vegan; because my body isn't a graveyard.

state-side.
yes, indeed the time has come to ackowledge my return across the pond and my plans for the future of both my life here in america and my blog.

well, i suppose it would be prudent to begin by mentioning my return expedition via lufthansa airlines. [indeed, i did get home last tuesday, but we know how the holidays tend to distract ..] the flight was glorious. none of the planes were overly-crowded. in fact, my 10-hour trek across the ocean which quickly turned into eleven and a half was quite cozy being that the seat to my immediate right remained vacant and to my left housed a sufficiently intoxicated man from south dakota who passed out promptly after discussing my random factual knowledge about american states and demanding a book report covering important topics about mohandas ghandi. started out in 'the -gort' at 8a spanish time walking my 4 cases of luggage to the metro and concluded with an exhausted discussion between me and an airline executive about lost luggage at midnight michigan time. not to worry, it has since been dropped off on my porch and all items are accounted for. safe and sound, here at home. in fruitport. michigan. u.s. of a. excellent.

it's good to be home. there's a comfort one will never quite experience anywhere but their own stomping grounds. i feel almost as if anywhere but my parent's couch would have held a sense of intrusion, but the home that housed you, the kitchen that fed you and the fireplace that holds nostalgic memories of christmas past was the perfect homecoming gift my parents ever could have offered, and they didn't even have to lift a finger. comfort. best. gift. ever. sorry carmen, you ain't got shit on home.

which brings me to my next and final point. being that i don't have facebook anymore and my cellular plan is currently on hiatus, i can be contacted via land-line. if you don't have my number, but are interested, call kristine or laura. if you don't have their numbers, i guess you are at the mercy of chance, because i'm tentative to post any personal information that i'll have to remember to delete later. however, i do believe i am going to make an attempt to keep up with the blog. obviously it will no longer hold spanish tales of adventure and horseplay, but as a retrospective view of life goals and accomplishments, i think it could be a useful tool for communication and improvement.

newest challenge: i have been thinking as of late, the seed of thought having been planted last spring and growing non-stop into an uncontrollable beast, that i will be adopting a vegan lifestyle. more to come on this issue, however getting this out there is really cementing this idea into place. bought my first half gallon of almond milk and 4 cartons of soy yogurt. this shit is on. like donkey-kong.

caring is creepy

it has been brought to my attention that i have been seriously slacking on the blog front. in all honesty, i hadn't been up to a whole lot until the girls showed up last friday. as many of you may have gathered, i have had a wonderful time here in spain and have acquired from this marvelous experience memories that will last a lifetime. however, i am pretty ready to return state-side. in an attempt to keep everyone up-to-date on my living situation here, i have attached a few meaningless photos for ya'll to oggle.

this is where i keep my things.

look at them all.

thingy and such.

close-up view of things.

this is the courtyard in my school.

as i make precious FEW grammatical errors;

yes, you read that right, IN my school

hallway.

the building is completely open to the outside wilderness.

of bilbao.

the girls were very happy to find bilbao safe and sound.

favorite.

the weather was much more accommodating in san sebastian this time around.

luckily, as i had a fully charged battery.

blue-green ocean.

breathtaking, literally.

the hill we had to climb to get here nearly killed me.

a few of you may be surprised to know this,

but to accomplish this effect,

all you need do is twist the camera while you take the photo ..

 hehe.

and finally the 'casco viejo' of san sebastian.

had a wonderful time with the girls.

they should be half-way over the atlantic right now,

while i remain here in the -gort, waiting for lunch to be prepared for me.

after that, i may need to find something occupy my time for a bit outside of the house so carmen can come in and clean my room. then maybe later i'll let her cook me dinner while i watch more television, then if i'm tired, i'll go to bed. if not, i may sit on pinterest finding new things to occupy my time when i get home.

anyway, clearly i have nothing of substance left to discuss,

therefore i will leave you with this mini-countdown: 

[2 days until i start my last week of class]

[6 days until my final exams]

[7 days until closing ceremonies]

[9 days until i pack up all my earthy possessions]

[10 days until i return]

see you all very soon.