Adventures from a Far Away Country

About two years ago our daughter began to talk to us about studying abroad.  She had narrowed her focus in her studies to the Spanish language and found she had a great affinity for speaking Spanish.  This past week her dream became a reality! It was hard for this momma's heart to let our little "baby" (22-years-old) girl fly halfway across the world, and live there for four months, but we knew it would be a tremendous asset to her dream of becoming fluent in the Spanish language.

We held a little going-away party for our daughter and her friends to come and wish her goodbye. Homemade pizza was her special request :)

I also set out snacks for everyone to enjoy as they came and visited with Danielle and said their goodbyes to her.

The day before she left on her adventure, the heavens opened up and spilled buckets of snow on our world. 

Together we took the dogs on a walk after the snow stopped, and the sun came out.          

We hadn't seen the sun in days, so the sunshine was soaked up and enjoyed immensely!

The night before she left, I cooked a roast chicken dinner for us to enjoy as a last meal with her before leaving. 

For her flight "across the pond", she boarded a large jumbo jet. The flight lasted 9 hours overnight and landed in London. She enjoyed her flight on this huge plane that seated 9 across x 64 rows. A blanket, pillow, headphones were provided to all passengers, as well as an evening and breakfast meal were served on the plane.  She really enjoyed the flight. 

Danielle traveled with a group called AIFS who took care of all the travel arrangements.  They flew to London where they spent a couple of days exploring and then would fly on to Spain.  The AIFS rep took them to Lancaster Gate Hotel. 

A picture of the room she shared with another AIFS student. Small but cozy ambiance!

She got to see a lot of sights in London in a short amount of time!  Here is a picture outside Kensington Palace. 

A picture of the iconic phone booths found in London. Not sure if they are still in use or not. 

A visit to St. Paul's Cathedral Tea Room! 

A sampling of the yummy desserts available for tea. 

The London bridge is falling down, falling down... :) 

Another glimpse of the London bridge and surrounding area. 

Gelato!

Getting a meal at one of the local restaurants.

Some of the interesting buildings found throughout London.

Then it was onward to Spain.  Landing in the city of Malaga, they traveled by bus to Granada where she will be studying. Some pictures of the countryside through the window of the bus.

Upon arrival in Granada they were taken to their host family where her host mother Adela prepared a special meal for her.  This is a Spanish tortilla which is different from the Mexican tortilla that we know.  A Spanish tortilla is more like an omelette made with potato and egg. The tortilla was served with a light salad. 

Charros - fried bread dipped in chocolate, has become a quick favorite of hers!

She has been touring the beautiful city of Granada this week before classes start up next week.  This is a picture of Alhambra, a beautiful castle located there with a lot of history!

She is touring Madrid this weekend and has told us of the incredible beauty and architecture found there in Madrid.  Her classes start Monday in Granada. She had to take an examination to test her Spanish abilities, and she placed in the upper intermediate and will be able to take all of the classes she had hoped to.  They will all be in Spanish, which will be a challenge for her, but she is up to it. Already when we are talking, she is speaking in a mixture of English and Spanish! She has a wonderful host mother who cooks her three meals a day and is as kind and helpful as she can be.

We are so excited about this great adventure that she is on, and while we miss her terribly, we are thankful for all her hard work that made this adventure possible. She worked hard to raise all of the money to go on this trip (over 13,000.00)!  She will return home the end of May, and while we miss her, we are so thankful that she has this opportunity to experience the Spanish culture and language!