Last weekend visited Paris, France. it was nerve wracking at first, mainly because I do not speak the language and the French hate us. But it turned out to be a completely amazing trip.

Paris is dirty, scummy, vomited on, rat infested, cloudy, gloomy, freezing, and old.
But it was the most amazingly breathtaking experience of my time in Europe so far. :)


It is hard to put into words. Essentially, everything that I have learned about since I was a little kid came to life. EVERYONE knows what the Mona Lisa is - even if all you know is that it is a painting, you still know it exists. And everyone has seen a photo of the Eiffel tower. And even little kids watch Disney movies that take place is Paris, even if they are not aware of it.
And then there I was, standing in front of the EIFFEL TOWER. I was walking down the same hallway of Notre Dame that Esmeralda sings in in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I stood in front of Moulin Rouge, at which point all the goofy songs by Ewan McGregor were playing in my head. I went to the Lourve and walked down the streets that are featured in movies. And there was the Mona Lisa. A painting that has been discussed in every art class I have ever taken. And it was tiny, and surrounded by tourists, and nothing like it is on paper. But I got to see it. I was there.

That's really the only way to describe it. I was worried that it would just be this huge stupid tourst attraction. That it would be overrated and and built up as many things are. But it was so much more. It was history. It was experiencing something that I never thought I was going to get to experience. I, Erin Howes, was there. It still doesn't feel real.

And the people, by the way, were extremely nice to us...and all speak English. Which has been a common trend of this trip.

My life is too busy...and that's basically the only explanation I have right now. For living in a city that is completely relaxed and has no sense of time, I run everywhere and more than often I am on the verge of tears due to insane amounts of stress.

SO, classes here...They are incredibly easy in the sense that I do not have to study 8 hours a night like at IWU. However, at IWU I make dumfounded faces enough as it is. Well, now I am trying to translate, understand the material in two languages, AND put it to memory. Needless to say it is completely exhausting so what may not be much work turns into my greatest nightmare. Plus, ave always been a dork and LOVE going to class. So this new hatred for school is also taking a toll on me and my performance. But I am trying to work through it.

But aside from the boring school stuff, more importantly I am living in Spain and taking full advantage of everything it has to offer.

A group of four of us went to Valencia, Spain during the last weekend in January. Valencia is about a four hour bus ride, directly east of Madrid on the Mediterranean Sea. So that means while my Dad was shoveling snow, I was staring at palm trees and putting my toes in the sand.
Aside from the beautiful 60 degree sun, Valencia is famous for its breathtaking architecure in its Ciudad de Ciencias y Artes (City of Science and Art). The buildings there are supposed to be some of the most aesthetically please in the world. Plus, we were able to visit their other famous attraction, Oceanografico - the largest aquarium in Europe. We saw every type of animal and fish and I was able to enjoy my first Spanish dolphin show!
Finally, Valencia is famous for, and the creating city of, Paella - a famous spanish rice-based dish that I LOVE. So, I ate it twice.

The following weekend Kati, Maria, and I hopped on a plane and headed for Lisbon, Portugal - the most unvisited and underappreciated place in the world. While many of our trips are huge tourist places, very few people sit down and plan a trip to Portugal. It's very chill and relaxed and no one cares about it. Kind of like the Swiss. However, it may be one of my favorite places.

Portugal cannot be captured through pictures, video, etc. It's a pretty rough-around-the-edges capital. However, the overall feeling there is incredible. The people are extremely polite. (Everyone speaks Ebglish, by the way, which has been a common trend here in Europe). Their nightlife is located in one central area called Barrio Alto in which the streets are completely packed like a crazy rock show and you literally cannot see for blocks and blocks. All you see are people partying en las calles.

Our hostel was amazing. We shared a room with a couple from Chile (who were cool for awhile until the dude hacked up a lung all night and then we hated him) and they had breakfast everyday, a beautiful living room, and a kitchen where we made some meals. Plus, I was able to eat with and talk to people from all over the world. One couple MY AGE was from Germany, speaking in English, in Portugal, and studying at the same university in Madrid...and to think that just being bilingual in America makes you something special...