Second chances

Well hello there! I have been in a more creative mood lately and wish my ADHD would allow me to sit down and write them out. I have been journaling a lot more than usual and it feels good to let things out, however it’s also very lonely to be the only human in the house. Lots of changes- miss Gypsy came into my life and birthed Loki, Storm, Gypsy Jr, and Rain. And then everyone went to their forever home but Gypsy mama and Rain stayed. And then we added Lola for a few months!

First, this mami has gone back home this year!! This was a soul healing trip full of adventures, celebrations, happiness, family, friends and ALLLLLLL the Adriatic. 🖤 Therapy has me in a new awakening- it always takes a heart break to kick you in the ass! 🫡 LOL!

I have been ready to date again since last year and well, it didn’t happen last year. But this time around, I think it will. And I am happy with what the Universe has given me lately. She is definitely showering me with a lot more happiness, community, trust and random laughter. I am totally here for it! 

Secondly, I was in Hot Yoga Nashville studio all weekend for a Buti cert audit and as much as I enjoyed 30 hours of yoga, I am absolutely and utterly exhausted, sore but so damn happy! I mean, seriously?! Life changing!

Life, love and everything in between

Hello my dear readers, it's been ages and I apologize. Since I wrote last, I visited the mother countries and looked for international job opportunities, as well as educated myself on the economic situations in those countries for my own personal growth. My current job could be a career path if my boss decides to join the 21st century technology driven world. That would make my life so much easier; I wouldn't have to look for another job. But as you all know, this is me and why would I have anything easy in life when it's always been ass backwards and hectic? Murphy's Law, damn you. But enough about the boring stuff. 

While I was in Europe, I found out a lot about myself through conversations with my family and my experiences there. To be honest, I didn't change much from the way I was when I was little. I am still the mouthy girl with the attitude and a smile on her face...just more mature. I love listening to stories about me as a child; it fills me with such joy to know that once upon a time, I was a happy child. Not to say I'm not a happy adult, but adulthood hasn't always been bright and shiny. I've gone through a lot in my life which has made me stronger, but left me broken. 

Also, I went to Europe to be with my boyfriend and introduce him to the family!!! I shall brag about him in a separate post; FH (Future Husband) likes his privacy and I don't blame him. He even met my dad and is still alive and in one piece, so I am assuming that dad is okay with my choice. Watching the two most important men in my life chit chat, laugh and tell jokes has mended my heart on so many levels. I could have watched them interact all day. At times, I did. Oh, and I turned 30 while I was there so I guess I cannot call my blog "rants of a single twenty-something.." No longer single and no longer twenty. I guess now it's time for a blog make-over! And possibly a new name. I need ideas..Anyone?

"I stop to smell the roses and take pictures of sunrises and sunsets.

I listen more and talk less.

I take more breaths and think before I speak.

I aim to learn something new at least once a day.

I have more patience.

I am not selfless by any means, but do practice holding back a lot of my selfish tendencies.

I've realized it's not just about me anymore. It's about an us.

Love really works miracles for a person."

20 years later

So, 20 years since I've been back to my hometown in Bosnia and I am nervous. I am travelling in May and coming back in June with my sister and my mother. My father doesn't know I'm coming and neither does my grandmother. I want it to be a nice surprise. I have many emotions running through me about going back. I just hope I can handle it. If you don't know why I am nervous, shame on you for not keeping up with World news and if you are younger than 20 years old, disregard that comment.

In 1992, war broke out in Bosnia and many of us were chased out of our homes, our families and friends were killed and we left our country in refuge for a better tomorrow. My sister and I had to leave after the war was over in 1995 and we moved to Croatia to be with our father.
Many of my memories are suppressed deep down and it will take years of therapy to recollect all of the things I forgot. Not to mention, many of us have undiagnosed PTSD and it affects us daily in our lives. Most of our people found refuge in America and it wasn't easy starting a new life. We dealt with prejudice, religious bashing, nightmares and general terrorizing from the American people. Don't get me wrong; not everyone was the same. There are some genuinely good human souls out there. I am forever thankful to live here and be safe, but not everyone feels the same about us being here. We are intruders, job-stealers, terrorists, corrupt, ugly reminders of the past.

