A little reminder

Channing Joann

October 13, 2012

 

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't questioned my decision to stay in the US.  On multiple occasions, those regretful thoughts have ran through my mind.  But yesterday, I was reminded why I chose to stay.  My reminder came in the form of a 7 lb 4 oz little girl that made her appearance into this world.

 

My new niece, Channing, was an excellent reminder to me as to why I chose to stay here.  I also got the pleasure of watching Lynnon when Trent and Abby delivered their new addition.  Waking up with Lynnon and getting her around and excited to see her little sister was really fun.  I definitely can't regret the decision I made when I look at their little faces. 

 

I just wanted to make a quick entry and welcome the little lady into the world.  I'm excited to watch her grow up close by instead of overseas.  It would not have been as nice hearing about the news over the distance.  I'm glad I got to meet her on her birthday.  Congratulations and much love to my brother, Trent, his strong wife, Abby, and their little daredevil, Lynnon. 

No Regrets

Well, hello...

I write today with a mind and heart that is in a whirlwind of emotions.  I'm just going to cut straight to the chase for the moment and say it... I have decided not to stay in Spain for a second term. 

The thought has crossed my mind on numerous occassions since I accepted the position, to be honest.  I accepted it and went through the paperwork just as a precautionary thing.  I wanted to have the choice for myself.  I accepted the position with every intention of following through with a second year, but since I've been home, I realize that this is the place I want to be... for now.  ;)

If I'm being honest, I am not really in love with my school.  I don't like the way things are handled, both professionally and personally.  I understand the differences in cultures and lifestyles and I can definitely appreciate that.  I just don't feel like it is the right place for me.  This particular school did not utilize me as well as they could or should have.  In my honest opinion, and I think Joanne would agree, this school only wants to look good on paper.  They don't have a real passion for their students learning English.  While I may not agree with it, I am not saying that this is wrong.  They are entitled to their own way of handling things and it is, quite frankly, none of my business.  I just know that I prefer to have a job where I can make a difference and feel like I've made an impact.  After a year there, I can't say with any confidence that I have.  And I am fearful that returning for another year would result in similar feelings.  Who's to say that would be the case?  And who's to say it wouldn't?  I've just decided that I need to make the decision for myself.

While the school has a lot to do with my decision, I have also based it on other important aspects.  I came home after my year abroad and my niece, Lynnon, didn't recognize me.  I knew that's how it would be, but I didn't realize it would be so difficult to deal with.  I have since spent a large amount of time with her in an attempt to make up for my absence.  She finally recognizes me!  :)  And their second baby is due in just a month and I don't want to miss out on the beginning of her life.  In a nutshell, I came home to see how important family is to me.  I've known, of course, that family is at the top of my list, but being away kind of put it in perspective.  I just want to be closer so that I can come home for birthday parties and ballgames. 

I also miss making money!!  HaHa!  No joke.  This working 12 hours a week was a nice, relaxing experience, but I am ready to put my nose to the ground and make an income. 

So, what next?  Well, I am currently almost 30 and living at home with my parents.  Yep.  That's me.  I'm waiting for a little financial stability and then I plan on moving to Salina.  Why Salina?  I don't really know.  Why not?  HaHa... It's not my forever place, for sure.  I am just looking at it as a stop on the road.  I'm getting a place with one of my best friends, Andrea.  She & I will start looking soon and hope for a move in October... November at the latest.  I feel like, since I've made this decision, that I have to decide my whole life in the next two weeks.  I am beyond overwhelmed and have doubted my decision to stay on numerous occassions.  I have to figure out a place to live, a job, a car, insurances, a phone, etc... like, now.  I hate the overwhelming feeling and it really stresses me out and makes me a little depressed.  I'm trying very hard to find some motivation and stay positive.  I'll keep you updated on that, haha.

