Valladolid

So here I am sitting in my room listening to some great music with my roommate,
we have so many things in common...from the same music tastes to struggling with some
of the same things, and learning and growing in similar areas! We are having so much fun together...she's great!


OUR MAMA!

Today was officially our first day in Valladolid...we woke up and enjoyed some coffee and cereal for breakfast...funny story, here in Spain they put their coffee-milk-and cereal in one bowl. So our "mama" poured us some coffee then handed us the cereal and we went to the table. We sat their for awhile then went back to ask her for milk and a bowl cuz we didn't know what to do, and she laughed and explained how they do it hear. There are just so many learning experiences here I LOVE IT!

Kristen, Me, Tiffany, Aubrea, Hanna!

So this morning we went and took a Spanish placement exam, which kicked me in the butt, to be honest. We'll see where I get placed...then we took a "survival" tour around Valladolid to get our bearings...and then our Mama picked us up from the main Plaza and we went back home and ate! My friends, whom I blogged about yesterday, Aubrea and Tiffany live around the block, and our "mamas" our friends and so we feel 5 again, because our 'mama' picked us all up, and they'll talk on the phone arranging times for us to get together...its fun..


the place where our Cal Poly Classes will be taught!

after lunch Hanna and I took a SIESTA!!!! the best invention, and something I will get used to very quickly! :) After our nap, we went and met Tiffany and Aubrea on the corner and we walked to the cutest little cafe and sat for a couple hours...laughing, talking, enjoying coffee, using the internet...and STUDYING of course! ;)


our cafe!


the view from our cafe!

Tomorrow is officially our first day of class!!!! Spanish from 9:30-1:30...then break for lunch, then our Cal Poly Classes from 4:00-8:00! Thursdays are our longest days...but I'm excited/nervous for tomorrow!

Ah...I just love this place. Valladolid, is a quite little city. Very comfortable and friendly, safe to walk around in and just so adorable! Many people spend their time outside enjoying the beautiful weather, the parks, taking strolls...its just so precious...alright. to bed i shall go! much love!

Blessed!!!

Oh my goodness, my heart is so full with the love of Christ and the
way that He is loving me. I am so blessed. That's the flat out TRUTH
of the matter...God is GOOD...ALL the time!

Today I got up and went on a run with my roommate Hanna in the main
park in Madrid, and it was...to be honest, much harder than I thought!
But it was so good to be out running and challenging myself. Then we came
back and got ready, ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel! Now here comes the
interesting part...so imagine, 45 students...carrying all their luggage for
3 months...and keep in mind that the majority of the students are girls...now
we have 1 bus to get us and our luggage to Valladolid...you do the math!


so here the suitcases packed into the back of the bus, so much luggage! we were delayed for awhile trying to fit it all and figure it out...


so here is the solution, another van that our professors had to go and rent and drive behind the bus with a whole bunch of the luggage!

But after being delayed and about 2 1/2 hours on the bus we made it to Valladolid! And we pulled up to our stop and all of our "mamas" were waiting for us! We all got so excited and nervous all at the same time! So here begins the rest of our adventure! Our names were called and we stepped up to meet our Mama! :-) She is a single lady, 37 and so much fun...She's energetic, bubbly, full of life, hilarious...and I'm so excited about living here for a couple months! We are living in this cute little apartment in prime location in town! It is a block and a half from our closest friends on the trip...plus our "Mamas" are friends! We can walk to school, to downtown, to the river, to go shopping, to restaurants...and anywhere else we need to go the bus comes right by her house!


Hanna unpacking!


Our cute little room!


Fitting our stuff in the little closet! Yes we did it! With a spill over of jackets into another one, but yes you should be impressed!



and the door closes! ;)


our living/dinning room!

