We're ENGAGED!!!!

Although many of you may have already heard the news, I'm sure there are some people who haven't... but it's true!!! Brendan and I are engaged!!! It happened on Saturday night, October 24th in Salamanca on el Puente Romano (the Roman Bridge) and it was a complete surprise! I seriously couldn't be happier!!! I'll share the story with you below because I know many of you are dying to hear the details, and if you don't have facebook, you probably have not seen the pictures.... so here it goes :)

A little background information:

Earlier that day, Brendan and I had met up with Sarah Molbert (the other Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar here in Salamanca, from Louisiana) for coffee. She invited us to go to the movies at 11pm with her and her Spanish host-mom and friends to see "Agora" (directed by Alejando Amenábar from Argentina). Since I had heard lots of great reviews about the movie and we had nothing else planned at that time, I thought it sounded like a great idea. Brendan said it sounded good, too, so we decided to go!

A little more background information (ha ha!):

Little did I know that Brendan had been walking around with a diamond ring in his pocket ever since we had left for Spain, waiting for the "perfect moment"... because he told me he never knew exactly when it would be... :)

So anyways, right around 10 o'clock pm that night Brendan and I had just finished eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant, complete with frozen margaritas :) Since we had time to kill before we needed to meet up with Sarah for the movie, we decided to take a walk to the cathedral. On our way there, as we were walking down Calle Rua (the street you see pictured above) the moon caught our attention. The skies were so clear and the temperature was perfect for a fall night... P.S. I think this is where the idea of the perfect moment all began ;)

Once we got to the cathedral, we took a seat on a bench and just relaxed looking at the beautiful architecture. After talking a bit, Brendan asked me out of the blue, "How badly do you want to see that movie tonight?" I responded something like, "Not that badly, but we already told Sarah that we were going to meet up with her! I would feel really bad canceling now!" The conversation went on like that for a couple minutes as he continued to try to get me to change my mind, and I insisted on how bad I would feel! Finally, after he mentioned getting ice cream (I NEVER pass on dessert) I gave in... so I called Sarah and we made our way to Ben and Jerry's.

While I started to eat my Cheesecake Chocolate Brownie ice cream Brendan said a little awkwardly (and I quote): "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's go down to the river and see the Roman Bridge lit up! We've never been down there to see it at night!" Ha ha-- I need to insist on the awkwardness of the way he said that... because, now I realize, it was his desperate attempt to finally get that perfect moment to arrive. Nevertheless, I agreed, having absolutely no idea what was in store for me...

One of my favorite parts of this whole story is that as soon as we got down to the bridge I immediately smelled "home"-- since the river has many trees around it, the smell of fall was in the air and I loved it!
Once we were walking on the bridge, I remember talking to Brendan about how impressed I was that the first 15 arches of the bridge were built by the Romans in the 1st Century... he later told me he hardly remembered me saying it because he was so nervous-- ha ha!
Our walk across the bridge took us all the way to the other side, to one of the most beautiful views in all of Salamanca (the Roman Bridge, the Cathedrals, and the Clerecia (another beautiful church) all together). A few weeks ago, we had stopped to take a picture in this very spot during the day, but we both agreed that it is so much more beautiful at night.
Here is another view of the bridge with the cathedrals and churches in the background from that night :)

The Proposal

As we started to walk back home over the bridge again, I remember I started to feel a little chilly. Even though I told Brendan, a few minutes later once we had arrived at the exact center of the bridge he said (again, a little awkwardly)

"Why don't we sit down on that bench..."

So we did :)

I'll never forget him telling me that he loved me... probably three times before he finally blurted out "I can't wait any longer!" At that moment he got down on one knee and pulled a cloth pouch out of his coat pocket, pulled out the ring and asked, just like in the movies,

"Will you marry me?"

Of course I said YES :) Although, I couldn't believe it at first! It was a complete surprise!! It took me a couple of minutes to realize that it was really happening and all it took was Brendan telling me the story of how he asked my Dad's permission to marry me as my Dad was driving and making a right then very quick left hand turn!! Ha ha-- that's when it really hit me and I started to cry!!

Here is probably the best part of the story:

Not even a few seconds later after I started crying, along came Ken, a Canadian from my master's program at the university. He very casually stopped and said, "Hey guys, what's up?" Pretty quickly, he realized something was up because I couldn't stop crying and Brendan was still a nervous wreck- ha ha! We shared the news with him and he was so excited for us! He even offered to take pictures for us!! We are both so thankful that he happened to be passing by at that moment... I honestly don't think Brendan could have planned it any more perfectly :)

We couldn't stop smiling :)

Still a little teary-eyed here

Had to get a picture with the cathedrals in the background!