Now, after 20 years I am going back to the place that started it all. Going back to the place where my memories lie buried, to the place that set the standards of my growing up. I had the best childhood growing up. We didn't have distractions like kids today have. We were raised to respect, work hard and to stand up for what we believed in. We had happiness; genuine, innocent friendships. I miss my family and want to see them! But..I'm scared. I'm scared that the memories will come rushing back and I will come unhinged. I'm scared that I may go and not come back the same person I've become or worse.

I hope this trip opens my eyes, brings my memories back so I can remember where I came from and instills all of my family morals further. I hope it's a growing experience instead of just revealing scary skeletons in my closet.

I hope...I'll keep you updated.

Woah, one whole year later

This exact time last year, I was getting in the car with my step dad and heading to Nashville, TN to the airport. I was getting ready to fly to Barcelona, Spain with my classmates to begin my study abroad student teaching experiences. A million thoughts were running through my head. I was nervous, I was excited, I was homesick and cried a little- I'm not gonna lie.

I sit here a year later and am a little saddened. My step-dad passed away almost a month ago. I am not in my selected career. I chose to come back to the United States when I should've, could've, would have stayed there. All of these "regrets" going through my head, but I smile when I think of this day last year. 

On this day, my step dad was alive and well. On this day, I was getting ready to embark on the biggest trip of my life. On this day, I grew up. On this day, I became a woman. On this day, I felt alive.

My first step on Spain soil and I had the biggest smile on my face. The month spent there made me grow up, made me change, made me appreciate all the good and bad in my life. It also terrified me and it made me question my life.

What I wouldn't do to go back to Spain? I would give my firstborn. Kidding..No, seriously.

Back home!

Ok, so my lovely friends, it's been a while since I have blogged. Last you heard, I was going to Croatia to visit my father. Well, that happened and it was the best experience ever. I mean, I saw my daddy! Of course it would be. I spent the weekend with him and his long-time girlfriend Jadranka. We had some really great food, enjoyed each others company, relaxed and went sightseeing a bit. I didn't get many pictures mainly because I was more focused on spending the time with my father than anything else.We went to the country and just spent some time taking pictures. These pictures were taken in two different places. One is a town built completely on waterfalls called Slunj and the other is Karlovac. Both gorgeous and full of greenery as you can see. 

Well once I left Croatia, I came home to Barcelona and spent some much needed time on the beach with my La Garriga girls. We had a party at SEK the very last days and invited our friends who live downstairs. We all enjoyed our last days and now wish we can go back. 

Once I got back to the States, I was very excited to see my friends and family again, but was very sad that I had to leave Barcelona. It still brings tears to my eyes that I'm not there right now. :(

I spent a whole day with my family and before I knew it graduation was here. It was a very busy day for me and my family both. Lots of cooking, cleaning, greeting people and socializing. All in all, it was a very wonderful day for me. One of the happiest, besides my days spent in Spain. 

I was so glad my brother was there and some friends showed up as well (we won't specify who, so we don't shame the ones who said they would be there and then didn't show up).

Graduation day was a very happy time for me, and now I am on the job hunt. I am applying for teaching jobs as well as summer jobs and hopefully it works out for me to work with one of my friends. I could sure use the job over the summer to get back on my feet from Spain. I broke the bank with that one, but wouldn't have it any other way.

Finishing my tourist list with Susana :)

 Guess where Susana and I first went? I'll give you a hint. Look at the picture!!! Oh my God, we were so excited when we saw the beach. We acted like two little girls in a candy store. I absolutely love the beach because where I lived in Croatia, my house was 4 houses away from the beach so it was at my disposal whenever I wanted it. :) My daddy always used to call me a fish, because I'd never get out of the water when he'd tell me to.

