entire city while providing us with some interesting tidbits, which he learned from his art/history class. We saw the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Victor Emmanuel, Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (yes, we nearly got handcuffed by the popo after a polar bear swim...thanks a lot, Sara)... and many other sights that we stumbled upon. How we had time for it all in The Little Town of Bethlehem... I mean, Rome? One never knows. After the full day, we went back to Lexi's to get ready for an authentic Italian meal with our fabulous hostesses. The meal consisted of focaccia bread (FJ...yours still dominates), vino, and delicious pasta dishes...we needed a break from the "pizza-only" diet that we had had thus far. Enlightening the chicas on MC stories proved for some serious entertainment.

Being the shesha extraordinaires that we now are, we met some more at a favorite huka place, then headed out to one of their favorite bars. At Scholars, we ran into a fellow SLU estudiante...bizarre!...and some other St. Joe's pals. T'was a phenom time... surely not a Silent Night.

After only a three hour sleep, we woke up to see the Vatican. To our dismay, the Sistine Chapel is closed on Sundays...what Catholic FREAK thought that was okay? Instead of being sour, we counted our blessings (and said some prayers for you CI!). We went to Mass (Hark! The Angels Did Sing!) and toured around St. Peter's Basilica before hanging out with Pope Ben. At noon, he came out to give a blessing and included a loud "YO DER!" for his babygirls (us) in English! Now that's The Meaning of Christmas.

On Sunday night we crashed the Roman SJU good-bye family dinner at another quaint Italian restaurant. We didn't feel bad though, as Jenna assured us it was O Come All Ye Faithful. Cannolis and all, it's safe to say, we won't be the best looking ladies for Christmas. The evening ended up with the Rome students completing one of the last things on their "to-do" checklist... jumping in fountains... after our extravaganza in the Trevi, we did not take part.

Singing the Christmas Blues, the weekend was brought to a sad close when we left on Monday morning. Rome was the perfect final trip, especially thanks to our gracious hostesses.

Our noses were stuck in books for the first half of exam week. Last night, we took a break from studying to enjoy a Moroccan meal with some friends. If you ask what our favorite ethnic food is we will enlighten you, describing our Moroccan entrees. According to Ghali, that's not even possible. Immediately upon returning home, Beth found the nearest Moroccan restaurant to St. Joes. Hope you guys can't wait to accompany us. Today, we did some last minute Christmas shopping and plan on a full evening, ESTUDIARING! Sooner rather than later, We'll Be Home for Christmas. But fret no further, we will be back on Tuesday for our FINAL BLOG ENTRY: SPECIAL EDITION. Already in the works...

Linner = Lunch + Dinner

Only three more blogs left? Could it be true?! and WORSE! OUR SECOND TO LAST WEEKEND IN MADRID!!! Terrible yet verdad. On Wednesday after class, our amigo let Becca drive his hot pink (aka maroon) station wagon home...buen idea? probs not. On Thursday we met Ben's work associate who resides in our home town. He took us out for some tortitas con nata at Vips...why had we not known about these delic, cheap, better-than-pancakes treats before? Afterward, we got the hook up at Kapital again through Beth's Lebanese amigo. We danced the night away with some of Beth's classmates who accompanied her to Brussels and other friends.

On Saturday, we took a day trip with Suzy aka our gurlcrush to Toledo. Oops...forgot to bring MC back some Mazapan (tradic Toledan dessert). She was not a happy camper. Sorry we're not sorry. Exploring the ador, baby, quaint, historic, Jewish, hilly, windy, religious, Moorish, artistic, sunny, architecturally pleasing, Catholic town made the day of Satur a great one. That night, we went out with some girlyboos to the gay city section, Chueca. Beth is singing Jessica Simpson Christmas carols in my bed right now, loud enough for MC to come hit her across the face. Anything to shut her up. NO REGLAS! \m/ (to be viewed as the symbol emo freaks use at rock concerts...grassy ass Crimp.)

Finally buckling down for exams, we spent 6 hours fueled up on caffeine in Starbucks on Sunday. Raul, you are the bane of our existence. This weekend, we are Rome bound. If its true what Sara says, "if Rome had a river of chocolate flowing through it, it could be confused with heaven," we will surely be fat when we return. Until then, we have officially stepped into Christmas (admission's free, thanks Elton). MC loves our blaring seasonal tunes, but unfortunately hasn't put up a tree or decorations :( We are considering doing the decorating ourselves with construction paper snowflakes. Happy Advent! Luegooooo.....