So happy! :)

And so in love :)

Finishing the walk over the bridge towards home...

Yay! We're gonna get married!!! :)

Back at my apartment we stayed up until 5 in the morning sharing the news with family and friends through Skype, phone calls, and instant messaging

As you can imagine, since we are so far away from home (and home is where we want to get married) :) serious plans probably won't begin until we return from Spain at the end of June/beginning of July. In the meantime, we'll keep everyone updated!

And by the way, thank you to everyone who has already sent their congratulations! It means so much to the both of us! Can't wait to be able to be with everyone in person this summer!

Missing all things fall

Sooooo... I'm currently freezing in my apartment about to go to bed and I can't help but think of the things I miss from home... like the wood fire that heats my parents house--ha ha! I was just informed by my roommate that the heat doesn't come on in Spain til about November.... really could go for some warmth right now!! And although it sounds strange, because I am complaining about being cold and I heard it was SNOWING last week in western New York--- I really do wish I could be back in NY for just a little bit... I'm really missing all things fall!! I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to give some good "care package" ideas for those of you who told me you were interested in sending some good old American things my way :) :) :) See my address to the left (Hint, hint-- ha ha!)

Things I miss about fall...

• Flavored coffee seems to be non-existent here, so if anyone happens to find pumpkin, vanilla, or caramel coffee (with the beans already ground) it would be the highlight of my day to get some!!!
• Spain also hasn't discovered candy corn (a favorite Halloween treat of mine!) Boy are they missing out!
• Can you believe it, they don't have chocolate chip cookies here!!! A bag of chocolate chips would be amazing so that I could try and make some myself to share with friends!
• I am a lover of Craisins (dried cranberries)-- yet another thing Spaniards are missing out on. For now, I am lucky because my mom sent me some last week :) but they are running short! I have been sharing them with my Spanish friends and they LOVE THEM! It's hilarious because all of them have been like "oh-- they're raisins!" and I say "No, they're not... try them!" and they always react saying "Wow-- you're right, they are different! And they are gooooood!" ha ha!
• Gosh I really miss pancakes and their inseparable partner maple syrup. Also, I had brought little maple sugar candies with me to give as gifts and I have run out-- so far it looks as though everyone I have given them to has enjoyed them, so it would be nice to have more to give as gifts if possible :)
• Finally, I am also a big tea drinker once it starts to get cold and unfortunately here, I have yet to find a large variety of tea... my favorite tea flavors are vanilla, caramel, and also anything with berries! :)

Soooooo... again, if you ever get bored and you are looking for something to do.... you can always send a small package to me with a goodie inside!! I promise I won't mind ;) ha ha!

Soy extranjera (I'm a foreigner)

This past month, unfortunately, I have been reminded that when you travel to a foreign country, you may not be surrounded by things that you love all of the time... and you may not always feel happy and comfortable. Many of you who know me well, know that I sure do love Spain. It's true! I had an amazing experience 3 years ago studying in Valencia, and I absolutely love Salamanca-- it is a beautiful city! And in both cities I have been lucky to make so many friends, who are so generous. But up until I arrived in Salamanca, I had definitely forgotten about the little things that really made me miss home the last time I was here. Especially the simple things... for instance, just fitting in... It has really started to bother me and I feel like I need to get it out...

Like I said before, I have gotten to know so many Spaniards who are so hospitable and so nice (essentially all of the people I have gotten to know so well and who have taken the time to get to know me) but unfortunately the other extreme definitely exists. Most of these "extremes" are people I come across on the street or in a store. In other words, they are "strangers."

For example: This past weekend, Brendan and I wanted to take a day trip to a nearby city called Zamora. At the bus station, when we went up to the ticket window I asked for one ticket to Zamora for 11:00am and to return at 7:00pm. Unfortunately, I didn't know that when you take a bus to Zamora, you can only buy your ticket one-way... and he informed me of that with such a rude tone. I said, "okay" then just the ticket for 11:00am. The price was 4.45 euros so I handed him a 5 euro bill and he rolled his eyes at me as if that was ridiculous said, "You don't have exact change?" It was so embarrassing because there were people behind us and he made me feel so stupid!

Another example: Yesterday after I had lunch, I came across a small store selling fruit. The apples looked good, so I decided to go in and buy one. The older man running the store approached me very nicely but when I said I wanted to buy "one apple" he started complaining about how absurd it was that I only wanted to buy one! As he was weighing I asked very politely if I could have a bag for it, and he actually started to swear at me and told me to get out of the store! I couldn't believe it!! Obviously, I will never go back there again... I can't even describe how awful I felt after that happened. Before I walked into the store I knew I wanted to go to the library to study after that, but I found it very hard to concentrate. All I could do was keep replaying the scene over and over again in my head.