I do plan on keeping my blog.  I don't know that anyone will want to read anything I have to say since I'll be in Kansas, but I plan on continuing it as a journal for myself, too.  I guess it doesn't matter if anyone reads it, haha.  I do want to take the opportunity to say thanks to those that did/do read my blog.  I really appreciate the love.  I know that Kansas may not be as exciting as Europe, but maybe I'll surprise you.  I hope that you'll continue to read out of boredom, curiousity, or even want.  :) 

I am heading back to Spain on the 25th of this month to retrieve all of my belongings.  It is an expensive trip that I, unfortunately, have to take.  I am making it as short as possible and plan on being back on US soil by the night of the 29th.  I don't want to have to explain everything to everyone.  And I just want to make it as quick and painless as possible.  I don't want to give myself the opportunity to fall in love with the place again.  I do love that village, but I don't want to have the opportunity to spend a lot of time there and have my attatchment to it grow.  Get in, get out, and get back.  And I mean that in no disrespect to any of my friends there at all. 

More to come in the way of some gratitude and so forth, but for now, I am going to close.  I just wanted to officially let everyone know where I stand.  Thanks for following me and I hope that this message finds you all well. 

Besos!
Ashley Jo

Checkin' in halfway through my summer in the states!

Hello!

I'm not sure if anyone is really 'following' me anymore, but I decided I could still use this as my own personal tool to vent or just to write when I feel like writing.  Maybe for no reason at all!  So, cheers to you if you are still reading!  And thanks, I guess, for showing an interest in me!

I'm halfway through my summer in the states.  I have done, at times, a lot of nothing.  I have also made a point to see as many friends/family as possible.  There are still a few people I'd like to see and some I'd like to see again.  We'll see what the next month brings.

September 25th is my day of departure back to Spain.  I have mixed feelings about my return at this point in time.  I really enjoy being here with all the things I'm familiar with and the people I care about.  It's no surprise that I love Kansas and my family and friends.  I have fallen into the comfort that all this familiarity brings.  Part of me really doesn't want to go back.  I want to have the opportunity and hopefully take advantage of the second chance, but it feels much harder for me to leave right now.  In a month, I may be singing a different tune, but right now, that's how I feel. 

I've spent a lot of time on the couch at the Cook Ranch.  While I am super unproductive, it has been awesome!!  I feel pretty worthless, though.  I need to get my ass in gear for a little excercise and self-improvement.  I feel zero motivation because the thing I missed most while in Spain (aside from the obvious friends/family) was the food.  And all I want to do is take in everything I have missed while I am gone!  I've definitely taken in that delicious Taco Village on numerous occasions, but I'm still missing out on Red Lobster and Freddy's.  :)  I know it's not a good thing, but man... I've missed these goodies!!!  And spicy food!  Oh, I've missed it.  I'll get my mind worked out.  I will.  I've made it public knowledge, so now I have to hold myself accountable.  Definitely a little motivation there.

I've been doing some reading these past couple weeks.  I finished Tucker Max's third book, Hilarity Ensues.  OMFG, it's hilarious!!  It's raunchy, but if there are any young readers checkin' out my blog, check out all of his books!  They are hilarious!!!!  And they're all true.  He's the world's biggest a-hole (self proclaimed), but he's honest to who he is and what his intentions are.  Gotta respect that.  Anyway, his stuff is not for the faint of heart, but you can check out his site if you're feeling dangerous.

I'm just starting on the whole Fifty Shades of Grey thing.  I'm a little into the first book and I feel, almost naughty, reading it.  I don't typically fall into what everyone is reading, but I fought the Twilight thing (thank goodness!) and I still haven't done the Hunger Games thing (yet), but I decided to give in to Grey.  I'll let you know how that goes.  :)

Well, I'm gonna close on this short little entry.  Just sayin' hey!!  Hope life is good!!

PaMpLoNa -- Bull run

Our first steps upon our return to Spain were taken in Bilbao.  We were only there long enough to wait for our bus to Zarautz, where our campsite for Pamplona was.  We had an extra night, though, before we were booked to the campsite, so we found a place to stay and slept.  :)  Our flight was at 6:40 in the morning and we had to be there a couple hours early, so we had been up for awhile.

That evening, we went & checked out the beach area.  We watched some surfers ride waves and had a bit of supper before going back to sleep, haha.  :)  I got to snap a few good pictures, though!

We headed to the campsite the next day.  The view and actual camgrounds were really nice.  I wasn't sure what to expect upon arrival, but it turned out okay. 

They definitely fit in as many tents as they could.  This is just a small portion of them.

Getting started quickly

We arrived when many of the other campers were in Pamplona for the opening ceremonies of the festival.  It was pretty quiet.  Upon arrival, they had a 'welcome drink' waiting for us.  We had a beer and got settled in.

