Personal Growth!

Hi everyone!
I have decided that this blog is not just going to be about me living in Spain and going to school, but more about my personal growth and the journey of Michelle!
The past two weeks have been super busy, but exciting! My last update was on the 5th of October and since then so much has happened. That Tuesday (Oct.6) Universidad de Malaga had the official study abroad welcome party. It was very nice and well put together with welcome gifts, music and food. It was so packed; there were about 300 or more students there. I didn't realized how popular UMA was and that so many people were studying abroad. It's great for me because I have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world; from Italy, Germany, Holland, and even the small country of Slovenia (Ilona P. ; D ) and also experience learn about their cultures. Everyday I thank God for blessing me with this wonderful opportunity, to not only experience living in a different country and culture but meeting wonderful people and learning so much about them and MYSELF. Also, that night my dorm had like an orientation or initiation (a better word for it) for the 1st year students. They had various activities and competitions for the students, it was really entertaining. Here are a couple of pictures from that night:

October 8th marked the 1-month mark! I know right, only a month; it feels like so much longer. But I love it here and everyday is a learning experience.
On a personal note, I met someone . . .
One of my friends here was throwing a party on the 8th (a Thursday), I usually like to keep my partying to the weekends but I just decided why not. So I am at the party having a ball and just enjoying myself. And then this guy approaches me and kept my attention for the rest of the night. We just talked for the rest of the night . . .in the club. And I don't know why but he intrigued me because he wasn't just focusing on that moment but the next day. Meaning at that moment, he was already asking me my plans for Friday. Which kind of caught me off guard, but I just went with the flow. That next day we had our first date, which was so romantic; it almost felt like I was in a dream, like this is something out of a movie. We went to a restaurant on a beach and just sat and talked for hours, about everything without hesitation. And the weekend just kept getting better, the next day we went to a fair with two of the girls from my residence, which was different but I enjoyed myself! A lot of the women and even little girls were dressed up in flamenco outfits. My friend said that its tradition that when its in your town to dress up in various flamenco outfits, even the men. Later on that night we went to Portugal for a weekend, since we didn't have school on Monday because it was Columbus Day. That night we left for Sagres, Portugal, which has to be the most serene place ever. I absolutely had the best weekend, vacation, and getaway ever. : ) Here is a picture of what I woke up to the morning I arrived:
As you can see I am truly stepping outside of my comfort zone but going with the flow of things. However, I am not crazy and I am still on my P's and Q's at all times! Praying that God protects me at all times and keeps me on my right path, learning to embrace what he has for my life!
But that's just my personal tid bit . . . ; D
Well back to school . . . my classes are going good and I officially registered on Thursday (Oct. 15), so I am now an official student and should be getting my ID card this week. I really like my teachers and I am glad to say that I understanding what's going on and not getting lost in class. And thanks to my recorder, the greatest thing ever, if I do not understand something in class I can always review it later. And if you didn't know, all my classes are in Spanish; I am at a Spanish University with Spanish students, and all my homework is in Spanish. That's why I have been so busy; I have been translating essays to Spanish, doing economics work, and reading for my history class. One thing I must say is that I am surprised by the study ethic here. At all times the students are studying! Plus the dorm that I am staying at has tutoring classes in the afternoon for the difficult and high concentration majors. Which I think is really beneficial and makes this place worth every penny.
This past weekend, (16th -18th) I took my braids out and am now rocking the natural hair. I did a hot oil treatment on my hair, made my own conditioner, and styled my hair. If you know me personally, you know that this is a big step for me because I have been blessed to always have someone else to do my hair, not that I don't know how to do hair . . . just not my own. And with the help of many YouTube tutorials for natural hair, I am taking care of my hair myself! I am really proud of myself, because it feels like I am taking that next step in growing up and doing me. Plus, I am going to start back crocheting. For those that don't know, I am very good at crocheting and have made blankets, purses, scarves, etc. in the past and have decided to pick it back up again. But doing something a little different, I am going to start crocheting various hair accessories to accentuate my new do. YAY!!!, I am really excited to see how much I am growing as a person, both inside and out!

Please continue to keep me in your prayers and thank you family and friends for your continued support and encouragement!