 We didn't just stop at the beach. We also took the Gothic walking tour (our own tour instead of the paid one) and saw the cathedral of Barcelona which is also called Santa Maria del Mar (Saint Mary of the Sea). Again, I am an amazing navigational guide because the metro is now under my command. Considering I do not live in Barcelona, I think this is pretty darn good. Once we took the tour and actually saw a lot of the buildings mentioned online, we came to a placa where some guys were breakdancing. Of course I am in love with people who can dance and love observing any kind of dance so we stopped to watch. They were showing off, dancing and were really talented. I believe one of the guys was a gymnast but this didn't get proven til later. The one boy who I believed was a gymnast pointed to me and asked me to "come here" with the movement of his finger. I stood still for a bit and he motioned for me again. I stepped a little hesitantly up to him as he picked 3 more girls. One of them spoke Spanish, one of them spoke German only and two of us were American.

He lined us up in a row, showed us off to the crowd and then had us bend over and touch our toes. At first we were wondering what the heck? He explained that he was going to jump over us, to which all of us were like "Uhm, No!" But he assured us this is 100% safe. We got into our position, and he did his trick. Voila! No one hurt and he shows off his amazing skills. Great experience! Til the next adventure, toodles!!!

Tourist day out con Kristi :)

Adventure time in Barcelona! Since I was traveling last weekend, and I am going to be traveling next weekend, I thought it would be good if I actually explored Barcelona a bit. Kristi and I woke up and left La Garriga at 11:35am. We got to Barcelona about an hour later and decided our first stop would be La Sagrada Familia. On the train, we got off two stops before we were supposed to, transferred metros and apparently I am a professional at this metro thing (even though I don’t live in Barcelona) because I found all stops just fine. 

 

We arrived at Sagrada Familia and bought our tickets, only to find out our time for the lift is not for another hour and a half. We went inside to explore and take pictures but after we were done, we sat down on one of the pillars outside and played games on our phones until it was our time for the lift. 2:40pm finally came and we went up. In the lift, the guide lets us know we will be walking our way back down. WHAT?! Do you not know I am phobic of heights, woman? Oh dear God. At this point, all I’m thinking is “Gabi, please don’t freak out. Please don’t freak out.” My knees are weak, but I still manage to walk out of the lift. So terrifying to be up this high, but the air is exhilarating and the view..oh the view! 

 

The view is breath-taking. My feet are planted firmly into the ground as I make my way across the small stone bridge. I feel a little better because I am being brave but it’s still scary. I finally cross the bridge and it’s time to go down. The stair case that you walk down is completely closed in by stone walls, but the middle part of it is open. I literally slither down the sides of the stair case walls all the way down. We are OUT! Freeeeeeeddddoooooom! Even though it was terrifying, I’m glad I went because the view is something you don’t want to miss. 

 

Next stop was Montserrat. When we got to this metro stop, the guy we asked for directions with the tickets told us that it would be pointless for us to go now because we’d only have 45 minutes to explore. So we decided to go to Park Gϋell instead. It was gorgeous as well. The walk up the hill is a definite tester of your strength, but once you make it to the top, the entrance to the park is gorgeous. The different colors, the architecture and the different mosaics built into the stone makes you forget you walked all that way up the steep hill. As you enter the park, if you want to see all the way to the sea, you have to walk ALL the way up to the top. Again, this is a test of your strength. Kristi and I went all the way up and the view is astonishing. 

 

From the very top, you see Sagrada Familia and Torre Agbar towering over the city and if you look further, you see the sea which made me giddy. At this point, I promise myself I will see the sea before I leave Barcelona and I don’t care what the weather is like. We explored the park for about an hour and a half, then walked back to our metro stop and went to Placa Catalunya to meet Logan for coffee and some shopping before she goes off to travel for the weekend. Kristi and I came back very happy but very tired on the last train. Overall, the day was amazing. We saw some of the sights, did some shopping and finished souvenir haggling for some of our family and friends back home. 

