5 courses 5 times the work

It is scary how fast the end of a semester comes. Do you know that moment when it hits you how much work you have? I just got beat up by that moment!
This semester I am talking five courses and I am not complaining about it but I have A LOT of work!!
For my politics class I have to write a 10 pages paper and my problem isn’t the obvious "too long", it’s the annoying "WOW I can write so much about this". I sat down to write my introduction the other day and ended up with 4 pages!!! I realized it is much harder to make a paper shorter than it is to make it longer. I love my paper and it keeps getting better every time I do research.
For my marketing class I have a group project that is quite big but soo much fun. We are supposed to choose a product and analyze the marketing strategy. We chose the new NIKE MV Superfly cleats (the ones that Christian Ronaldo uses).
For my Economics I have a presentation I have to do. It is quite difficult to choice a subject that is presentable because economics is mostly numbers, but I think I can cook something up.
We also have a few quizzes in my last two classes but nothing as serious as the ones I mentioned. The best part about all of this is that it will all be over soon and I can enjoy the summer. It not really that bad having soo much work because I feel like I deserve the vacation afterwards and honestly it feel like I am going to need this one instead of deserve it.

Aquatic Spring Break

I have learned that being spontaneous is one of the most liberating and sometimes rewarding attributes to have. My plan for this past spring break was to go to Lisbon and spend it with my mother and 2 of my sisters. We had plans to travel somewhere, either eastern Europe or simply take the car to somewhere in Spain. After a long discussion and not really deciding what we wanted to do, we were watching TV and there was a show about fish and my sister at that point said that she had always wanted to learn how to scuba-dive. That is what I did all spring break, LEARN HOW TO DIVE!!
It was such a surprise. I had never even considered scuba-diving, I had bungee jumping, sky diving and vertical climbing on my list of things to do, but scuba-diving had never even crossed my mind. We called a scuba-diving center and took a 5 day intensive course. We learned everything from the physics of diving , managing our equipment to how to react underwater in case of an emergency. The most incredible thing was that during our third open water dive our dive master (instructor) saw a group of fish and signaled us to follow them, so we did so as fast as we could, not knowing what was so special about these fish. Later on, we surfaced only to discover that they were extremely rare fish to the point that during 20 years of diving our dive master has only seen them once before. It was so exhilarating realizing that we were part of that, you need to try it to know what I am talking about. Another thing you never forget is your first breath underwater, it is such a unique feeling and it never leaves your memories. The atmosphere in general was very friendly and happy, divers are a very welcoming group. We made friends, learned a lot and most importantly got a diving LICENSE!!!
Now My sister and I have planned several diving trips, we have our little thing :)

The Extra Mile

I was presented with a dilemma a few days ago. There is this one class that to my surprise I am doing horribly in. It was a complete surprise because I had thought that I knew what I was doing. The question I faced was either to withdraw from the class to save my GPA or try and make it work, because it is a required course. After talking the advise of some of the staff and professors I decided to go talk to my professor. She said that she was also surprised with my grade. After a long talk and a few encouraging compliments I have decided to pass with flying colours. I know it is easier said than done but life isnt easy. These decisions are not easy and I think they are the true lessons in life. This is it, this is the time to go that "Extra Mile".

Avatar

Almost a week ago my friends and I finally made it to the movies. Avatar in English and 3D was amazing. I am upset that I only got time to see it now and it has been in theaters for quite a while now, but I made it and I resisted watching it online just to watch it in 3D. I have to say I was mesmerized by the affects. When we first got there we were welcomed with a nice surprise which was a discount on our tickets because we are students. To sum it up good company, popcorn, soda and an astounding movie, it was a very relaxed night that I have been wanting for a while now.

Surprise Party!!