Merry Christmas you filthy animal

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1121345647

100 Cats

The itinerary stated clearly the plans for Monday and Tuesday. Derek and Kane took the hour bus to Toledo on Monday and to Segovia on Tuesday while we were in class. After their trips which they claim were “beautiful, gorgeous, stunning in every which way, and definitely a potential hot spot to raise a family,” (I too, thought it was a little strange that they were THAT enthused) we met them at Escamplero and went out.

On Wednesday, the chicos roamed around the city, parking themselves on the bench with the most entertainment around…the typical Spanish PDA sesh proved to be entertaining at the very least. After we got out of class, Jess, Meg and I (Beth left for Brussels), brought the boys back to MC’s humble abode…and humble she was, offering them dinner. Although frightened by the nutty old women, they were sure not to pass up the free meal. Once we established that there was a futbol game on TV, Mary Carmen scurried around situating us on the couches to watch while shoveling food down our throats. After the victory, we all fought for who could get the bathroom first. Sike. No one threw up but we sure as hell wanted too. After dinner, we hung out in the house and packed for the upcoming weekends activities.

At around 12 A.M., Derek and Kane said their farewells to Megan and Jess who were spending the weekend in Paris. Although we had to tear Michael away from his beloved novia (oh my gosh, meangan!), we somehow managed to get to the bus station in time for our overnight drive to Granada (anything to save a few Euro.) Thankfully, we slept the whole way on the bus, and awoke bright and early in the quaint Moorish city. We spent the rest of the morning as tourists and visited cities Cathedral. Afterward, we went back to the hostel to check into our room and take a siesta. The rejuvenating nap gave us the energy we needed to hike up a mountain…note to self: never go on vaca with an ROTC student and Rugby stud. Upon reaching the top, we could see an incredible view of the entire city. When we returned, we showered and got ready for the tapas tour that the hostel had planned. Everyone in the hostel hopped from bar to bar as we sampled just about every Spanish tapa known to man. Granada is one of the only cities left in Spain that still gives you a free appetizer with every beer…talk about a cheap, filling meal. Our new Australian and French Canadian friends (who Kane, again, swept off their feet), helped make the evening a delightful one.

The next morning we woke up, packed a loaf of PB&Js, and headed off to the Alhambra. One of the top 10 tourist attractions in Europe is a symbol of the Moorish retreat during the Christian Reconquista. The Moors’ great palace consists of four sights clustered on top of a huge hill. The detailed artwork and architecture which clearly showed the Moorish obsession of water (we almost through Kane into quite a few waterfalls) were incredible. The sight took the entire day to explore, so by the time that we were finally finished, we needed a siesta. Afterward, the hostel provided a FEAST for a measly 5 Euro. Beginning with carrot soup, Salad, Patatas Bravas, Paella (4 yards in circumference), and triple chocolate brownie made us never want to leave Oasis hostel. That night, we went to a bar for a few drinks.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to check out of the hostel. We got our usual cup of café con leche, and then headed to the bus station. When surrounded by good company, the 5 hour long bus ride only seems to take 2. When we got back home, I packed a suitcase of gifts (don’t even think about it family!) and went to Pinocchio’s for dinner. MC offered the boys a bed for the night (good etiquette yet again) because my babygurls were still gone. After the night out with Suzy, I took the boys to the airport in the AM, and we sadly bid our farewells.

We missed you, Knuty!