 

When I came home, I skyped before bed, which finished my amazing day off with a cherry on top.

Life worries me

All the kids are traveling for the weekend. The only ones that are left here in La Garriga is Logan, Chen and me. Kristi is here too, but definitely not by her choices (a little ridiculous story). This weekend Kristi and I are planning on kidnapping Alana and use her as our tour guide around Barcelona. Everyone explored Barcelona for the first weekend, and here we are leaving it for our third. Logan is leaving Sunday to travel, and we all do not have school til Tuesday! Yay! I love my kids, but I need a break. Today was a hard day in class. The internet was not working very well so the kids could barely Skype my friend Elvis to interview him. But I was prepared for Plan B and answered some of the kids' questions by myself. They were amazed as to how much I knew about the Islam religion. Research and Muslim friends help a lot. :) Plus I love religions (all religions) and want to know as much as I can about each one. In English class, the kids also made their own books online and it was a super fun excitement. Tensions were there at first and their teacher was pretty frustrated so I pulled my best Harry Wong and turn the lights on and off to get their attention. They immediately settled down because reading with me in the other room did not sound half as much fun as them making their own books. :-) Successful classroom management skill! (I pat myself on the back as I say this).
I am worried about home. My step-dad is still in the hospital and they cannot do chemotherapy until he has gotten better. I cried a bit last night just thinking about home and everything my family is going through, but I am trying to stay strong because they are counting on me to tell them all of these stories that I am sharing with you guys right now. :) I thank God for my friends who have Skyped me because they have kept me sane. (Nader, Sam, Mohammed Nasser, Moe, Elvis and Kim- Thank you!)
Well that is all for now. Oh and our food for this weekend is AMAZING! :)

We never make it to our destination

Susana and I went into Barcelona today on the school bus. By the time we reached Barcelona, we were both kind of hungry. We ate at this great pasta and pizza place. The spaghetti sauce is absolutely AMAZING. Best I've ever had. Our intentions were to go to a museum, but on our way there we stopped at a shop and did some shopping. Before we realized, it was already too late to go to the museum because we had to get on our train to La Garriga pretty soon. We got ice cream (again, for the umpteenth time this week). I love this ice cream place because they have the BEST ice cream called galleta maria, which is a type of cookie in Spain. The cookie tastes like the Bosnian cookie that my mom uses to make my favorite cake with, so I am absolutely in love with its flavor. Nothing really exciting today happened, other than planning a lesson for tomorrow. My kiddos are going to be coming up with questions to ask my friend Elvis about his religion and we have a visit from the Dean and Dr. Carter tomorrow. They are coming to observe us. I thought I was going to be nervous, but I got this! :) Anyway, this weekend I am planning on exploring Barcelona from all sides and seeing every attraction I want to see. Alana is going to help me and perhaps Logan joins us. I'm excited. Until tomorrow, dear bloggers. Hasta luego!

16 days left

I have 16 days left in Spain. At times I feel like not a lot of time has passed and then other times I believe we've been here forever. Paris was amazing. I cannot wait to someday go back when I have more time. Susana and I went into town yesterday for Sant Jordi's day. Sant Jordi tradition is that girls get roses and boys get books. No one could explain to me why the boys get books but here is why the girls get roses. In a village in Catalunya, there was a dragon who pestered the people of that village. It would come into the village and eat the people so the villagers made a pact with the dragon that they would sacrifice a person for the dragon to eat. The way they went about this was they would put everyone's name in a hat and they would draw out one name a day. One day, the name they took out of the hat was the Princess' of the village. The princess was on her way to the dragon's lair to be sacrificed when a knight on a white horse appeared in front of her. He told the princess not to go to the dragon, and he went instead. He killed the dragon with a spear and when he did, the dragon's blood turned into roses. The knight saved the princess' life. She went back to the village and the knight disappeared. Sant Jordi's day is kind of like Spain's Valentine's day. Susana and I really enjoyed ourselves in Barcelona! At the end of the night is when things got scary. We missed our last night train and had to take the night bus. We finally asked and figure out the directions to get to the bus stop. Once we arrived in La Garriga, we didn't know where the driver dropped us off so with Susana's Spanish and my Spanish and navigation skills, we finally got back to the school at 3am. It was an adventure, but not one we want to repeat again.