This afternoon we just took time to unpack and get settled, enjoyed talking with
our Mama, oh her name is Auxi!! She's so sweet and just a whole bunch of fun!
Then we had dinner, which was amazing, she also likes to cook! She is pretty to
easy to understand with her Spanish and I already feel like I'm learning so much.
I'm still a little nervous about class starting, but all is good and I'm ready to be
challenged and to learn! Auxi is very patient and wants us to learn all that we can.
It is a lot of fun, but funny because I always have to be thinking...which sounds funny, but in English you can zone and still follow something, but when speaking
Spanish I have to think more!

But by far the best part of my day, was tonight...when four of us girls...Me, Hanna (my roommate) Tiffany and Aubrea (who are roommates and live a block away!) went and got coffee...and this is the reason I feel so loved and full of Christ's love tonight. They bless my heart...we sat just talking for like 2 hours just about life, and what it means to love (we all have boyfriends and are at different stages) which is awesome because we're learning from each other! We prayed together...and we're going to study together and hold each other accountable. I have learned so much from each of them already and see Christ so evidently in them, and I am blessed to have such friends where there is an instant connection!

Well once again its late, but I wanted to share my heart as it is full and just so enjoying everything...keep praying, they are being answered!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for lifting me up, I feel your prayers and God
is answering them in HUGE ways in my life!

Last Day!

Well hello everyone, it is about 1:15 am here, and
I am pretty wiped out! It has been a really fun couple
of days, but some of the most amazing...just getting a chance
to explore Madrid and see so many different things! I love
it! But now our real adventure begins, because tomorrow
we are headed to Valladolid and leaving Madrid behind!
We leave here at about 11 am and will get to Valladolid around
1ish. We are all so excited because we get to meet our host families
and finally unpack and settle down. I'm excited to move in and feel
like I'm not just on a whirlwind trip but actually here to settle and
study and get to know everything here.

Today was a fun day, we were free until 4pm, so we slept in a little
bit, grabbed some breakfast and set out on the tedious task of finding
a pay-as-you-go phone..after a whole lot of talking and figuring out,
and organizing a group of people to make a decision we were successful!!
Then we went back to the park we were in the other day and read for awhile,
yest I know, we actually studied. I wiped the dust off my books and am working
on clearing the cobwebs from my brain, but school starts on Wednesday and we
have a lot of reading to do!
We then met up with the group at 4pm and went to see the Atocha Railway Station,
there is an old fashion one and then the actual working side where the speed train
goes through, as well as the normal train.

The Outside of the Train Station

After a short visit there we walked over to the Reina Sofia Museum (Queen Sofia)...
this is an art museum for Contemporary/Modern Art. It is a beautiful museum, built
in what used to be a big hospital here in Madrid. Some of the artists
featured are Salvador Dali and Picasso. We got to see Picasso's Guernica.

Guernica-Picasso

I am not a huge art person, but it was really interesting to walk through
the museum and see everything...

Our guide! He was awesome...knows so much about everything it seems...


The Museum Corridors...(ambs I thought of you the whole time...just imagining what it would look like as a hospital).


There was as huge courtyard at the center of the Museum..they used to make hospitals so that everywhere you could have access to the outdoors, but not outside, but to an inside courtyard where there was space to take a stroll and enjoy the fresh air. It was so beautiful!

Things are going well here. I am really enjoying everything, the people,
speaking Spanish, the country...Tomorrow is a big day and I'm excited and just
so curious to see what life will be like in Valladolid and what my "family"
will be like and to just learn more about the culture in Spain.
You can definitely be praying for me as I enter into Valladolid, and starting school...and just getting into the swing of life... :)
well I am falling asleep as I write this, so I'm going to bed...
but much love to each one of you...and buenas noches!

Day 3-4

Wow...what a full couple of days, but so very very fun!
Yesterday we went to the Prado Museum, which is a very famous
Art Museum. The building it was in was incredible! So many paintings,
some of the artists featured were El Greco, Francisco Goya, and
Velazquez.

Aubrea, Tiffany and I waiting to go into the Museum...with our best impersonations of El Greco!

The Museum was very interesting, fascinating to see art work from all
different eras, artists, using all different styles.

