I am courageous, resilient, and unstoppable!

Sometimes called the "Little Alps", Picos de Europa is a beautiful mountain range in northern Spain. It gets its name from the fact that voyagers returning from America first saw the peaks of these mountains and knew they were nearing Europe.  Picos de Europa We headed out early in the morning with two busloads of students. We had all packed a lunch to bring with us. We first stopped at a man-made lake where the city of Riaño was once located. The city was move to higher grounds to make space for the dam and lake which was then used to produce power. The power plant isn't in operation today, but the beautiful lake and a small island still stand.  Heading Out We went to a look-off point where there was a wonderful view, a big swing, and an oversized heart for taking pictures. My new front-end motor did really well when the trail wasn't too steep, but there were some really steep parts where my classmates helped push me. We spent some time at the lookout, then we got ba...

I went on a field trip to Segovia where we saw the ancient aqueduct and the Alcazar castle. Both of these were amazing, but I think the aqueduct was the most interesting because of its curious workmanship. The entire thing was built with huge stones cut from nearby mountains and put into place without mortar or cement of any kind. The shape of the arches holds them up simply from the weight of the stones. Incredible! I have no idea how they were able to get all the stones in place either. These were built around 2,000 years ago, and I'm pretty sure they didn't have the same equipment to use as we do today.  Segovia Aqueduct Alcazar was fascinating as well. There were coats of armor on display along with a number of artifacts from over the centuries such as swords, shields, cannons, muskets, and other artillery.  Coat of Armor One room in the castle was decorated elegantly with gold ceiling, fancy fabrics, and paintings of kings and queens high on the walls. I suppose it was th...

I've been here is Spain for about two months now, and let me just tell you what an amazing experience it has been! I'm feeling so blessed to be here. It took me a few weeks to adjust and be able to understand people. I'm still not understanding everything yet, but I'm getting along just fine. When I go on tours with my class, I'm often the one translating for people who don't understand enough Spanish, and that makes me feel really good about my level of Spanish.  The first six weeks of classes was really intense. The first two weeks was a Spanish intensive that really tested my grammar. It felt like trying to drink from a fire hose. The next 4 weeks were a review of everything I've already studied the past two years, and I'm really glad we did that. I struggled through because I was the only one in my level at that time, so I had to be tuned in every second, and it was exhausting.  When Charlie Kirk was shot on a campus near my home campus, I was really...