Today, in the classroom my teacher was so frustrated with the kids she was on the verge of tears. She broke down and finally said to me "I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I'm a bad teacher." We talked for a while and I gave her a lot of advice. I also turned her to Harry Wong and his videos on classroom management. I am already watching over one trouble maker in the classroom and I often stand or sit by his desk to keep him on task. This is no problem for me because I feel like my classroom management skills are strong. I help with English by making sure the kids are on task and learning what they need to do while she teaches. I am excited for the religion class this week because the kids will be skyping my friend Elvis and asking him questions about his religion. Anyway, bloggers! I feel like I'm rambling. Have a good day and continue to say a few prayers for my family. Gracias por todo, mi amigos.

Belle France

Ok, so Monica, Chen and my plan was to leave La Garriga on Thursday (day 9) at 1:30pm to stay in a Barcelona hostel. I came to their room at 1:30pm, Monica had locked herself out and Chen went to print the boarding passes. The reason we were leaving early is because Chen was meeting some friends in Barcelona. The boarding passes finally printed, but we left late and arrived at the train station late so we waited for the 3pm train. We got to Barcelona and looked all over for her friend and at first, could not find her. Once we found her friend, we stopped at a nice little cafe and sat down to get something to eat. Chen's friend tells us that she was in a motorcycle accident not even an hour ago (motorcycle hit her, she reported it to the police). Not only did the poor thing get his by a moving object, she also lost her passport so they had to contact the police to find it. Hopefully they did. Good luck on their voyage. Monica, Chen and I shopped in Barcelona for a while and then decided to take the metro and bus to the hostel. First, my ticket would not scan.

Then the bus did not stop at our stop and continued on for two more stops. We got off and walked on the highway backtracked trying to find our stop. Once we got to somewhere recognizable, we noticed the police officers and decided to ask them for directions. They let us know that "this is not a safe neighborhood and we need to get off the streets." By this time, it is very late and we are very tired and the worst news we could get was that the hostel we booked was in a "dangerous" part of town. We finally get to the hostel and the desk clerk says the same thing. "Ladies, you need taxi not bus to airport." Uh, yes sir. So we get to our rooms, Chen's key isn't working, there is no light in our bathroom, we have no towels but of course we figure things out! We hardly got any sleep! We called a taxi, got to the airport and were ON OUR WAY TO PARIS!!! Once we got to France, we had to find our bus to Paris (which took an hour and a half and was 30 euros round-trip!!!!) Arrived to Paris, got to Monica's hotel room, decided to take a walk around, started walking towards the Notre Dame, got lost and ran into the Louvre. So all's well that ends well. :) This is our couple of days in a nutshell!!! I'm glad I'm a calm person. LOL!

 L’église Saint-Eustache is a church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, built between 1532 and 1632. The church is an example of the Gothic style in the Renaissance Era.

 The glass showcase in front of Arc de Triomphe. It says Peace on it in many languages. :)

 Château de Versailles- royal palace and absolute amazing. We toured the inside. It only takes about 45 minutes to tour if the palace is fairly empty. There are many rooms that are closed off to tourists, but there are a LOT of them that are open and are ably to be looked through. The King and Queen's bedrooms were open and amazing.