Any time something like that happens to me I can't help but think: What was it that made them act so mean/grumpy/rude?? And I can't help but wonder: Did they act rudely because of something I did, or said, or the way I said it, or just because of the way I look (blonde hair, blue eyes)? In the beginning of my stay here in Spain I often tried to tell myself, "Well, maybe they were just having a bad day..." but can that many people be having a bad day!? I don't think so!!

In this past month I have come to realize that being a "foreigner" is one of the hardest things I have ever had to experience in my life. There is nothing worse than feeling like you don't fit in... like people don't want you to be where you are... Luckily I don't feel this way all of the time, but it is those few times in the street, or in the store or at bus station that really hit hard... it is a memory that is very hard to forget.

In conclusion, one of the main thoughts I have had out of these experiences is that I personally would never want to make anyone else feel that way. So, it is my goal after these next 8 months when I go home, when I am no longer the "foreigner," to keep these experiences that I have had in mind. We all know that the United States is one of the most diverse countries there is, and that it is made up of people from almost every shore of the world. We are diverse, and with diversity, many times, comes misunderstanding and intolerance. But I am urging everyone to have more patience for this diversity and to try to be more accepting of the differences that we come across each day. When you are not the foreigner, it's not hard to take for granted how easy it is to go about your life from day to day... but if you have ever felt like a "foreigner", there is truly nothing worse. For my sake, and for the sake of anyone else who is feeling like an outsider, too, please keep my thoughts in mind.

Rotary News

So, I think it's about time I updated everyone about my other duties here in Salamanca (besides being a grad student.) As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, while I'm here in Spain, I will be visiting various Rotary Clubs and giving presentations in order to promote good relations and understanding between Spain and the United States. So far I have visited two clubs. The first club (el Club Rotario de Salamanca) is the one that my Rotary host couselor, Fernando Prado, belongs to. Below is a picture of the room where they meet every Thursday at 9pm for their meetings.

As you can see, it is a pretty small room (not anything like the room where the Pittsford Rotary Club meets- ha ha!) but it is perfect for them because they only have 11 members (all males by the way).

1st Presentation: September 17, 2009 (Club Rotario de Salamanca)

Unfortunately, on the day I was to present to my host Rotary club I had class until 8:45pm and my professor kept us late, so I ended up arriving late to the meeting :( so I have yet to see how they begin their meetings, but I'm sure I will have another chance to attend. In any case, once I arrived they were discussing upcoming events (which I didn't really pay much attention to because I was too nervous thinking about my presentation-- ha ha!) My presentation went very well, especially because I was able to project my PowerPoint onto a screen for everyone to see! They were all very impressed with and surprised by my Spanish-speaking abilities. They later explained to me that in their opinion, it is not usual for an American to speak without a heavy American accent, so I felt pretty good :)

Above is a picture of the President of the club, Ricardo Gómez Marcos, and I doing the traditional exchange of club flags.

My host counselor, Fernando Prado (on the left)

I know they look really serious in this picture, but I promise they are really nice- ha ha!

Since the meetings are held at the Palacio Prado (Fernando's place of business), after the meeting we all went downstairs to have dinner in the restaurant. Keep in mind that by this time is was already 10:30pm-- yep, that's Spain's dinner time-- ha ha! The food was great, although the amount was a little too much for me so late at night. We started off with paella (typical rice dish with chicken, mussels, and squid), then had pork ribs with salad, bread and roasted potatoes (and wine of course!), and finally dessert and coffee. Since I was the only woman in the group, I could tell they tried to make the conversation more interesting for me. They asked me a lot of questions about my family. After dinner some of the guys stay and play cards and smoke cigars together, but I didn't stay for that... ha ha! Not really my thing ;) All in all, a very good experience. Everyone was so nice and offered to help me with anything if I ever need it.

2nd Presentation: September 29, 2009 (Club Rotario de Salamanca, Plaza Mayor)

As small as Salamanca is, it actually has two Rotary clubs! The other one, specified by "Plaza Mayor" meets on Tuesdays at 9pm and has 22 members (3 of which are females.) I was really nervous to go because I thought I wasn't going to know anyone there, but a member from my host club came to introduce me to them :) I quickly found out that the Plaza Mayor club also has an Ambassadorial Scholar from the United States! Her name is Sarah Molbert and she is from Louisiana-- very nice girl, who I just met today. Her Rotary host counselor, Paco, was very nice and invited the two of us to have lunch with him so we could all get to know each other. I'm sure I will meet up with her again soon! :)

I was able to see the beginning of the Plaza Mayor meeting, which started with the traditional ring of the bell, however, after that they just got straight down to business. Before my presentation they discussed an upcoming excursion to a nearby town (which they invited me to attend!) and they talked about a previous fundraiser they had for cancer research.