That evening, leave it to Clint & I to get beer pong started!  We gathered some people and got it going in full swing.  :)  We had the battle of Americans vs the Aussie's.  :)  Overall, I think the Aussie's were victorious.  :)  We put up a good fight, though!

Well, Pamplona is all about the bull run, right?  Clint crashed around 11ish and I was about an hour after that.  The campsite got a lot more busy after the rest of the campers came back.  We were woken up at 4:00 in the morning to catch our bus to Pamplona at 5:00.  They served 'hot breakfast' of toast with an egg on it.  I was HuNgOvEr!  I hadn't drank in a long time, so that morning was NOT my best friend.  HaHa.. to say the least.  :)  We met some people from New Zealand that quickly became friends, Lexie and Alex.  Alex was going to run, but Lexie wasn't, so we kind of joined forces.  I watched the bull run from the arena with Lexie and Alex & Clint headed to join the horde of runners.  Despite not feeling the best, I REALLY enjoyed the run.  It was kind of a rush, to be honest.  I don't know how I'd feel actually running, but watching it and feeling/hearing the crowd was just exciting.  I got chills!  Once Clint & I met up, I found out that he didn't get to run because he wasn't far enough up in the group of runners.  It was quite confusing for us who hadn't done the run before.  It would have been nice to have bit more advice and guidance in that area. 

The streets of Pamplona just an hour before the run was to begin.  People on their balconies had a prime view!

The arena after the bulls had ran through.  Waiting for them to release the bull calves.

After the initial run, they let the bull calves in to play with all the adventurous spirits of the bull run.  Some of the hits were a bit scary looking, but most got up cheering.

Traditional dress, if you can't tell, is all white with a red sash around your waist and neck.  Any other colors make you look culturally irresponsible.  :)

I have video of the run and of the bull calves, but I cannot figure out how to get it to upload to this damn page.  I'm going to continue to do a little bit of research and hopefully figure out how to do it.  Once I do, I promise to upload some footage so you can check it out for yourself.  The whole run lasts 2-4 minutes from the time the run begins.  I am definitely glad to say that I got to experience San Fermin. 

Once we were back at camp, we were both kind of over the whole party scene, so we just took it easy.  Got to catch a pretty awesome sunset, though...

Well, I am going to close with that.  I am going to start uploading some pics to Facebook.  That alone could take all summer, haha!  I will attempt to figure out this video thing so that you can see the run and some other things.  Hope that this finds you all well!!

Vatican City

I am trying to get you all caught up on the happenings of our European vacation.  I left you at the Fontana di Trevi in Rome.  Our other big stop in Rome was Vatican City. 

A fun little side story that wasn't so funny at the time...

Clint & I got separated for about 3 or 4 hours in Rome.  Let me explain.  We were taking the metro on the morning we decided to go to the Vatican.  We originally headed in the wrong direction, so we got off at the first stop and decided to catch the next tram headed in the opposite direction.  We were toward the back of the crowd getting onto the train and I got onto it as they began to shut the doors.  Clint had some of his body in the door, but couldn't keep the door open.  We tried to push the button that opens the doors and it wouldn't open.  A guy inside told me, "No, you can't do that."  I just laughed... a nervous, shaky laugh.  I went to the next stop and got off assuming Clint would get on the next tram and meet me at that stop.  Well, that didn't happen.  It was a very hectic few hours.  I sat at the entrance of the Vatican museum for an hour thinking I should stay in one place in case he was going all over the place.  When he didn't show up, I just decided to go to the one place we had in common for sure and that was our hotel.  Eventually, he showed up after running all over Rome looking for me.  It was a big 'ol mess that turned out just fine in the end.

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside the Basilica

Just a close up of the detailing and the gold plating

Inside the Vatican museum is the world famous Sistine Chapel with the ceiling painted by Michelangelo... Here are a few shots of that ceiling... It was pretty breath-taking.

I am not the most religous of people, but being in the presence of a place like this gave me quite a powerful feeling.  It was just really amazing.  Pictures can't do it justice, but that's the best way I have to relay it to you.  Unbelievable.

