...but God

I think my post this evening is more for me than anyone else. I find myself sitting here in need of a little catharsis. The past couple days have been quite a bit to take in. It seems as though the very moment I began to enjoy myself, Satan tried to step in and knock me down. If you know me, you probably already know that I personally am not very fond of cliches, especially those involving my faith. However after racking my brain for a considerable period of time, I'm not sure I can find any other way to put it. It is said that Satan's purpose in life is to steal, kill and destroy and it has been my experience in this journey thus far that he tries very hard at what he does....but God. As hard as people try, I don't think anyone can truly prepare you for an experience such as this. and before I get too far into it, I would like to interject and simply state that I am beyond grateful for all that comes with this experience both negative and positive. It is truly an adventure, however difficult in all its rewards. This week has been incredibly stressful. Being cooped up in a small, uncomfortable living space with people you may or may not get along with, an inconceivable amount of business to take care of with the highest hopes that the language barrier wont be so strong as to inhibit your ability to do either on top of being in an entirely new place (where you are an obvious outsider) in which you know virtually nothing and no one can prove difficult to even the strongest person (if that makes any sense at all). To put it simply, CRAPS HARD ! But with the love and support of my family and friends back home I was able to keep my head up and keep the tears from falling but Satan didn't stop. Yesterday afternoon I went to the mall with a new friend and bought a wonderful new purse. I'm not sure why but somehow this purse managed to elate me more than anything I'd seen since I'd been in this country. And things had begun to look up until about 10 minutes later when I realized that my wallet had been stolen. As i'm sure you can imagine there was no stopping the tears at that point. They were pretty determined to escape lol I have to admit that for some moments a great deal of both my strength and positive outlook had escaped as well...but God. I was so fortunate in that I was able to get in contact with my parents relatively quickly and they calmed me down and reassured me that all would be okay and thus far it has been. I woke up determined to keep a positive outlook today regardless of how badly I longed for a hug from my parents. I told myself that I would get up and do what it takes to make it through the day. I'm not sure about other students' experiences abroad but mine thus far has definitely been unforgettable. Even though its only been a week, I've already learned so much about myself and those around me. And even though they're hard lessons to learn, they're necessities and what better place to learn them in. So what have I learned you might ask?

1. Patience is the virtue of all virtues however it can only be topped by faith (or hope if you're not particularly religious) Without faith, there is nothing to keep you.
2. People won't always look out for you, even if you consistently look out for them. Unfortunately its a fact of life. When it comes to selfish people, it is incredibly important to find the balance between Christian generosity and stupidity. Know when to put yourself first
3. People won't always understand where you're coming from and with an experience like this, without being here, who could expect them to so its important to be patient with your loved ones as well.
4. Take your journey (whether its your life, a semester abroad, or your walk with Christ) a day at a time. That's the only way you'll make it.
5. Don't hold on to negativity. I'm actually kind of learning that as we speak (or as I type rather). Negativity does nothing but hold you down and keep you from your accomplishments- no one else's.
6. Kind of a weird number to end on but it is by far the most important. "but God." For those of you who don't know, I am a Christian first, an English major second and I'm gonna get a little "teachy/preachy" with my next statement but I would like to introduce to you what I feel is the most important introductory clause known to man.
"But God" For those that are unaware an introductory clause is defined as the following: (n) dependent clauses that provide background information or "set the stage" for the main part of the sentence. Now simply apply that definition to the above phrase. It is dependent, meaning without it the rest of the sentence is not whole. If something negative is going on, clearly things are unfinished because I have yet to witness anything negative in my life come from my Lord and Savior. And secondly, it sets that stage for the main part of the sentence, which is the wonderful success and joy that God has in store for those that love Him. My analogy may be cheesy but it is one that has given me strength in a time where I've so desperately needed it.  


I know i've said a lot but as I stated before, this post I wrote specifically for myself and no one else. I had a lot of thoughts running through my head and I felt it important to get them down. My goal is to get through the next 6 months one day at a time, taking in every joy and every lesson that He has in store for me and returning a more complete and fulfilled person than when I came. I thank you guys for reading and supporting me as I go through this and I hope that you will continue to do so the remainder of the time that I am here. 


- Dominique 

Soo everyone's been getting on me about not posting yesterday. Not that I don't love you guys but let me go ahead and make the announcement that I will not be posting every day so for those of you expecting it.... lo siento (i'm sorry) lol But I am posting today simply because I have quite a bit to talk about. Well for starters both my current roommate and I found flats (apartments) to live in so i'm soo excitedd ! The run anywhere from 150 to 220 euros a month which even with the ridiculous exchange rate is still very different from the U.S in which you're likely to pay anywhere from 500 dollars up for a place... but  I digress lol But anywho starting sometime next week I will have a permanent address for those of you who've been inquiring about that as well. I'm soo glad our search is over because I must say that it was about six levels of stressful but anyway today was wonderful. I made a new friend named Nurdia but unfortunately shes just passing through the city. Shes not from Toledo but she is from Spain and shes so sweet and has already taught me so much. I feel my spanish as well as my world outlook improving every day. I'm so tired; Rayna and I have been walking around the city literally since noon and its currently a quarter til midnight but the city is soo beautiful so I definitely don't mind of course my gluts appreciate the workout. Classes start Monday so now that I have a permanent residence, getting ready for that has taken first place on my list of things to do. I also realized that I need to budget. It is so easyy to spend money here on anything and everything especially in the area that I'm currently staying in simply because its an area in which the target demographic are tourists. But I think i've done pretty well in my quest to avoid purchasing miscellaneous items. But as I'm sure I've stated before I do plan on doing some serious shopping while i'm here so in order to do that I have to start saving. Everything except housing is more expensive here but the food is worth. To me from now on, Spain will be known as the country of desserts. They have the best desserts in the worlddd and to be honest I have never been one to have a serious sweet tooth so I am quite surprised that I am enjoying them as much as I am. They have this stuff called "pan dulce" and I'm pretty sure I've had some every day i've been here. Absolutely Delicious ! But even though there are a million and one things to love about this country and I have been incredibly busy spending most of my days discovering them, I've still had time to miss my friends and family. My parents, my sister, my cousin, my  boyfriend, my best friends, my church family... they all make the list. I think about you guys every day and I'm elated that I have this so that I can share my experiences with you all even before I get back. Well it seems that I've written more than I planned to this evening so i'll probably wrap this up soon. Even with that said I feel like there are a couple things that I have to share with you all and I think the easiest way to do so is in list for so I'm going to close this post with the "Top 5 Things I've Observed About Spain Thus Far". So.... here goes (and do note that this list is in no particular order) !