Below are some pictures of me presenting to the Plaza Mayor club:

I started off by passing around the Pittsford Rotary Club roster and copies of my PowerPoint on paper, as they don't have a projector in the room where they meet.

Speaking in front of a crowd in Spanish is a WHOLE lot different than doing it in English! (I was so nervous!!)

Ha ha-- I think this picture is priceless! As you can see by my face, I'm a little confused/overwhelmed. This group definitely asked me some tough questions. For example: What do you think about Obama's stance on health care? Which city do you think is best fit for the 2016 Summer Olympics? Do you think that people in the United States have more individual freedom than they do in Europe? Is it true that everyone in the U.S. owns a gun? Phew-- definitely glad that's over!!

When all was said and done, things went very smoothly and we had a very nice dinner where they still continued to ask me questions. One of the women commented on a trip she took to the U.S. and how much she admired the patriotism of the United States-- seeing the American flag flown everywhere-- even on people's front porches! She loved it!

The President of the Plaza Mayor club, Joaquín Miranda Zafra, accepting the Pittsford Rotary Club flag. (He didn't have a flag for me just yet, but he told me that I will definitely be invited back before I leave to get a flag to take home with me.)

Visit to Valladolid

Just got back from a visit to Valladolid-- the city where Brendan lives! :)

It is about an hour and a half bus ride from Salamanca-- really not bad at all! The bus ride was great because I was able to get a lot of reading done for my graduate work and it was really neat to be able to see some of the countryside of Spain! On the ride back today, I paid a little more attention to the view outside the window, which on the way to Valladolid looked very boring to me because much of the land in this area of Spain is very dry and flat. However, on the way ack to Salamanca I noticed dozens of sunflower fields!!! :) It was so cool because a long time ago (when I didn't know that my future would involve living in Spain) I got a poster from my parents (that is still hanging in my room at home) of a sunflower field in Spain. Today was the first time I was seeing it in person!!! Unfortunately, it must be past their peak time because most of them were dry and bent over :( The man sitting next to me told me that the fields we saw were used to make sunflower oil and that there are other fields that are specific for cultivating sunflower seeds ("pipas" in español)-- which if you didn't know, many Spanish people are OBSESSED with them!! So many people eat "pipas" and I've heard that it is not uncommon for them to just spit them out on the street, ha ha (although I have never seen anyone do that.) I also saw a large herd of sheep grazing, with the farmer right there with his three sheep herding dogs! Pretty neat!! (So on a special note to my Uncle Paul Z. who, during a family Skype session with me yesterday, asked if there was a lot of agricultural land in my area and I replied "no, it doesn't look like it to me so far-- just really dry land!!"-- I guess it's not true) :)

Anyways, so my visit to Valladolid was really nice (of course, because I really miss Brendan and it was so great to see him) but also because it is surprisingly a really nice city!--Although, I'm not gonna lie... Salamanca is way better ;) Since I had never heard of Valladolid before this summer, and I had really never heard of anyone going there to visit, I had no idea what to expect... Here are some pictures to highlight my weekend in Valladolid:

Relaxing in the Plaza Mayor

Cool fountain in the Plaza Zorrilla

Beautiful outdoor café that we went to in order to get some reading done

Yep, that's me hard at work... reading articles for my masters program

There were peacocks in the park (El Campo Grande)!!!

Such a beautiful park!

Say cheese-- pretty cool sculpture in the park :)

The beach!! With Ione, from Valladolid (who I met this summer because she stayed with the family I nanny for during a summer exchange program)

Beautiful "fachada" of a church

La Plaza Mayor

On our walk to the downtown center :)

Picture time! :)

Salamanca, Spain- My new home :)

The famous "Plaza Mayor" (Main Square)-- so beautiful at night!

"La Clerecía" (Church) and "La Casa de las Conchas" (House of Seashells)

El Puente Romano (The Roman Bridge): The first 15 arches closest to the city were built by the Romans in the year 89 (that's right-- of the 1st century) in order to cross "el Río Tormes" (the Tormes River.) The rest of the arches were built in the 16th century.

"La Catedral Vieja" (The Old Cathedral)

Construction from the 12th-14th Century

A view of "la Catedral Nueva" from "el Huerto (Garden) de Calisto y Melibea" Construction from the 16th-18th Century

Brendan and I climbed up to the top of the cathedrals

(both the old and the new are connected.)