Pictures

My pictures are up on Picasa and the link is on the right below my archive thingy so you should check them out because they're phenomenal!!!!!

IN GRANADA!!

I made it! The flight was SOO long and I didn´t sleep at all from Chicago to Paris. I sat by a nice girl, Erin, though so that was really good. The food on the flight was okay, nothing phenomenal but definitely edible. Then when we got to Paris we had to go through customs for some strange reason and I wanted a stamp on my passport and they stared at me funny and laughed at me but I don´t care because I got it. Then we didn´t even think and went through security so we were stuck in the ITTY BITTY Paris terminal for three and a half hours. I slept a little bit but not too much. I was pretty passed on the flight from Paris to Málaga, though. When we got to Málaga, we went to get our luggage and then saw it rotating on a different belt so we had to run and get it, and then one guy lost his luggage so we had to sit and wait LONGER in the airport while they got all that mess figured out (another hour and a half) and then we finally left and had a two hour bus ride to Granada, but it was really pretty. We went through the mountains and got to see the Sierra Nevada and TONS AND TONS of olive trees. It was really cool. Once we got to Granada, we got into our hostel but we had to take this tiny lift up and it only fit one person with their luggage at a time. But I´m rooming with three really nice girls (Shannon, Erin, and Caitlin) so hopefully I´ll be okay. The four of us were all so exhausted and didn´t want to go to a tapas bar because you have to order alcohol to get the tapas and we really didn´t want to get alcohol and we didn´t want to pay a lot that we ended up eating at this chinese place, which was only okay, but we were all so tired that we just didn´t care and we all passed out.

This morning, we woke up at 910 and we had to be downstairs ready to go at 945 (because we set the time on the alarm for AM instead of PM last night so it was 910PM when we woke up) so we all panicked but made it okay and we just signed up for all of our classes and now we´re taking a break before we have more orientation.

I really can´t wait to get to my host family´s house and start classes and just get into the swing of things because I feel very disoriented being here right now and very out of place. So hopefully things will get better from there. I do like the people that are in the program so far, though, so that´s always good. I just can´t wait for things to feel normal and not like I´m a complete and total outsider.

One Week!!!

Anne McLain
CEGRI
C. Sacristia de San Matias, 12 (the second i in "Sacristia" and the i in "Matias" have accents)
18009 Granada
Espana (the "n" has the tilde (~))

This is my address in case anyone wants to send me a letter or a package or anything while I'm over there.
: )

9 days and counting

We're in the single digits now people...
oh man.

packing already?!?

so earlier this morning I thought it would be a good idea to pull out my suitcases, just to see how big they are, to make sure I'm going to have enough space for my stuff when I go abroad. Seeing as I am just over two weeks out and I foresee my next couple weeks being very busy with finishing up my work/internship obligations and spending time with people and saying goodbye to everyone, I felt this was a safe idea (not too far away from the trip, but not too close either). So I pulled them out and got kind of worried because I wasn't sure my big stuff (like my winter coat and my lighter jackets and my shoes (of all the things for me to be worried about having enough room for...)) was all going to fit. So I went and grabbed my winter coat and put it in my smaller piece of luggage and it looked like it took up a LOT of room, so I went and grabbed my lighter jackets and my sweaters. After all was said and done, I ended up packing my fall and winter shirts all into my smaller piece of luggage and I still have a decent amount of space left in it, and THEN I still have my bigger piece of luggage for all my tees, tanks, pants, skirts, dresses, shoes, toiletries, and miscellaneous. So I'm feeling a LOT better about having enough room for everything and I'm not feeling anymore like I'm bringing too much stuff.

I do have to admit that, the other day while at work, I made a few lists of things I need to do/have to buy/want to remember to bring to Spain. I think this was really good for me, however, because now I don't have to think about all of that stuff; it doesn't have to hang out in my mind because it's all on paper. It really was good for me to get it all out because I really do have too much to think about already without having to try to remember all of that stuff as well.

So yes, if you couldn't tell (even though it only kind of seems like it), I am MUCH less anxious about my trip, which I am very thankful for. Now I'm starting to think it's going to be more exciting (rather than dreading) meeting the new people and getting to be in such a beautiful place for so long. I'm definitely not ready to up and leave yet, but I am getting there, which is a huge victory for me. (yay!)

more anxieties...

Well, here I am, twenty days from departure, and still filled with that complete and total anxiety. I started a list of toiletries I'm going to have to buy at work the other day just to calm myself down. Seriously, I need to not be freaking out. The Lord has been so gracious in teaching me so much about trusting Him and finding peace in Him and now I just need to really actually let go of my anxieties. It kind of feels like I'm holding my breath in anticipation and I NEED to exhale and, well, not freak out. Especially considering the time that I have left is going to be so full. See?
Today (Wednesday): internship 2p-7p
Thursday: Muldoon's 4p-930/10p
Friday: Muldoon's 1045a-3p, 4p-715/730p
Saturday: Muldoon's 1045a-3p, 4p-10p
Sunday: REST
Monday: internship 10a-9p
Tuesday: volunteering 11a-3p, bible study 645p-1030p (including driving)
Wednesday: internship 2p-7p
Thursday: (projected) Muldoon's 4p-930/10p
Friday: (projected) Muldoon's 1045a-3p, 4p-715/730p
Saturday: (projected) Muldoon's 4p-10p
AND I told Jamie that, because Ashley quit, I could maybe work the 18th and 20th if he needed someone to cover shifts. And I have my yearly portrait with myself and my sister and mom and then dinner on the 19th. And then the 22nd, I'm getting my hair trimmed and heading down to Champaign for the Koin/Strat retreat and then the 23rd is the end of the retreat and celebrating Paul and my two year and then the 24th will be church and heading back to Wheaton and Ecclesia (maybe?) and then the 25th will be last minute preparations and I leave the 26th!! As you can probably tell from my very long run-on sentence, it all seems very overwhelming. I think I might have to do like I did at school and ONLY look at THIS week and not look ahead at all.
Annnd.... now I need to get ready for the internship so... toodles!