1. There are no speed limits here but there are veryyyy few accidents ! People here can drive their butts off. (I think this is because the streets are so narrow that you have to be a pretty good driver to get anywhere in the city without wrecking your car)
2. There are also no dryers here lol (Spain is a very eco- friendly country, so there are no dryers and very few dishwashers- to dry your clothes you put them out on the line just like our grandparents did. This is also the reason for their motion-sensor light switches)
3. McDonalds has chicken wings ! and they are good. Like I mean really good... like my mommy made them good (pictures to come)
*but don't ask for sauce cuz they don't offer a lot of that here lol so yes ! that means no ranch, no hot sauce etc
4. There are two giant escalators at the sides of the city to get from Old Town to New Town (The city of Toledo sits on top of a big hill so to get from the base of the hill where new town is to the top where old town is, one must ride a giant escalator up the side of the hill)
5. Most all the taxis are hybrids and they're really nice cars like mercedes' and such (see number 2 for explanation)

There are obviously a lot more but that's all I can think of at the moment but I thought some of you would find it amusing. I think that's about it for today, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time !

Well I hadn't planned on posting anything today but I wasn't doing anything so I thought I would. The weather was absolutely gorgeous this afternoon. It was a pretty typical day. My roommate and I woke up and went straight to our university and met with our exchange coordinator. The people in the office were so helpful in instructing us regarding registration and the first couple weeks of classes and things like that. They even arranged a couple appointments so that we could go look at flats to stay in during our time here. That was one thing I wasn't too excited about concerning this trip though, Not having a permanent residence when you arrive but I guess walking around aimlessly throughout the city for 5 hours is part of the international student experience lol I didn't mind though.. it was a pretty day and anyone who knows me knows im more than grateful to have the exercise. A lot of people have been asking me about how i'm adjusting to the time difference but to be honest I haven't too much felt it. I mean yesterday I was exhausted but that was simply from jet lag and being up for 24 hours straight lol But so far i'm really enjoying myself. I'm sure I will do so more when I find a flat with internet ! I was told that most flats in the old city (the part of toledo that my school is actually located in) don't have internet but im just gonna have to find a way around that. Other than that everything is wonderful. The food is great. Some of the drinks taste different but thats to be expected. I will say this though; Spain does not offer a lot of sauce. I feel like at home in America we have a sauce for everything; ranch, bbq sauce, honey mustard, sweet and sour etc yeaa... not so much here. You ask for sauce-- you get ketchup and thats it lol I've taken some pictures that I would love for you guys to see but I don't really have access to my camera chord at the moment but I promise theyll be up soon. I guess that's pretty much it for now. If you guys have certain things that you want to know about just let me know and i'll be sure to answer to the best of my ability from my experiences up to this point ! Thanks for reading : )

I'm Here !

I'm finally here. I tell ya it took long enough though ! My flight from ATL to Madrid was 9 hrs ! We left around 7 pm (NC time) and arrived around 4 am (NC time) but here it was 10 am. But it was all made worth when I got to watch the sun rise over Spain from above the clouds. I was beyond ready to go to bed but everyone else was just beginning their day. The airport in Madrid wasn't too much different than our airports at home. However I was quite surprised by the cold wind that smacked me in the face the second we stepped out of the building. We were so fortunate that another student studying abroad had family in Madrid. They were so incredibly helpful. They led us to the right bus and from there we went to the train station; caught the train to Toledo and ultimately a cab to our hostel. I'm glad its over now. It's definitely time to get some rest. But before I go I had to let you guys in on my first impressions of Spain. It's suchhh a beautiful place. Everything seemed so neat in clean. I mean everything !... from the hybrid cabs to the buses and trains not to mention the city itself. Even the graffiti on the walls of Madrid look like they were commissioned by the city government lol And oh my goshh the peoplee ! To be honest they don't look any different than Americans, quite frankly I couldn't distinguish the two until they opened their mouths to speak. But more importantly, their style and fashion sense ! It's likee a runway heree. Just about everyone looked absolutely fabulous. 80% of the women were wearing shoes that I would've paid to take off their hands myself. I got so excited ! And don't even get me started on their outfits. I can't wait to go shopping. : D I can tell already this is gonna be a great 6 monthss.