P.S. Please subscribe, I am eager to see just how many people are reading my blog. Thank you!

What Have I Been Up To?!?

Hi Blog Family, sorry it has been so long but I'm back now. I have been so busy with getting prepared for school and trying to get settled here. I absolutely love it here and the people are wonderful!
Well a lot has happened in the past two weeks (9/18-10/4) ; Two Fridays ago I got an upgrade for my room and of course I had to decorate it to make it feel more like home! The first picture is my original room, the second is my new room and how it looked when I initially moved into it and the third is how it looks now! I absolutely love my room, plus I have 2 closets!!! : )

That next day I went to Marbella, another beautiful city in Andalucia, with some of the people from my Spanish class and it was absolutely wonderful. The weather was great; although the water was freezing I still went on a paddleboat ride and slid down the slide into the Mediterranean Ocean! After we left the beach we went on a tour of the town, which has beautiful architecture and mountainside views. It is so peaceful here, now I can see why they say it's the get away spot for the rich people.

On Sunday we went to the viewpoint and the castle, which is in the city of Malaga. I can say that I was not prepared for the hike that we took. The hill was so steep and it was so hot, I was just happy that I had comfortable shoes on. As you can see the view was absolutely amazing, just imagine being at the top of the city and looking down at everything. And the view at night is even better, lights illuminate the castle and the city is gorgeous!

That next week I was just took it easy, toured the city, met more people, and finished up my Spanish classes. I decorated my room that week and as you see from above it was a success. I also joined a pilates class at the gym around the corner from me, the class is awesome and the teacher is great. I am learning so many new words and of course staying in shape! Even though I walk everywhere here it's still easy to get into a routine and get too relaxed. Also, the director here at the dorm, Isabel, introduced me to this great lady, Carmen, who is amiable and open person. And that same day Carmen and her friend Rocio took me to IKEA so I could get more stuff for my room. I thought that was so nice of them, especially since I had just met them. After IKEA we went to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and the conversation was great. I love having intelligent and worldly conversations. We talked about politics in America and in Spain, plus I learned so much about the history racial tension here and how life was during the dictatorship and how different it is now. Overall that was a great day!
That weekend was so much fun; I taught some of the people here how to play Spades and they learned very quick and really liked the game. I was telling them that Spades is the number 1 game played at any party or gathering back home! That Friday night I went out with everyone from the dorm to Club White, it was a lot of fun plus I got to see a different side of the people here and vice versa. This was the night I realized that when they party, they party hard. We did not leave the club until 6:45am!!! The thing that got me was that some of them still wanted to stay! But they said they party later so they won't have to a taxi home because the bus starts running around 6:30am. My body was not use to this lifestyle and I slept until about 3pm that day. That Saturday some of my friends and I went to an Erasmus party on a boat which was a lot of fun! It's interesting to see how other cultures dance, meaning the guys here dance just as much as the females, if not more. But its fun because everyone is having a good time together!
That Sunday we went to the Picasso Museum, it was nice but it wasn't that spectacular. They only have a few paintings of his best work, but they said what made the museum special was that the sculptures, sketches, and paintings were Picasso's favorites that he had given as gifts to his family. And if you didn't know, Picasso was born in Malaga and the museum is right by the place were he grew up, which they have also turned into a museum.

SCHOOL!!!
I started school last week and it was truly an experience. The different faculties start at different times, plus the same class is on different days at different times! Very different from what I am used to and plus everyone here is so relaxed. The main thing said is "tranquilo" like calm down, why are you so stressed and my teacher said this. He said the attitude here is very relaxed and they don't take things as serious as we do in America. Like today was the official registration day and we didn't have any classes! So tomorrow I officially start all of my classes, I am taking a business, translations, and history class. This transition should be very interesting since all my classes are in Spanish; I really have to focus now!!

That's pretty much everything that has happened within these last two weeks, in a nutshell! I know that I will not be able to update my blog everyday now that school is starting, but I will try to be more frequent than I have been. Also, if there is anything you would like to know more about or sites that you know of in Spain or places that you would like to see, please let me know and I will go! I am hoping to make my blog more interactive with my readers, so please help me! Ask questions and Make requests!

Thanks in advance and I will be back soon to let you know how school is going!!