Last Thursday was my Birthday and my friends threw me a surprise party. I have to say it was very touching. I would call it scared party because when I got home they all shouted SURPRISE and I was startled more than surprised, I even dropped my phone hehe. In all honesty it one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me, I have amazing roomates!!. A few attempts by my friends have failed miserably in the past because I always seem to find out, but this one was the one that worked. After the cake and everything we went to the same place I celebrated my birthday last year and it was just perfect. I would not have wanted to spend my birthday in any other way, a little bit of family would have been nice, but you know what they say "Friends are the family you choose". Thanks Guys it was an unforgettable surprise!!!

Ping Pong Wars

Last semester The student council worked hard to make money and bought us a Ping Pong table. It is such a good way to be entertained, specially if we have big breaks between classes. Yesterday though something legendary happened. Yesterday was the Start of a long long war between Christian and I. What started off as a normal friendly game continued on for hours and ended up being a show for spectators and a semester long challenge between the two of us. It was really funny cause half way through we just got so into it and every time we said it was the last game the loser would convince the winner to go again...and so on. The weather is essentially cold this time of the year so exercise is minimal but yesterday believe me, it felt good to break a sweat for a change and it felt good to have such a sportsman's like competitor and friend. That is a Picture of us playing last semester, and would like to thank Jared for amazing photo graphical talent. As simple as a ping pong game is, for me it made my day and I look forward to actually winning next hehehe. Christian BEWARE!!

Cuban Food

Madrid is just a jackpot when it comes to Latin food, obvious I know but I never thought it was this great. The other day I finally made some time to go have a really (sit down) lunch, not the usual sandwich. I went being happy that I was going to get a real meal, I was blown away by the food. This restaurant in Calle Huertas near Sol (downtown) served heavenly food. I ordered the ropa vieja which means old clothes in spanish and it was just delicious. I learned that that dish is originally from Spain (Canary Islands). I also learned that in Cuba when you order you food they bring it all at once and on the same plate, meaning that the rice, patatas, beans, fried platanos and meat all come on the same plate. When I saw this I thought to myself, mix and enjoy and that is exactly what I did. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I am thinking I want to become a regular at the place, hehehe.

Shifting into fifth gear.

I cant believe it is already February. It seems that just because this is going to be my last semester, it is also going to be my fastest semester. Time is flying by and everything is happening so quickly. My classes are 2 weeks away from Mid-terms and believe it or not I am extremely happy with my classes, I am starting to know what it feels like to study something one is passionate about. In student council we are already raising money by selling valentine`s day carnations. The business club seems like it is going to be very exciting, the team is coming up with great ideas and hopefully we will start implementing them very soon. Today for the first time this semester we played ping pong. Ever since student council was able to by the ping pong table last year, it has been one of my favorite things to do during breaks. Today the weather allowed us to have a little tournament and believe me when I say me being rusty is an understatement. However it is still nice to play. Tomorrow a large chunk of my friends are heading off to Granada on the Suffolk Trip. It is going to be quite with out all of them, but hey Granada is a must!!
So far everything is going smoothly, or it maybe that after 3 semesters I have grown accustomed to this place. Either way I know I will miss it immensely.

The Beginning of the end.

I am finally able to get back to my blogging. We have been back in Madrid for a 3 week now. Being student ambassadors we had to be here a week earlier than the rest of the students to prepare for their orientation. We were scared that because of the recent fickle weather some of our students would be delayed, but to our great fortune everyone made it in one piece and more or less on time. The orientation trip to Seville was wondrous. I have been there many times over the course of the past 3 years, but every time I love it more. This trip instead of taking the bus, we made our way to Seville on the bullet train. A 7 hour trip was condensed to 2 and a half hours of beautiful scenery. I must say I was very impressed with the bullet train. The picture is the tower of the cathedral in Seville. The view from the top is amazing. Today was our fourth day of classes and it was a very exciting day. I am taking politics of the middle east and it seems as if it is going to be an extremely enjoyable class. We have so many students from various backgrounds, some related to the middle east and other are not. Being such a controversial area of the world and me being from there, it feels like we will all get to see new perspectives. The semester is just starting but knowing that it is my last in Madrid I don't want to end. it is nice to be back in Madrid (home).