Then we had the afternoon off, so a bunch of us walked over to the main
park in town, a lot like Central Park, and walked around enjoying the
beautiful day. We took a lot of pictures and just goofed around...There is a
lake in the park, a Crystal Palace, along with many fountains and good
places to take a stroll.

Hanna, Me and Kristen in the park with the lake in the background.


The girls...

Today was an early start. We drove out to the Valle de los Caidos (Valley
of the Fallen). This is an incredible work of Franco, who took over Spain
at one point in history. He had this Basilica built into a mountain, along
with a monastery. Today he is buried there and it is absolutely amazing to see.
The reason it is called Valle de los Caidos, is because many people died while he
was ruling Spain, especially in the process of building this huge monument for himself.
Later on the bodies of the people that died were brought to the monument and buried
and so now it is also a memorial to those people...it is a very controversial place, and very fascinating to see.

This is the largest cross in the world, and you can see the entrance but everything else is literally in the mountain!


Just to give you some perspective on how BIG this place is!


The girls with the beautiful background!

After that we headed to El Escorial...which I think has been my favorite so far.
This is a GIGANTIC (and that doesn't come close to describing how huge it is!) building, that contains a Basilica, a now high school, the Old Palace of King Phillip II, the burial for all the Royals, a Library, a Monestary, and many different art pieces. We toured for a long time, learning all about the place, seeing where King Phillip II lived and walked...I was so fascinated by everything..I love all the Spanish History I am learning, and can't wait for my class to start that will unpack it even more. There is such a depth to it that amazes me! Everything was so immense and huge...beyond anything I've seen before.

The view from the palace window!


The entrance, just a small part of this spectacular compound!

It started raining as we were driving back to Madrid...which I just love storms and the rain, especially when I can watch it...and on the bus my roommate and I, Hanna, got to talk and it was so cool just hearing her heart, and how we are learning many of the same things...you know when you talk to someone and something just strikes a cord in you, thats how it was talking to her...I am so blessed....

BOLD!

Good morning...good day, or good evening...
it all depends on where you're at when you read this!
but all the same Hello!
This was the start of my day, a beautiful view of Madrid behind
me with the sun rising!
Today was a very VERY full day! We went to Toledo,
which about an hour outside of Madrid, and is absolutely
breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL!


This is a view of the whole city.
Basically Toledo is the Catholic Capitol of Spain. It has a river that runs
around it, so it is basically a fortress, with a double wall around the city.
There is a main Cathedral in the City which we saw, along with many other
churches and a mix of synagogues. All equaling a beautiful city!
The weather was amazing today...bright and sunny! HOT!


This is a group of the girls in front of the Cathedral.


Us walking in an Ally!


The main Cathedral in Toledo! Crazy beautiful inside, with lots of bishops buried inside...it is actually still in use today as a Cathedral!


Me, Tiffany and Aubrea jumping in front of the entrance to Toledo.



This is my roommate Hanna and I, with Toledo in the Background.

Everything was so so pretty! We stopped for lunch at this little restaurant,
and for lunch I had Ensalada Mixta, then a chicken leg with some fries, and
some sort of pudding for dessert! Yummy! Yummy!
Here are a couple of pictures of the beauty of the little streets, cobble stone everywhere, typical little ally ways and everything is made of brick!



So there reason that the title is BOLD...is because that is my word and my prayer for this quarter...that I am BOLD, in everything I do. In Christ, in speaking Spanish, in getting to know people, in being me, in everything I do I want to be BOLD!

Another day...much love to you all, thank you for your prayers and I am signing off for the night...tomorrow's another early day!

DAY 1!

Buenas Noches!

Well today was a busy day, but a good one!
Its 1:40 here so i really should be asleep,
but I just wanted you to know that we all met
up tonight and the group is awesome!
I can already tell that God as provided some
solid girls for me to be with this semester, and
its been really sweet, hearing about each others lives
and families, and really getting to know one another!
I'm so stoked for all that we have in store!