 The entrance to the Palace Versailles. Very beautiful and I believe it's true gold as well. If only I could have chipped off a couple of pieces before we left. :)

 Arc de Triomphe

 The famous Hall of Mirrors inside Versailles. It was simply used as a hallway between the Queen's bedroom and the King's bedroom.



The lovely Notre Dame. Absolutely amazing at night and amazing during the day. It is free to tour inside, but if you go all the way to the top it does cost you some euros, but not much. I didn't go to the top because the bottom was exhilarating enough for me.

I received some bad news from home. My step-dad had to go in for some routine check ups and they found out that he has colon and liver cancer. This is a very bad time for my family and I am heartbroken that I am not with them, but my mom has asked that I stay here and enjoy myself for them. So, that is what I am going to do. So dear bloggers, happy reading and please say a prayer or two for my family.

Day 7

Barca WON the other day! Madrid LOST today! I am so excited for the other game tomorrow. Alejandro is going to a local bar to watch it because we don't have cable here at the school and our wi-fi is horrible to try to watch it live on a laptop so we are heading to town to watch it tomorrow. SO excited. I'm sporting my jersey which I bought!!! :) Today was a really rough day. The kids here are incredibly rowdy which makes it hard to teach any class. The teacher that I am assisting is a really nice person and I feel like they don't respect her as much because she isn't a native, which is really sad. I was assisting in science, English and drama today. Science and English went really well; drama class was well...dramatic. It was at the end of the day and kids were not ready to listen at all. I am heading to Paris this weekend- THRILLED! I will take lots of pictures to show you bloggers! Next weekend, I am devoting to the beautiful Barcelona because we have a 3 day weekend, maybe even a 4 day one. I will possibly go to all of the Gaudi buildings that I am interested in, as well as take a tour of La Sagrada Familia and the Picasso museum. :) While I am in Paris, I hope to go to the top of the Eiffel tower, Pantheon, Notre Dame and the largest mosque in Europe.

Day 6

We went to Barcelona today and went to buy some souvenirs. Got some people back in the states covered. Monica, Chen and I are traveling to Paris, France this weekend. I am so excited about that.

We went to see a couple of buildings inspired by Gaudi today. They are absolutely amazing. The architecture of this city amazes me.









Also on the bus ride over we saw La Sagrada Familia. The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is a work on a grand scale which was begun on 19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-1901). At the end of 1883 Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea.

The building is in the centre of Barcelona, and over the years it has become one of the most universal signs of identity of the city and the country. It is visited by millions of people every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.

It has always been an expiatory church, which means that since the outset, 130 years ago now, it has been built from donations. Gaudí himself said: "The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and the will of the people." The building is still going on and could be finished some time in the first third of the 21st century.

Spain day 3-4-5

We went to town again and again we climbed that darn hill. Every day it gets easier, but my legs surely don’t think so right now. I think I’m honestly losing weight, but we will see when we come back to the states. Alejandro and Alana have been the greatest help to us, God bless them. I love making new friends and I have a feeling that the experiences here are going to be life-changing. I was asked today if I would do this all again, even with the frustrations of money expenses and things at home. I said “yes” without hesitation. Spain is beautiful and if they offered me a job today, I would take it. I’m thinking about applying to schools here for a job, but this is just a thought right now. Maybe I’m just mesmerized by Spain’s beauty and not thinking clearly. After town, Alejandro and Alana came to our apartment and we threw a little get together with some cards and Sangria. It was a very fun and relaxing atmosphere. The next day (day 4) Allie, Susana and I went to
Barcelona.

After figuring out what train tickets we needed and spending an hour on the train, we arrived to the beautiful Barca. We looked around, ate, took pictures, went into places we don’t have home, experienced a riot and got soaked wet while it was pouring rain. It was an experience that I wouldn’t change for the world. I am feeling a bit sick today, so making tea and curling up on the couch with a good movie is in the works. Have to recharge those batteries and sharpen the saw up a bit. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. I was homesick probably the first day, but now I feel like I can stay here forever. Today is day 5 and we are staying at home because it is rainy today and going into town or to Barcelona would be very inconvenient right now. Until later, bloggers.