MC's chicas were reunited last night after another weekend of separation (tear). Jess and Meg were in Paris, while Bec took the visiting chicos south to Granada... she'll tell you all about that soon. I went to Brussels with my political econ class to see the European Union and have some fun in Belgica! We took off from Madrid and arrived at our very nice hotel late Wednesday night. After getting settled, a few of us went out for a couple Belgian brewskis. It happened to be karaoke night at the nearest little bar, so we endured some painful croons but enjoyed some drinks and sang along before heading in for the night.
We had an early wake-up call Thursday morning for a meeting at the European Parliament. The Spanish parliamentarian we were there to meet was busy, but we got the tour from his assistant, and briefly greeted him in passing after creeping in his office. Next we headed to a quaint part of the city for a quick lunch. Being the good friend that I am, I risked my life for a Brian Dearborn photo shoot, and barely escaped death by a moving car. We went on to our next meeting with lobbying firm Business Europe, and then back to the hotel for a brief siesta before dinner.
Knut, our professor and frequent visitor of Brussels, took us out for a typical Belgian meal. It would have to suffice for Thanksgiving dinner for the Americans in the class. We enjoyed mussels, Belgian fries (don't even think about calling them French in Belgium), and of course some more Belgian cerveza. Delish. Dinner turned out to be quite the cultural experience, as we all used the paper table cloth to teach and learn ridiculous words and phrases in different languages. Fat and happy, we headed to see Grand Place (gorgeous at night! Check out the pictures) and Mannequin Piss, Brussels' famous statue of a little boy peeing (??). Whatever they're into... Then we passed a lucky Belgian statue, which some of us were bold enough to touch. (So I'm either going to get married within the month or never at all... Eeek.) Knut took us to one of his favorite Brussels bars, The Coffin, where we drank beer out of skulls and Knut told us about his days as the lead singer in a death metal band. Needless to say we all got to know our each other pretty well this weekend.
Another early morning on Friday, we met with two more EU lobbyists from different industries, then took the tram out of downtown to visit the Estonian embassy. Suburban Brussels in the fall was beautiful and reminded us of home. After an interesting chat with the ambassador, we headed back to the EU Commission building, where we had our final meeting with a Swedish commissioner. For dinner, Knut took us to another little Belgian place for some more authentic food and beehs. That night some of us went out to the popular club You and danced the night away euro-style.
We took a trip out of town on Saturday, to the beautiful city of Brugge. The old-Europe city was all ready for Christmas, and we all got in the spirit, doing some shopping, and tasting the seasonal hot wine. We visited a shop that makes their own chocolate, and of course enjoyed lots of samples and spent lots of money. It was worth every euro and every calorie. Back in Brussels, we went out for dinner and another fun night hanging out with people from our class.
Sunday morning we got up to visit King Leopold's museum of stuff he collected from his own personal African colony, walked around a little park outside Brussels, and finally enjoyed an authentic Belgian waffle. Seriously packing on the pounds this weekend between the waffles, fries, chocolate, and beer. How all Belgians aren't obese I'll never know.
The trip came to a close with our flight back to Barajas, where we said tearful goodbyes to our new friends. I headed back to MC's to be reunited with my long-lost roomates. Tonight, Rowan and Owen (Jess' and my Aussie friends that we met in Granada) are in Madrid, so we are going to meet them and show them our stomping grounds. Check ya laterrrrr.

Gracias a Dios por ser Espanol

Los chicos arrived Friday A.M. so Betha met them at the areopuerto bright and early. We took the chaps to their Hostel in Sol where we left them for a few hours to take a serious siesta. Afterward, Derek and Kane met us for dinner at our favorite pizza place, Pinocchio, where we ordered our beers by the litro via our own table's tap...so college. Our Euro getup threw the boys for a bit of a shock..Euro meets American with our spandex under dresses topped with Northface jackets...mind you, all four of us dressed in uniform. Afterward, we took the boys out for their first Spanish clubbing experience. Derek and Kane's lack of dancing skills made it obvious that the Spanish clubbing scene that we have become so used to is far different from the American college bar scene.

The next morning, the boys slept in still struggling from the time change. They diverged from the itinerary schedule, which had a full sightseeing day planned ahead. When they finally woke up, we met them with bocadillas and watched one of the many manifestaciones that was going on in Sol because it was the weekend anniversary of Franco's death. We then made way to Real Madrid's futbol stadium where we spontaneously bought tickets for the Spain vs. Sweden Eurocup qualifier. (Shout out to Sergio Ramos!) We went home to get ready briefly then got on the metro again, only to get robbed for the second weekend in a row. The metro was packed with Espana fans presenting a perfect opportunity to unzip Becca's purse and steal her clutch containing all of her valuables. Madrid: 2. Becca: 0. SORRY Collins. Once we found our perfectly situated stadium seats, her worries disappeared. Becca and Jess wore their Espana flags proudly and Kane bought an obnoxious horn (shocking) to cheer their team to victory!

On Sunday, we met the boys at MC's before heading to Mass and the Prado. Derek spoke of all of the artist painting techniques, while candyKane tried to make a run for it with Valezquez's most famous piece. Afterward, we treated MC and CO (Pepe and his GF) to a traditional Thanksgiving meal. To our dismay, Corte Ingles was lacking in the turkey inventory, so chicken had to suffice. With MC buzzing around in our faces insisting that her frozen beans were better than ours and SHE knew how to make mashed potatoes, we still managed to enjoy a hearty meal. After dinner, we helped Derek and Kane plan their day trips to Segovia and Toledo on Monday and Tuesday. The next weekend Betha was torn into two. Becca took Derek and Kane to Granada while Beth attended a class trip to Brussels. Hold your horses...new posts are a comin'.

Check ya later!