Much love to everyone, thank you for your prayers!

Buenos Dias!

Well I woke this morning in Madrid…I still can’t comprehend that, still a little surreal, but so fun. I slept okay last night, as Spain is 9 hours ahead of California, but I’m doing pretty well. I had a yummy breakfast of pan y café (bread and coffee) along with some fruit and eggs…then I came back to my room and spent some time in the Word, sitting with my feet out on the balcony.

I am headed to walk around a little bit this morning, I am pretty close to the Plaza Mayor, so I’m going to head out and see what I find. I have to be back in the hotel by 6:00 pm, when the program officially starts!!!

Tonight, we have orientation, then a bus tour of Madrid, and dinner at 10 pm, as is the Spanish way. We are going to spend the week in Madrid site seeing and traveling to some of the surrounding areas. If you care to look up any of the places we will be visiting, some of them are: Toledo, El Prado, Museo del Prado, El Valle de los Caidos, El Escorial, El Palacio y Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial, El Museo Reina Sofia…and then we head to Valladolid on Tuesday the 29, where I will be living for the rest of the time.

Valladolid is about 45 min by speed train, north-west of Madrid. I will be living with a host family there along with one other girl from Cal Poly, who I sort of know. I will be attending the Universidad de Valladolid, for my Spanish courses: Advanced Composition and Conversation in Spanish. I will also be taking two Cal Poly courses, one is The Culture of Spain, with a lab class where we go all around looking at different cultural parts of Spain; and then a history class “The Witch-Hunt in Europe.” I am excited about all my classes, a little nervous about the Spanish ones, so you can definitely be praying for those. I take a placement test just to double check on the 1^st of Oct. The other classes (taught in English by Cal Poly professors) I am very excited about. The Culture one, just to learn more about Spain and what makes it tick. The witch-hunt one because I think it will be very interesting-there is a lot of writing in the class, but mostly opinion papers-with topics such as what is evil? Where does it come from? How is it solved? What is Justice? Does it exist? I am excited to be challenged to define such things, and be able to bring in my Christian perspective and talk in class and be challenged to think in a whole new way.

There is a brief overview of the program…if you have any questions let me know, and I’ll answer whatever I know. Some prayer requests for me….

*especially for tonight, as I meet people and begin, that I would connect with other people in the group, and have a blast…

*for my walk with God, that I would find time daily to come to Him and be still

*that my Spanish would grow immensely! That I would just immerse myself in the culture, language and people here

*for my relationships with people that are far away, that I could connect with them, and stay connected here…

*that I could really represent Christ in my group and all that I do….

Sorry this is long, I will try to keep it shorter, but I wanted to kind of give you an overview of everything….Much love to each of you, I am thinking about you and praying for you as well!

My address in SPAIN is:

Natalie Payne

Centro de Idiomas, FG, UVa

Ciudad Universitaria Miguel Delibes

c/ Cementerio, s.n.

47011 Valladolid

SPAIN

Landed in Madrid!

The Real Madrid Stadium

The View From my room

More view...

the car that picked me up!

Flying into Madrid...

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!
I'm hoping this is an easier way to keep you updated
on my Spain travels and adventures, as well as post pictures!

well after about 13 hours on a plane I am finally in Madrid!
It is so so so so so SURREAL to be here! but so fun. My first
flight was direct from Los Angeles to London, and went well.
A little bit of turbulence, but not bad! Then I had about 2
hours in London until I boarded my plane to Madrid.
Now I am in Madrid! The airport is very nice, and thanks to
a great friend of mine, there was a car waiting to pick me up!
We navigated from one end of the city, where the airport is,
to the center, and heart throb of the city where my Hotel is.
I am all checked in and sitting in my room. I have a small balcony
that looks out across the city.

The city is beautiful, just from what I've seen so far. We passed
the Real Madrid Stadium, which is something to behold by itself...
I am so excited that I'm here, I would appreciate your continued prayers and
will keep you updated!

Much Love to Everyone!