Rome was hot.  I am sure that came through in my first Roman entry, but it's worth repeating, I think.  It was a very pretty, very historic city, but I think seeing it once is plenty for me.  If I were to ever go again, I would go during the cooler months of the year because the summer is nearly unbearable.  It was fairly easy to get around once we figured out the basics of the transportation system.  It was hot, but we came out alive!  :) 

Just lettin' you know I haven't forgot!

Hey!!

I am back in Kansas and on the Cook Ranch!  Couldn't be happier about it, either!  I know my entries haven't been very often these past few weeks, but my internet access was pretty limited.  I apologize! 

I just wanted to let you know that I will get it all updated in the next couple weeks!  I promise!  I haven't forgotten about my online obligations! :) 

Hope this finds you all well!

Roasting in Rome

Man!!  It is HOT here!  I have heard that Rome is a bit warm in the summer & that is definitely NOT a lie.  Whew!  I hear it's not much better in the good 'ol state of Kansas, so I'm getting some good practice for that Kansas heat!  (Looking forward to it!!)

We've managed to sleep in every day.  I'm not complaining because our first week in Spain is going to be very sleep-deprived.  Anyway, we've done a bit of sight-seeing despite the heat.  We went to the Colosseum on our first day out.  It is massive!  Enjoy some pics...

Getting ready to walk inside... I really like this one!

This picture was taken a level above the one prior... it's hard to give you a sense of how massive this place is... pretty incredible

No one was actually allowed to go walking through this part of the Colosseum

Outside of the Colosseum

Taken as we were walking down the street

After visiting the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum... It is all part of Ancient Rome... Here is a couple photos of that...

The Euro Cup 2012 just ended on Sunday.  The final match was between Spain & Italy.  I was a bit torn in who to cheer for... I knew, in my heart, I wanted Spain to win.  BUT, seeing as I was in Italy, I thought it might be a really cool thing to be a part of if Italy were to win.  Rome would have been crazy!  Turns out, Italy had NOTHING to cheer for.  They didn't really even show up.  Spain dominated 4-0 and that's huge for a soccer (football) match.  I've talked to some friends in Spain and seen some photos and it sure looks like Spain would have been VERY fun to be in that night.  :)  We went to an area of the city that we were told would be buzzing with football fans.  We ate and after we found out the score was 2-0 at half, we decided that we'd rather head back to our hotel and not risk being in the middle of any riots or whatnot.  I mean, they had law enforcement out in full force in this area we were in and A LOT of them.  We just decided we'd rather not know what happened if they lost, so we made it back to the hotel to find the final score 4-0.  As far as I know, there wasn't any riots or anything.  :)

The next day, we went to the Trevi Fountain.  A replica is in Ceasar's Palace in Vegas if you are more aware of that one, haha. :)  It's a big tourist attration and there were TON of people to fight through, but we got some decent pics and threw some coins in the fountain.  It's said to bring you back to the city and bring you luck in love.  Here's hoping, right?  ;)

I'm going to close there.  We've done a few other things, but I'll do another entry later.  It's after midnight here & I am SLEEPY!  I hope that this finds you all well!  I want to wish you all a safe and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!  There's no place I'd rather be than Hardtner, but I'm gonna have to miss it this year!  I will be thinking of you all, though!!  Have a beer for me!  "Fire in the Hole!"

PEARL JAM in AMSTERDAM!

Alright, I'm getting caught up on these blog entries!  HaHa!

Pearl Jam.  Man.  I am not sure how to tell you how amazing (there's that word again) this show was to me.  I've seen some concerts in my day and many of them from the front row.  I have, primarily, been to hip-hop shows and that's really been my forte.  It's just what I like.  I like to be entertained and feel the energy from the artist and the crowd.  Clint is opening my eyes to some different shows and, I gotta say, Pearl Jam is probably the best of seen to date.  Clint had been educating me, I guess you could say, on the ins-and-outs of a Pearl Jam show prior to going.  And talking to people in line helped me get a sense of what I was in for.

They put EVERYTHING into their shows.  It's all about the fans and that, to me, is really cool to see.  I wouldn't say that I'm a big Pearl Jam fan.  I would say that I'm becoming one!  It won't be my last show, that's for certain. 

You can see the sweat in this picture!

