dream without limits.: July 2013

Well the last few days have been full of sleeping and returning to normality. The sounds from one of my favorite bands, Local Natives, and ice cold sweet tea keep me cool during these hot Mississippi nights. I made it back to the States safe and sound. It's only been two days, and Spain is still on my mind. I've been further contemplating life and the future. I'm still filled with excitement for going and disappointment about leaving Spain. Glad to be home for the 4th of July holidays. This will be my last blog post for a while. Thanks for reading about my travels. Every day is a different day. I'll keep you guys updated some over the upcoming year as I approach my last year of college and hopefully move on to do things I love in this world like traveling and learning about different cultures. The past is in stone. The future is up for grabs. Nothing is inevitable. Not even tomorrow.

Tips for future travelers to Spain: DO IT!

start a blog, or write in a journal. (i did both, and used the journal for more personal use.)
forget about using netflix, pandora, and espn3 while abroad. (Neither of them worked for me during my time away.)
leave all of your cash in the bank, and then exchange it for euros once you get there by withdrawing large amounts at one time.
take photos, but mostly of things that you want to forever remember, not so many photos where you won't even look through them all again.
try to speak the language, immerse yourself
don't be the loud American everywhere you go. You stick out more than you know.
the less you travel with, the better.
that also goes for people, smaller groups are always better. more things get accomplished.
watch out for pickpockets and street vendors, they're everywhere, especially in big cities and tourist areas.
buy a spain rail pass or a euro pass if you want to travel around a lot.
buy metro passes also. never use cabs unless you have to, too expensive.
always try different things.
be frugal with money at times.
start a Skype account to keep in touch back home from time to time.
turn your cellular data off your phone before you leave the states to avoid high cell phone bills.
get lost in everything around you, be free with the culture.

A few of my favorite Spanish words that I heard used a lot on a regular basis are:

Encantado- nice to meet you
Lo siento- I'm sorry
No pasa nada- It's okay
Vale (pronounced bah-lay) - okay
¡Que tengas buen día! - Have a good day
¿Qué tal? - How are you?
No entiendo- I don't understand.
Más despacio- Speak slower.

There are many more things i would love to talk about but can't think of right now because there are so many. Email me or leave a comment if you have any future questions. Here are a few more of my favorite photos from the month as well.