It's finally here!

The day I've been waiting months to arrive is FINALLY here!

In about an hour, I'll hop on a bus to Madrid, where a few hours later, I'll meet my family in Baggage Claim. I can't even believe it! This has got to be the BEST birthday present ever!

So, let the good times roll. Commence chaos. C'est la vie. And everything else in between. The Sabelko family is about to take over Spain.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

March Madness (not the basketball kind)

March has always been my favorite month of the year. Why, you ask? Well, for those of you who don't know me, my birthday is in March!! I'm turning 23 this year, which is kind of one of those 'meh' years that doesn't really matter, but still. I. Love. Birthdays.

However, March is going to be extra special this year, and I'll tell you why:

This weekend, I get to do something I've always wanted to do -- go horseback riding on the beach. It's supposed to be 75 and sunny, so it should make for a fantastic day at the beach!

Next weekend, I'm heading to Barcelona to be reunited with a friend I met 5 years ago the first time I came to Spain. I can't believe how fast time has gone by, and I'm extremely excited to visit her and the fascinating city of Barcelona.

Also, on a spur of the moment decision, I booked a plane ticket to Paris. It was super cheap, so I jumped on it right away! That's right, I'm going to Paris! It's always been a dream of mine to go there, and I can't wait to see the beautiful city, and more importantly, the Eiffel Tower.

I bought this plane ticket today as an early birthday present to myself, so I'll be heading there on March 23rd. It can't come soon enough!

Next comes my birthday on the 29th, and I'll be getting the best birthday present ever this year (besides the plane tickets to Paris...)... my FAMILY is coming to visit!! I honestly can't wait to see them! It's been almost six months since I've seen them, and let me tell you, it's been tough at times. After they arrive, we'll be heading off for a 10-day adventure that includes stops in Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Merida & Seville. It's going to be great! 

Ahh sibs, how I have missed you.

I'm so unbelievably happy right now when I look at all the great things I have to look forward to! Life has been full of ups and downs lately (mostly downs), but I've decided to take charge of my life and my happiness. I'm eating better, working out, job searching, and in general, just really looking forward to the rest of March!

Hasta luego!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Nobody says it better than Bing Crosby. I really am dreaming of a white Christmas. All I can think about right now is sitting around with family in a warm, cozy house (with carpet!), eating Christmas dinner, opening presents next to the Christmas tree, seeing my house lit up with twinkling white lights, and so much more. 

Although I've had some pretty great experiences here, the homesickness hasn't quite gone away. My job isn't going quite as I expected it to; I was the 'lucky' one in Merida to be placed in the 'dangerous, ghetto school' according to one of the families I give private lessons to. Fantastic, right? Don't get me wrong, I do love some of my classes, like my Primer ESO students (11-12 year-olds) who are always so excited and actually participate when I'm there, not to mention their English is great, and I love my business classes, which consist of students all older than me. However, the majority of my classes are not-so-nice teenagers who could care less about learning English, not to mention their extremely low level of English makes me wonder if they've been sleeping through their classes for the past 8 years... 

What makes it harder is that the teachers all expect different things from me. Some expect me to plan the lessons for them, while others simply want me there for speaking exercises. Having 16 different classes with varying levels of English makes it quite hard to plan lessons, so here's to hoping I'll make it through the next 7 months without a meltdown.

I know I'm ranting a bit, but the last couple weeks have been a little rough. It's getting colder here and our apartment building has not turned the heat on, I'm getting bossed around by a (spoiled only child) 5-year-old in one of my private lessons (seriously), and I have yet to get paid after working for more than a month. All of this leaves me wondering what else could go wrong.

That being said, I'm seriously contemplating going home for the holidays. I have a little over 3 weeks off of work, so it would either mean a lot of time at home, or a lot of traveling time throughout Europe (Paris, Germany, Italy, etc...).

 Now comes decision time, because no matter what I decide, there's a lot of planning to do. Do I really want to miss Christmas in Paris, a crazy New Year's Eve Party in Berlin and a week of traveling with my partner-in-crime from home (shout-out to Sam!)? Then again, how could I miss seeing this face during Christmas...

Oh hey, Dad :)

Not to mention the rest of my family's smiling faces as well?

Decisions, decisions...