Now, I can only go off of this when it comes to Eminem because he's the only artist I have seen more than once.  He entertains, for sure, but set list of his shows are the same as every show on the tour, more or less.  In my head, I guess I just felt like that was a normal thing.  I saw Eminem twice in one year a couple years ago.  There was 11 months separating the shows.  The song list changed just a bit, but the stage setup was the same and it was all generally, just the same thing.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVED it, but like I said, I thought that was normal-ish. 

Think he's looking at me?  I do.  HaHa!

So, I start to learn about Pearl Jam and their live shows, etc.  Apparently, it's different every time.  You don't know what you're going to get.  And I like the idea of that.  You can hope to hear your favorites and what not, but you don't know.  They did a show on Tuesday & one on Wednesday.  From what I heard, only 2 or 3 songs were the same.  Some songs are far more rare to hear than others.  It sounds like we got a pretty decent show with a few rarities in there. 

Here's a fun story for you... or, it's fun for me to write anyway.  :)  I had some luck in getting to see Jacob Pullen play basketball via Twitter.  I thought, why not see if Pearl Jam pays attention to their Twitter feed.  I mean, they're a bit more known than Jacob Pullen, but worth a shot, right?  So, I sent a tweet before we left our hotel requesting one of the rare songs, Release.  I made some comment about how I was from Kansas & in Amsterdam, blah, blah, blah... but I asked them to play Release.  He comes out for the second part of their set and says, "We had a little help making the set list tonight.  We don't usually do this one, but..."  AND IT WAS RELEASE!  I kinda just stood there for a minute and didn't really react.  Clint got it on video that I'll attempt to figure out how to post another day, but I was floored!!  When I tell the story, it's going to be my tweet that helped create the set list, but in truth, I think they had some mega-fan help create it and he chose Release.  Good man.  I still think he read my tweet and thought, "Hell yeah, let's do that one!"  :)  Let me have it, ok?  :)

The other thing about Pearl Jam is the fans... Man, they LOVE their band.  And it's so fun to hear their stories.  Many of them have been to an outrageous number of shows.  And they never see the same thing twice.  That's so cool to me.  Anyway, I kinda worked my way up from 12 rows back to 4 by just slowing inching my way forward.  It worked.  I met a couple guys while I was up there.  One of him was on his 7th Pearl Jam show and he let me switch places with him so I could have a better view and get some good pics of my first Pearl Jam show.  Super cool. 

If you saw my Facebook post, you know that we accidentally stood in line both days.  We really thought we were going to the Tuesday show and stood there all day, like 7 hours, waiting in line only to get to the door and have them tell us we're on the 2nd night!  However, in that nice little wait we had, we met some very cool Dutch people.  One of them convinced Clint to switch shirts with him.  Clint was rockin' his Tom Petty shirt from earlier this summer.  They switched and I think Clint got a super unique souvenier from his first Pearl Jam show.  We even ran into a couple of them who went on the 2nd night as well.  And now, we're all lifelong Facebook friends... a storybook ending, haha!  :)  Brought together by a band...

I had a couple more pics to upload, but it's being silly & I want to go to bed, so I will just leave you with what you've got.  The moral of the story, Pearl Jam is awesome!  I can't even tell you how awesome... you just have to experience it for yourself.  :)

The view from the front...

I amsterdam.

"I amsterdam" is a theme to Amsterdam.  You see it everywhere, so that is why the title of this entry is as it is.  You can see it in the above picture just in front of the building.  That shot was taken of a museum across the park from where we were staying.

Ok, so Amsterdam... It is a great city & I look forward to visiting again someday.  While we were there, we took a canal cruise, which is recommended to all tourists.  It was nice, but we had some rowdy kids sitting beside us, so I wasn't able to hear much from the guide.  Some of the scenery was nice, though!  Here's a couple shots from along the way...

In my opinion, the canals don't hold a candle to Venice.  Amsterdam is beautiful and I loved it, but the canals of Venice are far better.  Just the opinion of this Kansas girl, anyway... :)

Probably our biggest stop was at the Anne Frank house.  We weren't allowed to take pictures, so this is all you get...