La Garriga day 2

Today was a little more hectic. The 6th graders I have, had a "Sports Day" today so they were not in the classroom all day besides at the end. My teacher, Stephanie and I were hanging out for about 3 hours while she was planning things for the upcoming weeks and finishing her paperwork. It is amazing to see how different the culture and the education is here. These kids take their English classes seriously, whereas the students we have who take a foreign language just seem to take it because it's a requirement. Also, their discipline system is very different. Spain is a very loud country; it reminds me of home. Today my kids were a little crazier than usual according to Stephanie, so I am very excited to see what they will be like tomorrow. I met them today and introduced myself. They are wild, but so precious. I think I am going to feel right at home here in the next few days. After class, Susana and I decided to go into town. LOVE the little shops. This weekend we may be going to Barcelona to spend the weekend there and have Alana take us to different sights. :) I'm excited. Until next time, hasta luego.

Just a little foreign girl in a little foreign town!

Hola mi amigos y amigas! Yo estoy en La Garriga, Espana! It is such a charming little town! First we landed in Barcelona. It took us forever to be able to depart from JFK but we were finally up in the air an hour later and still arrived on time. Strange huh? We arrived in Barcelona then took a charter bus to La Garriga. We arrived, had our orientation, met our teachers and had lunch. After everything we had to do today, Alejandro took us into town and showed us La Garriga and its little cozy shops. Of course, Susana and I were in the supermarket a little too long and our group walked away without us. Thank God I have an awesome sense of direction and we arrived back to our apartment safely. All in all, a very good day. I have a feeling my legs are going to be killing me tomorrow, because to get to town is a 25 minute walk downhill and then walking around the town, we spent at least a couple of hours. The 25 minute walk uphill back to the school made us realize how out of shape we were. A couple of more times walking to town and I believe we'll be back in shape. Anyway, it is 12am here and I am about to hit the sheets. Blog tomorrow again!!! :)

I am leaaaaaving..on a jet plane..don't know when I'll be back again!

Ok, so in about 4 hours I will be loading up on the plane to La Garriga, Espana! I am so excited and nervous! I hate to leave my family and friends, but they will be just peachy without me for a month. I cannot wait to tell you all about Spain every day, but I will wait and do that once I am actually there. I researched the school and it's amazing!!! I cannot wait to meet the kiddos, the teachers and to see the beautiful culture in Spain. I've always been mesmerized by the Spanish culture and now I get to experience it myself. I can only thank God for allowing me to follow my dreams and create this wonderful opportunity for myself. Love you all! See you in Espana! :)

My very first blog!!!

Hey all! My friend, miss Emily Shell posted a link on Facebook a couple of days ago and I decided to follow it. She posted the link to her blog. This is all her fault. I am now addicted to blogger, and blogging. Since I am going to have to blog about my student teaching in Spain, I figure I may as well post it now. There are lots of teaching ideas, projects, books, resources that I can and will post on here. In order to actually blog and make it interesting, I have to introduce myself a little bit more into detail. I'm Gabriela, everyone calls me Gabi. I'm 26 years old (in 5 days), and I am a 5th year senior. Elementary Education is not my first major. I was a Medical Assistant before, graduated from Draughons Junior College with an Associates in Science. I will be student teaching in Barcelona, Spain. I am beyond excited! The picture below is an aerial view of Barcelona, Spain. I CANNOT WAIT! This was truly a great opportunity and I am glad I made it happen for myself. Application handed in, interview won and all that is left is paying my way! :)

Currently, I have been in Briarwood Elementary school for Block II (a set of 3 educational classes in which we teach two lessons and spend 10 days in an elementary school). These are my kindergarteners at Briarwood. I miss them already!