I will admit that I am not typically one for museums and stuff like that.  It's not that I don't like to do it or want to do it, I just feel like I need some sort of connection to it to really get something out of it.  I don't know if that makes sense or not, haha.  Anyway, I was definitely interested in visiting this house, for sure.  I mean, this place was unbelievable.  For not being someone that really gets into these kinds of things, I cried.  Twice, actually.  They had some footage of Anne's dad talking as an older man about what it was like to read her diary for the first time and his reaction and all that... I seriously cried for minute on that one.  To be able to stand where they stood, walk up the extremely steep stairway, walk through the bookshelf entrance to the hiding spot, and to run your hands across the same sink that they used while in hiding.... I don't know how to describe it.  It was seriously a very deep and intense experience for me.  Amazing.

We wandered the streets of Amsterdam, of course, and sometimes came across a few very interesting characters.  After lunch one day, we came out to this plaza area where a street dance crew was getting ready to start a show for the spectators.  I had to watch... Here's a couple shots I was able to get.  Some of them were damn good.

The architecture in Amsterdam is really amazing to see.  Amazing... I use that word a lot, huh?  Well, if it fits...  Anyway, here are a couple pictures I snagged...

This is actually a massive shopping center

Not real sure what this building is, but I just liked the view

Amsterdam, as many of you probably know, is known for a bit more, too.  The saucy side of Amsterdam exists in things such as the Red Light District, coffee shops, and smart shops.  I'm not going to go into a whole bunch of details on here about that.  I'm not sure how much you want to read or know about it, so feel free to send me a personal message or e-mail if you wanna know more about what we experienced in regards to the naughty side of this lovely city.

I have not forgotten about Pearl Jam, the highlight of Amsterdam, in my opinion.  I am going to do another entry just for that.  :)  This stop was really awesome & I hope to visit again someday.  The people are great, the environment is great, the lifestyle seems very relaxed.  I amsterdam... Amazing. ;)

Greece: The Omega

I believe I left you in Santorini... Correct?  Well, that's where I'll jump off from anyway, so here we go...

After Santorini, we went to Crete.  It is the farthest south Greek island in the Aegean Sea.  We spent our last 6 or 7 days in Greece here.  We honestly did nothing but lounge on the beach, eat, & drink.  I can feel the effect of all this food intake and it's going to require a little work once I get back to the states.  :)  Anyway... I think it's safe to say that we both enjoyed Santorini far more than we did Crete, but neither of us will complain about being on a beach regardless of where we are.  :)  Probably.  ;)

This is Nikos.  He owns a bar/restaurant that we visitd at least once a day in Santorini.  Great advice & super friendly guy!

We arrived in Crete to this...

I just post this one to show you how clear the water was.  How many fish can you spot?

There were fish spas all over the island... HAD to try it.  WEIRD!

Not a bad view for supper, huh?

A man fishing on the pier.  I tried to capture it as a wave hit.

Well, that concludes Greece.  I, of course, have a ton more photos, but I only want to put highlights on here.  Don't have the time or patience, haha, for waiting for a million photos to upload.  :)

Greece, the islands, was amazing.  I didn't care for Athens.  It could have been my own personal judgement on a place that could be perfectly amazing, but the reality is, I just didn't feel safe and comfortable, two things important to traveling in another country.  I think, anyway.  :)

The food in Greece was unbelievable!  There wasn't a single thing we didn't enjoy.  We had some fresh seafood in Santorini and it was so good.  I had baracuda for the first time and WOW!  There is a type of cheese called Haloumi that Clint & I fell in love with.  I am hoping I can find it in the states.  Or in Spain, at least.  :)  It is so good!  Like I said, I am definitely feeling all the extra things that come with eating so much and I don't much care for that, but I am not going to be on a diet while I am on vacation.  The two things just don't go together.  So, when I hit the states, I'll worry about getting some of this off of me. 

I am currently in Rome.  We just got here today.  It was a long day & Rome is scorching hot right now.  I will do my Amsterdam entry really soon.  I LOVED Amsterdam.  And Pearl Jam... woah.  Pearl Jam was unbelievable.  I am going to do a separate entry for just Pearl Jam... I made it up as close as the 4th row so I have some really great pictures.  All to be shared soon enough... :) 

Hope this finds you all well.  I know our trip is just over a couple weeks from ending, but my excitement doesn't end when this trip does because I get to be back in the USA with my family & friends!  I'm so excited to see everyone!!  But for now, back to Rome....